It has taken 152 days to achieve but Northern Ireland has a government once more after a lengthy stand-off between the province's biggest political parties, the Democratic Unionists and Sinn Féin.

Peter Robinson, the First Minister and DUP leader, and his deputy, Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Féin, announced the breakthrough yesterday. The Stormont power-sharing executive will sit tomorrow for the first time since June.

Announcing a programme of “modalities” that will lead to the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster - Sinn Féin's main grievance and principal motive for creating the logjam - both leaders said that it should lead to devolution “without undue delay”.

There was relief in London and Dublin but the absence of a local government for so many months, combined with the costs of running its offices, has inflicted damage to the architecture of the Good Friday agreement - the route map out of violence drawn up more than a decade ago.

The unwillingness of Northern Ireland's politicians to work together is exhausting the patience of those who voted for the peace accord. Yet, as the months dragged by and the Province did not grind to a halt, it became increasingly commonplace to hear the view expressed that direct rule by ministers in London may not be such a bad thing after all.

Since the DUP joined hands with Sinn Féin in May, the executive has failed to resolve a single significant issue: no resolution of a replacement for the selective “11-plus” transfer test for grammar schools that Mr McGuinness cancelled in 2002 while Education Minister; no plan for the future of the vast Maze prison site. Even the appointment of a victims commissioner was fudged extravagantly: when agreement could not be reached after a year's deliberation on who to select, the DUP and Sinn Féin simply opted to appoint all four applicants to the post - each at the full £65,000 annual salary.

The running costs of the Northern Ireland Assembly are £34,000 a day, its 108 members, who represent 1.5 million people, sit for two days a week in the magnificent Stormont parliament buildings.

The French publisher of a coffee-table book about Stormont described it wryly as somewhat grander than his own country's Assemblée Nationale, which administers a population of 70million.

Meanwhile, the publication of a book of members' recipes gave commentators the opportunity to point up the “let them eat cake” aspect of the hiatus in meaningful activity.

Mr Robinson said: “We look to the Prime Minister to make good his commitment of helping to resolve the financial arrangements relating to the devolution of these powers.”

This suggested that the executive expects to receive additional government funding. Mr McGuinness may not regret the passing of the days of the “Chuckle Brothers” - when he shared office with the Rev Ian Paisley, Mr Robinson's predecessor - but he did provide the only smile of yesterday's press conference. He noted that the executive's first meeting tomorrow was taking place on “my 34th wedding anniversary... and Bernie's very anxious to know how long that meeting will take”.

It may not be just his wife who anxiously waits to see if Sinn Féin and the DUP can finally start working together.

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