Ahern against elections delay

Bertie Ahern has said he disagreed with Tony Blair’s decision to postpone the Northern Ireland elections, which had been scheduled for May.

He said that deferment caused more problems for the peace process than it solved.

“I disagree with the British Government on the postponement of these elections,” Mr Ahern said.

“I reiterated this on several occasions recently, including in a conversation I had with the Prime Minister this morning.

“Ultimately, I believe that yet another postponement causes more problems for the process than it solves.”