In a major speech on Northern Ireland, the leader of the Labour Party has said recent events show that the ongoing problem for the region is sectarian and not political in nature.
Pat Rabbitte said the real problems in Northern Ireland were caused not by partition but by divisions within Northern Ireland itself.
The Labour leader told a selection convention in Co Louth that the reality was that Northern Ireland could get on without its devolved political institutions. He said a functioning political structure was desirable but not essential.
Mr Rabbitte argued that even when the political institutions were up and running, sectarianism was becoming more entrenched.
