Northern Ireland

Sinn Féin brands latest talks to resolve Stormont impasse 'a sham'

Conor Murphy, Michelle O'Neill, Gerry Kelly and Mary Lou McDonald at Stormont House in Belfast after powersharing talks
Conor Murphy, Michelle O'Neill, Gerry Kelly and Mary Lou McDonald at Stormont House in Belfast after powersharing talks Conor Murphy, Michelle O'Neill, Gerry Kelly and Mary Lou McDonald at Stormont House in Belfast after powersharing talks

SINN Féin accused the UK Government of indulging in a sham merry-go-round after a meeting to take stock of Stormont's powersharing crisis failed to chart a way forward.

Party President Mary Lou McDonald claimed the roundtable talks involving the five main parties and UK and Irish governments were only called to give a false impression that Secretary Karen Bradley was proactively trying to resolve the impasse.

Ahead of the meeting, DUP leader Arlene Foster laid the blame for the two-year deadlock at Sinn Féin's door, accusing the party of holding Northern Ireland to ransom with unreasonable demands.

Friday's meeting came two years after the last DUP/Sinn Féin-led coalition imploded amid a row over a botched green energy scheme.

The wrangle over the renewable heat incentive (RHI) was soon overtaken by disputes over the Irish language, the ban on same sex marriage and legacy of the Troubles.

Numerous attempts to find a negotiated deal to restore the institutions failed.

The latest discussions involved Mrs Bradley, Tanaiste Simon Coveney and the leaders of the five main parties.

They ended without a meeting of minds on any outstanding issues.

Mrs McDonald said the two governments had failed to put forward any "credible proposition".

"It is a disgrace that for two years we have not had our powersharing institutions," she said.

"We have established again that, without a shadow of doubt, the DUP remains wedded to an agenda of denial of rights.

"We have established that the British Government remains in a position where they are happy to facilitate that veto on rights and we have made very, very clear that any serious attempt to restore the powersharing institutions has to be based on the principles of powersharing and at the core of that is a recognition of people's rights, at the core of that is a commitment to full powersharing and sustainability."

"There is a point at which honesty has to enter into the equation and for the Secretary of State to call a meeting to give the impression of action, when in fact the reality is one of inertia, is that helpful? We are open to any credible proposition but we will not participate in anything that amounts to a sham."

Mrs Foster called on Sinn Féin to get "serious" about restoring the institutions.

"We need devolution back in Northern Ireland," she said as she arrived with party MEP Diane Dodds.

"It should have been back in after March 2017, after that election. It didn't and it's a source of great frustration at this point, not just for us but for the whole population of Northern Ireland, that we are still talking about talks rather than actually dealing with government issues."

The DUP leader expressed hope that there would be a Brexit deal before March 29.

The SDLP leader, Colum Eastwood, said his party was sceptical about Ms Bradley's motivation for calling the talks.

He added that his party had a "willingness to try to do business" and was determined to see the restoration of the institutions.

UUP leader Robin Swann said that if politicians could not get the executive and assembly up and running again, then "we need to go to direct rule" from Westminster.