Alliance MP Stephen Farry asks the NI Secretary about the £3.3bn financial package for Northern Ireland and to acknowledge "there needs to be fuller discussion about reviewing NI's fiscal floor".

Before Christmas, talks between the government and Northern Ireland's main political parties led to an offer of a financial package worth £3.3bn if devolved government returned.

Farry also asks in terms of reform that UK government must "lead that process" especially if talking about safeguarding the union and also the need to safeguard the NI assembly.

"It's a question that's been raised with me many times. I look forward to working with ministers in a reformed executive to do exactly that," Heaton-Harris says.

Carla Lockhart, MP for Upper Bann for the DUP, asks of the new agreement if it means that Northern Ireland remains under EU single market laws for the production of food and agri-food, and if the EU customs code still applies in Northern Ireland.

She continues by asking the secretary of state if he agrees that such a situation “is not compatible with UK sovereignty” and Northern Ireland’s full place in the United Kingdom.

In response, Heaton-Harris urges Lockhart to re-read the Windsor Framework and the Good Friday Agreement.

Image source, PA Media

The DUP's Ian Paisley says 2025 is "too long to wait" for veterinary medicine issues to be resolved with the EU.

He warns this is "totally unacceptable" because it will decimate vet practices, affect farm viability, and damage public health.

If there is no solution by the spring, Paisley asks, will the secretary of state resolve the issue unilaterally?

Heaton-Harris says he hopes to strike a deal with the EU, but "let's see".

Image source, PA Media

Colum Eastwood, leader of the Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP), asks Heaton-Harris if he will convene a process with all political parties in the Irish government to look at how institutions of the Good Friday Agreement can be reformed “to make sure no one party can pull them down again”.

Heaton-Harris says that when it comes to the question of reform in Northern Ireland “this is a conversation that should be started within Stormont and by the people of Northern Ireland and their elected representatives”.

Up next is DUP MP Sammy Wilson who says, despite the recent gains, that there are still "EU-manned border posts being built" which will "create a border within our own country".

He says that when ministers sit in Stormont, they will be expected "by law to implement laws made in Brussels", which he claims is the result of this government "refusing to take on EU interference in Northern Ireland".

He asks if Northern Ireland will have the ability to stay "tied to the UK" or will the government be happy to change laws here, regardless of the impact on Northern Ireland.

Heaton-Harris replies that some of the points Wilson made were "incorrect".

This package will "not change the freedoms and powers we have secured through Brexit or the Windsor Framework" he says, or the "ability to diverge" or "commitment to do so" if it is in the interests of the UK.

Conservative MP Richard Drax says whisperings from Sinn Féin about a united Ireland are "unhelpful", and asks if Northern Ireland will always be part of the UK "because we're stronger together".

Heaton-Harris replies that he will "have to tread carefully" because as secretary of state he is responsible for deciding whether to call a border poll on Northern Ireland's future.

But, he adds, he is "comfortable that in my lifetime", Northern Ireland will be "a strong and prosperous part" of the UK.

The SNP's Richard Thomson commends the Northern Ireland secretary on his devotion to the union but adds it has "not gone unnoticed in other parts of the union" that NI has had "an offer of a status in terms of its access to the UK market and EU market which is deprived of other parts of the union".

Thomson asks about details of any fiscal framework and if there's a similar system to an East-West council for other devolved institutions.

Heaton-Harris says: "He (Thomson) is right to recognise that Northern Ireland is a special place and has a special place - which has in the past created disadvantage.

"I hope the incoming NI Executive and ministers responsible will be working closely with His Majesty's Treasury in great detail to get that absolutely right."

He adds that he has never conducted a negotiation with HM Treasury "but I'd imagine they've got quite tight pockets and are very difficult to get a hold of".

On an East-West council system, he says: "It is important it works with all parts of the UK."

Gavin Robinson, the DUP MP for East Belfast, thanks Heaton-Harris for his “steadfast endurance” for the deal to be reached.

He also thanks the prime minister and the leader of the opposition.

“We have turned the impossible into the possible, and turned the undeliverable and have delivered it,” he says, adding that he is “hopeful for the future”.

Heaton-Harris responds by thanking Robinson for his work, saying that “he knows more than anyone that this deal is about safeguarding Northern Ireland’s place in the union”.

He adds that the government is “committed to the timetable” to ensure the return of power sharing at Stormont.

Former Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith congratulates Heaton-Harris, the prime minister and the DUP for negotiating "such a positive and tough" deal.

He thanks the Northern Ireland parties for their patience, and Labour for its support.

The deal will be a "huge relief" to the people of Northern Ireland, where public services are "at the end of their tether", and a boost to the economy, peace and the union, Smith adds.

Heaton-Harris says he believes the deal will bring Northern Ireland greater prosperity.

Image source, PA Media

Chair of Westminster's Northern Ireland Affairs Committee and Conservative MP Sir Robert Buckland says Donaldson has demonstrated, with DUP colleagues, that "to lead is to choose".

"Respect and praise is due", he says, adding that he is pleased the Command Paper makes sure the position of Northern Ireland within the UK internal market is "absolutely cemented" and also "looks forward to new investment", including the enhanced investment zone.

"We cannot afford to devolve and forget," he adds.

Heaton-Harris thanks Buckland for his comments on the investment zone and says Northern Ireland will "never be forgotten in this place".

Labour's shadow Northern Ireland secretary Hilary Benn says this is "a very significant moment", bringing the restoration, after two years, of "a functioning government".

He adds that it will also mark a first in Northern Ireland's history - when Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill takes up her position as first minister with a DUP deputy first minister.

Benn pays tribute to Heaton-Harris's "great achievement" and to Sir Jeffrey Donaldson for his "courageous and decisive leadership... in the face of abuse".

Image source, UK Parliament

Hilary Benn, shadow secretary of state for Northern Ireland, asks Chris Heaton-Harris if he agrees that MPs need to work together to stop institutions in Northern Ireland collapsing again in the years ahead.

Heaton-Harris says he agrees, and thanks Benn for the work he has done in helping to reach the agreement.

The Northern Ireland secretary adds that everyone in the House must work together to ensure stability for Northern Ireland.

“We are the guarantors of the Belfast Good Friday agreement, and we have a responsibility to the people of Northern Ireland,” he adds.

The Northern Ireland secretary says it is time for politicians to "come together and work together".

He says that with this deal laid out, he is also "enshrining much of it into law" and the government will be debating that tomorrow.

"I trust we will have the conditions to see Stormont up and running swiftly," Heaton-Harris says.

He adds that an important part of this is to see Michelle O'Neill take her place as first minister, and he "looks forward" to working with Sinn Féin.

Image source, House of Commons

Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris has been making a statement in the House of Commons, in which he praises the work of DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson in reaching a deal.

He describes Donaldson as a “man who is truly committed” to Northern Ireland, and the union, and says he is also committed to solutions while “others take the easier path of heckling from the side lines”.

Heaton-Harris says the result is a deal that “is the right one for Northern Ireland and for the union”.

Boris Johnson has said the Northern Ireland deal must not limit the UK's ability to diverge from EU laws.

The former prime minister, who brokered the 2020 Brexit deal, has posted on social media,, external that "artificial concerns about the border between Northern Ireland and Ireland are used to keep the whole of the UK in alignment with EU rules," and must be ignored.

The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has been blocking Northern Ireland's devolved government for nearly two years in protest of post-Brexit trade arrangements that came into place after Johnson's deal.

Rishi Sunak’s deal with the DUP is expected to see a reduction in post-Brexit trade checks in the Irish Sea. But some Brexiteers like Johnson fear the changes could hamper UK efforts to move away from EU rules.

But the UK "must retain the appetite and the courage to diverge from the low-growth high-regulation European model," Johnson said.

Image source, PA Media

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has hailed the "significant steps" taken by the DUP to endorse a deal to return to power-sharing.

He opened Prime Minister's Questions by thanking the party for its efforts, and said the other parties had shown "patience" over the past two years.

He said there is now the prospect of getting power-sharing back up and running, "strengthening our union and giving people the local, accountable government they need".

He added this would offer a "brighter future for Northern Ireland.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer also described it as an "important moment" and that all sides needed to work together to kickstart devolution.

The interview with Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has now ended on Talkback. We had breaking news with the publication of the government's deal with the DUP which took us away for a moment.

Stay with us for reaction and analysis of the deal.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says this deal is only part of Northern Ireland's future but it is not up to the deal to make the country work.

"The future of the union is in the hands of the people of Northern Ireland - it is the people of Northern Ireland who will determine whether we remain part of the UK or not.

"My task is to broaden the appeal of unionism - that being part of the UK works for them.

"I want to make Northern Ireland work - that's why we've secured these changes."

He says the arrangements and deal "will safeguard our place in the union - it will restore our place in the United Kingdom and the internal market, it will get Stormont working again for the people of Northern Ireland".

John Campbell
BBC News NI economics and business editor

The deal signals changes from Northern Ireland's Brexit deal, the Windsor Framework, which keeps it inside the EU's single market for goods.

That prevented a post-Brexit trade border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland.

However it meant the introduction of checks and controls on goods from Great Britain.

That had angered unionists and led the DUP to boycott Northern Ireland's power-sharing administration.

You can read more about the Windsor Framework here.

Speaking to the BBC just as the deal was published, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said it was the "best we could get".

"I am satisfied that in terms of our core objectives we have delivered for the people of Northern Ireland," he said.

"Is it perfect? No it isn't. Have we delivered everything we would have wanted at this stage? No we haven't.

"I'll give you an example - veterinary medicines - an important issue, not just for farmers but also those with pets who need UK medicine for their pets. We're in a three year grace period with full access to UK veterinary medicines - I wanted that sorted - it is not yet."

We'll bring you more details of the deal shortly.