The DUP’s Paul Givan has announced his resignation as Northern Ireland’s First Minister.
Here are the answers to some of the key questions about a move that has once again thrown powersharing at Stormont into crisis.
– Was this a surprise?
– Why has Michelle O’Neill lost her job too?
The powersharing structures created during the peace process mean a functioning Executive can only operate if the largest unionist party and largest nationalist party share the joint office of the First Minister and the deputy First Minister (The Executive Office).
One cannot remain in position without the other. Mr Givan’s resignation forcibly removes Ms O’Neill from post.
– So, does this trigger a snap Assembly election?
– Is this all about the Northern Ireland Protocol?
From the DUP perspective, very much so. The party contends that such drastic action is required to demonstrate the strength of opposition it claims exists within the broader unionist/loyalist community about the so-called Irish Sea border. The resignation of the First Minister comes a day after DUP Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots ordered a unilateral halt to the agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports required under the protocol. This week’s events mark a co-ordinated escalation of the DUP’s campaign against the post-Brexit trade arrangements.
– Do the other Executive ministers stay in post?
Yes. While Mr Givan and Ms O’Neill have vacated their roles, the other ministers in the administration can continue with their day-to-day duties, albeit they are hamstrung from making major policy moves.
– So, what practical effect does it have?
Under Stormont rules, significant or controversial decisions, or ones that cut across the briefs of several departments, need the approval of the full Executive. Without a first and deputy first minister, the Executive cannot meet and such decisions cannot be taken. Policies that have not yet been introduced, but which have gained the necessary Executive approval, could proceed. Various Bills that have commenced their legislative journey in the Assembly could be able to become law – though that largely depends on time and whether the mandate is cut short by the calling of an early election.
– Then what is in jeopardy?
Mr Givan and Ms O’Neill had also been due to deliver an official apology to victims and survivors of historical institutional abuse in Northern Ireland on March 11. That could not proceed without them being in post.
There had been concerns that the appointment of a new victims’ commissioner for Northern Ireland was also potentially at risk. However, Mr Givan and Ms O’Neill pushed to select a preferred candidate prior to them formally leaving office at midnight.
– What about Covid-19 restrictions?
A small number of public health curbs remain in place, such as the wearing of face masks in certain settings and obligations on businesses to collect contact tracing information and conduct risk assessments.
– Have we not been here before?
Yes. Devolution only returned to Stormont in January 2020 after a three-year powersharing impasse triggered by the resignation of the late Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness. Mr McGuinness’s move in 2017 forced the then DUP first minister Arlene Foster from post. The other ministers remained in post until a subsequent snap election. The dispute between the DUP and Sinn Fein, which erupted amid a row over a botched green energy scheme, widened to take in longstanding wrangles over issues such as the Irish language and the legacy of the Troubles. It lasted for three years, with the institutions finally returning as a result of the New Decade, New Approach agreement.
