The leaders of Ireland's main churches have come together in a call for devolution to be restored in Northern Ireland.

In a joint statement, they encourage "political parties to keep their eyes on the goal of restoring devolution", as the talks pause for Christmas.

The leaders of the Church of Ireland, Methodist Church in Ireland, Roman Catholic Church, Presbyterian Church in Ireland and the Irish Council of Churches said: "Like many across our community, we are disappointed that it has not been possible to restore the devolved institutions before Christmas.

"As leaders of Ireland's main churches, we want to encourage all those taking part and we pray that, together, they fully grasp this opportunity when they return to the negotiating table in January."

The leaders of Ireland’s main churches (left to right) Rev Sam McGuffin, President of the Methodist Church in Ireland, Most Rev Eamon Martin, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of all Ireland, Rt Rev Dr William Henry, Moderator of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland, Most Rev Dr Richard Clarke, Church of Ireland Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland, with Rev Brian Anderson, President of the Irish Council of Churches

They continued: "It is incumbent on all of us to recognise the road that has been travelled since the collapse of the executive nearly three years ago.

"It is a journey that has damaged our health service and our schools.

"It has also nurtured a growing sense of despair in our politics and contributed to additional hardships and worry experienced by the most vulnerable people in our society."

"While we acknowledge that points of difference obviously remain, the goal of restoring devolution remains within reach, even if it still rests a little way off.

"We add our collective support for this process and encourage those taking part to continue working creatively and courageously towards a deal that can bring stability and begin to restore a sense of hope.

"For the sake of the whole community, we urge all our political representatives to go that extra mile."

"It is our prayer that through generosity of spirit and courageous leadership a balanced accommodation that serves the common good, and has reconciliation at its heart, can be found and one that will lead to a sustainable power-sharing executive in the new year."

Last week, Tánaiste Simon Coveney insisted there is still a deal to be done to restore power-sharing in the region.

The DUP was blamed after efforts to reach a deal were delayed once again.

The UK's Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith said he was "deeply disappointed" that the party was the only one to hold out on a possible agreement.

A rountable meeting at Stormont in Belfast with (left to right) Conor Murphy, Michelle O'Neill, Arlene Foster, Edwin Poots.

There has been no executive at Stormont since it collapsed amid the 'Cash for Ash' scandal in 2017.

The scandal revolved around the Renewable Heating Incentive (RHI), which was designed to encourage businesses to replace older heating sources with eco-friendly alternatives.

Problems with the scheme - introduced under the watch of DUP leader Arlene Foster while she was enterprise minister - meant that subsidies exceeded the cost price of the fuel, effectively encouraging users to burn extra fuel in order to claim money.

Mrs Foster refused to stand down while an inquiry was carried out into the scandal - leading to the then Sinn Féin leader in the North, Martin McGuinness, resigning his position.

Assembly elections were held in March 2017, but efforts to form a new executive have repeatedly stalled.

The region marked a milestone of 1,000 days without a working devolved government in October.