It is a pleasure to respond to this Adjournment debate where Conor Burns, Minister of State at the Northern Ireland Office, expressed his commitment to restoring the power-sharing institutions in Northern Ireland. Burns highlighted that it has been 151 days since the First Minister resigned and 61 days since the Assembly election, with no progress on forming a new Executive. He emphasised that the Northern Ireland Act 1998 underpins the functioning of the devolved government and its institutions, stating that there is no reason why restored devolved government cannot be achieved in Northern Ireland without being linked to resolving issues related to the protocol. Burns also noted the frustration over Assembly members drawing salaries while unable to conduct business and highlighted the passage of the Northern Ireland (Ministers, Elections and Petitions of Concern) Bill which grants parties a maximum of 24 weeks to form an Executive. He acknowledged the progress made since the signing of the Belfast/Good Friday agreement in 1998 but stressed that political leaders need to look to the example set by the people of Northern Ireland for genuine progress.