Sinn Féin to Theresa May: DUP deal could wreck power-sharing hopes
2 min read
Sinn Féin have warned Theresa May that a deal with the DUP could wreck hopes of power-sharing returning to Stormont.
The party’s president, Gerry Adams, and leader in Northern Ireland, Michelle O’Neill, will hold talks the Prime Minister in Downing Street tomorrow.
Representatives from the DUP, UUP, SDLP and Alliance will also meet Mrs May at Number 10 in a bid to break the impasse which has seen the Northern Ireland Assembly suspended since January.
The meetings come against the backdrop of ongoing negotiations aimed at securing the DUP's agreement to prop up a minority Conservative government at Westminster.
Ms O'Neill, who will also meet with new Irish Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in Dublin on Friday, said: "I will be making it very clear that any deal between the Tories and the DUP cannot be allowed to undermine the Good Friday and subsequent agreements.
"It's imperative that both governments recommit to the word, spirit and implementation of the Good Friday Agreement if there is to be any prospect of re-establishing the Executive.
The fall of the Stormont executive followed a renewable heating scandal, which saw the late Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness stand down over the DUP’s refusal to hold a public inquiry.
Separate issues such as the introduction of an Irish language act, supported by Sinn Féin but opposed by the DUP, were also recognised as inflaming tensions between Northern Ireland’s ruling parties and could prove crucial to successful talks.
“The power-sharing institutions collapsed because of the DUP’s RHI financial scandal and the refusal of previous Tory governments and the DUP to implement previous agreements,” Ms O’Neill warned.
“Progress will not come from a deal between the DUP and Tories to prop up a government in Westminster with an austerity and Brexit agenda but through the full implementation of the agreements and an Executive that respects the rights and delivers for all in society.”
PoliticsHome Newsletters
PoliticsHome provides the most comprehensive coverage of UK politics anywhere on the web, offering high quality original reporting and analysis: Subscribe
