Storm Éowyn compensation talks ongoing - finance minister

Conversations on compensation for people who lost electricity for days in the wake of Storm Éowyn are continuing, Northern Ireland's finance minister has said.

Caoimhe Archibald told BBC's Sunday Politics that "it is right" that those who have gone without power should receive compensation.

As of 08:00 GMT on Sunday, 2,000 customers are still without electricity more than a week after the storm's hurricane-force winds battered Northern Ireland.

At the peak of the disruption, more than 200,000 customers were affected by power cuts.

Northern Ireland Electricity (NIE) had said it was speaking to the Utility Regulator and Department for the Economy about establishing a compensation scheme.

It came after Northern Ireland's first and deputy first ministers both called on NIE to issue goodwill payments to those who went several days without electricity.

Archibald said those conversations between Stormont, NIE and the Utility Regulator are ongoing.

"For those families still without power, that is significant. It is right that that happens and those engagements continue," she said.

NIE has brought in 350 additional engineers from across the UK and Europe to assist local teams in repairing damage.

On Tuesday, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons pledged £1m to support communities and individuals affected by Storm Éowyn.

When asked how much the storm's impact will cost, Archibald did not give a figure but said she has asked departments for an initial assessment.

She said the Department for Infrastructure - which is responsible for roads, public transport and water - was one area that is being "more significantly impacted" in terms of cost.

"It is still a case of departments assessing what that [the cost] is going to be and then relaying that back to us," she added.

Meanwhile, the finance minister also said she is "confident that the executive will deliver a balanced budget".

Last month, she warned that departments still face "significant budgetary challenges" despite additional funding being made available via a reallocation exercise.

"It is challenging, there is no getting away from that and it will continue to be," she told Sunday Politics.

"I think we have made significant progress over the course of the past year."

She added: "We continue to negotiate with the British government about our level of need and that is something we will have a particular focus on in advance of the spending review in June.

"We are working towards coming in on budget and I am confident that is the place we will get to by the end of the year."