Northern Ireland's devolved parliament is now fully functional after two years of political paralysis, after a new trade deal between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the UK government was approved by the House of Commons on Thursday. It is expected to return to .
Northern Ireland's largest pro-British party, the Protestant DUP, joined a coalition of nationalists and unionists in February 2022 to protest the trade deal that followed Britain's formal withdrawal from the European Union. It destroyed the power-sharing government.
This week, ultra-conservative DUP leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson welcomed the new deal, saying it would protect Northern Ireland's place in the UK's internal market.
Since Parliament first met in 1998, the Good Friday Agreement has largely ended 30 years of conflict between Protestant supporters and Catholic republican militias in Northern Ireland, and unionists (those who want to remain in the UK) ) have dominated Belfast. -Legislature based on.
However, when the devolved government is restored, Michelle O'Neill of Sinn Féin will become the first Irish nationalist to become Northern Ireland's first minister following her party's victory in the May 2022 parliamentary elections. Become.
Why did the DUP dissolve parliament in 2022?
Until the UK leaves the European Union in January 2020 (a process also known as Brexit), trade between the UK and neighboring EU member states was facilitated between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, which shares a land border. It was done. But when the UK was no longer part of the European bloc based in Brussels, new arrangements were needed.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, the first post-Brexit trade agreement agreed between the UK and the EU in January 2021, was aimed at allowing trade to continue between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Goods arriving in Northern Ireland from Great Britain (England, Scotland and Wales) will now be tested at Northern Ireland ports rather than at the border with the Republic of Ireland. This included checks for goods that were to remain in Northern Ireland.
The fervently pro-British DUP has itself supported Britain's decision to leave the European Union, arguing that such a deal would effectively place a border in the Irish Sea between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom. He urged the party to end its involvement in Brexit. assembly.
A subsequent UK-EU deal, known as the Windsor Framework, based on the Northern Ireland Protocol, was agreed in 2023, but this too did not satisfy the DUP.
What does the latest trade deal include?
The new agreement between the DUP and the UK Government includes the scrapping of routine checks on goods arriving from the UK and destined to remain in Northern Ireland. This, along with other amendments, paves the way for the return of the DUP and could see the resumption of devolved government within days.
The British government has also pledged 3.3 billion pounds ($4.2 billion) in financial aid to Northern Ireland when parliament returns.
But while Mr Donaldson insisted the new deal abolished the Irish Sea border, not everyone in his party was convinced by the new deal.
DUP MP Sammy Wilson complained that unlike England, Scotland and Wales, Northern Ireland had not yet fully left the EU.
“Despite the gains my Leader and Deputy Leader have made in these negotiations, the fact remains that EU manned border posts are still being built in Northern Ireland, which will create a border within our own country. “There is,” he claimed.
How is a dysfunctional government affecting Northern Ireland?
In the absence of a functioning government, the job of running Northern Ireland's day-to-day affairs falls to civil servants.
John Garry, professor of political behavior at Queen's University Belfast, told Al Jazeera: “Public servants have no political mandate to make important economic decisions that affect service delivery, making decision-making difficult. “There is,” he said.
Indeed, the British Medical Journal (BMJ) paints a bleak picture of Northern Ireland's health system.
The BMJ reported on January 31 that “Northern Ireland's health crisis has worsened significantly over the past two years.” “Waiting lists are at an all-time high, worst than anywhere in the UK or Ireland, while many GP surgeries are on the brink.”
Is there any chance of a united Ireland under a republican prime minister?
Twenty-six years after the end of the Troubles, the UK's smallest country remains divided between those seeking unification with the Republic of Ireland and those wanting to remain part of the UK. .
In the Northern Ireland parliamentary elections in May 2022, Irish republican Sinn Féin secured the most seats for the first time, pushing the DUP into second place, re-emerging the topic of polls on Irish unity.
The 1998 Belfast Agreement, which created the parliament, called for Irish nationalists and pro-British trade unionists to share power, with the roles of prime minister and deputy prime minister determined by electoral mandate. Ru.
Sinn Féin president Mary Lou MacDonald said earlier this week that Irish unity – effectively the merging of Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland – was now “within reach”.
However, despite the elevation of Sinn Féin's vice-president Michelle O'Neill to the role of prime minister, Northern Ireland's nationalists are still far from winning a majority of Northern Irish people who support a united Ireland.
“Latest research published in the Irish Times in recent weeks shows that no majority of people in Northern Ireland support Irish union,” Mr Garry said. The survey found that half supported remaining in the UK, 30% supported unification with Ireland, and the rest either did not know or would not vote.
“Public opinion therefore favors a Union of Ireland considerably more than a United Ireland,” Mr Garry said.
