Irish Examiner view: Assembly elections being pushed into the New Year hints at progress 

It's good news that the North will not now be subjected to a pre-Christmas election full of sound and fury signifying nothing 

The expected general election in the North has been put back until the New Year. File picture: Eamonn Farrell/Rolling News

At least we are not going to be subjected to pre-Christmas elections for the Northern Ireland Assembly, a campaign which would surely have consisted of sound and fury signifying nothing, and wasted some millions into the bargain.

News that the polls have been put back until the New Year amid suggestions that the EU and Britain have come closer to agreement will be welcomed in Westminster, where Rishi Sunak’s fledgling government has enough mountains to climb in its forthcoming fiscal statement on November 17.

And here at home, our own coalition must undergo a changing of the guard which will be a preoccupation during December. 

Micheál Martin has already stated that the system of sharing power between unionists and nationalists in the North is no longer fit for purpose and must be reviewed. 

That goes into the list of New Year resolutions then, whatever role the current Taoiseach fulfils in 2023.