Varadkar warns over previous ‘false dawns’ of Northern Ireland power-sharing return

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has warned that there have been several “false dawns” in the past when it came to hopes power-sharing would be restored in Northern Ireland.

Senior Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) figures’ discussions on potentially ending their Stormont boycott ended on Friday without reaching a formal decision. The calling of the party officers meeting came amid mounting speculation that the DUP is preparing to make a call on whether or not to accept a UK government deal on post-Brexit trading arrangements, to restore the Northern Ireland Executive.

The devolved institutions at Stormont have been collapsed for almost two years as a result of a DUP boycott in protest at the Brexit-linked economic barriers on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

Speaking in Galway on Friday, Mr Varadkar said he could not shed any light on internal discussions within the DUP. “I don’t want to raise expectations, there have been quite a number of false dawns in terms of getting the executive operating again,” he said.

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“I think what we would all like to see is the Assembly and the executive up and running, [there are] really serious issues that need to be dealt with in Northern Ireland, so we would like to see devolution working again ... Of course the Irish Government is ready and willing to help out in any way that we can,” he said.

The Fine Gael leader said the Government was not involved in recent talks around the post-Brexit trading rules in Northern Ireland. “No changes have been sought to the Windsor Framework from the UK side and there is no negotiations underway in that regard,” he said. “There could be maybe things that could be done on a bilateral level within the United Kingdom that might give some reassurance to the DUP, but that’s a matter for the UK government,” he added.

Downing Street expressed hope the Stormont impasse could soon be resolved. Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris said before Christmas that his negotiations with the DUP over the terms of the Windsor Framework had concluded.

Although the party has been holding out since then for more clarification on the British government’s proposals, it appears to be approaching the juncture when it decides whether to reject or accept the deal that would end the powersharing deadlock.

One senior DUP source said: “It is clear that the time for a decision has arrived. The negotiation is over.”

Senior civil servants are currently running devolved departments, with limited powers, in the absence of local ministers.

Any proposed return to Stormont would be expected to be strongly opposed by some of the DUP’s 12 party officers who have made clear that devolution should only be restored when all of their concerns over the Irish Sea trading border have been addressed.

The officer board includes senior figures such as party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, deputy leader Gavin Robinson, senior peer Lord Dodds and longstanding MPs Sammy Wilson and Gregory Campbell.

A DUP spokesman declined to comment on the meeting. “We understand that there has considerable interest in our meeting today,” he said. “We will not give a running commentary on our position, save to say, we will continue to engage with the government.”

Expectations had been raised before Christmas that the DUP could be poised to return to powersharing, but it did not materialise.

The UK government has offered a £3.3 billion package to stabilise Northern Ireland’s finances, including £600 million to settle public sector pay claims in Northern Ireland.

However, Mr Heaton-Harris has made clear that the funds can only be released when the powersharing institutions return.

Thousands of public sector workers took part in strike action on Thursday, where calls were made for Mr Heaton-Harris to release the funds for pay claims and for the DUP to return to Stormont.

On Thursday, a legislative deadline passed for the restoration of the Stormont Assembly. As a result, any imminent return of the Assembly would first require new legislation to be tabled at Westminster.

A Downing Street spokeswoman said she would not speculate on political party meetings.

“Our focus has always been on delivering for the people of Northern Ireland who rightly expect locally elected decision-makers to address the issues that matter to them,” she added. “We also think we have a strong basis for the restoration of powersharing, so we hope this can be fixed soon.”

A DUP spokesperson said: “We understand that there has considerable interest in our meeting today. We will not give a running commentary on our position, save to say, we will continue to engage with the government.” - Additional reporting PA