On Tuesday, Finance Minister John O’Dowd laid out his position in the assembly.

“Pressures across departments in the current financial year are around £1.6bn. The offer that is currently on the table is around £525m.

“Public sector pay alone is £500m or thereabouts, and any settlement or agreement has to include money for pay uplifts for teachers, nurses and other public-sector workers.”

Secretary of State Sir Chris Bryant has reacted with exasperation.

“You cannot keep overspending willy-nilly and not expect consequences from that. It’s just irresponsible,” he told the BBC.

He held a virtual meeting with Stormont ministers on Friday. There was no sign of agreement.

More discussions will be held next week.

Bryant has suggested the absolute deadline for reaching a deal is January because at that point the money available to spend under the emergency arrangements will run out.

A deal will need to be reached much sooner than that if strikes are to be avoided.