{"id":25048,"date":"2022-02-04T14:32:00","date_gmt":"2022-02-04T19:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25048"},"modified":"2022-02-07T09:36:23","modified_gmt":"2022-02-07T14:36:23","slug":"martin-no-one-party-should-have-a-veto-on-stormont","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/irishexaminerusa.com\/wp\/?p=25048","title":{"rendered":"Martin: ‘No One Party Should Have A Veto’ On Stormont"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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The Taoiseach said the DUP should have awaited the outcome of UK-EU negotiations before making a decision (PA)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Taoiseach Miche\u00e1l Martin has said \u201cno one party should have a veto\u201d over the future of Stormont.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Martin was responding to comments by DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson, who said his party would have difficulty reforming a Stormont executive after the upcoming Assembly election if issues with the Northern Ireland Protocol were not resolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Martin said the DUP should have awaited the outcome of UK-EU negotiations on the protocol, and that people in Northern Ireland want to see elected representatives take their seats.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Speaking in Dublin on Friday, Mr Martin said: \u201cNo one party should have a veto over whether the Executive exists or continues on, and likewise with the Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI believe that decision is very damaging to politics itself, and to people\u2019s trust in politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBecause people, when they elect public representatives, I think there\u2019s a fair expectation from the public that those political representatives would serve in the Assembly or in the Executive, and do what they campaigned to do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe know there\u2019s many issues \u2013 Women\u2019s Aid are out today, for example, on a range of issues to do with violence against women that\u2019s currently going through the Assembly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThat can still be legislated for and in my view should be legislated for.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Mr Martin said the DUP should have awaited the outcome of UK-EU negotiations before making a decision.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said European Commission vice-president Maros Sefcovic had shown \u201cgood faith\u201d and \u201cresponded quickly\u201d to concerns over the Northern Ireland Protocol.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the European Union\u2019s fault that this has gone on so long in respect of the talks around the resolution of issues pertaining to the protocol and the trade agreement,\u201d Mr Martin said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThose discussions are now continuing between the European Union and the United Kingdom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe conclusion of those should have been awaited, in my view.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cA lot of progress has been made. And a lot of advances were made by the European Union side, and they\u2019re still prepared to engage with the United Kingdom and those talks are continuing.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He said he did not see the forthcoming Assembly elections becoming a \u201creferendum\u201d on the future of the Protocol, saying people in Northern Ireland want to see the \u201cbread and butter issues\u201d addressed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey want political representatives to take their seats, follow through, pass the legislation, represent people on the issues that people want to be represented on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere is an emerging center ground in Northern Ireland that want politics to change to those issues, the bread and butter issues matter to people in Northern Ireland, just as they do in the Republic and across Europe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn that respect, I think we\u2019ll see whether the UK talks conclude in the next while. That could be important as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere will be those who try to make it into that type of referendum. But I think for far too long, that has been a sort of feature of the electoral cycle in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think bread and butter issues do matter to people in Northern Ireland.\u201d<\/p>\n

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