{"id":1547,"date":"2024-02-03T00:20:38","date_gmt":"2024-02-03T00:20:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/northern-ireland-government-to-be-restored-two-years-after-collapse\/"},"modified":"2024-02-03T00:20:38","modified_gmt":"2024-02-03T00:20:38","slug":"northern-ireland-government-to-be-restored-two-years-after-collapse","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/260web.com\/news\/northern-ireland-government-to-be-restored-two-years-after-collapse\/","title":{"rendered":"Northern Ireland government to be restored two years after collapse"},"content":{"rendered":"

Northern Ireland government to be restored two years after collapse<\/p>\n

\n
\n
\"Parliament<\/picture><\/span>Reuters<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
By Brendan Hughes<\/div>\n
BBC News NI political reporter<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

Northern Ireland’s devolved government is set to be restored – two years to the day since it collapsed.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

A meeting of the legislative assembly at Stormont in Belfast will be held on Saturday at 13:00 GMT to revive the power-sharing institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

For the first time, the role of first minister in the executive will be held by an Irish nationalist.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Stormont’s recall follows the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) ending its boycott over Brexit trade rules.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

It is exactly two years since the DUP withdrew its first minister in protest against extra checks and paperwork for goods moving between Northern Ireland and Great Britain.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The move collapsed the power-sharing executive and the party since then has been blocking a restoration of the institutions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

But on Monday the DUP agreed to return to Stormont after a deal with the government aimed at addressing unionist concerns over Northern Ireland’s place within the UK internal market.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n

What happens today?<\/span><\/h2>\n<\/div>\n
\n
\n

The first order of business for members of the legislative assembly (MLAs) will be to elect a new speaker.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

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 to ministerial positions.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

For the first time Sinn F\u00e9in will nominate a first minister because it won the most seats in the last assembly election in May 2022. The Irish republican party’s vice-president Michelle O’Neill is set to take up role.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The DUP, as the largest unionist party, will nominate a deputy first minister for the first time. It has been speculated that Emma Little-Pengelly may be nominated but the DUP has not confirmed its plans.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Although the first and deputy first ministers hold a joint office and have equal power, Ms O’Neill becoming the first republican first minister of Northern Ireland is being seen as a landmark moment for Irish nationalism.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
<\/p>\n
\"Sinn<\/picture><\/div>\n

<\/span><\/span>Niall Carson<\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

Ahead of the assembly sitting there has also been speculation about which departments Stormont parties may take.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The Alliance Party – the third-largest in the assembly – has yet to confirm if they will enter government, but its leader Naomi Long was previously justice minister.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The post is decided using a cross-community vote rather than the D’Hondt mechanism, which determines how many of the other seven departments each party is entitled to and the order in which they pick.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n

The Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) confirmed it would take up a role in the executive, instead of entering an official opposition.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n