"Historic" break in Northern Ireland deadlock
Deadlock broken at Stormont
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Tuesday, 18, Nov 2008 02:18
Northern Ireland's government is to resume meeting after its ruling coalition ended five months of deadlock over how to complete devolution.
A fundamental divide between the Democratic Unionist party and Sinn Fein over the timing of devolution of justice and policing powers had meant the assembly at Stormont had not met for five months.
In a press conference today, however, first minister Peter Robinson of the DUP and Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness announced an agreement had been reached.
"We have agreed the process by which such devolution will take place and we are determined to faithful work through the steps we have identified," Mr Robinson said.
Mr McGuinness added: "We are both agreed that police functions should be devolved. Every leading politician in our community has committed to this outcome."
He said the executive had to "operate on the basis of equality and partnership" and added the agreement resolves concerns about who will be justice minister, a crucial role.
As a result of the deal the Northern Ireland executive will meet for the first time in months on Thursday.
Meetings will take place on a weekly basis until the backlog of work has been cleared, after which they will revert to once a fortnight.
Prime minister Gordon Brown hailed the deal as "historic" for the province and said it "writes a new chapter in their history".
"This is the last building block in the process of bringing peace and democracy [in] Northern Ireland," he said.
"The reason for the breakdown in law and order in the 1970s and then for direct rule was policing and justice was not working.
"Now we find the parties have decided that policing and justice should be devolved.
"I believe that Northern Ireland will now send a signal of hope to the rest of the world that even the most difficult problems… can be resolved. That's what we're seeing today."