The new Irish government deal makes demands on legacy, which heightens the need for vigilance on the topic

Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have come together in a historic arrangement, in large part, it seems, to keep Sinn Fein out of power. The Greens have also given their assent. The three parties between them have a majority in the Dail.

Whether this damages SF long-term, or boosts them in a future Irish election, remains to be seen.

Unionists in Northern Ireland should be most interested in the ‘shared island’ section of the draft programme for government. Much of it is vague and harmless, but the Covid-19 crisis has shown that there are always powerful forces trying to ensure that we pursue all-island policies (rather than staying in step with a UK which has been so financially generous during the pandemic).

Above all the Irish ruling parties have called for January’s New Decade New Approach Stormont deal to be implemented in full. Julian Smith included a commitment to bring in the problematic Stormont House legacy bodies in that agreement, which is causing difficulties. No unionist party should have accepted a deal that had such a pledge.

The new Irish government is demanding “implementation of the Stormont House Agreement framework”. That framework had no mechanism for examining the way Ireland let itself to be a safe space for terrorists over 30 years.Now above all there is need for vigilance on legacy matters.

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