Amidst assurances from Sinn Fein’s president that her party will work “for all” in Northern Ireland, party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson claims the strategy he has worked out with the UK government signals a “significant change”.
The unionist party refused to resign over its opposition to the government’s deal with the EU, which left a trade border down the Irish Sea and additional checks on goods travelling between Great Britain and Northern Ireland. As a result, the power-sharing agreement between the main parties at Stormont collapsed in 2022.
Sinn Fein also won the election in the same year for the first time, meaning the return of executive would see Northern Ireland’s first nationalist first minister installed – Michelle O’Neill – with the DUP taking the deputy first minister role.
Concerning trade agreements and the effects of Ireland’s direct EU border, the DUP and the UK government have been at odds.
However, it was announced in the wee hours of Tuesday that a deal had now been achieved, opening the door for the assembly to reconvene.
“Further legal change that will be of real benefit to businesses in Northern Ireland [and] ensures that Northern Ireland benefits in full from UK free trade deals,” DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told reporters on Tuesday afternoon.
