Governments give MLAs November deadline
Thursday, 6 April 2006 22:46
The Irish and British governments have given members of the Northern Assembly a deadline of 24 November to set up a power-sharing executive.
Following a meeting in Armagh, the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister warned that if no agreement is forthcoming by then, attempts at restoration would be suspended and the salaries of MLAs cancelled.
Speaking on RTÉ Radio's News At One, Bertie Ahern said he hoped the DUP leader, Ian Paisley, would see today's developments as an opportunity that he should grasp.
Mr Paisley said there was no evidence that Sinn Féin/IRA would be any further advanced in giving up criminality by November.
He said that given that there would be no executive formed for the foreseeable future, the best way forward would be to recall the Assembly.
Sinn Féin's Chief Negotiator Martin McGuinness stated that his party would meet to consider its position but it would be focusing on defending the core principles of the Good Friday Agreement.
Assembly to meet on 15 May
Under the governments' plan announced at Navan Fort, the Assembly would meet on 15 May and attempt to elect an executive within six weeks.
Failure to agree within that time period would see the final deadline of 24 November set for the restoration of power-sharing.
The two governments say they are committed to what they call a step change in advancing north-south co-operation and are beginning detailed work on partnership arrangements that would be necessary if the current initiative fails.
This morning's statement made no mention of Assembly scrutiny committees, which had been the focus of Sinn Féin and SDLP objections to the plan to bring back the Assembly next month.
The two governments said the Assembly could instead consider issues that the executive might in time have to deal with.
It comes eight years after the two leaders brokered the Good Friday Agreement.
In 1998, Ian Paisley and the DUP turned their backs on the deal. The arrangement floated today seeks to get all the main parties, including the DUP, into a power-sharing Assembly by the end of the year.
- News At One: Martin McGuinness and Senator Maurice Hayes speak about the deadline set to elect an executive
- News At One: Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, speaks to An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern about his hopes for the restoration of devolved government in Northern Ireland
- News At One: Martin McGuinness, Sinn Féin Chief Negotiator, gives his reaction to today's statement
- News At One: Senator Maurice Hayes, former Northern Ireland Ombudsman, discusses the ultimatum issued by the Irish and British governments
- News At One: Sandra Hurley reports on a warning from the Taoiseach and the British Prime Minister
- Morning Ireland: Dermot Ahern, Minister for Foreign Affairs, outlines the two governments' new strategy to restore the Northern Ireland institutions and discusses what might happen next
- Morning Ireland: Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, previews the proposals to be announced in Armagh today in an effort to restore power sharing in Northern Ireland
- Prime Time: Edwin Poots, MLA, of the DUP and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin give their views on what needs to be done before the deadline passes
- Prime Time: Clare Murphy reports on the day's events
- Nine News: Tommie Gorman brings the latest live from Stormont
- Nine News: Declan McBennett reports that there has been mixed political reaction to the new deadline
- Nine News: Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, reports that the parties have been given seven months to set up a power-sharing executive
- Six One News: An Taoiseach Bertie Ahern speaks about his hopes for the restoration of power-sharing in Northern Ireland
- Six One News: Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, discusses the progress likely to be made over the coming months
- Six One News: Declan McBennett reports on mixed reaction to the announcement from Sinn Féin and the DUP
- Six One News: David Davin-Power, Political Correspondent, reports as the Irish and British governments agree a timetable for agreement on power-sharing
- One News: Tommie Gorman, Northern Editor, says the big question is do the parties want to share power
- One News: Declan McBennett reports on the measures announced at the joint news conference in Armagh this morning
- News Special: David Davin-Power speculates on the likely reaction from the political parties
- News Special: Watch the video of the arrivals in Armagh
- News Special: Senator Maurice Hayes, former Northern Ireland Ombudsman, says one difficulty is that there appears to be more for the unionists to lose if they fail to reach agreement
- News Special: Prime Minister Tony Blair and Taoiseach Bertie Ahern outline their thinking on the latest attempt to restore devolved government
- News Special: David Davin-Power, Political Correspondent, says there are rumours of intensive round table talks over the summer
