John Campbell
BBC News NI economics and business editor

Image source, Getty Images

It is a deal that was kept as a closely-guarded secret between the UK government and leadership of the DUP.

The party had demanded changes to the way Northern Ireland trades with Great Britain to ease its concerns over post-Brexit rules and the Irish Sea border.

Entitled Safeguarding the Union, external, the command paper lays out several new measures aimed at simplifying domestic imports and encouraging trade between GB and NI.

Most significantly, the DUP's deal with the government will reduce checks and paperwork on goods moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland.

The DUP deal includes the establishment of a new body, Intertrade UK, to promote trade within the UK.

• You can read John's piece in full here and learn about all the detail of the deal.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell says whoever wore a wire to the party's executive meeting on Monday evening - read more about that here - will have to explain their actions in the near future.

"It could well be the case that, if it is someone with a political career, it could be difficult for them to sustain that career," he says.

During the meeting there was “annoyance and anger that was universally expressed” at the person responsible, he says.

He says he "wouldn’t like to be putting forward mitigating circumstances" as a defence for their actions.

"These things happen, we deal with them in the rough and tumble."

The DUP’s Gregory Campbell says the deal marks "substantial and significant progress".

"I think we should bank that and move on," he tells the BBC’s Evening Extra programme, adding he voted to support the deal.

The MP for East Londonderry says Northern Ireland has been in an "unacceptable place" for the past two years.

He says the public should measure the deal not only against the party's seven tests, but what the alternative situation for Northern Ireland would be had the DUP "not got the government to move".

"All of our critics from all the other parties who were lambasting us... what were their proposals?"

Image source, Pacemaker

Image source, Getty Images

The business community has been largely positive about the deal news.

Johnny Hanna, of KPMG in Northern Ireland, says any further "simplifications" relating to trade with GB are welcome.

"It is now time to fully exploit our unique dual-market access position to create economic growth and investment," he adds.

"In that regard, we also welcome the commitment for swift progress on the matter of devolved corporation tax powers, which has been long awaited."

Image source, Getty Images/Charles McQuillan

Leader of the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV) Jim Allister says the deal is not a cause for celebration.

Instead he accuses the DUP of being "[Northern Ireland] protocol implementers".

He says the DUP promised to restore NI's place fully in the UK, get rid of Irish Sea border, for EU law to be gone and for Article 6 of Act(s) of Union to be restored.

"Having now seen the meagre legal text of Sir Jeffrey’s deal, it is clear none of what was promised has been achieved," he says.

He says Northern Ireland still operates subject to hundreds of EU laws "with the same EU laws as [the Republic of Ireland] governing our goods economy - laws which Stormont ministers can't change but must administer as Protocol implementers".

"Our union is still ruptured," he says.

A deal has been done in Stormont but tomorrow's strike by Translink's transport workers in Northern Ireland will go ahead.

Yesterday, Ulster Unionist Party leader Doug Beattie asked unions to postpone the strike in light of the new development.

But Unite, GMB and SIPTU say more than 3,000 workers will strike on a staggered basis from midnight as part of a pay dispute.

The strike will bring all bus and rail services across Northern Ireland to a standstill.

Unions say they're going ahead because there has not yet been any pay offer made and, the unions say "there is no clarity on the timing of such an offer or even a timeframe for negotiations".

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor

In our last post we looked at four of the DUP's seven tests and asked whether they had been met - now let's look at the rest.

Another key test involved giving people in Northern Ireland a say in making the laws under which they are governed.

The DUP says a mechanism already agreed in the Windsor Framework, known as the Stormont brake, will come in to play ensuring local politicians can veto any new EU rules.

But, ultimately, it will be up to the government in London to deploy that veto.

To ensure there is no new regulatory border between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK – test number six - the deal commits the government to screening new laws to ensure they don’t impact on Northern Ireland's place in the UK.

The final test calls for a constitutional guarantee that Northern Ireland's place within the UK will be preserved. This again falls under the legislation agreed in the deal.

Though the DUP will argue all seven tests have been met expect the party’s political opponents to try to expose where the deal falls short.

Enda McClafferty
BBC News NI political editor

Image source, Getty Images

The DUP didn't just set one threshold to measure the success or failure of any deal with the government - they set seven.

Now the full details of the 76-page-deal have been laid bare the party leader has insisted all seven tests have been met.

On the surface, it appears the party has ticked all seven boxes.

But some of those boxes are open to interpretation and may be defined differently by the party's opponents.

On the first test - fulfilling Article 6 of the Article of Union - the DUP argues it has restored unfettered trade with the rest of the UK through legislation.

When it comes to the second test of avoiding any diversion of trade, the DUP says the removal of internal barriers now takes away the risk of divergence.

Tests number three and five involved removing the Irish Sea border.

The DUP argues that frontier has now gone because the deal secures the free flow of goods coming from GB into Northern Ireland.

In truth there will still be some checks and paperwork but they will be greatly reduced and are unlikely to affect internal trade.

We'll look at the other three tests in the next post.

Image source, Getty Images

Trade between Northern Ireland, the rest of the UK and the Republic of Ireland was straightforward before Brexit - all parties were in the EU and shared the same trade rules.

However, when Northern Ireland left the EU, a deal was required to allow trade to continue with the Republic of Ireland.

• The first agreement, the Northern Ireland Protocol, introduced new checks on goods from Great Britain coming into Northern Ireland, which took place at NI ports
• The Windsor Framework amended the protocol by creating two "lanes" for goods arriving in NI from GB: green for goods remaining in NI and red for goods which may be sent on to the EU
• The new deal, agreed between the UK government and the DUP, external - called "Safeguarding the Union" - will further reduce checks and paperwork on goods moving from GB to NI

There will be no routine checks on British goods which are staying in Northern Ireland.

The changes are expected to be agreed by the UK-EU Joint Committee, which oversees Northern Ireland's post-Brexit trading rules.

The government will also introduce two pieces of legislation to guarantee Northern Irish goods can be sold in Great Britain in all circumstances, and to confirm Northern Ireland's place in the UK.

• You can read more here

Image source, PA Media

Tánaiste (Irish Deputy PM) Micheál Martin says he "warmly welcomes the DUP's decision".

Martin met parties and other stakeholders at the Grand Central Hotel in Belfast before going to the Ulster Museum for another engagement.

"We, the Irish government will work closely with the executive and look forward to an early convening of the north-south ministerial council, reenergising and working with the north-south bodies," he says.

"It's a moment to grasp and for the benefit of all the people living in Northern Ireland and the island of Ireland."

Glyn Roberts, CEO of Retail NI, which represents independent retailers, says the deal is a step in the right direction.

Roberts says his group will take its time to study the detail in the deal, but overall Northern Ireland has "moved forward this week". Having the Northern Ireland executive restored "will create political stability, which is the bottom line for any successful economy".

He adds that his organisation welcomes other proposals in the document "to develop further opportunities to increase trade" across the UK.

Roberts also praises a planned £150m investment zone, saying Retail NI looks forward to working with the UK government on its implementation.

Government gets praise for deal - but there is scepticism toopublished at 15:44 Greenwich Mean Time 31 January

15:44 GMT 31 January

Chris Mason
Political editor

This is 80 pages that is meant to read as a deluge of reassurance - particularly for the Democratic Unionist Party.

Over and over again is the central claim that Northern Ireland must be “an indivisible part of the UK’s economic union".

The document acknowledges the initial Brexit model didn’t work for Northern Ireland and the attempted improvement, the Windsor Framework, didn’t go far enough either.

The government has received a lot of praise in the Commons, but there are jabs of criticism and scepticism too.

And it is clear that the consequences of Brexit will remain a fault line in Northern Ireland’s politics and economics, even with a functioning executive and Northern Ireland Assembly.

An interesting detail of the government's Command Paper on the deal, external is that it commits it to holding a UK cabinet meeting in Northern Ireland within a year "when the institutions are running".

Regional cabinet meetings were introduced by Gordon Brown in 2008, external and continued under David Cameron's coalition government.

Theresa May held two such meetings, in 2017 and 2018, and Boris Johnson in 2020 and 2022. Before 2008, cabinet meetings outside London were extremely rare.

It's thought the cabinet has never convened in Northern Ireland.

So the deal is published, what's next?published at 15:26 Greenwich Mean Time 31 January

15:26 GMT 31 January

Jayne McCormack
BBC News NI political correspondent

Now we have the precise detail, in black and white. Or, some might say, in red, white and blue – given the document's title, Safeguarding the Union., external

But beyond the practicalities, it's the political consequences that loom large.

The UK government is now embarking on a hard sell of the plan alongside the DUP leader, after those long months of negotiations.

It desperately wants this to work, not just so that devolution returns but so that the Sunak administration can chalk it up as a win.

Supporters and opponents of the deal are already starting to appear on our airwaves, and that noise - on both sides - will get louder in the coming hours.

Image source, PA Media

It’s been a busy day of developments as politicians react to the detail of the deal that paves the way to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland. Here's the latest:

Deal is published

Shortly after lunchtime, the details of the agreement between the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) and the UK government were published online – you can read it in full here., external

A key component of the 80-page deal, which is expected to pass legislation in Parliament tomorrow, is that there will be no routine checks on goods crossing from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.

DUP leader speaks to BBC

The agreement was published just as DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was speaking to BBC Talkback. Donaldson said that while the deal is not perfect, it was the “best we could get”.

He said: "For goods coming in from the UK, our objective was to remove the Irish Sea Border and that is what we have achieved."

Westminster leaders welcome deal

The agreement has been broadly welcomed by MPs, and speaking during the weekly Prime Minister’s Questions, Rishi Sunak thanked the DUP and other parties for showing the "patience" to reach the deal.

He added that the return of work to Stormont would offer a "brighter future for Northern Ireland", while Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer described it as an "important moment", and called for all sides to work together.

NI secretary addresses MPs

Following PMQs, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris delivered a statement to MPs, in which he praised the work of the DUP, and said the deal is "the right one for Northern Ireland and for the union".

He added that he was confident that Stormont would be "up and running swiftly" and that the assembly would have a powerful "democratic safeguard" when it comes to EU laws.

During Prime Minister's Questions in Westminster earlier, both Rishi Sunak and Keir Starmer welcomed the talks taking place to restore power-sharing in Northern Ireland.

Sunak praised the DUP and other parties involved in the talks, while Starmer called it an "important moment".

You can watch their remarks in the clip above.

Áine O Donnell
BBC Newsbeat

Christopher Cherry, 28, is a shop worker from Larne and says the period without a functioning government has been "chaotic" for his workplace.

"We get most of our deliveries from England or overseas and trying to get that stuff just became impossible," he says.

So he says a deal to remove checks on incoming goods is "brilliant", in his view.

"It's great to have a government where you can rely on getting goods from the UK, Ireland and the EU... I think it'll help us a lot," he says.

On a more personal note, he hopes to see some of his favourite goods - "English cheeses... stuff you miss but you can't have any more" - back on supermarket shelves.

"I think it's a big step forward," he says. "Hopefully it'll work out in a positive way for all of us, the community and the country."

During a session in the House of Commons, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has laid out what he said were the benefits of the new deal.

Among other things, he said it will "further protect" Northern Ireland's place in the United Kingdom, and will also help put Northern Ireland's public services "on a sustainable footing".

You can watch him make his remarks in the clip above.

Image source, UK Parliament

DUP MPs were among those to ask final questions to Chris Heaton-Harris before his session at the House of Commons came to a close.

First up, Paul Girvan asks about Northern Ireland's energy market and whether anything would be done about carbon tax being levied at a higher rate compared to the rest of Great Britain. He also criticises the timeframe, adding that "it feels like we're bounced on a timetable where we're not going to get through the detail".

Heaton-Harris says Northern Ireland has always been part of a single energy market on the island of Ireland and the Command Paper sets out the direction of travel for NI to thrive.

Finally, Jim Shannon asks if he can confirm people in Northern Ireland remain as British as those in London, Cardiff or Edinburgh?

"And Daventry," responds the MP for Daventry, to laughter. He says he's proud that Shannon is as proud a Brit as he is.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell welcomes the deal which he says the DUP has been "pressing the government" to take action on.

"We need to continue to work together and close the narrow gap that remains - we have made substantial progress," he says.

Campbell asks: "Can you indicate even if a party receives large votes and speaks about having a mantra of 'their day will come' - that it will also go with less fanfare?"

Chris Heaton-Harris responds that all politics needs progress and that within the Windsor Framework, when matters relating to Northern Ireland are brought to the Joint Committee, "the first minister and deputy first minister (of NI) would be able to attend".

A returned Stormont would not only mean progress, but to "ensure Northern Ireland's voice is heard and that will continue", he adds.