Monday deadline for NI parties
Northern Ireland Assembly members have been given until Monday to make their position clear on a committee preparing for devolved government.
By:Press Association
08/06/2006 14:49:02
After three days of deadlock over who should chair the Preparation for Government committee at Stormont, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain said stalemate was not an option.
“I know that many people across Northern Ireland share my frustration at the failure to get this crucial committee up and running,” he said.
“Matters simply cannot rest here.
“Despite the current procedural deadlock, a way has to be found to move forward if the restoration of devolution is to become a reality.
“I want the parties to reflect carefully on this over the weekend and I have asked my officials to make contact with them to see where we can establish common ground.
“We will need to be clear where we are going by Monday.”
Mr Hain had intended the Preparation for Government Committee at Stormont to identify key issues which would have to be addressed ahead of the November 24 deadline for the restoration of power sharing.
Talks on restoring devolution in Northern Ireland are also expected later this month, possibly June 26 and 27, involving Prime Minister Tony Blair and Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.
However over the past three days, the Rev Ian Paisley`s Democratic Unionists have been blamed by four other parties - Sinn Fein, the Ulster Unionists, the SDLP and the Alliance Party - for the stalemate over the committee chair.
Over the past three days, the committee explored a variety of proposals on how it should be chaired.
The DUP wanted Assembly Speaker Eileen Bell to chair proceedings but she refused, insisting it would not be appropriate.
The DUP also suggested that their South Antrim MP the Rev William McCrea or the leader of the cross-community Alliance Party David Ford should chair it.
Mr Ford said he was not interested in the idea unless the chairmanship was rotated among the five parties taking part - a proposal which had the support of Sinn Fein, the nationalist SDLP, the Ulster Unionists and Alliance.
Sinn Fein initially proposed that it and the DUP should share the chairmanship of the committee between them.
Another proposal that Mrs Bell and the two Deputy Speakers in the Assembly, the DUP`s Jim Wells and Sinn Fein`s Francie Molloy, should chair its proceedings was also explored.
However in a letter to the parties yesterday explaining how she had sought legal advice, Mrs Bell reaffirmed her view that she could have no role on the committee.
Sinn Fein chief negotiator Martin McGuinness accused the DUP of adopting blocking tactics and claimed the British and Irish Governments, as a result, would soon have to take hard decisions on the Assembly and the future direction of the political process.
The Mid Ulster MP said: “The vast majority of parties who support the Good Friday Agreement, who respect democratic mandates and who want to see the political institutions put back in place cannot be expected to be held to ransom while the DUP debate whether or not to come on board.
“The DUP need to indicate and indicate soon that they are serious about this project. If they continue to set themselves against progress then the two governments are obliged to act.
“They cannot allow a repeat of the sort of farce the DUP subjected us to this week.
“If progress towards restoring fully functioning political institutions cannot be made before the end of this month then the two governments should move ahead, close the Assembly and stop the MLA salaries.”
One of the DUP`s representatives on the committee, Ian Paisley Junior, however, rejected criticism which was directed at his party by the rival Ulster Unionists and the SDLP as well as Sinn Fein.
The North Antrim MLA claimed the committee was `a half baked idea` by Mr Hain to `spare the blushes of Sinn Fein` over its boycott of Assembly debates.
“Why are Sinn Fein boycotting the Assembly but wanting to run an Assembly committee?” he asked.
“They wanted a power grab to hold the chair. Get a neutral person into the chair and let us discuss the issues under a neutral chairperson.”
