Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
WHO’S ON THE NAUGHTY LIST?
Smith meets parties in bid to end Stormont row
THE electorate has delivered a loud message to Stormont’s politicians that the power-sharing crisis must end, the Secretary of State has said.
Julian Smith added he sensed the main parties had realised the people’s No1 concern was the floundering public services left rudderless as a result of the three-year impasse.
He held bilateral meetings with the leaders of the five parties at Stormont House on Monday as a new talks initiative process got under way ahead of a looming deadline next month.
Roundtable talks involving the British and Irish governments as well as the parties are scheduled for later this week.
If a devolved executive is not resurrected by January 13, legislation that gives the Civil Service extra powers to run public services will expire, and Mr Smith will be under a legal duty to call a snap Assembly election.
The region’s two main parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, entered the latest negotiations on the back of disappointing General Election, with many interpreting the results as the public passing judgment on their failure to restore the Assembly.
The crisis in the health service has heaped further pressure on the politicians to get back to work. Healthcare workers, who demonstrated at Stormont yesterday, will go on strike this week in protest at pay restraints and staffing shortages.
After his meetings, Mr Smith described the mood as “positive” and said he detected a willingness to strike a deal. He said the Government was willing to do “everything it can” to support any fresh investment in public services.
He added:“the sense that I get today is that every party has had time to reflect and there are serious issues to reflect upon and the biggest message they got on the doorstep essentially wasn’t about Brexit, wasn’t about their own parties’ individual policies but it was the fact that this Executive and Assembly has remained dormant for 1,000 days and I think my sense from everybody is there was a realisation that that was not a sustainable position.”
Power-sharing imploded almost three years ago amid a row over issues including RHI and an Irish language Act. With same-sex marriage having been legislated for at Westminster earlier this year, the wrangle over the
Irish language remains the key stumbling block.
The parties are also trying to agree reforms to Assembly structures – in particular the contentious petition of concern voting mechanism that effectively hands large parties the ability to veto changes, even if a majority support them.
After meeting Mr Smith, DUP leader Arlene Foster acknowledged voters wanted Stormont back up and running.
She added: “Therefore we are here to try to make that happen. I hope all the other parties will too.”
Mrs Foster, who said she did not believe a new Assembly election was necessary before 2022, stressed the need for an injection of money.
Sinn Fein President Mary Lou Mcdonald added there should be no “red lines” in negotiations.
She said: “That’s not how we understand these matters or how we articulate it. These are matters that have to be resolved.”
Ms Mcdonald said the Government needed to deliver a “big cash injection” to help tackle the problems facing
public services.