November date for North power-sharing deal ‘is set in stone’
The tough stance was backed by Northern Secretary Peter Hain, who said Britain “would not blink” as the date approached.
The two spoke following a meeting in Dublin.
The two Governments reiterated their warning that if the DUP and Sinn Féin failed to cut a deal by November 24, the Stormont assembly would be closed and Dublin given much more influence over the North in the so-called Plan B option.
Mr Ahern said Plan B would involve British and Irish ministers dealing with the North’s problems “over the heads” of locally elected politicians — a situation he said no one would find suitable.
Mr Hain said the November date is non-negotiable.
“There is no flexibility. Come midnight on November 24, the salaries stop, the allowances stop, the assembly is put on ice and we won’t be blinking before anybody else at that time.
“Northern Ireland politics has been about continued procrastination now for year upon year upon year, and we cannot continue the way we are,” he said.
The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference meeting also discussed the need for Sinn Féin to accept civil policing.
Mr Hain said legislation to devolve policing and justice powers should be passed in the House of Commons by the end of the summer, meeting requests set down by Sinn Féin and the SDLP during negotiations.
“That will leave plenty of time for Sinn Féin to move as it has promised to do on policing,” he said.
Mr Ahern backed the call for acceptance of the PSNI once it was under devolved control.
“It is the case that if a power sharing executive is to be put in place that there would have to be an adherence and understanding that the Police Service of Northern Ireland, that they are the authority that people should aspire to and look to.”
The meeting also discussed the implications of an all-Ireland economy and how to deal with bird flu if it reaches these shores.
