Maurice Quinlivan (Limerick City, Sinn Fein) | Oireachtas source

The resounding message from the Taoiseach following his trip to Belfast and his meetings with the North's political leaders yesterday was that Stormont must be restored. This echoes the call made by the majority of parties in the North, including mine. The MLAs simply want to get back to work. People in the North need their Ministers around the table working together to tackle the cost-of-living crisis in a meaningful way.

As Michelle O'Neill outlined yesterday, we need to see an agreed way forward with the framework of the protocol and we need to find ways to make it work. This work can be done in parallel with restored institutions that honour the election results from earlier. The British and Irish Governments also have a responsibility to work together in prioritising the restoration of power-sharing and the political institutions of the Good Friday Agreement. What progress has been made by the Taoiseach and his officials in this regard with the British Government?

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