Irish Examiner view: First priority is the day-to-day needs of the people of the North 

First Minister Michelle O'Neill echoes the Sinn Féin president on the issue of Irish unity, but is emphasising more immediate concerns

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and British prime minister Rishi Sunak meeting at Parliament Buildings in Belfast, following the restoration of the powersharing executive. Picture: Government of Ireland/PA

As Leo Varadkar and Rishi Sunak yesterday attended Stormont to give official blessing to the re-establishment of the Northern Ireland Assembly, it was talk of a united Ireland that continued to provide a backdrop to what was a step forward for Northern Ireland.

Sinn Féin used the Assembly’s return to re-declare that there would be a united Ireland within a decade. It is, according to Mary Lou McDonald, “within touching distance”.