Mundane McGuinness meeting welcome change for Ahern

HOW many dozen times has Martin McGuinness gone through the gates of Government Buildings in recent years?

And how many dozen times have reporters lobbed questions about the peace process, its breakdowns, crises and what he would be seeking from the Taoiseach?

Yesterday was a little different. Sure, he was seeking something from the Taoiseach. But this time he wasn’t entering Government Buildings as Sinn Féin’s chief negotiator but the North’s deputy first minister.

It was the first official one-to-one between Bertie Ahern and Mr McGuinness although the Taoiseach had formal meetings with him and the North’s new boss, DUP leader Ian Paisley.

Yesterday’s meeting was something Mr Ahern had looked forward to for more than a decade, a mundane meeting discussing economic matters. Specifically, Mr McGuinness was seeking the Taoiseach’s support for an economic conference planned for the North next spring. An initiative of the Paisley-McGuinness leadership, the powersharing executive hopes the conference can kick-start the North’s economy, which is highly dependent on public sector employment.

The meeting lasted for 45 minutes and was described as friendly and productive.

In a brief statement afterwards, Mr Ahern said it “included discussion of economic matters including how the Irish Government can assist with the economic conference planned for Northern Ireland next year”.

They also discussed the latest position on the devolution of policing and criminal justice to the North’s executive.

Mr McGuinness said they had discussed the development of cross-border projects, such as the Ulster Canal and the north-west roadways.

A Sinn Féin spokeswoman later said: “They discussed two things in particular, the Irish Government’s assistance for the major economic summit next spring in Belfast, as well as the joint visits by Mr McGuinness and Ian Paisley to Brussels and Washington in the next few months.”

Both men will seek the support of the EU and US for the economic summit.

Shortly after meeting Mr Ahern, Mr McGuinness flew to Brussels to meet EU officials on industrial and employment matters.