Talks only credible if Arlene Foster goes, says Gerry Adams

Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams has issued a clear ultimatum to DUP leader Arlene Foster, saying last-ditch talks with the party to prevent an election will only be “credible” if she agrees to fully step aside by Monday.

He outlined the situation in a private meeting with Taoiseach Enda Kenny in Dublin yesterday in which he broke with his party’s previous position to say he is now willing to hold talks with the DUP to prevent the collapse of the Stormont government.

Speaking on RTÉ Six One News last night, Mr Kenny said he met with Mr Adams and Sinn Féin deputy leader Mary Lou McDonald at Government Buildings yesterday, and also held phonecalls with Martin McGuinness and Ms Foster.

Mr Kenny said that during the discussions, “Sinn Féin have confirmed to me that they would be willing to accept an invitation to talks” with the DUP first made by Ms Foster on Tuesday, adding that Mr McGuinness “would be willing to attend that meeting”.

Mr Kenny said the Irish and British governments will “give any support we can” in order to facilitate the meetings during the “limited window”, pointing to the fact Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan is already due to hold meetings in Belfast today.

However, a senior Sinn Féin official last night told the Irish Examiner that while the party is now open to speaking with the DUP, it remains of the view that the only way to prevent an election is if Ms Foster agrees to fully step aside by Monday.

The situation has arisen after Ms Foster on Tuesday offered to hold immediate talks with Sinn Féin and to open an investigation into the renewable heat incentive scandal, which could cost taxpayers €563m, in a bid to salvage the Stormont government, despite refusing to step aside.

Within an hour of Tuesday’s offer, Ms McDonald rejected the request outright, saying the time for talks had passed.

The position was reiterated by Sinn Féin MLA and Northern Ireland health minister Michelle O’Neill, who told reporters in Belfast yesterday that her party is “not interested” in further talks.

Contradicting the previous position during a press conference at the same time in Dublin, Mr Adams said “that’s not my understanding, we’re always open for talks, of course we are”.

The shift in Sinn Féin’s position has been seen by some as confirmation that an election — which must be called by Monday at 5pm unless the party appoints a successor to Mr McGuinness as deputy first minister — could still be avoided.

However, others have suggested the move is instead an attempt by Sinn Féin to appear willing to find a solution despite the widespread expectation that its demand for Ms Foster to step aside will not be accepted by the DUP. Sinn Féin, meanwhile, has called a meeting of its potential candidates for Sunday.

Mr Flanagan, the foreign affairs minister, has said all parties must “find any way to avoid the automatic triggering of elections next week”.

Northern Ireland secretary of state James Brokenshire made similar comments, saying there was “a high probability we’re moving towards an election”.

Speaking on RTÉ Radio’s Today with Sean O Rourke, former taoiseach Bertie Ahern — who was closely involved in securing the peace process — said Sinn Féin and the DUP should resolve their differences.

Citing comments from Ms Foster that recent days had shown that power-sharing arrangements between nationalists and unionists do not work, Mr Ahern said: “That would be read as going back to unionist rule, that kind of language is dangerous.”