BACK.. AFTER THREE LONG YEARS

Parties take their seats & vow to focus on future...

MINISTERS were yesterday appointed to the Executive after power-sharing finally returned to Northern Ireland.

DUP leader Arlene Foster resumed the First Minister role she lost when the last administration collapsed in 2017, while Sinn Fein’s Stormont leader Michelle O’neill is again the Deputy First Minister.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Taoiseach Leo Varadkar, who are expected to visit Northern Ireland next week, hailed the local politicians for a backing a compromise deal to revive the institutions. The

DUP has also taken the economy, education and agriculture ministries, Sinn Fein the finance and communities portfolios, while the SDLP, Ulster Unionists and Alliance Party fill infrastructure, health and justice respectively.

The Assembly sat once again yesterday afternoon after the landmark agreement to restore devolution. MLAS were in the chamber for around three hours to conduct the business of electing and appointing speakers and ministers.

Mrs Foster said she was “deeply humbled” to be reappointed as First Minister. She added there was plenty of blame to go around for the three-year power-sharing impasse, but insisted it was now time to look to the future.

Significantly, given one of the key disputes at the heart of political crisis, Mrs Foster made reference to an Irish language phrase in a speech that struck a conciliatory tone and stressed the need to work together going forward. She said: “We have