Varadkar: 'The people of NI have delivered a clear message they want devolution back'

The people of Northern Ireland have sent a clear message that they want powersharing back up and running, the Taoiseach has said.

Commenting after last week's local elections in the region, Leo Varadkar told the Dail that he and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak would do all they could to help restore the devolved institutions in Belfast.

But the Irish premier cautioned that the power to resurrect the Stormont Assembly and Executive currently lay with the DUP.

Mr Varadkar was responding to a question from Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald who had urged the Taoiseach and Mr Sunak to convene a meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIC) in the wake of the council elections.

"The message is clear from the people of Northern Ireland, that they want the Executive up and running, and they want the enormous problems that they face on a day to day basis dealt with by their politicians," the Taoiseach said.

The elections saw Sinn Fein emerge as the largest party in local government for the first time in Northern Ireland, replicating its result in the Assembly election last year when it became the biggest party at Stormont.

While the DUP lost its position as the largest party at council level, it consolidated its position as the main unionist party by winning the same number of seats as it secured in the last local government election in 2019.

The DUP is currently exercising a veto to block powersharing in Northern Ireland in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements.

The party has insisted the election result has reinforced its mandate to seek further concessions from the UK government on the vexed trading dispute.

But Sinn Fein has insisted the electorate has made clear it wants a return to devolution without any further delay.

The republican party has called for Mr Sunak and Mr Varadkar to convene a meeting of the BIIC to chart a path back to powersharing.

Raising the issue in the Dail on Tuesday, Ms McDonald said: "A few days ago, the north went to the polls again and delivered a seismic change in local government elections.

"And the clear message is that Ireland has changed and is changing. The clearer message is that people want to see the Executive back up and running to deal with the issues that matter in health and housing, in delivering good jobs and to make politics work for everyone.

"So it's now critical that the British and Irish governments come together and focus the effort on the immediate restoration of the Executive and Assembly and I believe this must happen at Taoiseach and Prime Minister level.

"We need to see an early meeting of the British Irish Intergovernmental Conference at this level.

"Taoiseach, can I ask will you work to ensure that this happens?"

Mr Varadkar said he had discussed the issue with Mr Sunak in Iceland last week and would be meeting him again at the European Political Community summit in Moldova next week.

"We will be working together to do all that we can to ensure that the Assembly, the Executive, the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement are back up and running again," he said.

"But as you know as well as I do, the rules allow the two major parties - Sinn Fein and the DUP - to block that from happening, the DUP are currently the ones who are blocking it.

"But we're going to work together with the UK Government to do all that we can to have it up and running as soon as possible."

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said he expects the UK Government to bring forward legislation to address unionist concerns around the Northern Ireland Protocol.

Speaking at the launch of the Trade NI report at Westminster, Sir Jeffrey said: "We're discussing a range of issues with the Government, not least our budgetary challenges in Northern Ireland as well as the need to address the problems created by the protocol and where we feel the Windsor Framework falls short of providing that solution.

"As to quantum (for a financial package for Northern Ireland) there is nothing clear at this stage but I think what is evident from the Treasury is that they want to see proposals from Northern Ireland about invest to reform our public services as well as giving us the extra funding we need to deliver for those public services.

"The Government knows what is needed and I believe the Government will bring forward what is required."

Meanwhile Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he has congratulated Sinn Fein on becoming the largest party in Northern Ireland at local government after becoming the largest party at Stormont last year.

"It's a function of democracy, I congratulated them on a good result. I don't think it particularly changes the nature of how I engage with them," he said.

He declined to comment on his view as a member of the Conservative and Unionist party on that development.

"That's a general question for unionism actually, I'm a great believer that unionism is stronger when it is positive and we need to be very positive about what the union can bring to everybody, all communities in Northern Ireland," he said.

"I'm an English unionist, so I would struggle to define what it means for Northern Ireland unionism, but I just know the union is better and stronger when we are positive."