The British government has made an offer of additional cash for Stormont in a bid to break the political deadlock over a budget.

But the parties have already said the amount on offer – reportedly in the region of £350m per year over the next three years – is still not enough.

It is been reported that the amount could still leave a shortfall of £100m a year.

Northern Secretary Chris Bryant is in talks with the Executive parties today over the issue as politicians return from summer recess.

The talks were approved by British Prime Minister Andy Burnham after a recent visit to Belfast.

Stormont politicians have failed to agree a budget since the start of the financial year in April, saying that Northern Ireland is seriously underfunded by the British government.

Big spending departments like health and education have warned they are looking at significant shortfalls in the cash they need to provide services.

In the absence of an agreed budget, departments are working under interim arrangements that allow them to spend up to 95% of last year’s funding.

First Minister Michelle O’Neill said she would continue to “hardball” for a fairer funding settlement for Northern Ireland.

“We’ve just come from a meeting with the Secretary of State. We’re very much focused on getting a budget, but it needs to be the right budget.

“It needs to be a budget that reflects the needs of people here.

“We’ve long made the case, and can stand over the case, that we have been underfunded – our public services, our health system, our education system, our wastewater infrastructure, our roads, all the things that people deserve.

“The fault line here has always been that we’ve been underfunded.

“We continue in those discussions, and they’ll carry on throughout today, and in days ahead.”

DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the offer on the table from the British Government fell “well short” of the pressures being felt by a single Stormont department, never mind across the entire Executive.

“Anybody who stands before you today and says look, we just need to get on and agree and accept something which will not get the job done, can explain to you the cuts that will come as a consequence, the redundancies that will come as a consequence, the consequence of unfunded transformation.”

Alliance said the discussions were at an early stage and a “long way” from completion.

The Northern Secretary is likely to look for revenue raising proposals from the Executive parties in return for additional cash from the UK Treasury.

Things that have been suggested before are options like water charges, something many of the parties are opposed to.

SDLP leader Claire Hanna said financial reforms could be looked at in tandem with the budget negotiations but shouldn’t become a precondition for progress.

As well as discussions over the budget, the Northern Secretary Chris Bryant is also talking to the parties today about reform of the Stormont institutions.

That is likely to be a longer-term project with progress likely to be delayed by an next May’s Assembly election.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin said proposals to reform Stormont “need to be grasped”.

Speaking to reporters in Co Offaly at Fianna Fáil’s annual think-in following a session on the Shared Island Initiative, Mr Martin said: “I think that’s extremely important because it would give greater consistency to the operation of the Executive and would enable people to make politics work, and so these are important, in our view, initiatives in the here and now that need to be grasped.”