Governments clarify North’s operation during suspension of Assembly

THE Irish and British governments both issued firm assurances yesterday about the temporary nature of arrangements in operation during the current suspension of the elected Northern Ireland Assembly.

The pledges were made after a ministerial meeting involving the two governments in Dublin, ahead of round-table talks scheduled with pro-Good Friday agreement parties for Belfast tomorrow in a bid to kick-start the Ulster peace process.

The move followed expression of unease from members of the Ulster Unionist Party of former Northern Ireland First Minister David Trimble about the power of the North-South administrative mechanisms in place during the assembly's absence, and the prospect of them acting independently of politicians.