SECRETARY of State Chris Heaton-Harris was yesterday accused of being "bereft of a plan" for restoring the devolved institutions after roundtable talks with Stormont's main parties failed to yield any breakthough in the current impasse.
Mr Heaton-Harris emerged from the talks in Belfast urging the parties to "work together to restore the executive as soon as possible". The discussions took place on the day that had originally been earmarked for an assembly election.
However, despite previously warning that he would trigger a poll "at one minute past midnight" on October 28 if Stormont was not restored, the secretary of state has since introduced legislation delaying an election until the new year.
The DUP has been blocking the formation of an executive in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol.
In a statement issued after meeting the parties, Mr Heaton-Harris said he shared their "great passion for Northern Ireland and its future".
"I urged all parties to work together to restore the executive as soon as possible, reiterating that this political impasse cannot continue indefinitely, and that MLAs should be fulfilling all their duties for Northern Ireland’s people," he said.
PM @RishiSunak met Northern Ireland’s party leaders tonight pic.twitter.com/qbfYD5m8N6
— Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) December 15, 2022
“The UK government’s priority is to see the return of a strong, locally accountable devolved government, in line with the Belfast-Good Friday Agreement."
He said the public deserve to see their elected representatives "delivering for them in a fully functioning executive".
But Sinn Féin vice president Michelle O'Neill said she failed to get a satisfactory answer after challenging Mr Heaton-Harris over how he planned to restore the institutions.
"I think he's bereft of a plan – even at this stage, we're still left in political limbo," she said.
"There was no concrete proposals as to how they're going to reach an agreed way forward on the protocol."
Ms O'Neill also lamented the absence of any progress on the £600 energy support payments, saying the situation was "not good enough".
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said he wanted to see a "ramping up" of the talks between the UK government and the EU aimed at resolving issues around the protocol.
He said there was little to report on the talks, which yesterday saw Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and EU Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic meet face-to-face in Brussels.
"We want to see progress made we want to see a ramping up of these talks, to try and get to a solution," the Lagan Valley MP said.
"Restoring Northern Ireland's place within the UK internal market is key to unlocking the door to Stormont – and so today, I've reminded the secretary of state that that has to be the objective of the negotiations."
In a tweet, Mr Sefcovic described the meeting with Mr Cleverly as "constructive".
"I want us to make the most of this window of opportunity – our teams continue to engage," he said.
Alliance deputy leader Stephen Farry said the British government needed to get its "ducks in a row".
"Much to our frustration the protocol has become the main obstacle to the restoration of an executive," he said.
"The government needs to get its ducks in a row in that respect."
SDLP MP Claire Hanna said "very little was achieved" at yesterday’s meeting.
She said there was "scant information" about the negotiations and "no serious proposals" around restoring the institutions.
"The SDLP welcomes the positive change of tone around talks, but we want to see real progress in the days ahead so that we can reach a deal that’s in the interests of everyone in Northern Ireland and put these issues to bed once and for all," the South Belfast MP said.
Ulster Unionist leader Doug Beattie said: "Nothing has changed, nothing has gone any further forward.
"We asked for an update on the protocol, we didn't get it."
