Northern Ireland’s political leaders are poised to restore devolved government within days after the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) endorsed a deal to end its two-year boycott of power-sharing. Parties eligible to form a Stormont executive are due to meet on Tuesday to chart the return of local rule, following the DUP’s decision at a meeting of its 130-member executive.
The DUP leader, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, said the party had accepted a deal that addressed its concerns over post-Brexit trading arrangements, with a “decisive” vote in favour. The deal, to be published on Wednesday by Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, includes provisions for zero checks and customs paperwork on goods moving within the UK, according to Donaldson. He acknowledged the proposals were not perfect but represented “substantive change”.
Heaton-Harris said the proposals featured a “vast array of decent improvements”. The DUP’s endorsement is conditional on two statutory instruments to be passed at Westminster to give legislative effect to the commitments on trade and sovereignty. The UK government has pledged to keep its side of the bargain.
The Irish government welcomed the DUP’s decision but cautioned that it had not yet seen the full details. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said Dublin needed to be confident the deal had no negative consequences for the Windsor framework or the Good Friday agreement. Brussels and London will also scrutinise the deal.
Sinn Féin, which became the largest party in the 2022 assembly election, is set to take the first minister post for the first time, with its deputy leader Michelle O’Neill expected to fill the role. A DUP member will serve as deputy first minister, a post with equal power. The restoration of Stormont ends a period in which civil servants ran the region amid a fiscal crisis, crumbling public services and strikes.
Hardline unionists, including the Traditional Unionist Voice and loyalist Jamie Bryson, denounced the deal as a sellout. However, Donaldson’s victory in securing the party’s backing represents a significant political achievement, as he faced down internal and external opposition.
