British and Irish governments publish draft deal with aim to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland

The deal is entitled New Decade, New Approach.

British and Irish governments have published the text of a draft deal that is aimed at restoring power sharing in Northern Ireland. Tánaiste Simon Coveney and British Secretary of State Julian Smith made the announcement at a press conference at Stormont on Thursday evening. The announcement was made on a date that marks three years since the Government collapsed in Northern Ireland. If agreed upon, the deal will see the assembly reconvene on Friday 10 January. According to the draft, "the deal will transform public services and restore public confidence in devolved government and has been tabled at talks at Stormont House for the political parties in Northern Ireland to agree." It also stated that over a period of several months of discussions, all of the issues were "extensively explored" with the opportunity for each participant to put forward proposals. Coveney spoke about the deal and said that it had taken longer than expected to reach this point. "Forget win or lose... this is a deal full of compromises." The text of the draft deal can be read in full here.