There are now good grounds for hope that the Northern parties can agree a new political deal by Christmas, according to Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan.
He told The Irish Times that failure was not an option in the latest round of talks as the people of Northern Ireland were willing all of the parties involved to take the jumps required for a new agreement.
The Minister described recent comments by Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams and DUP Assembly member Gregory Campbell as “unhelpful” and “disrespectful” but said they would not undermine the prospect of an agreement.
For the past seven weeks Mr Flanagan and Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers have been chairing talks at Stormont designed to get agreement among the five parties in the Northern Assembly on a framework to break the political deadlock.
Mr Flanagan said the atmosphere had undoubtedly changed significantly for the better since the talks began and he was now optimistic a deal could be reached, although difficult issues remained.
“The talks have coincided with conference season. Party conferences oftentimes throw up heated language. The remarks of both Gregory Campbell and Gerry Adams were unhelpful but will not in any way destabilise the talks which have taken on a momentum of their own. There is a clear willingness on the part of everybody to engage in a way that wasn’t evident at the beginning of the year.”
State of play
Mr Flanagan will be reporting on progress to Taoiseach Enda Kenny this weekend while Ms Villiers will be reporting directly to the British prime minister, David Cameron, on the state of play.
“We are now at the crunch. Do we continue between now and Christmas to find a new agreement over the range of issues or do we form the view that we can’t go the remaining 20 or 25 per cent? That is the question and I have no doubt but that the answer to that question is ‘Yes’,” he said.
Mr Flanagan pointed out that he did not have a role in the internal talks involving the budget for Northern Ireland and the social welfare reform which formed part of that process.
“The issues on which I have a primary responsibility have been in the flags, parades, the past and the unimplemented aspects of the Good Friday Agreement and the St Andrews Agreement.
“The highly sensitive issue of the past has been the subject matter of intense negotiation over recent weeks. Not surprisingly this is the most sensitive of issues as it is fundamental to the reconciliation project.
“The reason the wider talks were convened was because the democratic institutions were not working and there had been institutional gridlock which resulted from a continued sectarian divide.”
Tough compromises
He said agreement would involve changes in position and some really tough compromises involving the creation of new bodies to deal with the issues of justice, truth and fairness across a divided society.
The talks involve a series of parallel engagements between the parties speaking among themselves and sometimes with the involvement of Mr Flanagan and Ms Villiers, as well as the plenary sessions involving all of them
“The fog of earlier difficulties has been lifted and there has been a genuine engagement on the part of all parties. No party has missed a scheduled meeting. As recently as Wednesday round table talks continued in the presence of Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness.
“I believe that the deadline is Christmas because after that we are into an electoral cycle in Northern Ireland and the UK which brings its own dynamic.
“There is therefore a window for an agreement this side of Christmas that would involve an absolute resolve on the part of the five parties to get the agreement over the line.
“It is possible because the atmosphere is cordial and there is a clear sense on the part of everybody that the progress should be made.”
The talks had been boosted by the much improved relations between Dublin and London symbolised by the engagement of the Taoiseach and Irish Ministers at commemorative events marking the outbreak of the first World War.
