Support from readers like you keeps The Journal open.
You are visiting us because we have something you value. Independent, unbiased news that tells the truth. Advertising revenue goes some way to support our mission, but this year it has not been enough.
If you've seen value in our reporting, please contribute what you can, so we can continue to produce accurate and meaningful journalism. For everyone who needs it.
SINN FÉIN’S MICHELLE O’Neill has used her New Year message to warn the DUP it is decision time.
The party vice president, who stands to become Stormont First Minister if powersharing is restored in Northern Ireland, accused the region’s main unionist party of rolling back on a deal to revive devolution prior to Christmas.
The Stormont institutions have been suspended for almost two years due to a DUP boycott in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.
The DUP has insisted it will not end its blockade until it secures legislative assurances from the Government on Northern Ireland’s trading position within the UK.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has insisted that talks with the DUP over its concerns have now concluded.
However, DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has claimed the engagement will continue, making clear he is not yet in a position to back the legislative proposals the Government has offered the party.
In a new year’s message to party supporters, Sir Jeffrey said that 2024 “is the year we want to see our negotiations successfully concluded” with the UK Government.
Talks between Heaton-Harris and the main Stormont parties over a £3.3 billion financial package to accompany the return of devolution broke up at Hillsborough Castle earlier this month without any agreement to restore the Assembly and Executive.
The package would include money to make an outstanding pay award to public sector workers.
With their pay demands still unmet, unions are planning a major strike across Northern Ireland on January 18.
In her New Year message, O’Neill said she remained determined to lead a new Executive as “First Minister for All”.
“And despite the recent political setback at the Hillsborough Talks when the DUP rolled back from joining the rest of us to form an Executive, we must focus once again on overcoming this in the new year,” she said.
“Negotiations between the DUP and British Government on the Windsor Framework are concluded.
“It is time for the DUP to make a decision.
“It’s time to move forward in lock-step, ensuring people have the Assembly and government they deserve.”
In an apparent reference to the dual market access offered by Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit arrangements, O’Neill said local parties needed to seize the “enormous economic opportunities ahead to attract investment, create new jobs, and to better all our people’s lives, no matter your background”.
“We urgently need a new Assembly that works at pace to deliver a fair pay rise for our healthcare staff, teachers, and public sector workers,” she added.
“That tackles crippling health waiting lists that have left people without hope, and in pain.
“And that ensures people with special educational needs and their families have access to properly funded, first-class support services.
“We need an Executive back in place that listens to the voices of young people, families and workers.
“We owe it to our young people to make that progress happen.”
Advertisement
On Friday, Heaton-Harris made clear the Government would not stand by and allow public services to deteriorate in Northern Ireland while Stormont remains suspended.
The Northern Ireland Secretary said he was preparing a budget to support civil servants in stabilising public finances if the powersharing impasse is not resolved, but warned there must be a limit to how far the Government could go.
Under current rules Heaton-Harris is obliged to call new Assembly elections on January 18 if the powersharing Assembly has not returned – the same day the strike is planned.
But writing in the Belfast Telegraph, the Northern Ireland Secretary said he would not be treating that date as a deadline.
He said: “I am considering all options carefully, however, I want Stormont to return as soon as possible so I am not treating this date as a target and will be relentlessly working with all parties to find a way forward.
“January 18 is also the date when thousands of public sector workers will go on strike over pay. A returned Executive could stop these strikes and the disruption it brings to people.
“By getting back to work they will unlock the £584 million made available by the UK Government to address public sector pay.
“People in Northern Ireland expect and deserve devolved government back as soon as possible, to make use of the financial package we have put on the table.”
He added: “In its absence, however, the UK Government cannot and will not just stand by and allow public services and finances to decline further.
“Which is why, just like last year, we are preparing a pragmatic and reasonable approach to support the Northern Ireland Civil Service in stabilising public finances and services via a sustainable budget, should the Executive not be back in place to do so itself.
“But we are clear that there must be a limit to how far the UK Government can go without an Executive in place.
“That is because the financial package we have offered requires decisions on how to improve and modernise the public services and these must be taken by locally-elected politicians with the mandate to do so.
“It should not just be for local politicians to dispense funding from the UK Government.
“They should take active and sometimes difficult decisions about where priorities lie, because they know the place and the needs of their constituents better than anyone else.”
In a message to party supporters ahead of the new year, Sir Jeffrey said that 2024 was “likely to be another hectic year”.
He said that the party’s “long and justified campaign” in relation to the protocol has seen progress made, while admitting that it had “taken longer than anyone wished”.
He said the party wants to drive down long waiting lists and help working families.
Donaldson also said that when a UK general election is called, the party is “confident” that it has a “solid record of delivery that we can campaign on”.
“This is the year we want to see our negotiations successfully concluded and the UK Government implement actions that will see Northern Ireland’s place in the United Kingdom restored and the harm caused by the Northern Ireland Protocol erased so that we can move forward together,” the DUP leader said.
“This means safeguarding our place in the UK internal market both now and for the future, whilst retaining our access to the EU single market.
“These objectives are not mutually exclusive, nor do they lead to the creation of an all-island economy.
“In our long and justified campaign we have made progress and whilst the process has taken longer than anyone wished, nevertheless, we have not lost our focus or desire to secure long-term solutions, measured against the tests in our manifesto which work for Northern Ireland and our place within the United Kingdom.”
He added: “The challenges we face are not insignificant, but they are no greater than many we have successfully surmounted in the past.”
Trump says Ukraine war could end 'within weeks', as EU to 'step up' defence
11 mins ago
407
Cork
Garda probe launched after man's 'unexplained' death at house in Midleton
26 mins ago
1.3k
german election
Christian Democrats come first in German election as far-right claim second place spot
Eoghan Dalton
Updated
23 hrs ago
32.1k
Your Cookies. Your Choice.
Cookies help provide our news service while also enabling the advertising needed to fund this work.
We categorise cookies as Necessary, Performance (used to analyse the site performance) and Targeting (used to target advertising which helps us keep this service free).
We and our 152 partners store and access personal data, like browsing data or unique identifiers, on your device. Selecting Accept All enables tracking technologies to support the purposes shown under we and our partners process data to provide. If trackers are disabled, some content and ads you see may not be as relevant to you. You can resurface this menu to change your choices or withdraw consent at any time by clicking the Cookie Preferences link on the bottom of the webpage .Your choices will have effect within our Website. For more details, refer to our Privacy Policy.
We and our vendors process data for the following purposes:
Use precise geolocation data. Actively scan device characteristics for identification. Store and/or access information on a device. Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development.
Cookies Preference Centre
We process your data to deliver content or advertisements and measure the delivery of such content or advertisements to extract insights about our website. We share this information with our partners on the basis of consent. You may exercise your right to consent, based on a specific purpose below or at a partner level in the link under each purpose. Some vendors may process your data based on their legitimate interests, which does not require your consent. You cannot object to tracking technologies placed to ensure security, prevent fraud, fix errors, or deliver and present advertising and content, and precise geolocation data and active scanning of device characteristics for identification may be used to support this purpose. This exception does not apply to targeted advertising. These choices will be signaled to our vendors participating in the Transparency and Consent Framework.
Manage Consent Preferences
Necessary Cookies
Always Active
These cookies are necessary for the website to function and cannot be switched off in our systems. They are usually only set in response to actions made by you which amount to a request for services, such as setting your privacy preferences, logging in or filling in forms. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not then work.
Targeting Cookies
These cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.
Functional Cookies
These cookies enable the website to provide enhanced functionality and personalisation. They may be set by us or by third party providers whose services we have added to our pages. If you do not allow these cookies then these services may not function properly.
Performance Cookies
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not be able to monitor our performance.
Store and/or access information on a device 104 partners can use this purpose
Cookies, device or similar online identifiers (e.g. login-based identifiers, randomly assigned identifiers, network based identifiers) together with other information (e.g. browser type and information, language, screen size, supported technologies etc.) can be stored or read on your device to recognise it each time it connects to an app or to a website, for one or several of the purposes presented here.
Personalised advertising and content, advertising and content measurement, audience research and services development 136 partners can use this purpose
Use limited data to select advertising 106 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times an ad is presented to you).
Create profiles for personalised advertising 78 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (such as forms you submit, content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (for example, information from your previous activity on this service and other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (that might include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present advertising that appears more relevant based on your possible interests by this and other entities.
Use profiles to select personalised advertising 77 partners can use this purpose
Advertising presented to you on this service can be based on your advertising profiles, which can reflect your activity on this service or other websites or apps (like the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects.
Create profiles to personalise content 37 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service (for instance, forms you submit, non-advertising content you look at) can be stored and combined with other information about you (such as your previous activity on this service or other websites or apps) or similar users. This is then used to build or improve a profile about you (which might for example include possible interests and personal aspects). Your profile can be used (also later) to present content that appears more relevant based on your possible interests, such as by adapting the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find content that matches your interests.
Use profiles to select personalised content 33 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on your content personalisation profiles, which can reflect your activity on this or other services (for instance, the forms you submit, content you look at), possible interests and personal aspects. This can for example be used to adapt the order in which content is shown to you, so that it is even easier for you to find (non-advertising) content that matches your interests.
Measure advertising performance 127 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which advertising is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine how well an advert has worked for you or other users and whether the goals of the advertising were reached. For instance, whether you saw an ad, whether you clicked on it, whether it led you to buy a product or visit a website, etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of advertising campaigns.
Measure content performance 60 partners can use this purpose
Information regarding which content is presented to you and how you interact with it can be used to determine whether the (non-advertising) content e.g. reached its intended audience and matched your interests. For instance, whether you read an article, watch a video, listen to a podcast or look at a product description, how long you spent on this service and the web pages you visit etc. This is very helpful to understand the relevance of (non-advertising) content that is shown to you.
Understand audiences through statistics or combinations of data from different sources 75 partners can use this purpose
Reports can be generated based on the combination of data sets (like user profiles, statistics, market research, analytics data) regarding your interactions and those of other users with advertising or (non-advertising) content to identify common characteristics (for instance, to determine which target audiences are more receptive to an ad campaign or to certain contents).
Develop and improve services 82 partners can use this purpose
Information about your activity on this service, such as your interaction with ads or content, can be very helpful to improve products and services and to build new products and services based on user interactions, the type of audience, etc. This specific purpose does not include the development or improvement of user profiles and identifiers.
Use limited data to select content 38 partners can use this purpose
Content presented to you on this service can be based on limited data, such as the website or app you are using, your non-precise location, your device type, or which content you are (or have been) interacting with (for example, to limit the number of times a video or an article is presented to you).
Use precise geolocation data 43 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, your precise location (within a radius of less than 500 metres) may be used in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Actively scan device characteristics for identification 25 partners can use this special feature
With your acceptance, certain characteristics specific to your device might be requested and used to distinguish it from other devices (such as the installed fonts or plugins, the resolution of your screen) in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Ensure security, prevent and detect fraud, and fix errors 86 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Your data can be used to monitor for and prevent unusual and possibly fraudulent activity (for example, regarding advertising, ad clicks by bots), and ensure systems and processes work properly and securely. It can also be used to correct any problems you, the publisher or the advertiser may encounter in the delivery of content and ads and in your interaction with them.
Deliver and present advertising and content 96 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
Certain information (like an IP address or device capabilities) is used to ensure the technical compatibility of the content or advertising, and to facilitate the transmission of the content or ad to your device.
Match and combine data from other data sources 68 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Information about your activity on this service may be matched and combined with other information relating to you and originating from various sources (for instance your activity on a separate online service, your use of a loyalty card in-store, or your answers to a survey), in support of the purposes explained in this notice.
Link different devices 50 partners can use this feature
Always Active
In support of the purposes explained in this notice, your device might be considered as likely linked to other devices that belong to you or your household (for instance because you are logged in to the same service on both your phone and your computer, or because you may use the same Internet connection on both devices).
Identify devices based on information transmitted automatically 84 partners can use this feature
Always Active
Your device might be distinguished from other devices based on information it automatically sends when accessing the Internet (for instance, the IP address of your Internet connection or the type of browser you are using) in support of the purposes exposed in this notice.
Save and communicate privacy choices 64 partners can use this special purpose
Always Active
The choices you make regarding the purposes and entities listed in this notice are saved and made available to those entities in the form of digital signals (such as a string of characters). This is necessary in order to enable both this service and those entities to respect such choices.
have your say