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The UK government is continuing to rebuff an Irish government plan to break the powersharing deadlock in the North, the Taoiseach has said.<\/p>\nThe UK government is continuing to rebuff an Irish government plan to break the powersharing deadlock in the North, the Taoiseach has said.<\/p>\n
Leo Varadkar said his proposal for the two governments to undertake a joint initiative to push for a breakthrough \u2013 potentially involving them tabling their view of a compromise deal to Stormont\u2019s rowing parties \u2013 was not supported by counterparts in the Northern Ireland Office.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar\u2019s comments in the Dail make clear that Dublin and London are now very much at odds on how best to resurrect negotiations to save devolution.<\/p>\n
The Taoiseach believes the two governments should draw up the outline of a potential agreement and present it to the Democratic Unionists and Sinn F\u00e9in as a basis to restart the floundering talks process.<\/p>\n
However, Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley has said she will not back an initiative that involves an attempt to \u201cimpose\u201d a deal on the parties.<\/p>\n
Attempts by the DUP and Sinn F\u00e9in to strike their own deal have so far failed, with the last round of talks ending in acrimony in February.<\/p>\n
Mr Varadkar\u2019s outlined the difference of opinion between Dublin and London as he fielded Taoiseach\u2019s questions in the Dail on Tuesday.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Irish government has proposed a joint initiative by the two governments \u2013 our government and the UK government \u2013 working together, perhaps producing a joint paper and using that as a basis to encourage the two main parties, the DUP and Sinn Fein, to come together and form an executive,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs things stand we don\u2019t have agreement from the British government to do that.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we are not giving up \u2013 we\u2019ll continue to persist until we have the Assembly meeting and have those institutions operating as they should be.\u201d<\/p>\n
The North has been without a properly functioning powersharing government for 16 months, due to the bitter standoff between the two largest parties, the DUP and Sinn F\u00e9in.<\/p>\n
A row that broke out over a botched green energy scheme, and widened to encompass long-standing disputes such as the Irish language and gay marriage, shows no sign of resolution.<\/p>\n
After negotiations collapsed in angry circumstances in February, the parties traded claim and counter-claim about whether a proposed deal had been in the offing.<\/p>\n
Sinn F\u00e9in claimed DUP leader Arlene Foster had signed off on a deal before backing out in the face of an internal party revolt \u2013 claims she vehemently denied.<\/p>\n
Amid the fallout, documents exchanged by the parties during negotiations were leaked to sections of the media \u2013 incidents that served to only sour political relations further.<\/p>\n