The Government is finalising its framework engagement with the DUP, with ministers stating an agreement has entered its “final stages”, as new post-Brexit rules come into effect this weekend.
From today, September 30, the Windsor Framework’s green and red lanes activate, the former being accessible to trusted traders via the UK Internal Market Scheme (UKIMS).
The UKIMS will allow these traders to pass goods between Northern Ireland and the UK mainland without customs checks and minimum paperwork, both of which were dealbreakers for the DUP, which has led protests on its post-Brexit trade arrangements.
Ministers hope the changes will persuade the party to relinquish its more than year-long hold on the home nation’s institutions.
However, the DUP still seems reluctant to restore power-sharing agreements.
In a letter published on Saturday, Mr Heaton-Harris said the Government is finalising a “period of constructive engagement with the DUP”.
He wrote: “We are pulling together a comprehensive package of proposals that we hope will address their concerns.
“I have no doubt that it is their genuine desire to focus on concrete improvements and to create a situation that will enable the Executive to be restored.
“I firmly believe that restoration of the institutions is right for Northern Ireland and right for the future of the Union.”
The minister added that the Government needs a devolved Northern Ireland assembly to work on its chief concerns and that the coming weeks would provide a “chance to move forward”.
He said: “[T]o move on from Brexit and get Northern Ireland moving again.
“Together we can make this work for everyone in Northern Ireland.”
But the DUP has, so far, shown it isn’t convinced, with MP Sammy Murray saying the Windsor Framework rules “confirm” a border in the Irish Sea.
He added that his party would not return to the power-sharing institutions at Stormont, as this would be legally required to implement the framework.
Patience has worn thin with Sinn Fein leaders, with Vice President Michelle O’Neill calling on the UK and Irish governments to formulate a plan that restores the north’s institutions.
