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Northern Ireland crisis as devolution talks verge on collapse

By
DONAL THORNTON,
IrishCentral.com Staff Writer
Published Monday, January 25, 2010, 7:18 AM
Updated Monday, January 25, 2010, 9:11 AM

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The Northern Ireland Executive and Assembly is at crisis point as First Minister Peter Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness are holding a crisis meeting today in an effort to prevent the Executive from collapsing.

Disagreement over when the policing and justice powers should be devolved to the Stormont local assembly is at the center of the dispute.

Sinn Fein decided at a meeting on Saturday to make one last ditch effort to reach a compromise. Both sides held talks last week with no resolution

Meanwhile, British and Irish Prime Ministers Brian Cowen and Gordon Brown are also meeting in Downing Street today to discuss the future of the Northern Ireland Executive in light of the crisis.

The hope is that Robinson and McGuinness will make an 11th hour compromise on the devolution of justice and policing in Northern Ireland.

In return for the devolution of policing and justice, the DUP want the Parades Commission abolished. The Parades Commission has forced Orange marches to reroute from Catholic neighborhoods, most notably in Drumcree,  near Portadown, where a hugely controversial march has been banned.

Sinn Fein have made it clear that they will not agree to the complete abolition of the Parades Commission, but they appear willing to make a compromise if justice and policing is devolved.

"Martin McGuinness put it very clearly that there must be movement on policing and justice without the added DUP precondition on parades," senior political sources told the Irish Times.

Sources also said, "that a proper working relationship with the DUP in the Executive is impossible" at present.

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10 Comments

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killowen | Jan 26, 2010, 10:31 AM EST
waltzing matilda's .... NI parties invited to round-table session

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plasticpaddy | Jan 25, 2010, 10:57 PM EST
because they live in our country and have a right to, we should embrace them and let the hate to their side, maybe just maybe leading by example and occupying the moral highground might pay-off.

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killowen | Jan 25, 2010, 07:27 PM EST
Waltzing the paddies around. Mitchell and Ted Kennedy received their knighthood for the con ................ That peace agreement was/is a joke - it saved lives that we can be thankful of. England's planted ones are serving their benefactor loyally and will for ever more to ensure that an entity called Ireland remains to satisfy UK's symbolisms ie,. the harp - on flags/standards, emblems and emblazoned on carvings across commonwealth buildings, worldwide. A United Ireland and the removal of the equivalent of the hammer and sickle from those of Soviet countries would diminish Saxons everywhere.

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kellyi59 | Jan 25, 2010, 02:44 PM EST
I wonder why the hell the brits dont just leave and let the true irish have the whole damned country. Havent we lost enuf from the brits....I dont think violence is the answer but since when could they ever be trusted? ugh.

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avemaria | Jan 25, 2010, 01:37 PM EST
Martin McGuinness would be a great First Minister.He is a brilliant negotiator and also fair and balanced. It is a shame he is dealing with the schoolboy tactics of the DUP. the UUP and the British Conservative Party. It seens that real power sharing was never on their agenda-nor is devolution-something that is a basic right of the people. It is truly amazing that they continue to sabotage peace.

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Celtica43 | Jan 25, 2010, 10:54 AM EST
Get Hillary out of there!

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bets731 | Jan 25, 2010, 10:50 AM EST
All i know is that the Lord wants us to get along. I'm looking from the outside and as long as we all believe in God, we should love each other. I love all of Ireland--orange and green and it isn't the color that makes us who we are. WWJD

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Searlit | Jan 25, 2010, 10:17 AM EST
I hope that they can come to an agreement, not only for their sake, but wouldn't it also be a great example for the world, right now?

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kickstar | Jan 25, 2010, 10:00 AM EST
I believe they will find a way I mean where are they going anyway, There will be a Solution, I have just been reading about the high levels of Radon Gas in homes in certain parts of Ireland, For the longest time I have been trying to figure out why practically everyone of my school chums is dead of lung cancer some didn't even smoke, Everyone up to now have been blaming Nuclear power stations in Ayrshire and Windscale in Wales but now it seems to be Naturally occurring Radon Gas that's doing the slaughtering...Yep there is something to be said for Emigration after all. It's less gassy.

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mylesie | Jan 25, 2010, 09:16 AM EST
"unlikely if such an accord among unionists.." Oh yea The Maze Irish Language why bother going on unless of course their outcry about THE EMERALD FUND Frankly the harder Martin works the more Unionism extracts the urine!

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