The British and Irish governments have published the text of a draft deal aimed at restoring power sharing in Northern Ireland.

Secretary of State Julian Smith and Tánaiste (Irish Deputy Prime Minister) Simon Coveney made the announcement at a press conference at Stormont on Thursday evening.

Mr Coveney made reference to the New IRA murder of journalist Lyra McKee.

He said: "I think its also very important to remember, it is the awful murder or Lyra McKee that brought us back to these talks nine month ago.

"The British and Irish Governments, as well as all the party leaders, were left in no doubt by the wave of applause and the very public demonstration in St Anne's Cathedral that we had been called out to get politics in Northern Ireland working again.

He added: "I want you all to hear the words of Lyra McKee herself, the words she wrote in a book and never lived to publish. She said 'Northern Ireland is a beautiful tragedy strangled by the chains of its past, it's a place full of darkness and mysteries, but it's also my home.'"