Coveney warns of ‘other form of governance’ if Stormont not restored

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has warned “some other form of governance” will have to be examined for Northern Ireland if talks aimed at restoring power-sharing fail in the coming weeks.

The Minister for Foreign Affairs, who made his comments at a Brexit event in Co Laois on Thursday evening, also said the relationship between Ireland and Britain was going to “fundamentally and permanently change” because of Brexit.

He stressed there had no Assembly and Executive in Belfast for 12 months.

“We are trying to ensure that in the next few weeks that can change,” he said.

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“If it doesn’t change in the next few weeks we are going to have to look at and expect some other form of governance in Northern Ireland which is not consistent with what the Good Friday Agreement is all about, empowering locally-elected people to make decisions in Northern Ireland to try to bring communities together,” he added.

“The relationship on this island North and South, which let me tell you, in the context of politics in Northern Ireland and community division in Northern Ireland is a pretty fragile make-up.”

Mr Coveney, who travelled to Belfast on Thursday night, said there was “really important” work to do be done today and on Saturday with the political parties in Northern Ireland to try and find a way of re-establishing devolved government in Stormont.

Referring to Brexit, Minister Coveney said: “What is happening at the moment is going to fundamentally and permanently change the relationship between Ireland and Britain because the relationship between Britain and the European Union is going to fundamentally change.”