DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson will meet senior party colleagues ahead of a potential decision on whether to return to the powersharing institutions at Stormont, political sources have indicated.
The crunch meeting is expected to take place on Friday, with one senior DUP source saying “it is clear decision time has arrived”.
The Stormont Assembly has been collapsed for almost two years while the unionist party refuses to participate until its concerns over post-Brexit trading arrangements have been addressed by the UK government.
Senior civil servants are running Stormont departments, with limited powers, in the absence of local ministers.
Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said before Christmas that his negotiations with the DUP over the Windsor Framework had concluded.
Although the party has been holding out since then for more clarification, it appears that the moment has arrived for the party to decide whether it will back the deal which could end the Stormont powersharing deadlock.
Political sources have told the PA news agency that Sir Jeffrey will try to get the support of his party officers at a meeting on Friday.
If successful, this could see the deal then being sent for approval to the party’s executive over the weekend.
One senior DUP source said: “Whether a decision is taken today or next week it is clear that the time for a decision has arrived.
“The negotiation is over.”
However, Sir Jeffrey would be expected to face opposition from some of his party officers who have been critical of any Stormont return until all of their concerns over the Irish Sea trading border have been addressed.
A DUP spokesman said he would not give a running commentary on internal party affairs.
Another senior party source said he did not expect any imminent announcement would be made on Friday.
Expectations had been raised before Christmas that the DUP could be poised to return to powersharing, but it did not materialise.
The Government has offered a £3.3 billion package to stabilise Northern Ireland’s finances, including £600 million to settle public sector pay claims in Northern Ireland.
However, Mr Heaton-Harris has made clear that the funds can only be released when the powersharing institutions return.
Thousands of public sector workers took part in strike action on Thursday, where calls were made for Mr Heaton-Harris to release the funds for pay claims and for the DUP to return to Stormont.
On Thursday a legislative deadline passed for the restoration of the Stormont Assembly.
Any imminent return of the Assembly would first require new legislation to be tabled at Westminster.
A No 10 spokeswoman said: “I wouldn’t get into commentary or speculation around political party meetings.
“Our focus has always been on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland who rightly expect locally elected decisionmakers to address the issues that matter to them
“We also think we have a strong basis for the restoration of powersharing, so we hope this can be fixed soon.”
Amid warnings earlier this week that the Stormont Assembly may not return for some time, former Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said on social media: “Sometimes it’s darkest before the dawn.”
Irish premier Leo Varadkar said the meeting is a “positive sign”.
He added: “We’ll be very keen to see the Assembly and executive up and running again and certainly our role, as the Irish Government, will be to do everything we can to make sure that it is sustainable, that it is successful.
“There are very serious issues that have to be dealt with in Northern Ireland, from public sector pay to the health service, to other issues.
“If it is the case that the executive and the Assembly can be re-established, we want to make sure that it’s sustainable and successful and we’re willing to work with the British Government and all the major parties in the north on exactly that.”
However, he said he was not aware of any changes to the Windsor Framework, and that any changes would have to be made by the EU and the UK.
