Taoiseach: 'Still time' to avoid fresh elections in North as deadline approaches

Micheál Martin said the DUP should take its seats at the Northern Ireland Assembly, and that their refusal to form an executive was "not acceptable".

The Taoiseach said that the Irish Government will work with the British government to establish a joint authority in the event of a prolonged deadlock around establishing an Assembly. Picture: Sam Boal / RollingNews.ie

The Taoiseach says that there is "still time" to avoid fresh elections in the North, as a midnight deadline approaches.

Speaking in Meath on Thursday, Micheál Martin said that the legal framework was designed to stop parties from unilaterally deciding "whether an Assembly will be convened". He said that the DUP's refusal to form an executive was "not acceptable".