After ten weeks of intense talks, power sharing in Northern Ireland has been saved by a new agreement amongst local parties. Titled “A Fresh Start – The Stormont Implementation Agreement Plan”, it details a number of concessions made both by and to Sinn Fein and the DUP. The document ensures that power sharing stays standing in the form of the local devolved government rather than London having to step in and rule Northern Ireland directly from Westminster in the absence of local political consensus.
Stormont had been left teetering on the brink of collapse after DUP leader Peter Robinson stood down as First Minister in September to protest an apparent IRA execution on the streets of Belfast. A number of Unionist politicians resigned and plunged the parliament into a state of uncertainty over the last two months.
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