Mary Lou McDonald: 'Lost opportunity' if NI Assembly not in place for Biden visit
Mary Lou McDonald said the negotiations are "over" and the focus must now shift to re-establishing the Executive with Michelle O'Neill as First Minister. Picture: Gareth Chaney/ Collins Photos
It would be an "incredibly foolish lost opportunity" if the North's institutions are not up and running for US President Joe Biden's Irish visit, Mary Lou McDonald has said.
Calling on the DUP to "do the right thing", the Sinn Féin leader said the "eyes of the world" are now on Northern Ireland and there is "no excuse" for Jeffrey Donaldson's party to stay out of power sharing.
Mr Donaldson has said the Windsor Framework, agreed between the UK and EU, still does not deal with some “fundamental problems” created by the Northern Ireland Protocol and is seeking further clarification.
However, speaking in Washington, Ms McDonald said the negotiations are "over" and the focus must now shift to re-establishing the Executive with Michelle O'Neill as First Minister.
She added that it would be "an incredibly foolish lost opportunity" if the Assembly and Executive are not in place for the visit of US President Joe Biden next month.
"Everybody wants to be helpful, everybody wants to make progress, so why would you blow that? Why would you pass that opportunity by?" she asked.
There is huge international goodwill, a huge appetite for progress, for investment, we have an envoy appointed now by President Biden, Joe Kennedy.
"So, I'm hopeful that the DUP, that Jeffrey Donaldson and his colleagues will do the right thing," she told Newstalk's On the Record show.
"I'm hopeful that they will make clear sooner rather than later, what their intentions are and that we would have a functioning Executive and Assembly for the marking of the anniversary of the Good Friday Agreement, 25 years of peace, but also for any visit by the President."
She said the "reality is that we have to share power" adding that communities in Northern Ireland " need, deserve and want" proper political representation and a functioning Assembly.
Meanwhile, she called in the Government to "do the right thing" by extending the eviction ban beyond next month adding that she "cannot fathom" why ministers have opted to lift the moratorium.
She said the majority of local authorities have made clear that they don't have the capacity to provide emergency accommodation for families or individuals who may find themselves homeless in the weeks and months ahead after the ban is lifted.
"This is a really, really worrying time for so many families, working families who pay their taxes, pay their bills, they're doing their best for their families and so many of them will face just a nightmare scenario," Ms McDonald said.
"Nobody in Government can answer the simple question that we have asked repeatedly: Where do these families go? There is no answer to that," said Ms McDonald.
It comes as Green Party TD Neasa Hourigan confirmed that she will be voting with Sinn Féin on the motion to extend the ban when it comes before the Dáil this week.
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