Peace process - DUP insists on changing goalposts

AFTER three days of talks at Leeds Castle between both governments and all the political parties, it would appear that failure to reach any agreement on moving forward the Northern Ireland peace process was the shifting of goal posts once more by the DUP.

Prior to the negotiations, considered the most crucial since those resulting in the Good Friday Agreement, the focus was on the IRA's continued existence and decommissioning, although there were other key issues on the table.

Speculation was rife that the IRA was on the verge of an imminent announcement about decommissioning and declaring the war to be over, to the extent that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern and British Prime Minister Tony Blair were confident a deal could be done. Obviously, that confidence stemmed from contacts between officials of both governments and republicans during the course of the fortnight leading up to, and during, the talks. Precisely what the IRA intended was outlined to the DUP by Mr Ahern and Mr Blair, but the prospect of peace by Christmas was met with a frustrating scepticism.