Northern Ireland

DUP told to 'tone down rhetoric' as Sinn Féin considers court action over cross-border boycott

Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey. Picture by Pacemaker
Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey. Picture by Pacemaker Communities Minister Deirdre Hargey. Picture by Pacemaker

JUSTICE Minister Naomi Long last night waded into the row over the DUP's boycott of cross-border bodies, urging Sir Jeffrey Donaldson's party to "tone down the rhetoric" over its opposition to the protocol.

The Alliance leader said the DUP's approach was "as misdirected as it is pointless".

Her comments came as Sinn Féin minister Deirdre Hargey signalled she may take court action over the DUP's boycott of the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC), which Sir Jeffrey Donaldson announced last month in protest against the protocol.

The communities minister and Republic's minster for the Gaeltacht Jack Chambers were yesterday forced to abandon a planned meeting on languages due to the absence of DUP Junior Minister Gary Middleton.

Earlier this week, DUP minister Edwin Poots was a no show for a cross-border meeting on agriculture which he was due to attend alongside his executive colleague Nichola Mallon.

The SDLP infrastructure minister accused the DUP of "childish stunts" and said she had written to the two governments urging them to to intervene as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement and to "prevent the deliberate erosion of north-south cooperation".

Ms Hargey confirmed she was seeking legal advice "on challenging the DUP inaction" and associated breaches of the ministerial code.

"The DUP cannot cherry pick and through inaction and obstruction hamper government business on behalf of the public we all serve and represent," she said.

Sir Jeffrey said the way to resolve the matter was "for nationalist and republican ministers to recognise that the Irish Sea border is contrary to the Belfast Agreement".

DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Picture by Peter Morrison/PA Wire
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Picture by Peter Morrison/PA Wire DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson. Picture by Peter Morrison/PA Wire

He said he wanted "respectful north-south relations" and wished to work on matters of mutual concern but that the protocol had become a "roadblock".

Mrs Long told The Irish News that the protocol was a consequence of Brexit and the DUP was "effectively protesting a UK government decision".

"It is vital the institutions are allowed to function, away from this repeated destabilisation," she said.

"The DUP needs to tone down the rhetoric, withdraw their threats to the assembly and allow the rest of us to get on with the jobs we were elected to do, which is work to deliver progress for the people of Northern Ireland."

Fine Gael TD Neale Richmond said the boycott was "directly against the terms and the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement".

"Fresh proposals making the protocol work more easily are expected from the European Commission in the coming weeks, so the focus should be on that and the related engagement, not on boycotts or grandstanding," he said.

"Political unionism regularly claims it is not being listened to, well how can they be listened to if they don’t show up?"