Two years on - can Stormont be saved?
Today marks two years since devolved government in Northern Ireland began to grind to a halt.
Last updated 9th Jan 2019
The shock resignation of the late Deputy First Minister Martin McGuiness on January 9th 2017 has led to two long years of finger-pointing, missed deadlines and heated walkouts.
We knew the two main parties were at loggerheads about the botched RHI scheme, but no one could have forseen the repercussions of what would happen on this day two years ago.
Mr McGuinness’s decision to step down triggered the destruction of the Assembly. It completely fell apart a few weeks later when Sinn Fein refused to nominate a replacement Deputy First Minister to the Executive.
And two years on it seems we are no further forward - with the DUP and Sinn Fein still blaming each other for the lack of progress.
Last Feburary it seemed there was a slim chance they had finally come to an argeement. However that bubble was quickly burst by Arlene Foster who denied a deal had been struck and then took to social media to call for direct rule to be implemented.
The dominos have continued to fall since then and the relationship between the two main parties at the moment appears to be as toxic as it was two years ago.
In the meantime essential services have managed to carry on nearly as normal, but many sectors are struggling to keep afloat without ministers in place make key decisions.
Health is of course one area which has suffered greatly - with growing patient waiting lists and a staffing crisis to name but two of the major issues facing health care workers and the public.
Elsewhere the Education sector has been described as being at a ‘tipping point’, key decisions around infrastructure and policing cannot be made, and there are the outstanding controversial social issues like same sex marriage and abortion.
Additionally there are fears that with Brexit looming Northern Ireland will lose out because of a lack of political representation.
Civil Servants here may have been given extra powers to act by Westminster. But every day we go without a government is another day where vital decisions are not being made by the people elected to the job.
And the fear now is how long can those sticking plasters actually hold Northern Ireland together.
Sinn Fein say the Good Friday peace agreement could become unsalvageable.
Negotiator Conor Murphy said: It is imperative we arrest the political drift that we are currently in and stop the attempts to unravel the Good Friday Agreement and its political institutions before it becomes unsalvageable.''
The 1998 peace accord paved the way for powersharing.
Mr Murphy added: "There is no escaping from the catastrophic course that Westminster and the DUP are charting with a reckless Brexit agenda that is hurtling towards a no-deal crash come March.
"This, along with the ongoing denial of rights to important sections of citizens in the North and vicious austerity cuts imposed from London are wrong and unjust.''
The two parties are fundamentally divided over Brexit.
They are also split on issues like official protection for the Irish language.
Mr Murphy added: "Public confidence must be earned and trust rebuilt if the Assembly and Executive is going to have any credibility.''
DUP Assembly member Gordon Lyons called on Sinn Fein to end its "boycott'' of the Assembly.
He added: "Two years without a government is not the wish of the DUP.
"We believe in devolution. We want what is best for the people living here and that's having a functioning Executive and Assembly.''
David Sterling, head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, said that two years ago he would not have believed the hiatus could continue for so long.
He said: "We are doing everything we can in the prevailing circumstances, continuing to work with partners across the public sector and wider society, but civil servants cannot take the place of ministers when it comes to strategic policy development or in taking transformative decisions that are urgently needed.
"We want to see the Executive restored as quickly as possible as there is a clear need for fresh thinking and renewed policy impetus in almost every area."