THE Irish government has "made it clear" to British officials that direct rule "is not where we want to be" and will "walk together with the parties" to restore devolution, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said.
Mr Coveney made the comments during Leaders' Questions in the Dáil yesterday in response to a question from Sinn Féin Donegal TD Pearse Doherty.
It followed the breakdown of a deal on Wednesday, after the DUP leader Arlene Foster said that Sinn Féin's "insistence on a stand alone Irish Language Act means that we have reached an impasse".
Mr Doherty said: "Sinn Féin engaged, we worked in good faith, we stretched ourselves. There was an accommodation with the DUP. We had the basis of a deal.
"The issues involved are not going away. Sinn Féin know that, the Irish government know that, the British government know that and the DUP know that."
Mr Coveney said that the Irish government would be pushing for yet another round of negotiations between the parties, more than a year after the Assembly collapsed.
He said: "We have made it clear to the British government that direct rule is not where we want to be....it is not where the British or DUP want to be either.
"We will walk together with the parties....any alternative to that is bad news for everyone.
"There are positives in Arlene Foster's statement but clearly there is frustration within the unionist community about the Irish language Act," added Mr Coveney.
Mr Coveney also attacked the Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin, who tweeted that the "detachment of both governments over last six years not helpful".
The Foreign Minister and Tánaiste said that Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil had a longstanding policy of supporting each other on the north "regardless of which one is in government".
Describing some of the commentary as "unhelpful", Mr Coveney added: "If he (Micheál Martin) has a problem with our approach....he should talk to us about it rather than tweeting out within a hour of the DUP statement."
The shadow British Secretary of State, Labour's Owen Smith, said "people in Northern Ireland deserve to know why talks have floundered", while UUP chairman and former party leader Lord Empey called on the DUP and Sinn Féin to release details of the proposed deal.
Lord Empey said: "It is now very clear that the Northern Ireland public, and even some elected representatives from their respective parties, have been kept in the dark by the leadership of the DUP and Sinn Féin about the accommodation which they reached. Their accommodation deserves explanation."
Meanwhile, the Northern Ireland Office (NIO) has declined to comment on whether Secretary of State Karen Bradley will cut MLAs' pay, as recommended in a report given to her predecessor before Christmas.
James Brokenshire, who stepped down from the role last month after a lesion was discovered on his right lung, said in December he would consider the recommendations "carefully before responding".
The report by the former chief executive of the Assembly, Trevor Reaney, proposed cutting the MLA annual salary from £49,500 to £35,888, comprising an immediate cut of £7,425 followed by a further reduction of £6,187 within three months.
In a statement on Wednesday, Ms Bradley said that she believes "the basis for an accommodation still exists" but added that "challenging decisions will have to be taken" by the British government.
However, the NIO has declined to expand on whether that means fresh elections or direct rule.
Although the British government has consistently stated its desire for a return to devolution, DUP leader Arlene Foster said on Wednesday that it was now "incumbent upon Her Majesty's government" to intervene to set a budget and make policy decisions.
Ms Bradley said: "The position of the UK government remains the same: devolved government is in the best interests of everyone in Northern Ireland and is best for the Union.
"In the continued absence of an Executive, other challenging decisions will have to be taken by the UK government. I will update Parliament when the House returns from recess next week."
