BORDER POLL IN A DECADE
First Minister O’Neill says ‘old norms’ are changing
THE North’s new First Minister Michelle O’Neill expects a vote on national unity to take place in the next decade.
The Sinn Féin vice president became the first-ever nationalist First Minister on Saturday during an historic sitting of the Stormont Assembly, which has returned following two years of political deadlock.
After the DUP announced last week it would end its boycott of the powersharing institutions, Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald said Irish unity was now within ‘touching distance’.
However, the new powersharing Executive will need to begin work immediately on tackling public sector funding challenges, First Minister O’Neill said.
She believes there is a sense of cohesion within the new team of Stormont ministers to press the case for an improved funding model for the North.
Ms O’Neill also said there had not been a formal agreement among the Stormont parties about which ministries would be selected – but she denied that her party was surprised when the DUP unexpectedly took the education portfolio.
The DUP, the largest unionist party, ended its boycott of the powersharing institutions when it agreed a deal with the UK government to address its concerns over post-Brexit trading arrangements between Britain and the North.
The DUP’s Emma Little-Pengelly is the
‘We are delighted to get stuck in’
new deputy First Minister.
While the symbolism of a republican First Minister was hailed by Sinn Féin, the two top jobs in the ministerial executive wield equal power and responsibility.
Ms O’Neivll said there are many shared priorities between her and Ms Little-Pengelly.
She said: ‘You heard some of that overlapping in the speeches, particularly around issues like childcare. That is one of the biggest issues facing families right now, affordable childcare being an option to them. I think this is something, together, that this Executive wants to do.
‘That, alongside so many other things – we know there is a big list of things to be done on all of our desks but we are ready to get down to that, and I think that is what is most important.
‘This place has been starved of public services funding for over a decade because of the Tories in London. We can do much better than that,’ she said.
‘I think there’s a combined effort across the Executive to have a proper funding model for here so we actually can do better public services and invest in the public sector workers.’
Stormont ministries were allocated using the D’Hondt process based on party strengths.
Sinn Féin asked for a short adjournment during the proceedings after the DUP selected education as its first ministry, rather than finance as expected.
‘I think sometimes, on previous occasions we would have agreed what everybody was going to take. That didn’t happen. It was just a bit of go and see how it runs. There was no formal agreement. It fell how it fell,’ Ms O’Neill said.
Sinn Féin appointed Conor Murphy, Caoimhe Archibald and John O’Dowd as its ministers.
Ms O’Neill added: ‘I am delighted actually that we have ended up with the department of the economy, the department of finance and the department of infrastructure – three crucially important departments and three very complementary departments.
‘We are really delighted to get stuck in, and the ministerial team that I have appointed – a strong team, strong departments, ready to get at it.
‘They are away to meet their department officials as we speak. We are straight into it from Monday,’ she said.
The new powersharing Executive will hold its first meeting today.
Ms O’Neill echoed those sentiments during an interview on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips show yesterday, when she said her election as First Minister demonstrated the ‘change that is happening’ in Ireland.
She said: ‘That is a good thing. It is a healthy thing. This change can benefit us all. When Mary Lou McDonald talks that it is within touching distance, I believe that we are in the decade of opportunity.
‘I believe also, equally, that we can do two things at once: we can have powersharing, we can make it stable, we can work together every day in terms of public services while we also pursue our equally legitimate aspirations.’
Asked if this meant there would be a unity referendum in the next decade, Ms O’Neill answered: ‘Yes. There are so many things that are changing.
‘All the old norms, the nature of this state, the fact that a nationalist/ republican was never supposed to be First Minister. This all speaks to that change.’
British education secretary Gillian Keegan said she did not want to speculate on the comments by Ms O’Neill, who described it as the ‘decade of opportunity’.
‘We’re in the decade of opportunity’
Ms Keegan told the programme that it was ‘fantastic’ to see the institutions at Stormont back up and running.
Asked about Ms O’Neill’s comments about unity, she said: ‘I don’t want to speculate on that. What is actually fantastic is to see Stormont back up and running. It has been a long time and I know lots of people have been working towards this day.
Mrs Keegan said she would not try and ‘second guess what will happen’ in Northern politics.
Under the terms of the Good Friday Agreement, the power to call a border poll rests with the Northern Secretary, current Tory MP Chris Heaton-Harris.
Meanwhile, British prime minister Rishi Sunak began a visit to the North yesterday and will go to Stormont Castle today to meet the leaders of the new Executive.
He will be welcomed by Ms O’Neill and Ms Little-Pengelly.
During his visit he will meet people involved in public services.
Mr Sunak’s government has pledged £3.3billion (€3.8billion) for the new Executive, including £600million (€700million) to settle public sector pay claims and resolve industrial disputes.