Talks on restoring Northern Ireland assembly likely to restart today

Talks to restore Northern Ireland’s Assembly look likely to begin today.

Following Friday’s general election, parties across the political spectrum have stated their intent to get back around the negotiating table.

It also appears that despite the election shake-up, Julian Smith will remain Northern Ireland Secretary of State.

Mr Smith spoke with all five party leaders yesterday morning and later tweeted: “Good calls with all five party leaders this morning. Look forward to starting positive process tomorrow to get Stormont back up and running.”

Stormont has been mothballed for more than 1,000 days due to a stand-off between Sinn Fein and the DUP on issues such as Irish languagelegislationandaban on same-sex marriage.

Public opinion over the stalemate has had a detrimental effect on the two major parties and this has been reflected in recent elections.

The DUP suffered a considerable blow after party deputy leader Nigel Dodds lost his seat in North Belfast to Sinn Fein’s John Finucane.

Likewise, Sinn Fein lost its seat in Foyle to the SDLP by a huge majority, in what is being seen as a resurgence in support for Colum Eastwood’s party.

They also took a seat from the DUP in South Belfast.

It is understood that both the DUP and Sinn Fein are keen to be seen to getting back around the table to restore confidence with the electorate before any further elections.

Sinn Fein representative Martin Kenny appeared on RTE’S The Week in Politics yesterday, saying his party “absolutely wants to be back in Stormont” in January.

“We don’t have any red lines, all we have called for is that all parties need to agree to implement the agreements that have already been reached,” he said.