The DUP has said unionists in the North are concerned by the increasing number of people who voted for Sinn Féin in the Republic's general election.
DUP Assembly member, Mr Gregory Campbell, said nationalists in the North had long shown a willingness to support the Provisional IRA's political wing. "That trend has now moved south of the Border and it is very disturbing," he added.
Ulster Unionist Assembly member, Dr Esmond Birnie, said unionists might feel like despairing but there were reasons not to be overly depressed. Many voters supported Sinn Féin for very different reasons than their counterparts in the North, he said.
"Sinn Féin campaigned on different issues in the Republic - anti-corruption and anti-crime - incredible though this might seem. Practical partitionism!"
The Sinn Féin president, Mr Gerry Adams, said his party now had an electoral mandate on the entire island of Ireland.
