REACTION:THE HILLSBOROUGH agreement is not the end of all difficulties but is "a staging post" along the path to greater equality, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said.
“This isn’t all going to be all hunky-dory. This is very much a staging post, there are lots of other issues that need to be dealt with such as citizens’ rights and equality,” he told RTÉ, shortly before the British and Irish premiers arrived at Hillsborough.
Mr Adams said the mood of the talks with the DUP depended on who was across the table from Sinn Féin. “Some of these guys are dinosaurs,” he said. “But there are others who are more pragmatic and who live in the real world. When we got sitting with them that’s when we made progress.”
He added: “When we got the governments out of it to a certain degree, more specifically the British and Northern Ireland Office, we were able to neutralise distractions and diversions that they were putting into negotiations in what they thought were the best interests of unionism.
“The governments were to fault in many ways on this agreement and the British government particularly. The Irish Government was distracted by certain issues, too.”
He said this was not to take away from the work of the Taoiseach and Minister for Foreign Affairs Micheál Martin.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan, who steps down from his party’s leadership today, said he always thought a deal would be “scrambled over the line”. “We will have to take our turn with other parties in proofing what is proposed, not trying to create problems, but pre-empting any possible shortcomings or problems there are with it so we can actually improve it.”
Alliance leader David Ford, the man tipped to become minister for justice, said the agreement was a major advance. But he insisted more work needed to be done on other policies, including community relations.
Ulster Unionist leader Sir Reg Empey raised the plight of savers with the crisis-hit Presbyterian Mutual Society. “I would sincerely hope and pray that much as we support them and will continue to do so, there cannot be any link between their rights as citizens to receive their money back and any political side-deal.”
The agreement was attacked by Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister. “Roll-over unionism is still delivering – delivering the Sinn Féin agenda,” he said.
In a statement the Orange Order offered a qualified welcome. “Our initial reaction is that it is a positive step forward and we are pleased that people have been focusing on the issue of parading.”
PSNI chief constable Matt Baggot welcomed the deal as did Policing Board chairman Barry Gilligan and the chairman of the Police Federation, the rank and file officers’ union.