TAOISEACH LEO VARADKAR has said he is “confident” the newly-formed Stormont Executive “is here to last” after he held talks with the Stormont leaders in Belfast to mark the return to powersharing in Northern Ireland.
The Taoiseach met with Northern Ireland’s first ever nationalist First Minister, Sinn Féin’s Michelle O’Neill, and her DUP counterpart, deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly, before meeting the rest of the Executive at Stormont Castle.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak also held talks with O’Neill, Little-Pengelly and the Executive.
The two leaders, whose governments are co-guarantors of the landmark Good Friday peace agreement, also met each other for a bilateral meeting at Parliament Buildings.
Varadkar told the Executive that he was glad to be there, adding there were “various times over the past year or two I didn’t think this day would happen”.
He said he was keen to see the North South Ministerial Council up and running again as soon as possible, along with the British Irish Council.
“We’ll have the St Patrick’s Day visits which I think will take on a much more positive feel because in the US they’ll be keen to see the Good Friday Agreement institutions working and the main thing is to try and keep the lines of communication open,” he said.
Delighted to welcome Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and An Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to Stormont to meet with the new Executive.
— Michelle O’Neill (@moneillsf) February 5, 2024
We have many shared priorities, and I look forward to pressing on with delivery on key issues. pic.twitter.com/6XFssCgQb8
Speaking to reporters after the meeting, the Taoiseach said he wanted to congratulate the First Minister and deputy First Minister on taking up their new roles “and to really pledge to do everything we can to help this Executive to be successful”.
“A lot of everyday issues that need attention here in Northern Ireland and I know they’re going to work very hard on that. We’re keen to get north-south co-operation going again.”
Asked about the prospect of reunification, he said that question was “not for today”.
“I think today is really about marking the fact that the Good Friday Agreement, which we voted for in big numbers north and south, is now functioning again.”
I think today really should be about that rather than constitutional change.
He said the priority for any new executive “has to be the day-to-day concerns of people”.
“As you know, there are very long waiting lists in Northern Ireland – not a problem unique to Northern Ireland by any means. We have similar problems too.
“There’s issues around the economy and around public sector pay. Certainly the sense that I got from the First Minister, Deputy First Minister and the Executive is they’re very keen to get stuck into their briefs and very keen to work on those day-to-day issues, and we’re here to help.”
Asked about how confident he is that the Executive will last, he said: “I am confident that the institutions will last.
“I know that when the Assembly falls, it tends not to be reestablished for years. I think we always need to bear that in mind. But I do feel a sense of confidence from the new Executive that this is here to last.”
As Sunak met with the Executive inside the castle, he told the joint heads of the ministerial executive that “it has taken a lot of hard work and indeed courage to get us sitting round this table”.
“Today isn’t the end; it’s the beginning, and the real work starts now,” he said.
The return of Stormont will see the Treasury release a £3.3 billion (€3.85 billion) package to support under-pressure public services in Northern Ireland.
The financial package, announced by the UK government before Christmas, includes money to settle the demands of striking public sector workers in the region this year.
While the Prime Minister has said the offer represents a “generous and fair settlement”, Stormont ministers have written to the UK government insisting it is not enough to deliver “sustainable public services and public finances”.
Sunak said his government’s funding deal for Northern Ireland was “significant and generous” and would focus on “long-term sustainability” as well as addressing the immediate issues.
He added: “I had very constructive meetings this morning with the Executive, with political leaders across Stormont, and it is a historic and important day for the country, because Northern Ireland’s politicians are back in charge, making decisions on behalf of their people, which is exactly how it should be.
“Now, our new deal gives them more funding and more powers than they have ever had, so they can deliver for families and businesses across Northern Ireland. And that’s what everyone’s priority is now.”
DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson told RTÉ’s Morning Ireland today that he will be making the case that the Executive needs resources to “deliver sustainable public finances”.
Donaldson said that Northern Ireland is currently the only part of the UK that is funded below the level of needs.
He said that “requires further change and that means more funding”.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris, however, has defended the UK government’s funding for Stormont, rejecting the claims by all parties that more is needed to address the issues they face.
The minister urged the new Executive to “get on with the job” of sorting out Northern Ireland and insisted the £3.3 billion package will be enough to do that “for the time being”.
Asked about the letter from Stormont ministers, he told BBC Breakfast: “I don’t believe that is the case. I think Stormont has fantastic, strong foundations now and it will survive, it will be sustainable.”
Ahead of today’s meeting with Sunak, O’Neill said that “if we are to tackle the serious problems across public services – in our hospitals and our schools – then how we are funded needs to change and I will be strongly pressing that point at today’s meeting”.
She said it is “critical” that the Executive has the “right resources to deliver effective public services for all our citizens and we will engage with the Prime Minister to achieve our shared objective”.
Includes reporting by Jane Moore and Press Association
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