Unionist party leaders are asking for £14,000 in public money to complete the installation of a stone at Stormont celebrating the foundation of Northern Ireland.
The installation of the sculpture, due to happen this summer, has stalled amid discussions over where it is placed, either in a more prominent position on the west side of the building or on the east close to the tomb of James Craig, the first prime minister of Northern Ireland.
Now, the three unionist leaders, the DUP's Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the UUP's Doug Beattie and the TUV's Jim Allister have written to the Assembly Commission asking for the extra £14,000 to make up the difference from an original £4,000 estimate.
The original was based on the sculpture being installed on the more prominent west side.
The eight-foot, or 2.5 metre, tall sculpture depicts the six counties separated from the rest of the island and was originally conceived to celebrate the 2021 centenary of the establishment of the north.
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Permission to install was granted in February by the Assembly Commission, a cross-party body tasked with overseeing Stormont's day to day operations and upkeep.
Sinn Fein, which originally vetoed the installation, no longer has a vote on the commission as John O'Dowd stood aside following his appointment as infrastructure minister. He could not be replaced after the DUP collapsed the government.
In a letter welcoming the commission's decision, the three leaders said: “The stone will be paid for by unionist MLAs and therefore will not cost the public purse."
An SDLP spokesperson told the Irish News: “This is clear cut, the proposers agreed to cover the costs of the installation and they should honour their commitment to the full amount at the location agreed by the Assembly Commission."
The DUP said the unionist parties "believe it is fitting that there is a permanent recognition in the grounds of Parliament Buildings to mark Northern Ireland's centenary in 2021".
"The proposal...was that the stone would be donated from contributions made by unionist members and that it would be sited on the wst side of Parliament Buildings.
"Subsequent issues have arisen relating to siting the centenary stone on the east side of Parliament Buildings and associated additional installation costs and we look forward to finding a fair and equitable outcomes on these issues in the near future."
The main unionist parties should have discussed their proposals with the other political parties "to ensure the very different and, for many people, negative perspectives of partition are reflected in an inclusive and respectful manner", Sinn Fein said.
“This did not happen. The proposed stone, therefore, represents a singular unionist perspective.
“Logically then, unionist parties agreed to meet the costs but now want the expense of installing this stone to be paid for from already over-stretched public funds.”
TUV leader Jim Allister told BBC News NI the commission originally accepted unionists' proposal to place the stone to the west of Parliament Buildings but in June "unilaterally" decided it should be erected to the east.
He added that the eastern location near Craig's tomb would be a more "elaborate construction", so it was a "reasonable proposition" to share the costs. But there are issues with the western location.
"These issues included environmental heritage and planning permission, equality and good relations and associated costs," a commission spokesperson said.
One of the issues was that installing the sculpture on the west side would fail equality screening requirements as large numbers of people passing may be offended by a prominent monument celebrating arguably the most catastrophic event of the century for nationalists collectively.
In a joint letter seen by the BBC, the party leaders said it would be "problematic" to require them to cover the "full installation costs". They proposed contributing £4,000 to the total of £18,000 and for Stormont to "bear the balance costs".
They said that was a "fair and equitable way forward" as the planned location for the stone to the east of Parliament Buildings was a "more elaborate and costly setting" than the western site unionist parties had proposed.
The unionist leaders added: "We also think that requiring a donor to undertake the full installation costs, as suggested, is problematic not just in this instance but in respect of the practicalities and the precedent going forward.
"Is it now to be policy that if any further memorials or structures are requested at Parliament Buildings, then those seeking such will have to bear the full costs of production and installation, or is the centenary stone project alone to be treated in this way?"
An Alliance spokesperson said: "While we respect everyone has a different view on partition, the Northern Ireland centenary is a significant historical event and Alliance backed the initial proposal for a simple marker at no cost to the public purse.
"A solution needs to be found to ensure that principle remains the case.
"We suggest more focus needs to be put on the restoration of the Assembly instead of the erection of a historical marker in its grounds."
