Promises made by the Sinn Fein pro-Irish unity party to tackle a housing and cost-of-living crisis and stop young people leaving the country have bolstered its popularity ahead of a general election on Friday.

The UK Government is "not minded to fund the North correctly", Mary Lou McDonald claimed as she defended Sinn Fein's record in the power-sharing Executive.

Sinn Fein's polling collapse from government-in-waiting to likely also-rans at an Irish election next week looks set to rob Irish nationalists of a potentially transformative moment in their pursuit of a united Ireland.

Sinn Féin would seek to hold a referendum on Irish unity by the end of the decade. The referendum would be held on both sides of the Irish border and would require a simple 50 per cent plus one majori

Friday's vote is "an historic opportunity" to elect Ireland's first female prime minister, Ms McDonald says, and should that happen, she plans to put reunification at the heart of government, with a referendum by 2030.