Northern Ireland on verge of returning to direct rule

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland James Brokenshire. Picture: PA

The DUP made the call just hours before the latest deadline to restore powersharing at Stormont runs out.

Sinn Fein, however, has said a deal could still be done, but insisted it must be “a deal for all in society and not just for the political leaderships of unionism”.

The parties have been warned they must reach agreement by the end of Monday or Northern Ireland Secretary of State James Brokenshire will be forced to introduce a budget via Westminster.

Talks between the DUP and Sinn Fein paused on Friday for the weekend, without an agreement being reached.

On Monday morning, ahead of the resumption of talks, the DUP called on Mr Brokenshire to set a budget to ensure a “measure of good government” in the region.

The party said it would not accept “a bad agreement cobbled together to suddenly suit the timetables of others”.

“Our position has not changed, we want to see an executive set up - we would have done it in March and sorted these issues in tandem,” said the party in a statement.

“Given Sinn Fein have dragged their feet over the last 10 months, the secretary of state should bring forward a budget to bring a measure of good government to Northern Ireland,” the statement added.

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The DUP said it would continue the discussions as it believes “devolution is best for Northern Ireland”.

But it warned that it would not be a part of a “bad agreement cobbled together to suddenly suit the timetables of others”.

Sinn Fein’s Conor Murphy said while he believed a deal could still be done, it “needs to be a deal for all in our society and not just for the political leaderships of unionism”.

“If the political institutions are to be sustainable then they must be restored on the basis of equality, rights and respect.

“That requires an end to the DUP’s denial of rights citizens enjoy everywhere else on these islands, language rights, marriage rights and the right to a coroner’s court,” Mr Murphy added.

Earlier, SDLP leader Colum Eastwood said that if a deal was not reached by Monday’s deadline, his party would not accept direct rule from Westminster but only joint rule from both London and Dublin.

He said: “As I set out in January this year, I want to again make clear that a return to direct rule from London is wholly unacceptable.

“It would be a significant and serious breach of our political accommodation in the North and therefore must not be the automatic and the only fall-back option.”

Mr Eastwood added: “In the absence of an Executive and Assembly, giving representation to the North’s two traditions falls on both the Irish and British Governments.

“Maintaining that balance means that the alternative to direct rule is the joint stewardship of the North by the two governments.”

The executive collapsed in January and Northern Ireland has been without a powersharing government since then.

Despite endless rounds of discussions, a deal to restore devolution has proved elusive, with the introduction of an Irish language act seen as the main issue.