Parties must resolve ministers’ role row

ALL political parties must commit themselves to resolving outstanding accountability issues if IRA decommissioning is to be guaranteed, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern urged yesterday.

The stumbling block which stood in the way of agreement last week centred on the role of ministers in a power-sharing assembly.

The Democratic Unionist Party wants ministers to be more accountable to the assembly, but Sinn Féin regards such proposals as a move towards majority rule.

Mr Ahern said the next step had to be agreement on changes to strands one, two and three of the Good Friday Agreement if progress was to be made.

“Trying to fundamentally change the Good Friday Agreement would be impossible,” he said. “But if discussions are based on making partnerships work and making cross-community initiatives work, these problems can be resolved.”

He said the argument that a minister’s decision could be over-ruled by the assembly would not work.

“You will not get agreement on that,” he said.

“That would not be in line with power-sharing, it would not be in line with cross-community content. There is no possibility for an agreement on that basis.”

But the Taoiseach said such technical problems could be teased out quickly providing all parties worked together.

“If we can get that sorted out fairly quickly we can make major progress on decommissioning by the beginning of next year and get these institutions up and running,” he said.

Mr Ahern acknowledged vital progress had been made but insisted outstanding institutional and accountability issues must remain the focus.

Asked how confident he was the IRA would put all weaponry beyond use by the end of the year, he said: “Nobody will do their bit until these issues are resolved. These issues have to be sorted.

“I think we can get a satisfactory conclusion on decommissioning and policing - it won’t happen tomorrow but it will happen if we can solve these outstanding issues.

“Only then I’d hope we can make progress with the IRA, but you won’t get it the other way round.”

However, Sinn Féin party chairman Mitchel McLaughlin said agreement on devolved government in the North was only possible if the DUP began to accept there could be no return to unionist domination.

The Foyle Assembly member said: “In the discussions at Leeds Castle, we made significant progress across a range of issues involving the two governments.

“But the DUP did not engage in this negotiation. They refused to negotiate. They would not talk to Sinn Féin.”

Mr McLaughlin, who was briefed on the Leeds talks by Martin McGuinness, said: “They adhered, throughout, to an anti-Agreement agenda and demanded a unionist veto over all decisions in the restored institutions. That simply will not happen.

“As we resume discussions at Stormont, it is clear that agreement is only possible if the DUP begin to engage positively and accept that there will be no return to unionist domination; that there will be no dilution of power-sharing; that there will be no erosion of the all-Ireland architecture.”

Mr McLaughlin said if the DUP was still unwilling to engage with others or accept equality and power- sharing, the Irish and British Governments and the pro-Agreement parties should be prepared to move on without them.

“The DUP cannot be allowed to block progress or to undermine the positive work that was done last week,” he said.

“The process of change must continue.”