Talks between the government and Northern Ireland’s largest political parties over a new financial package have been extended.
The talks were due to end on Wednesday evening after a third day discussing a £2.5bn package.But the Northern Ireland secretary said they would now continue.He said the package was generous but that he was prepared to go back to the prime minister and see what more was possible.The government offer, outlined on Monday, was dependent on reviving the power-sharing institutions.
DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson said they were “not there yet” in terms of reaching agreement on the return of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland but that they are “actively engaged each day to move this forward”.
What are the talks about?
Northern Ireland’s devolved government collapsed in February 2022 after the DUP withdrew – it can only operate with the participation of both the largest parties in nationalism and unionism.Parties have had three days of talks at Hillsborough Castle, centred around financial issues, with the UK government unveiling its financial package on Monday.Separately, the DUP is holding talks with the government about returning to power-sharing government.
It withdrew in protest against post-Brexit trading arrangements between the region and Great Britain, known as the Irish Sea border.The arrangements were part of the Northern Ireland Protocol, which was agreed in 2019 by the UK and European Union and later tweaked by the Windsor Framework.The framework aimed to reduce checks on goods moving from Great Britain to Northern Ireland.
Is agreement any closer?
Earlier, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the government stood ready to legislate to “protect” Northern Ireland’s place in the UK internal market.He said such a move would sit alongside a deal to restore the Northern Ireland Executive and added the government was prepared to work “at pace” to achieve this.
His comments came in response to a question by Sir Jeffrey, who asked the government to amend the UK Internal Market Act to “guarantee and future-proof” Northern Ireland’s access to the UK internal market “in all scenarios”.The DUP leader said unionists were concerned about “the need to remove the Irish Sea border” as it “disrupts the UK’s internal market”.On Wednesday night, he dismissed any talk of choreography around his question, adding that he was interested in “results not choreography”.
Further clarification
Speaking after the finance talks on Wednesday, Mr Heaton-Harris thanked the parties “for their thorough and constructive engagement over the last three days”.He said the government had “outlined a fair and generous package which could assist a returning Executive to stabilise its finances and protect public services”.
He added that a number of points have been raised during talks which required further clarification.”We will be continuing our dialogue with the parties on these issues over the coming days, with the single focus of seeing the return of a locally elected and accountable devolved government,” he said.
