Northern Ireland Secretary says talks in "final stages" as Government and DUP seek Irish Sea border deal

The Northern Ireland secretary was in Dublin for a British Irish Council meeting when he said both sides "are in the final stages of these talks and there is progress being made".

Chris Heaton-Harris said the discussions were in a different space compared with six months ago, "However, these talks can only come to an end when both sides feel they are in a successful place to conclude”.

He added: "I want to get the Executive up and running as soon as possible, if I could have been able to achieve that six months ago I promise you I would have."

Saying progress was being made, Mr Heaton-Harris added that there are “genuine points that the DUP have raised, some I need to answer, some I believe have genuinely been answered.

"But there will be an actual end to this process because it is not a limitless amount of questions that can be asked."

However the TUV said that if the list of questions from the DUP was decreasing – the “issues which ordinary Unionists have with the Protocol are far from decreasing”. The party’s Causeway Councillor Allister Kyle said: “Polling continues to show that Unionists see no merit in a return to Stormont while the Protocol remains. Furthermore, the letter from Suella Braverman following her sacking makes it clear that this Government isn’t serious about addressing the Sea Border. The King’s Speech delivered nothing of substance.

“With that being the case, why would any Unionist even contemplate being Protocol implementers in a Sinn Fein lead executive?

“This is a government in its dying days and given their treatment of Unionists during their time in office why should they be rewarded with what they will package as a success story with the return of Stormont?”

Alliance MLA Andrew Muir said: "People's patience has run out with the DUP twenty one months after they collapsed the government. As we move into yet another Christmas without return of Stormont the time for restored, reformed and fairly funded devolved institutions is long overdue. Restoration of the Assembly and Executive cannot be left in a holding pattern forever".

The Secretary of State for Levelling Up Michael Gove said everyone at the British-Irish Council lamented the continued collapse of devolved government in Northern Ireland. "We are keen to ensure that the institutions are back up and running, delivering for people in Northern Ireland, and that they're reconstituted on a sound and sustainable basis," he said.

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said he was almost afraid to be optimistic about a return of the institutions because there had been a number of "false dawns". He said: "I think it is fair to say the UK Government is working very hard with the DUP in particular, but also consulting other parties and us about mechanisms by which we could have the Assembly and Executive functioning again, we all want that to happen.

"There's a lot of issues happening in Northern Ireland which need to be dealt with, which require a devolved administration."

The Taoiseach added: "There isn't a set deadline, and it's not for me, nor would it be helpful for me, to try to impose any sort of deadline on when the talks will be completed. But there are natural points in the process that are just there, for example, I think it's around mid-January a decision would have to be made not to trigger elections.

"So there will come a point where if talks aren't successful, that decisions have to be made and legislation is then required in Westminster.

"I'd hope it doesn't get to that decision point, and if we're able to get things on track in the next few weeks for Christmas, that would be the best outcome for everyone, I think."

Mr Varadkar added that it is important that devolved government is restored in a sustainable way, to avoid future collapses.

Mr Heaton-Harris also said Northern Ireland was diverging from the rest of the UK in health and education outcomes because of the lack of a Stormont Executive.

He was speaking at Dublin Castle where governments and administrations from across the British Isles were meeting under the British-Irish Council. No Stormont politicians are in attendance because of the lack of an Executive.