Mr Varadkar warns of past ‘false dawn’ of Northern Ireland power-sharing return – Irish Times

Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has warned that there have been several “false dawns” in the past regarding hopes that power-sharing will be restored in Northern Ireland.

Talks between Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leaders on the possibility of ending the Stormont boycott ended on Friday without a formal decision. The party executive meeting comes amid mounting speculation that the DUP is preparing to discuss whether to reinstate the Northern Ireland Executive and accept the UK Government’s agreement on a post-Brexit trade deal. Ta.

Stormont’s devolved institutions have been collapsed for almost two years as a result of a DUP boycott protesting Brexit-related economic barriers to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Speaking in Galway on Friday, Mr Varadkar said he could not reveal anything about internal DUP discussions. “I don’t want to get our hopes up. There have been quite a few false dawns when it comes to executive reactivation,” he said.

“I think what we all want to see is a thriving Congress and executive branch. [there are] We want devolution to work again because it’s a really serious problem that needs to be addressed in Northern Ireland…Of course the Irish Government is ready to help in every way possible. I’m delighted,” he said.

The Fine Gael leader said the government was not involved in recent talks over Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trade rules. “No changes to the Windsor Framework have been requested by the UK side and there are no ongoing negotiations in this regard,” he said. He added: “If there is something that can be done at a bilateral level within the UK, it might give the DUP some reassurance, but that is a matter for the UK government.”

Downing Street expressed hope that the Stormont impasse would be resolved soon. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said before Christmas that negotiations with the DUP over the terms of the Windsor Framework had concluded.

Since then, the party has been holding out for further clarification on the UK government’s proposals, but appears to be at a crossroads in deciding whether to reject or accept a deal that would end the power-sharing impasse.

One senior DUP official said: Negotiations are over. ”

Senior civil servants currently run devolved departments with limited powers in the absence of local ministers.

The proposed return to Stormont is strongly opposed by some of the DUP’s 12 party leaders who have made it clear that devolution should only be restored if all concerns about the Irish Sea trade border are resolved. It is expected that

The board includes senior leaders including leader Sir Geoffrey Donaldson, deputy leader Gavin Robinson, senior member Lord Dodds, and long-serving MPs Sammy Wilson and Gregory Campbell.

A DUP spokesperson declined to comment on the meeting. “I understand that there is a great deal of interest in our meeting today,” he said. “We do not intend to comment on our position, but suffice it to say that we will continue to engage with the government.”

There were hopes the DUP would be poised to return to power-sharing before Christmas, but this did not materialize.

The UK Government has proposed a £3.3bn package to stabilize Northern Ireland’s finances, including £600m to settle Northern Ireland’s public sector pay claims.

But Mr Heaton-Harris clarified that the funds could only be released if the power-sharing institutions were reinstated.

Thousands of public sector workers took part in strike action on Thursday, calling on Heaton-Harris to release funding for pay claims and for the DUP to return to Stormont.

On Thursday, the legislative deadline for Stormont council’s recovery passed. As a result, the imminent return of Parliament will require new legislation to be tabled in Westminster first.

A Downing Street spokesperson said he would not speculate about a party meeting.

“Our focus has always been on serving the people of Northern Ireland, who rightly expect their locally elected decision-makers to address the issues that matter to them,” she added. Ta. “We also believe that we have a strong foundation to restore power sharing, so we hope this issue will be fixed soon.”

A DUP spokesperson said: We do not intend to comment on our position in detail, but suffice it to say that we will continue to engage with the government. ” – Additional Report PA