Six months since Stormont restored: How is it going so far?

Matthew O’Toole, leader of the opposition in Northern Ireland’s legislative assembly, argued the executive’s first six months have prioritised “photo opportunities over substance”.

The Social Democratic and Labour Party (SDLP) assembly member said executive parties have “passed dozens of motions on every conceivable subject”, but have “failed to publish a Programme for Government with clear targets”.

To deliver those targets, Stormont’s executive and assembly must remain standing – far from a guarantee based on past experience.

In the 26 years since the 1998 Good Friday Agreement peace deal which formed the institutions, they have been suspended for about 10 of them.

The most recent two-year collapse resulted from the DUP walking away in a row over post-Brexit trade arrangements.

It eventually returned to the institutions after a deal with the UK government brokered by the DUP’s then leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

His shock departure in March after he was charged with historical sex offences, which he is contesting, was another precarious moment for Stormont.

Since then Gavin Robinson has been installed as DUP leader and the devolved government has continued.

A sustained period of stable government is what Northern Ireland needs most, according to Ms Watt.

“It has been good to see positivity and constructive working from the executive in the last six months, but we need it to be robust enough to withstand difficult political periods too,” she added.

However, Mr O’Toole said that “meaningful reform and a plan to rescue our public services are the bare minimum the public can expect”.

“Stormont needs to do more than simply be there.”