On Monday, a deal was finally agreed between the European Commission and the British Government. After years of instability and months of negotiations, that is a hugely positive development.
We have impressed on London and Brussels throughout that any agreement must protect the Good Friday Agreement and the all-island economy, prevent a hard border and safeguard continued access to the EU single market.
We have always said that a deal was possible - with positive, constructive solutions when people worked and negotiated together in good faith. Good faith negotiations were not possible with people like Boris Johnston and Liz Truss in control. Eventually, a pragmatic British Prime Minister, dealing with the disastrous economic legacy of his predecessors, accepted the need for compromise and agreement. The Windsor Framework is the result.
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We are now at an economic turning point and that is good news for business and wider society. People in the north, our economy, workers and families want and deserve certainty and stability.
We must grasp the unique potential that dual access to both the EU and British markets opens up and the huge opportunities for our businesses to create jobs and strengthen our economy.
The north has a competitive advantage that is the envy of economies across the globe. Investors and businesses in Europe, in Britain, in the USA and beyond want the advantage that dual access provides. Companies are actively exploring these opportunities. We now need an Executive up and running and ministers in place to drive that economic progress forward.
The negotiations are over, the deal is done. It is now time to get down to business and do the work we were elected to do.
I spoke with the British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak earlier in the week, and I told him there is an onus on him to keep the positive momentum going to restore the Executive and Assembly without any more delay.
There is a huge responsibility on all the parties, particularly the DUP, to provide certainty and stability by now working together to restore all the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement - the Assembly, Executive, the North-South Ministerial Council and the British Irish Council.
People on waiting lists cannot wait. Families facing a cost of living crisis cannot wait. Our health service and our health workers cannot wait.
The coming weeks and months offer enormous opportunities for us to promote our economic potential to international investors when we visit the US over St Patrick’s week.
April marks 25 years of transformative peace on this island, and the signing of the Good Friday Agreement.
When we met with businesses this week, they were absolutely eager and excited about the potential of the economic advantages available to us. To miss this opportunity would be economically and politically reckless.
The eyes of the world are again on us and we want to showcase opportunity – not further instability and dysfunction.
So, while it is reasonable for everyone to study the details of the deal between the EU and the British government, the deal is now done and it is time to move forward.
There should be no hold-up in getting the Executive back up and running. Sinn Féin is ready today to work with all the other parties to restore a Government that will work for the people.
This is what the people want. It is what we were elected to do and it is what our people deserve.
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