Sinn Féin in talks with Government on justice crisis

Sinn Féin has held further talks with the Irish Government it emerged today as efforts continue to avoid a crisis in the North's political process.

Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness met Foreign Affairs Minister Micheál Martin in Co Louth last night for discussions.

The talks came ahead of a meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council on Monday when Taoiseach Brian Cowen is scheduled to lead a Government delegation in the discussions with the North's ministers.

Mr McGuinness has said a deal on the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster to Stormont has to be brokered by Christmas if a crisis is to be avoided.

Last week the First Minister Peter Robinson and Mr McGuinness wrote to party leaders at the Assembly asking them to select their preferred candidate for the future role of Justice Minister.

However, only the SDLP observed today’s deadline for a response, identifying Margaret Ritchie as their option.

After the DUP and Sinn Féin agreed they would not seek the new ministry, it is still expected that the Alliance Party will eventually emerge as the only option likely to secure both unionist and nationalist support.

The UUP and the Alliance have so far failed to propose candidates for the new ministry, calling for the two larger parties to first demonstrate their ability to agree compromises on outstanding issues including an agreed strategy for tackling sectarianism.

Meanwhile, the SDLP today confirmed that party leader Mark Durkan has written to the First Minister and deputy First Minister nominating Margaret Ritchie for the Justice Ministry post.

A spokesman said: “We are anxious to discuss outstanding issues surrounding the transfer of policing and justice powers, including the make-up of the department, work programming, staffing, understanding of the appropriate locus of the Executive, protecting the Patten architecture and addressing other relevant relationships and protocols which we raised during consideration of the Department of Justice Bill.”