Page 3 - I Protocol News Today

A week ago the Assembly met for its first substantive session in two years. The speeches were mostly filled with optimism, ambition and promises that this time Stormont will deliver.

Work on the Larne border control post is pushing ahead despite last week’s DUP deal to return to Stormont.

The DUP have maxed out their credit card with the unionist community in advancing their claims over the past week. It’s now time to pay the bill, and people like me and Jim Allister are the debt collectors knocking at the door.

On a day like today, Northern Ireland’s problems seemed far away. Smiling photos of Michelle O’Neill, Emma Little Pengelly, Rishi Sunak and Leo Varadkar — and even a warm hug between the new First Minister and the Prime Minister — gave the impression that where once all was broken, now all is well.

Stormont’s new leaders put on a united front as the Prime Minister and Taoiseach visited Belfast today to celebrate the restoration of devolved government after two years.

So long, winding and wearisome has the road from Brexit been that it is easy to lose sight of where we’ve come from and where we’re going.

Ten long months ago this column said that if Sir Jeffrey Donaldson got the Windsor Framework through the DUP party machine he could become one of the great historic unionist leaders. This week he took a major step towards that accolade. Now he just has to finish making some significant changes to his party’s mindset.

The Orange Institution may come to a collective decision about the current deal; the DUP and TUV have already made their positions clear. However, every individual unionist will have to decide about this deal.

Recent showbiz rumours suggest that Jamie Dornan could be in the running as the next James Bond. You may have it all, Jamie — the looks, the charisma, the undoubted cool that it takes to be the world’s most debonair spy.

Jamie Bryson says the incoming DUP deputy first minister will be “debasing themselves” by becoming joint head of an administration with a legal duty to build and operate border posts.