Our colleagues at BBC Radio 5 Live have been chatting to some residents of Northern Ireland about the potential end to the DUP's boycott of power-sharing at Stormont.

Emily, who lives in Londonderry but didn't grow up in Northern Ireland, says the blockade was not the right way to go about disagreements over Brexit policy, and said efforts towards a solution should have come sooner:

Andrew, in County Armagh, has noticed a stark increase in costs importing goods for his business since Brexit.

Before the UK left the EU, trade flowed freely across borders.

After Brexit, part of the UK - Northern Ireland - still had a land border with part of the EU: the Republic of Ireland.

The EU has strict border rules, and requires checks when certain goods arrive from non-EU countries like the UK. However, because of Northern Ireland’s troubled political history it was decided not to put checks on the land border; instead these would be between NI and the rest of UK.

The Northern Ireland Protocol came into force in January 2021. It put checks on goods travelling from England, Scotland and Wales, even if they were due to remain in NI.

These were carried out at Northern Ireland’s ports. Unionist parties said this border in the Irish Sea damaged the union.

Image source, Reuters

A year after the protocol came into effect, the largest unionist party, the DUP, collapsed the power-sharing government in February 2022.

Another year of negotiations between the UK and EU brought about the Windsor Framework in April 2023.

It was designed to make trade easier and replace the protocol.

It included a "green lane" for goods remaining in NI with few checks or additional paperwork - and a red lane for EU-bound goods.

Stormont politicians would also have the ability to raise objections or even block updated EU rules that may apply to NI.

But the DUP didn’t fully back the new agreement and Stormont remained down.

What’s new in the DUP’s deal remains to be seen.

• Read our full explainer article here

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Sinn Féin's vice-president Michelle O'Neill welcomes the "public declaration" by DUP Leader Jeffrey Donaldson that power-sharing will be restored.

Writing on social media, she confirms the main Stormont parties will meet later today.

"We have much to do to confront the challenges facing our public services, workers and families which require urgent action," she adds.

John Campbell
NI economics and business editor

We still haven’t seen the text of the deal but Sir Jeffrey Donaldson gave some intriguing details in his BBC interview this morning.

He has suggested that the "pipe" by which EU law arrives in Northern Ireland has in some way been diverted.

This pipe is Section 7a of the 2018 Withdrawal Agreement. It is central to the functioning of the Windsor Framework as it keeps NI in step with the laws which govern the EU’s single market.

Sir Jeffrey said 7a will be amended so dynamic alignment with EU rules will "come to an end".

This is basically what was being proposed in the government’s now abandoned NI Protocol Bill. Remember this is a bill which the EU said would breach international law.

Presumably whatever is being proposed now is less dramatic and has got the nod from the EU.

Image source, PA Media

The UK government is expected to publish the deal in full on Wednesday, and pass the legislation in Parliament on Thursday.

This could then lead to a recall of the Northern Ireland assembly by Friday, or even Saturday.

The first order of business for assembly members will be to elect a new speaker.

Next, the two parties who will jointly lead the new executive - the body that makes decisions and policy - need to nominate who will lead it.

For the first time, the nationalist party Sinn Féin will nominate a first minister because it won the most seats in the assembly election last year.

The DUP, as the largest unionist party, will nominate a deputy first minister for the first time. The other ministers are shared around the various parties based on how many assembly members they have.

Then it's to business - and there's a lot to do. Civil servants have been minding the shop at Stormont for nearly two years. They'll meet with new ministers and give them their day-one briefs.

You can read more about the next steps here.

Helen Catt
Political correspondent

The DUP’s statement is being greeted as a "welcome step" by the UK government.

Once all of Northern Ireland's parties finalise the deal, Westminster is promising speedy action.

I'm told the legislation needed will be published "very shortly", within days or weeks, after the final sign-off. Parliament will have to review and agree it.

For now, sources are staying pretty tight-lipped about the contents.

We do know it will come with a £3.3bn financial package for the Northern Ireland executive, which will include money to address public sector pay.

A government source has also dismissed suggestions that the agreement would bind the UK to following EU law, saying ministers will still be free to ‘"diverge" where they want to.

A lot of work has gone into reaching this agreement and nerves are likely to remain until everything is signed and sealed.

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Ulster Unionist Party (UUP) MLA Steve Aiken says the DUP decision represents "good news for once".

Writing on social media, the former party leader says it time for Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to "expedite legislation" and get the assembly "back up ASAP".

He adds: "So much wasted time and so much to do."

A planned transport strike in Northern Ireland is due to go ahead on Thursday despite the latest news of a deal to restore devolution.

In January, thousands of public sector workers have staged rallies during what was billed as Northern Ireland's largest strike in 50 years.

The was one of a number of strikes due to escalating pay disputes, with many public sector workers in Northern Ireland paid less than counterparts in the rest of the UK.

Public sector pay in Northern Ireland has fallen sharply in real terms over the last two years due to high inflation, a shortfall in Stormont's budget and a lack of local ministers to allocate existing resources.

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As part of political talks aimed at restoring power-sharing government in Northern Ireland, the government offered £584m to resolve pay issues as part of a larger deal.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson told the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme he has pressed for the release of these funds.

However, Davy Thompson of the Unite union says there was not enough for the unions to call off strike action on Thursday "because we don't know when that government will be formed".

"Until there is government in Northern Ireland, there is no government in Northern Ireland."

Image source, Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson claims that senior DUP members helped him leak some of last night's private meeting.

Speaking to the BBC’s Good Morning Ulster programme, Bryson says: “Senior people in the DUP felt so exercised about this and felt that this was such a defining moment, that they took the step that they did.

“Obviously I wasn’t in the room, the venue clearly wasn’t bugged by some hidden device so there was clearly senior people – plural – within the DUP who felt so strongly about this that they took this extraordinary, unprecedented step.

“There’s many people who feel strongly about this and I think there is a common interest here in ensuring transparency and ensuring that what is said on the tin is delivered.”

Last night, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson was asked about the toll the last few months had taken on him personally.

"When you’re in leadership, sometimes that can be a lonely place," he told reporters.

"When you're in leadership, you’ve got to step out and step up.

"You’ve got to make decisions based on what you believe is right.

"And yes, you’ve got to display courage - there isn’t much courage in hiding behind threats and I think my party has displayed far more courage than those who threatened or tried to bully or tried to misrepresent us, and we’re determined to take our place in taking Northern Ireland forward.

"So I don’t worry about the stress."

He's previously told the House of Commons of threats he faced while making efforts to restore devolution.

Jayne McCormack
NI political correspondent

This could all move very quickly, we’re being told.

The UK government is expected to publish the deal in full on Wednesday, and pass the legislation in Parliament on Thursday.

This could then lead to a recall of the assembly by Friday, or even Saturday.

Saturday sittings of the assembly aren’t the standard but they have happened before - as recently as 2020 when the assembly was restored last time.

That day, whenever it happens, will see the institutions spring back to life with ministers installed and a new speaker.

Then it's back to business and there’s a massive to-do list already.

Power-sharing in Northern Ireland looks set to return after the DUP backed a deal with the UK government.

After a five-hour meeting, at 01:00 GMT party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said his party had agreed to end its almost-two-year boycott of Stormont.

The boycott began when disagreements arose over how Northern Ireland would manage trade after Brexit, given its position in the UK and relationship with its EU neighbour, the Republic of Ireland.

The deal is subject to the UK government implementing measures to tackle some of those trade concerns.

Sir Jeffrey 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.

Westminster's Northern Ireland Secretary called it 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.

Image source, PA Media

Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy tells the BBC's Good Morning Ulster programme that he believes Stormont could be back "before the week is out".

He says his party is pleased the DUP has taken the decision "to come back to work" after "much prompting".

Murphy says "much damage" has been caused to public services and public sector workers in the last two years.

He adds that the returning executive will have "enormous challenges" to face.

Asked whether the deal achieved by the DUP was a good one, he says: "Sir Jeffrey has to sell what he has achieved to his own support base."

Enda McClafferty
NI political editor

I think Sir Jeffrey is pretty pleased with himself for being able to get this over the line. A lot of people doubted whether it would be possible - and as the meeting stretched into five hours last night, we were very much in that camp.

He was facing so many questions in the room, so there was some surprise when he confirmed that the party is on its way back to power-sharing. He was pretty bullish and looked relieved. I think he felt it was "mission accomplished".

Up until now the understanding was this was a negotiation between the DUP and London so it was whatever was within the gift of the UK government that the party was seeking to change. But the fact that Sir Jeffrey was able to tell us that there would be zero checks and paperwork for goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland and staying in NI – in other words using that green lane - that's pretty significant as it involves a change from Brussels in terms of the Windsor Framework.

So that puts Sir Jeffrey on a firm footing in terms of the Irish Sea border – but of course we haven’t seen the detail of the deal yet so we do not know how it will work.

Image source, Getty Images

I think he will know as a skilled negotiator that you never get everything you want - it's about getting the best deal that you can. I feel he thinks he has.

We know there was a ballot taken last night. We understand the numbers may not be released - unless they’re leaked.

We know those who opposed this aired their views pretty strongly – so Sir Jeffrey will have to manage the fallout from all this.

He may have won the fight internally, but the battle is still there.

Image source, Getty Images

In his comments to the BBC a short time ago, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson acknowledged that the DUP had not got "everything we wanted to achieve" in its talks with the UK government - but would fight for "further changes".

Here are the "seven tests" by which the party had been measuring any proposal to allay its concerns over trade:

1. No new checks of any sort on goods being traded between Great Britain and Northern Ireland (though this excludes pre-Brexit checks on livestock and goods which are moving onwards from Northern Ireland)
2. Compatibility with the Act of Union which says all parts of the UK should be on equal footing when it comes to trade
3. Avoiding any diversion of trade where Northern Irish customers are forced to switch to non-British suppliers
4. No border in the Irish Sea
5. Northern Irish citizens to have a role in any new regulations which impact them
6. No new regulatory barriers between Great Britain and Northern Ireland unless agreed by the Northern Ireland Assembly
7. Honouring the "letter and spirit" of Northern Ireland's constitutional position as set out in the Good Friday Agreement by requiring upfront consent of any diminution in constitutional status

The DUP leader tells BBC Radio Ulster there would be an investigation into how loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson was able to tweet what was happening at the meeting.

“I have always believed that when you have meetings with colleagues you have to take people on trust and it is regrettable that some decide to breach that trust," he says.

No sooner had Sir Jeffrey got to his feet last night, Bryson began tweeting out proceedings in what he called a "blow by blow account".

• Read more here

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson tells Good Morning Ulster he believes his party should be "open and honest" with the public.

He says the proposals put forward and agreed will be published and people will be able to make up their minds up on them.

“We have secured real change that will be able to make a real difference to the people of Northern Ireland."

Turning to last night’s party debate, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says: “I think we had a good debate, people were open and honest.

“There was a decisive outcome and we have decided to move forward.”

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson tells Good Morning Ulster he has again pressed for the release of money to ensure public sector workers receive their pay award.

“It would be a measure of goodwill if the government were to release that funding.”

Earlier this month, thousands of public sector workers staged rallies during what was billed as Northern Ireland's largest strike in 50 years.

The DUP leader reiterates that the agreement is conditional on the UK government delivering on its side - so the first thing that has to happen is the publication of proposals by ministers.

He says he wants to see the legislation being passed through parliament and hopes the Northern Ireland Assembly could be restored quickly, possibly in days.

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