Northern Ireland - Ahern warns of 20-year limbo

THE Taoiseach has depicted a bleak scenario in his latest comments on the Northern Ireland situation.

If his aim was to give every citizen, north and south, cause for concern, there can be no doubt he has succeeded.

It would be foolhardy of politicians, who today hold the first Assembly meeting at Stormont in three years, not to heed Mr Ahern’s chilling warning that the North could be in political limbo for the next 20 years if Irish and British government plans to restore the power sharing Executive come to naught.

This timely wake-up call sets the scene for today’s meeting between the two governments in a bid to kick-start devolution in the North where the political process has been mired in political vacuum since 2002.

If these attempts fail to establish a multi-party government by the November deadline, the prospect of a 20-year vacuum in the peace process is indeed an appalling vista.