Monthly Archives: January 2020

<!– –> SINN Féin national chairman Declan Kearney has been appointed as a Stormont junior minister alongside the DUP’s assembly chief whip Gordon Lyons. The largely symbolic roles are based within the Executive Office and come with a £55,000 salary. Previous junior ministers have included Ian Paisley, Jonathan Bell, Megan Fearon and Gerry Kelly. Mr Kearney said yesterday the deal to restore power-sharing had created a “beachhead” to advance the debate toward a united Ireland. The South Antrim MLA told RTÉ that the institutions would work as an “engine” for moving to constitutional change. Sinn Féin veteran Alex Maskey was appointed assembly speaker with DUP support on Saturday – despite speculation the SDLP’s Patsy McGlone would get the role – while the deputy speakers are the DUP’s Christopher Stalford, Mr McGlone and the UUP’s Roy Beggs. Read More: Michelle O’Neill facing huge test to follow Martin McGuinness There was no seat … Continue reading →

The new Speaker of the Northern Ireland Assembly, Alex Maskey MLA (PA) SDLP leader Colum Eastwood has claimed Sinn Fein back tracked on an agreement for Patsy McGlone to be the new Assembly Speaker. Sinn Fein, however, hit back, saying there was no agreement of any kind. The party’s West Belfast MLA Alex Maskey was elected to the position on Saturday with the endorsement of the DUP. Mr Eastwood said originally it had been intended the position would go to his party for the first time with Mr McGlone in the chair but Sinn Fein changed their mind an hour before the election. Read More Boris Johnson flies in to give new Stormont deal Westminster’s rubber-stamp Alliance leader Naomi Long said that she understood Mr McGlone would be the new Speaker, but no agreement was made on the matter in the latest round of Stormont talks. SDLP leader Mr Eastwood … Continue reading →

Three years after its collapse the Northern Assembly was formally back in business at lunchtime on Saturday following Thursday night’s publication of the British-Irish agreement to restore Stormont. And as the wheels of the powersharing administration slowly cranked back into gear after 36 months of paralysis the incoming DUP First Minister Arlene Foster pledged to “get Northern Ireland moving forward again”. “We won’t solve every problem immediately but local Ministers will get on with key reforms in schools and hospitals,” she promised. The session of the Assembly began at 1 pm with the election of a speaker and deputy speakers, with DUP East Derry DUP Assembly member, George Robinsons initially chairing proceedings. Before moving to those elections he went though the list of members who had resigned or been replaced since the last full meeting of the Assembly three years ago. There were three nominations for the position of speaker, … Continue reading →

The Northern Ireland Assembly is back in power after a three-year absence, following agreement from a majority of political parties to proposals put forward by the Irish and UK governments. The talks succeeded over the weekend on Saturday, January 11, with backing from Sinn Féin, the DUP, the SDLP and the Alliance Party, following marathon talks led by the UK government’s Northern Ireland Secretary of State Julian Smith and the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney. Following the return of the assembly at Stormont, it was confirmed that Northern Ireland’s first and deputy first ministers will be DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Féin’s leader in Northern Ireland Michelle O’Neill respectively. Alex Maskey of Sinn Féin was elected as the assembly’s new speaker after a vote, with three deputies including: Christopher Stalford of the DUP; UUP MLA Roy Beggs and SDLP’s Patsy McGlone. The role of Minister for Justice … Continue reading →

Image caption Simon Coveney and Julian Smith announcing the draft deal on Thursday The British and Irish governments must deliver the “promised financial package”, Conor Murphy has said. The new finance minister said the local parties had “done their part by restoring the power-sharing executive”. “The two governments must now honour their pledge and provide the funding needed to deliver on the New Decade, New Approach document,” he said. Sinn Féin and the DUP, along with the SDLP, UUP and Alliance, re-entered devolved government on Saturday. Stormont’s power-sharing coalition, led by the DUP and Sinn Féin, collapsed in January 2017. After three years of deadlock, NI Secretary Julian Smith and Irish tánaiste (deputy prime minister) Simon Coveney published details of a draft deal to restore devolution on Thursday. The DUP and Sinn Féin supported the deal to restore Stormont’s political institutions. Mr Murphy, a Sinn Féin MLA, said the deal … Continue reading →