Party leaders discuss priorities for new Stormont executive

Party leaders and officials entitled to form an executive have met to discuss the priorities for day one of a new government in Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin, the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP), the Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) held talks at Stormont Castle on Friday afternoon.

The UUP confirmed they would take up a role in the executive, instead of entering an official opposition.

The Northern Ireland Assembly will sit at 13:00 GMT on Saturday.

Its return marks two years to the day since devolution collapsed.

A decision was taken by the DUP on Tuesday to end its boycott of Stormont after agreeing a new deal with the government on post-Brexit trade rules.

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party would end its boycott, after MPs passed legislation on a new deal on post-Brexit trade rules.

Sir Jeffrey said Friday's meeting concentrated on incoming priorities for the future executive.

"It is important... that we have a real sense of what those priorities are for everyone in Northern Ireland," he said.

"We are looking forward to the Assembly meeting tomorrow, going through the formalities, getting devolution restored."

Meanwhile, BBC News NI understands that MLAs will have their full salaries restored within days.

The first order of business for members (MLAs) when they enter the assembly chamber will be to elect a new speaker - this must happen before anything else.

Once the speaker is elected, the parties entitled to jointly lead the executive - the body that makes decisions and policy in Northern Ireland - will make their nominations.

For the first time, Sinn Féin will nominate a first minister because it won the most seats in the assembly election in May 2022.

The DUP, as the largest unionist party, will nominate a deputy first minister for the first time - it is widely anticipated that Emma Little-Pengelly will be nominated but the DUP on Friday refused to confirm that.

Although the first and deputy first ministers are joint offices and both hold equal power, Michelle O'Neill becoming the first-ever republican first minister of Northern Ireland will mark a symbolic moment.

Ahead of Saturday's assembly sitting there has also been speculation about which departments Stormont parties will take.

Alliance did not speak to the media after Friday's meeting of party leaders but its leader Naomi Long was previously Stormont's justice minister.

It is decided on the basis of a cross-community vote rather than the D'Hondt mechanism, which determines how many of the seven other Stormont departments parties are entitled to.

The Alliance Party has yet to confirm if it will enter government or opposition.

Andrew Muir of the Alliance Party told BBC News NI's The View: "There are benefits of going into opposition, but there are also significant benefits of going into government.

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), which is the fifth-largest party with eight assembly members, does not qualify to be be part of the next executive and instead will go into opposition.

Speaking to BBC NI's Good Morning Ulster, SDLP assembly member Matthew O'Toole said the opposition will hold the parties in the executive to account and make the institutions "work effectively for the people of Northern Ireland".

It will reduce checks and paperwork on goods moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland.

It means there will no longer be "routine" checks on Great Britain goods which are sent to Northern Ireland with the intention of staying there.

Those changes involve the maximum flexibility allowed under a previous EU/UK deal it is understood will be acceptable to the EU.

The DUP had demanded changes to the way goods are traded between Northern Ireland and Great Britain in order for it to end its Stormont stand-off.

Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said given new legislation to implement those changes had passed the Commons, he would now support the Stormont institutions being restored.

Any return of a power-sharing executive at Stormont will see the UK Treasury release a £3.3bn package which would help support struggling public services in Northern Ireland.

A number of strikes involving nurses, teachers, civil servants, and thousands more have taken place in recent weeks over pay and conditions.

"The £3.3bn is there, but we need more," Sir Jeffrey told BBC's Nolan Show on Friday.

"What the UK government is offering as part of the package is to cover public sector pay awards for one year only," he said.

The DUP leader said this equates to about £650m, but that Northern Ireland does not currently "have the means for the next two years and the government knows that needs to be resolved".

Speaking after Friday's meeting of parties Sir Jeffrey said: "You will not have to wait long to see the new executive in action, making those priorities clear to the Treasury and pressing them for additional funding which is required," he added after Friday's meeting.

On Friday, a group of unionists, including the Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister and activist Jamie Bryson, published a legal opinion from the former Northern Ireland attorney general John Larkin KC.

Mr Allister said Mr Larkin has concluded that "nothing here restores Article 6 of the Act of Union, it remains in suspension - the consequence of that is colossal".

He added: "We shared so many platforms with Jeffrey Donaldson. Faced with the spin that has accompanied this deal, we wanted to strip that away and assess what are the legal realities."

Mr Allister questioned legal advice Sir Jeffrey claimed to have saying his deal removed the Irish Sea border and restored Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market.

Sir Jeffrey has in recent days taken his unionist rivals to task, accusing them of delivering "nothing" when it comes to changing the Northern Ireland Protocol.

"It is Sir Jeffrey that took on this task and has failed - there's no point trying to divert from that," said Mr Allister.

Sir Jeffrey told reporters on Friday that he "fundamentally disagreed" with Mr Larkin's legal opinion.

"Jim Allister - is that the best that he can do?" he added.

"What I have delivered is change. I stood on a platform with Jim Allister and he talked a lot, and he shouted a lot, but he has nothing to show for his actions."