Theresa May is due to fly into Northern Ireland today amid growing speculation that a deal to restore the powersharing government is imminent.
The UK Prime Minister will meet with Stormont’s main political parties as they continue talks aimed at ending the 13-month political stalemate.
A Downing Street official said Mrs May will take part in a series of meetings at Stormont House and encourage the parties to resolve their differences.
The official added that the PM will make clear that the UK Government remains fully committed to the restoration of powersharing, devolution and the Belfast Agreement.
Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill said she does not believe the negotiations had long to go
She is expected to tell the parties that she believes progress has been made in recent days and reiterate that the UK and Irish governments – as part of the three-strand approach set out in the Belfast Agreement – will continue to work with them to see an agreement reached.
According to Downing Street, Mrs May will restate her strong belief that a fully functioning Executive, empowered to take decisions over local matters, is the best way to serve the interests of the whole community.
She will also tell them that the UK Government is ready to introduce legislation to enable the re-establishment of an Executive as soon as possible following an agreement.
While she is in the region, the Prime Minister will also meet staff and management at a major employer to discuss the Government’s commitment to back business success and opportunity in Northern Ireland.
The region has been without a functioning government since January 2017 and several rounds of talks to resolve the crisis have failed. However, speculation has been growing that a deal between Sinn Fein and the DUP is close.
On Saturday, Sinn Fein’s Northern Ireland leader Michelle O’Neill said talks are likely to draw to a close this week.
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood urged an end to Sinn Fein-DUP wrangling
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood warned that any deal to restore powersharing must end the cycle of political stand-off between Sinn Fein and the DUP.
Mr Eastwood said it is not enough to simply form a new executive.
“The real change necessary is an end to the cycle of two parties who have proved themselves very good at the art of political stand-off, but very bad at the responsibility of government.
“That is the joint DUP/Sinn Fein status quo that must now end.”
Mr Eastwood added that when powersharing is restored, focus must return immediately to the threat posed by Brexit, the economy and the crises in the health service and school budgets.
The DUP/Sinn Fein-led coalition imploded last January amid a row over a botched green energy scheme.
That rift subsequently widened to take in long-running disputes over culture, social issues and legacy.
The main sticking point preventing the restoration of an Executive is the Irish language.
Sinn Fein wants a stand-alone piece of legislation to protect speakers – an Irish Language Act – but the DUP has long insisted it would only countenance new laws if they also incorporate other cultures, such as Ulster Scots.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here