TIGHT LIPPED UP AT STORMONT...
THE British Prime Minister yesterday urged Stormont’s leaders to make one final push to strike a deal to salvage power-sharing.
After holding talks with the DUP and Sinn Fein in Belfast, Theresa May insisted there was the basis of an agreement to end the 400-day impasse and she expressed confidence a devolved executive would be “up and running soon”.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also held talks with politicians at Stormont, though notably he did not have a meeting with the DUP.
Mr Varadkar said he hoped a deal could be achieved later this week.
Mrs May, who met all the main parties at Stormont House yesterday, said the discussions were “full and frank”.
She added: “The DUP and Sinn Fein have been working hard to close the remaining gaps.
“Some differences remain but I think there is the basis of an agreement here and I have been urging the parties to make one final push for the people of Northern Ireland.”
Mr Varadkar said the differences were “not insurmountable”.
He expressed hope Stormont’s smaller parties – the Ulster Unionists, SDLP and Alliance – could be part of a new coalition executive.
Mr Varadkar said: “It is our strong view that an inclusive executive including as Cnwtrilrseemmi-ary Lou comlocndborninaglds, Theresa in M‘reagyu,alarl’ene Foster styalned Leo Varadkar many parties as possible would be more sustainable and more beneficial for Northern Ireland as a whole.”
Relations have been strained between the DUP and Mr Varadkar’s government over the Brexit process, but Tanaiste Simon Coveney urged people not to “read too much” into the fact that the main unionist party did not meet the Taoiseach at Stormont.
The North has been without a functioning government since January 2017 and several rounds of talks to resolve the crisis have failed.
However, speculation has growing that a deal is imminent.
DUP leader Arlene Foster said the tone of the meeting with Mrs May was positive. Mrs Foster said she shared public frustration that the pace of progress had been been slow. She added: “We have been engaged in three weeks of intensive talks with Sinn Fein building on the talks that have been going on for some time.
“We recognise the frustration that is out there but good progress has been made and we will continue to work to look for more progress.”
Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou Mcdonald said: “We believe we are close to an agreement which, certainly, we can put to our grassroots and to the community as a whole.
“We are not exactly there just yet, but there is
YESTERDAY
Irish and British government representatives meeting at Stormont yesterday nothing insurmountable if there is the will to reach an agreement.”
The DUP/SINN Fein-led coalition imploded last January amid a row over a botched green energy scheme.
That rift subsequently widened to take in long-running disputes over culture, social issues and legacy.
The main sticking point preventing the restoration of an executive is the Irish language.
There was speculation over the weekend that three pieces of legislation – an Irish Language Act, an Ulster Scots Act and a broader Culture Act – could be a means to satisfy both sides.
Meanwhile, Mr Varadkar said officials from Dublin and Westminster will work together on efforts to avoid a hard border after Brexit.
The Taoiseach said a comprehensive free trade and customs deal between the UK and European Union was the best way of avoiding problems at the frontier.
Following talks with Theresa May in Belfast, Mr Varadkar said both governments agreed that was the best approach and officials would “explore solutions” to the issue over the coming months.
Mrs May said the agreement reached on the first phase of the Brexit process in December still applied and “we are both committed to no hard border”.
Differences remain but I think the basis of an agreement is here
THERESA MAY
STORMONT