Dates to be set for devolution talks

The Irish and British Governments were today poised to set a date for talks aimed at restoring devolution in the north.

Officials in Belfast and Dublin were trying to finalise a date and venue for a half-day of multi-party talks and are expected to make an announcement later today or tomorrow.

The meeting will be held under the joint chairmanship of Northern Ireland Secretary Paul Murphy and Irish Foreign Minister Brian Cowen and could take place as early as next week.

Stormont sources said the discussions could be used to tee up possible talks in the New Year involving Prime Minister Tony Blair and his Irish counterpart Bertie Ahern.

“The Prime Ministers will only be involved if they know a deal is on,” said a source.

“The view is that that is more likely in the New Year. The half-day of multi-party talks this month will lay a lot of the groundwork.”

Devolution was suspended last month by the former Northern Ireland Secretary John Reid in a bid to save the Good Friday Agreement and prevent a unionist walkout from the province’s power sharing executive.

Ian Paisley’s Democratic Unionists pulled its two ministers out of the executive and David Trimble’s Ulster Unionists also threatened to quit over a succession of allegations against republicans over ongoing IRA activity.

Last month, police arrested and charged four people for operating a republican spy ring at the heart of the British Government’s Belfast offices and at Stormont.

The IRA was also accused this year of breaking into the top security Castlereagh police station in March and stealing sensitive Special Branch documents.

The republican paramilitary group was also accused of fuelling street violence along the peacelines separating loyalist and nationalist communities in north and east Belfast.

Sinn Fein and the IRA vigorously denied the allegations.

Unionists insisted they could no longer remain in government with Sinn Fein while the IRA remained active.