Stormont Assembly

If Stormont collapses again it is ‘gone for good’, UUP leader warns

Mike Nesbitt tells Ulster Unionist Party conference assembly is ‘precious asset’ and says ‘no better alternative’ to devolution

Leo Varadkar says vote on Irish unity could involve a ‘two-stage referendum’

Former taoiseach says people could first vote on the idea in principle before getting a subsequent confirmatory vote on a proposed new constitution

‘No reason why Dáil couldn’t sit for a time in Stormont,’ says Varadkar

Former taoiseach calls for all parties to make pledge on Irish unity

‘When Ministers get together, they do work as politicians’: North-South council fostering all-island co-operation

Ireland’s Ambassador to London believes recent council meetings have been ‘probably the best’ for 20 years

‘The system isn’t working’: one in three people in Northern Ireland on a medical treatment waiting list

Nearly half of all NHS patients in North waiting over year for operation compared with just 4% in England, says NI Secretary

Cross-Border co-operation to ensure mother and baby home records in North can be found

Issue featured during meeting of North South Ministerial Council in Dublin, the second in less than four months

New Stormont programme for government focuses on ‘lifting everybody up’, says O’Neill

First Minister acknowledges aims are ambitious but executive ministers are in ‘listening mode’ ahead of eight-week public consultation

Defamation cases between Van Morrison and former Stormont health minister Robin Swann settled

Confidential resolutions were reached in their competing and ‘potentially very costly’ lawsuits over the handling of Covid restrictions in Northern Ireland, a judge was told.

Delays to planned improvements in Northern Ireland’s water quality create ‘worrying picture’

Algae problems at Lough Neagh which is the source of 40% of NI’s drinking water illustrate gravity of situation, says Watchdog

New Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt urges colleagues not to ‘wash dirty linen in public’

Sole candidate said he was confident he had support of vast majority of UUP representatives

Northern Ireland has a nationalist majority, but that doesn’t mean reunification will happen soon

The North’s intractable Gordian knot of disdain and desire is not loosening any time soon, an analysis of voting trends shows

Investigation after Belfast Zoo worker allegedly ‘locked in enclosure with lions’

Belfast City Council, which owns the zoo, says it takes safety of all staff, visitors and animals ‘very seriously’

Michelle O’Neill condemns ‘pure racism and hatred’ behind Belfast rioting

PSNI chief constable says minority communities in fear after violence in city

Toxic algae are once again turning Lough Neagh green. The response is as stagnant as the water

North-South engagement on the lough’s future is becoming ever more urgent

Clear change of tone in Belfast as Keir Starmer promises stability and respect

Sinn Féin’s Mary Lou McDonald compared working with Labour rather than the Conservatives ‘as the daylight to the dark’

UK will act as ‘honest broker’ on question of Border poll, says Starmer

New British prime minister, however, makes no firm policy commitments as he meets party leaders in Belfast

Three main issues on the agenda for Keir Starmer in Northern Ireland

New UK prime minister can expect warm welcome, but difficult decisions lie ahead

NI Secretary Hilary Benn promises to form new relationship between UK government and Stormont

Mr Benn was speaking after meeting with Stormont leaders Michelle O’Neill and Emma Little-Pengelly

Stormont Minister to recommend long-mooted upgrade of A5 road

Scheme to improve road linking Derry and Aughnacloy first approved by executive in 2007 but held up by legal challenges and funding issues

Larne gas cavern project a victim of green nimbyism and North’s administrative deadlock

Gas storage saga has been dragging on for years for facility that should have been operational in 2022 and which would have helped following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine

Remains of almost 2,000 people from mother and baby homes used at Queen’s University Belfast

Stormont committee told it is not known what happened to vast majority of remains and body parts after use in research and teaching

Campaign to destroy Sunningdale holds lessons for today

Shankill activist speaks of regret at marching against deal

Police chief taking allegations of surveillance of journalists ‘incredibly seriously’, Stormont hears

Minister for Justice pressed over whether she would back call by Amnesty International for a public inquiry

Northern Ireland’s justice system will slow down due to budget allocation, Long warns

Ms Long says there has been ‘no recognition’ of the 35% increase in prisoner numbers in the North

Michelle O’Neill ‘truly sorry’ for attending Bobby Storey funeral at height of Covid-19 pandemic

Sinn Féin says party leader Mary Lou McDonald shares regret expressed by First Minister for attending 2020 funeral

Stormont leaks during Covid pandemic ‘became a frustration’, ex-NI minister for health tells inquiry

Michelle O’Neill and Arlene Foster also due to give evidence this week

SDLP calls for action to remedy defective Stormont government

MLAs to debate party’s motion calling on First and Deputy First Ministers to commit to publishing programme for government

Stormont Minister Conor Murphy standing down from post on medical grounds

Former executive minister Deirdre Hargey to step in to role on interim basis

Michelle O’Neill’s right-hand man moves South to guide strategy for Mary Lou McDonald

Stephen McGlade (44) is an accomplished Sinn Féin backroom operative with vast experience and a talent for looking to the future

Fractured political relationships hampered North’s response to Covid pandemic, inquiry told

Arlene Foster, Michelle O’Neill and Edwin Poots are expected to be among those witnesses to give evidence

‘Tough choices’ in Stormont budget below level sought by every department

Executive agrees £14.5 billion budget, with spending on health criticised by minister as too low

Harris holds first call with Sunak as Taoiseach but Troubles Legacy Act not discussed

Leaders of both countries hold ‘very good call’ before Taoiseach spoke to North’s First Minister and Deputy First Minister

Dublin-Belfast train to take less than two hours and run hourly after multimillion investment

Funding totalling €165 million towards the scheme announced by Peace Plus programme

Donaldson resignation: Heaton-Harris welcomes pledges to ensure stability of Stormont

Jeffrey Donaldson’s resignation letter to DUP said he intends to contest charges, it has been reported

Jeffrey Donaldson resigns as DUP leader after being charged with sex offences

Gavin Robinson appointed interim party leader following emergency meeting of party officers

Jeffrey Donaldson, at the heart of Northern Irish politics for nearly 40 years

From Enoch Powell to post-Brexit negotiations, former DUP leader has been an influential figure for decades

Jeffrey Donaldson’s departure is only the beginning of a crisis

News of DUP leader’s resignation over 'historical' charges has stunned Northern Ireland

Does the Belfast Agreement need reforming, and can this be done now that Stormont is back?

Now more than 25 years old, the Belfast Agreement is showing signs of age. So how can it be reformed, if at all?

First North-South Ministerial Council for 2½ years will be last engagement for Varadkar as Taoiseach

Large-scale meetings between Cabinet members and counterparts in North did not take place with powersharing on hold

‘Difficult interventions’ needed to address Lough Neagh crisis, warns Stormont minister

Fears noxious algae blooms will return to North’s largest fresh water lake as well as nearby waterways and beaches during summer

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