Stormont returns - Michelle O'Neill takes top post as ministerial power shifts

Michelle O’Neill is now Northern Ireland’s first republican First Minister, with the DUP’s Emma Little Pengelly as deputy. The only real difference is the title and symbolism – as one can’t act without the other. The results of the last election have resulted in a real shift in how Northern Ireland is run. Sinn Fein have three other ministries, the DUP two.

As the largest party – Sinn Fein had the first pick and took economy. The decision of the DUP to use their first choice to put Paul Givan into education – rather than Gordon Lyons into finance – caused an adjournment. Sinn Fein were clearly taken by surprise. But it left the party the opportunity to take the finance job. Whether they really wanted that post again is another matter.

The DUP’s Gordon Lyons then took communities – which had been widely expected to go to Sinn Fein. The DUP have been pushing for significant improvement of childcare provision in Northern Ireland for some time and the departments they now hold will help them in that. The new deputy first minister Emma Little Pengelly highlighted the party’s priorities in her opening speech.

The Lagan Valley MLA said while she would never agree with Sinn Fein on the constitution: "We can agree that too many mummies and some daddies are having to give up work because childcare is too expensive. We can agree that our teachers need supported, and equipped to teach and our public sector workers need properly paid. We all agree that drugs destroy communities, and the police need resourced to put the dealers out of business. And what we can all agree with is that economic prosperity is the game changer for every community”.

The DUP also has concerns about how the controlled (or state) school sector in Northern Ireland is faring after the Alliance Party passed its integrated education bill which promotes the integrated sector ahead of other sectors. Improving the situation for state schools will likely be a key aim of Paul Givan’s ministry.

The communities department isn’t without massive challenges – including welfare – but it is a department where there is an opportunity for ministers to get a lot done on a local level – for community groups and developing neighbourhoods. There is also ample opportunity for positive news stories and photoshoots.

However, republicans are now in charge of some of Stormont’s most powerful departments. Given the results of the last election, that wasn’t going to be in the DUP’s gift.

The finance minister technically holds the purse strings for how money is allocated at Stormont – but the post was much more influential in the past than it has been in recent years. Sinn Fein’s Caoimhe Archibald will have some tough financial decisions to take as finance minister – and it will be her job to get a budget through the Assembly.

The DUP will no doubt be aware of the difficult position Sinn Fein are now in – managing budgets in an era when the government has made clear that Stormont needs to take tough decisions. But the reality is that Stormont has limited powers – particularly to raise its own taxes. And Sinn Fein will continue to blame the “Tory austerity agenda”. However, Caoimhe Archibald will now be the minister divvying out the £3 billion secured from the government, money secured largely through the actions of the DUP.

Sinn Fein have been keen to get hold of the Economy department for a long time, it’s no coincidence it was their first pick. The department controls a huge range of issues, from further and higher education to tourism.

The First Minister Michelle O’Neill set out the party’s economic agenda clearly in her opening speech: “A reformed Invest NI will be required to promote regional balance - because everyone should share in the benefits of prosperity. We will now begin to seize the considerable opportunities created by the Windsor Framework, to use dual market access to grow our exports and attract higher-quality FDI. The Windsor Framework also protects the thriving All-Ireland economy, and we must fully realise its huge potential”.

A Sinn Fein minister pushing an all Ireland economic agenda will surprise nobody. But the timing of Sinn Fein taking the reins of the Northern Ireland economy is difficult for unionists. Just minutes into the return of the institutions – republicans are hailing the advantages of the Windsor Framework as a tool to drive an all-Ireland economy. And despite a recent slump in polls for the party in the Republic of Ireland, there is still the possibility of Sinn Fein ministers on both sides of the border co-ordinating their economic plans and using the Windsor Framework’s all-Ireland goods market to do so. There’s also the possibility of republican ministers sitting either side of the North-South ministerial council agreeing their economic development and tourism strategies.

The return of Robin Swann to health will be a big boost for the Ulster Unionist Party. However it will in some ways be more challenging politically after the pandemic than before. Mr Swann will be in charge of transforming a health service that no politician has succeeded in radically altering since devolution began. He is also running in a Westminster election as some stage this year.

Naomi Long is in charge of justice again – this time with the PSNI in its worst ever financial state and with dwindling officer numbers. She will also have to decide how to approach the UK legacy act – parts of which will need to be implemented via the Department of Justice.

Andrew Muir will take charge of agriculture, environment and rural affairs – how he is received by the farming lobby will be watched closely. The party has been much more focused on the environment than agriculture, and will be running a department where they have to manage both interests. The department will also have a role in implementing border checks under the Windsor Framework and the department will be dealing with – and supportive of – many of the EU regulations applicable to Northern Ireland as part of the Windsor Framework and the province’s effective place within the EU single market.

Sinn Fein’s John O’Dowd is back at Infrastructure where he spent a brief period before. The A5 and all Ireland transport connectivity will be high up his list of priorities.