Democratic Unionist leader Peter Robinson will lead his party into further discussions aimed at saving power-sharing in Belfast despite being discharged from hospital on Sunday.
The acting first minister, Arlene Foster, said she expected Robinson to be at the open plenary session at the Stormont House talks, which were due to start at about 11am on Monday.
Robinson was admitted to the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast late on Saturday after suffering a reaction to medication.
The 66-year-old spent several days in hospital in May after suffering a heart attack in May, when he had stents put into his body.
“We’re delighted that the issue was diagnosed and he was able to leave hospital. I do expect him to be at the talks opening plenary at 11:30,” Foster said on BBC Radio Ulster on Monday morning.
All five main political parties represented in the Northern Ireland assembly will attend the talks, which are designed to prevent power-sharing and devolution from collapse.
The political crisis at Stormont erupted last month after George Hamilton, the chief constable of the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) said the IRA still existed and that some of its members had murdered ex-republican prisoner Kevin McGuigan.
Monday’s talks will be co-hosted by the Northern Ireland secretary, Theresa Villiers, and the Irish foreign minister, Charles Flanagan.
Unionists have decided to join the negotiations after Villiers announced on Friday that a new body would be set up to examine the status of the IRA ceasefires and report by October on whether the organisation was still active.
Sinn Fein insists the IRA has “left the stage” and is no longer active. The republican party has accused both unionist parties at Stormont of manufacturing a crisis due to inter-unionist electoral rivalry. The party has also denounced those behind the McGuigan murder and the previous murder of ex-IRA Belfast commander Gerard “Jock” Davison in May.
