Coveney says 'all efforts' needed to avoid fresh Stormont elections with 16 days to go

The DUP is blocking the functioning of the powersharing institutions in Belfast as part of its protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol

Irish Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has called for all efforts to be made to avoid fresh Stormont elections (Brian Lawless/PA)

All efforts must be made to find an alternative to fresh Stormont elections, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said.

Mr Coveney was in Belfast where he held meetings with Sinn Fein, the Alliance Party, the Ulster Unionists and the SDLP.