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Pressure mounts on Northern Irish parties to restore power sharing
Northern Ireland: Sinn Féin backs deal to restore power sharing
(about 3 hours later)
Sinn Féin and DUP urged to support compromise deal to end three years of deadlock
DUP to meet shortly and are also expected to agree to British-Irish plan
Pressure is building on the two largest parties in Northern Ireland to accept a compromise deal that would lead to the restoration of a power-sharing government in the region.
Northern Ireland’s political parties are on the brink of a deal that will lead to the restoration of the power-sharing government in the region following its collapse three years ago.
As the ruling bodies ofSinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist party (DUP) meet separately to decide whether to support an agreement aimed at breaking three years of political deadlock, governments, trade unions and business leaders urged the parties to embrace the latest political package.
On Friday evening, Sinn Féin confirmed it would back a deal promoted by the British and Irish governments which included plans to put Gaelic on a par with English, its leader, Mary Lou McDonald, announced.
In proposals announced on Thursday the British and Irish governments set out plans to appoint two “language commissioners” with the aim of putting the Irish language on an equal par with English while protecting Ulster British culture.
She said: “We now have the basis to restore power sharing, and we’re up for that. There’s no doubt there are serious challenges ahead; the impact of Brexit, austerity and other pressing issues.
Both the DUP and Sinn Féin appeared overnight to have accepted the “New Decade, New Approach” paper put forward by the Northern Ireland secretary, Julian Smith, and the Irish deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney.
“But the biggest and most significant challenge will be ensuring we have genuine power-sharing to build on equality, respect and integrity.”
But Sinn Fein’s ruling executive was due to meet around lunchtime to debate the details of the agreement, with some concerns over exactly what kind of “veto powers” a unionist first minister might exercise over an Irish language commissioner.
She added that Sinn Féin was “committed” to Irish reunification efforts and to making sure people across the north-south divide enjoyed the same rights.
A source said there were concerns within Sinn Féin after the DUP rushed out a statement on the text. “There was a nervousness that the DUP came out very quickly to welcome it. It raised suspicions,” the source said.
Sources close to the Democratic Unionists told the Guardian on Friday evening that they were “quietly confident” the party would also endorse the agreement aimed at ending three years of political deadlock as governments, trade unions and business leaders urged them and the other parties involved to embrace the latest political package.
Under the proposals the two commissioners would have some legal powers to recommend or enforce policies such as dual language street signs. The two most important politicians in a new devolved government – the first and deputy first ministers – would have some role in shaping the remit of the commissioners.
They said the DUP ruling executive meeting later on Friday night would back the blueprint for political progress.
At about 7.30pm on Friday the DUP’s leadership will meet in east Belfast to debate whether or not the party will accept the agreement. Responding to the government blueprint, the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, said: “On balance, we believe there is a basis upon which the assembly and executive can be re-established in a fair and balanced way.”
There is even a suggestion that a newly reconstituted Northern Ireland Assembly may hold a special session this Saturday at Stormont to elect a parliamentary speaker and allow the five main parties to nominate ministers.
On Friday DUP sources told the Guardian that on balance it was likely that the party would row in behind the deal but that the leadership was taking soundings from its base in case of deeper opposition to the measures concerning the Irish language.
The DUP and Sinn Féin were threatened with fresh assembly elections if they did not agree a deal by Monday.
Urging the parties to accept the deal, Smith said: “We have gone for three years without government, without politicians taking the right decision, three years where MLAs [members of the legislative assembly] have been paid their salary. The time is up – we need to get back to work.”
With both suffering significant losses in the UK general election, that was not an attractive prospect, particularly as the centrist Alliance party doubled its share of the vote on 12 December.
The Sinn Féin leader, Mary Lou McDonald, said her party was “studying the text and will give it careful consideration”. New Decade, New Approach also includes millions in extra spending, from 700 extra police officers to a possible medical school at the Magee campus of the University of Ulster in Derry.
The public had also lost patience with politicians in the backdrop of one of the worst health crises in the region, with the first Royal College-backed nursing strike in a century. McDonald said: “The first action we believe of the incoming executive must be to deliver pay parity to health workers.”
The British government may have to spend up to £1bn extra on the region as part of the deal. A large proportion of this would be to address the local NHS, which has the worst waiting lists in the UK.
It is understood that the DUP will get three ministries and that one will be headed up by the MEP Diane Dodds, possibly education. Sinn Féin will run two while the SDLP, cross-community Alliance party and the Ulster Unionists will each control one ministry.
Downing Street said on Friday the deadline for agreeing a deal in Stormont was “now”.
At the core of the deal proposed by the British and Irish governments is the creation of two new “language commissioners” as part of a cultural plan to put Gaelic on an equal par to English while protecting Ulster British culture.
“This deal is a balanced package that will ensure more sustainable institutions in the future, better politics and more transparency, a new framework on culture and language, and an ambitious programme for a new executive. There is a clear deadline – – the deadline is now,” a No 10 official said.
Earlier on Friday, the DUP and Sinn Fein appeared to have accepted the “New Decade, New Approach” paper put forward by the Northern Ireland secretary, Julian Smith, and the Irish deputy prime minister, Simon Coveney.
Any financial package will only be finalised after an agreement had been reached, the spokesman said.
Sinn Féin’s ruling executive met around lunchtime to debate the details of the agreement with some concerns over exactly what kind of “veto powers” a unionist first minister might exercise over the commissioners who would have some legal powers to recommend or enforce policies such as dual language street signs but it appears these were addressed.
The Irish prime minister, Leo Varadkar, said the talks were “at a very sensitive point”. “I was on the phone to the president of Sinn Féin this morning, spoke to the leaders of the SDLP and Alliance in the last couple of days, and in regular contact with the Tánaiste,” he told reporters at a Fine Gael event in Dublin on Friday. “So I think there is a real chance that today or, if not, by Monday, we can have the Northern Ireland assembly and executive back up and running again.”
Under the deal, the two most important politicians in a new devolved government – the first and deputy first ministers – would have some role in shaping the remit of the commissioners.
Business figures in the region welcome the proposed agreement and urged politicians to back it.
Responding to the government blueprint, the DUP leader, Arlene Foster, said: “On balance, we believe there is a basis upon which the [Northern Ireland] Assembly and executive can be re-established in a fair and balanced way.”
The Northern Ireland Retail Consortium director, Aodhán Connolly, said: “There are a lot of positive commitments in the deal for business, particularly around Brexit and infrastructure and ways for the NI business community to engage including a new Brexit committee.
She added: “This is not a perfect deal … there are elements within it which we recognise are the product of long negotiations and represent compromise outcomes. There will always need to be give and take.”
“We hope the parties will find a way to keep things progressing. We need political leadership to get Northern Ireland reaching its potential. The longer that we have no executive and assembly to mission critical decisions, the more we fall behind our neighbours to the south and east.”
Foster confirmed on Friday that she had spoken to Sinn Fein’s northern leader, Michelle O’Neill, while her colleague and DUP chief whip, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, insisted that unionists would have some control over the direction of an Irish Language Act.
The parties have until Monday to endorse the deal or else face fresh elections.
Coveney expressed confidence that an agreement would be reached before the deadline, saying the “positives in this deal” would be more than enough for the parties to back it.
