Paisley attacks McAleese as ‘dishonest’

A FRESH row of words broke out between the Government and DUP leader Ian Paisley last night after he accused President Mary McAleese of being “dishonest”.

Speaking on Saturday at his party’s annual conference in Belfast, Mr Paisley said he did not “like the President of the Irish Republic”.

“I don’t like her because she is dishonest. She pretends to love this province but she hates it,” he said.

Mr Paisley went on to criticise her security arrangements when she travels to the North.

A statement issued on behalf of Taoiseach Bertie Ahern expressed “considerable regret” at the remarks and said no one had done more than the President to reach “out in a courageous way to all communities in the North”.

The latest row comes in advance of fresh efforts to revive political institutions in Belfast after almost four years of suspension.

However, today’s talks organised by the British and Irish Governments take place amid little expectation of success.

Nevertheless Northern Secretary Peter Hain yesterday sought to interject some urgency into negotiations by calling for an end to “political paralysis” in the North.

Speaking on Sky, Mr Hain said that persistence of the status quo was unacceptable.

“We can’t continue as we have been, in a state of political paralysis with the Assembly now suspended for nearly four years and with Assembly members earning on average £85,000 a year (€124,609) in salaries and office and other expenses, to continue not to do their jobs,” he said.

“It’s cost us £78 million (€114.34m) since the Assembly was established to keep it idle. That can’t continue and everybody accepts that.”

Mr Hain said there was “no reason” for any political party not to negotiate even if “small paramilitary groups on the loyalist side and on the republican side” continue to exist.

“So those groups need to be dealt with but there is absolutely no reason at all for any political party not to turn up tomorrow and meet me in Hillsborough Castle to discuss the way forward.”

Meanwhile a Sunday newspaper poll has found almost 40% of Democratic Unionists would share power with Sinn Féin if IRA criminality ended and there was total disarmament.

The Sunday Times poll of 100 delegates attending yesterday’s DUP annual conference revealed 39% of those questioned believed that, in the right context, the party should share power with Sinn Féin and other parties.

However, 37% felt that even if the IRA ended its criminality and destroyed every weapon, direct rule by British ministers would be preferable while 24% had no opinion.

But the poll found that nearly all DUP members surveyed simply did not believe at all that decommissioning had been completed. Just 4% were of the opinion that it had.