Image source, PA Media

Donaldson says that people in the media and on social media are "trying to minimise what we're trying to achieve" but that people "who don't have a political bias will be able to judge fairly what's on offer".

"I think what we have achieved and what we have delivered is significant, including when measured against the DUP's seven tests," he adds.

The "seven tests" are what the party said it would use to evaluate any possible deal.

Donaldson says parties can proceed with the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland as long as "the government continues to deliver" on its commitments in the deal.

He says public sector pay - which has been the subject of numerous strikes in Northern Ireland in recent months - was a major part of what was discussed in the talks this afternoon.

He adds that he has engaged with the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris on the need to transfer money to settle the pay disputes.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says people should wait to see the detail in the deal agreed between his party and the government before rushing to judgement.

The DUP leader, speaking to the media outside Stormont Castle where Northern Ireland parties have been holding talks, says he wants people to "wait and see the evidence and judge for yourselves".

The government has said it will publish details of the deal tomorrow.

Donaldson adds he believes people are "already seeing on day one" what the deal is delivering and that it is "significant change" for Northern Ireland.

Image source, .

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson is addressing the media again.

Stay with us as we bring you what he says - and press play at the top of the page to watch live.

If you're just joining us or need a catch-up, here's the latest developments on the political situation in Northern Ireland:

• Power-sharing in Northern Ireland could return as early as Friday after the DUP last night backed a deal with the UK government on post-Brexit trade agreements
• The deal is subject to the UK government implementing measures to tackle some trade concerns that arose from Brexit, but if successful, it will end an almost-two-year boycott of Stormont
• The details of the proposed agreement will be published tomorrow
• DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC the proposal hadn't achieved everything the DUP wanted - and the party would continue to fight for further changes - but the consensus was to move forward
• Parties are meeting at Stormont Castle this afternoon to finalise preparations for government

• Westminster's Northern Ireland Secretary called the agreement a "welcome and significant step", while Sinn Féin's leader said she was "optimistic" following the DUP's decision
• As the largest party after the most recent assembly elections, Sinn Féin's vice-president is in a position to become the first nationalist first minister of Northern Ireland
• The Taoiseach (Irish prime minister) and the UK prime minister have welcomed the developments, and the EU says it is following the developments closely

Marie-Louise Connolly
NI health correspondent

The Northern Ireland director of the Royal College of Surgeons, Niall McGonigle, welcomes the news of the DUP's endorsement of the new deal and the restoration of Stormont.

"Stability, local leadership and a recurring budget is essential if we are to turn the tide on NI’s devastating waiting lists," he says.

"This deal also means NI is in line to receive a financial package including £34 million for waiting lists.

"With this money we hope the Department of Health will create more chances for surgeons to operate on patients at protected surgical hub sites."

Dr McGonigle says the sustained Stormont arrangement will help "refocus hearts and minds on the burning workforce issue".

He says the chance of a health minister back at Stormont imminently is good news for everyone.

What did Boris Johnson say about Brexit checks?published at 14:55 Greenwich Mean Time 30 January 2024

14:55 GMT 30 January 2024

Image source, Getty Images

As we've been reporting throughout the day, the DUP has been boycotting Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government because of the arrangements made for trade after the UK left the EU.

The party objected to checks being carried out on goods going from Great Britain (GB) to Northern Ireland (NI), which were established by Boris Johnson’s Northern Ireland Protocol.

Rishi Sunak's Windsor Framework reduced checks by having green and red lanes to distinguish between goods going to Northern Ireland and those bound for the Republic of Ireland. But some in the DUP said the lanes just confirmed that there was a trade border in the Irish Sea.

Johnson had assured them in 2020: "There will be no border down the Irish Sea… over my dead body." But his deal did mean there was a trade border.

And in 2019, Johnson said: "There will be no checks on goods going from GB to NI." But again, it was clear that his deal did mean a range of checks.

• You can read more about Johnson's declarations on the Northern Ireland Protocol here

Image source, PA Media

O'Toole says his party's job is to ensure delivery and accountability.

The SDLP will be the opposition party if and when Stormont returns - and O'Toole will be the opposition leader.

He hopes restoration can happen "in the hours, days and weeks ahead."

He adds: "I would like to see us sit down this evening to look at the deal".

We're continuing to hear reaction from Northern Ireland's political parties.

SDLP assembly member Matthew O'Toole describes the events of last night as "surreal" but hopes it marks progress toward devolution.

However, O'Toole says this is "not the time for champagne corks to pop or balloons to be released in celebration".

He says the people of Northern Ireland have been "proudly failed" in the last two years

O'Toole adds that there is a "collective sense of anger" among citizens who have "lost trust in devolution".

He says waiting lists and problems in the public sector must be addressed.

Image source, Reuters

The EU Commission says it is "following closely" the developments in Northern Ireland.

"Restoring the political institutions, restoring devolved power in Northern Ireland would provide long term stability and would therefore be a welcome development," a commission spokesperson says.

"We understand the UK government will soon publish the documents related to this deal so we will examine those texts when the time comes.

"More broadly, and as we've said, before, we expect the UK government to fulfil its obligations under the [Windsor] Framework as it has been doing."

• You can read more about post-Brexit trading rules, including the Windsor Framework, here

Jayne McCormack
NI political correspondent

Image source, PA Media

Taoiseach (Irish Prime Minister) Leo Varadkar had a good call with UK PM Rishi Sunak today about the restoration of the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland.

The pair welcomed the developments overnight, and both leaders said they hoped this paved the way for the early restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive and the Assembly and that North-South ministerial meetings would resume again.

They agreed to keep in touch over the coming period.

Image source, Pacemaker

Talk about luck - a group of local school kids picked a good day to visit Parliament Buildings at Stormont.

They got the best seats in the house to watch Northern Ireland's political leaders give their reaction to the DUP's endorsement of a new deal to restore power-sharing.

The children even took the opportunity to chat to Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald and Vice President Michelle O'Neill.

Image source, Pacemaker

BBC News NI is asking people on the streets of Londonderry - Northern Ireland's second-largest city - just what they think of a potential return to power-sharing after a 23-month hiatus.

"I'm so glad to see them going back into government, because we need a government.

"I am slightly surprised, I thought they might have held out for a few more weeks."

"It's about time!

"The people of Derry need representation at Stormont.

"We need the money now, people are really struggling.

"There are so many people in debt and some who can't even buy their groceries so it's about time."

"He [Sir Jeffrey Donaldson] walked himself into a corner.

"He had no other way of getting out, sure, what were they going to do if they didn't go back?

"I think if they are going to get £3.3bn to help the health service, education and everything else then it can only be a good thing."

Damian Grammaticas
Political correspondent

Image source, Reuters

The politics appears to have been unblocked. After almost two years we’re moving towards a restoration of Northern Ireland’s power-sharing government, but the crucial question is what’s actually in the deal?

Sure we know the spin. Chris Heaton-Harris, the Northern Ireland secretary, said "significant changes" had been made after he’d listened to the DUP’s concerns.

He talked about measures to "secure Northern Ireland’s place in the UK’s internal market" and it’s "place in the union".

But that’s quite far from saying he's actually agreed changes to the fundamental arrangements that have been put in place since Brexit, arrangements which some unionists find so objectionable.

The DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said the deal would mean "zero checks and zero custom paperwork" for goods going from England, Scotland and Wales into Northern Ireland and remaining there.

If the deal - when we finally see it - doesn’t deliver that, Sir Jeffrey will face more political heat from some unionists.

But there's political heat too from the other parties, civic groups and ordinary people in Northern Ireland for whom the priority is to get devolved government back up and running - so the host of issues can be dealt with after being left to stagnate as long as power-sharing has been on hold.

Sinn Féin's Michelle O’Neill says today is a day of "optimism" after the DUP announced it would back a deal with Westminster governing post-Brexit trade in Northern Ireland.

Some more thoughts now from Northern Ireland residents who earlier spoke to BBC Radio 5 Live.

Kevin, in Londonderry, says the DUP's insistence that a deal needed to pass its "seven tests" (read about that in this post) was a mistake:

Stephen in Belfast says he hasn't noticed any changes since Brexit came into effect:

Image source, Liam McBurney/PA Media

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) MLA Matthew O'Toole says: "We hope to see the executive and assembly restored in the days to come.

"Since they should never have been collapsed in the first place, and immense harm has been done, we will forgo celebration and focus on our job.

"Being a constructive opposition and ensuring accountability."

The SDLP did not win enough seats in the last Stormont election to be entitled to take a ministerial post in any new executive government.

John Campbell
NI economics and business editor

In his BBC interview this morning, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson spoke about changes to the green lane for goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain.

Goods going through the green lane are those which are staying in Northern Ireland and are subject to minimal checks and controls.

Currently 10% of food consignments going through the green lane are subject to "identity checks" and that is due to be reduced to 5% by July 2025.

Sir Jeffrey said the new legislation agreed with Westminster would mean "zero checks" on goods moving within the UK - that would imply the EU will agree to that 5% going to zero.

He also said there would be "zero customs paperwork" - those look like well chosen words as zero customs paperwork is not the same as zero paperwork.

We've been getting lots of reaction from politicians and political parties over the past hour to the DUP's agreement to return to the NI Assembly - after agreeing to a package of measures put forward by the government. Here's the latest:

• Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald says she's pleased Northern Ireland is on the "cusp of the restoration of government", but cautioned that there was a "huge amount of work to be done". Michelle O'Neill - who could soon be confirmed as first minister -described it as a "day of optimism", meanwhile

• Alliance leader Naomi Long said the announcement brought "bittersweet emotions" because the potential for the restoration of the NI Assembly was "stinging from the fact that we have lost that two years" due to the DUP boycotting Stormont
• TUV leader Jim Allister called it a "tawdry climbdown by the DUP on their own tests which have not been met"
• UUP leader Doug Beattie said "we need a quick process to allow us to get the first and deputy first ministers nominated quickly"
• And speaking in Westminster, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said he believed "all the conditions are now in place" for the Northern Ireland Assembly to return

For her part, O'Neill says the next days will be "crucial" in restoring power-sharing.

But this is a "day of optimism" she adds.