Editorial: London needs to move ahead on its vow on all-island economy

​​The Irish finance minister Michael McGrath is meeting his Stormont counterpart in Belfast today.

His counterpart, Caoimhe Archibald, is a Sinn Fein politician in one of the most important executive ministries.

Mr McGrath says that he will be discussing "the all-island economy".

That is an interesting point of discussion days after the restoration of the assembly, because the economy minister (another key ministry taken by Sinn Fein, leaving the DUP without either), Conor Murphy, says that growth of the the all-Ireland economy is being aided by the Windsor Framework.

Yet the government has said that it will repeal "all statutory duties relating to the 'all-island economy'".

Great. But when? We asked this and were told yesterday by the NIO that “we have nothing further to comment on this” beyond what is in the deal.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said in a recent party election broadcast that the DUP “have removed the all-Ireland economy commitment”. This was one of the (hardly many) successes of the deal. Yet when we asked the DUP about the legislative plan they said it was "subject to the Parliamentary timetable we expect them to be tabled in due course as agreed".

When it is clear that Sinn Fein is dismissing this supposedly important pledge, and Irish ministers are coming into Belfast here to do the same implicitly it is hardly good enough for the government to have nothing further to comment and the DUP to assure us that it will all happen in due course.

After all, Mr Murphy used his key ministry to hold an almost immediate meeting with that interfering Irish minister Simon Coveney, in Belfast no less, who swiftly pledged to ... you guessed it: "further strengthen the all-island economy".​​​​​​​​​​​​​​