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Karen Bradley has called on Northern Ireland\u2019s political parties to \u201cstop grandstanding\u201d and take ownership of seeing devolved government return to Stormont.<\/p>\nKaren Bradley has called on Northern Ireland\u2019s political parties to \u201cstop grandstanding\u201d and take ownership of seeing devolved government return to Stormont.<\/p>\n
The UK Secretary of State for Northern Ireland said: \u201cWe need to have dialogue, we need constructive engagement, we need, as I say, parties to stop grandstanding and actually do the right thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ms Bradley made the comments following talks between senior Irish and UK government ministers at a meeting of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference (BIIGC) in Dublin\u2019s Iveagh House.<\/p>\n
She defended as \u201cconstructive\u201d a meeting she held with Northern Ireland\u2019s main political parties in Belfast on Thursday, which was branded a \u201cwaste of time\u201d by some.<\/p>\n
Four of the five parties expressed frustration after the meeting and pressed Ms Bradley to convene multi-party talks.<\/p>\n
She said the meeting was initiated to brief the parties on the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill.<\/p>\n
Ms Bradley said the most important thing was that she worked constructively with the parties.<\/p>\n
\u201cLet\u2019s stop the grandstanding, let\u2019s stop the soundbites, now is the time we get back in the room and we get talking,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI want to see those parties taking an ownership, taking a responsibility and working with me so we can get a process that people can have confidence in and see that they will have devolved government in Stormont again in the near future.\u201d<\/p>\n
UK Minister for the Cabinet Office David Lidington said there was no doubt that Brexit remaining unresolved was a factor when it came to trying to restore the Assembly.<\/p>\n
But he added: \u201cI don\u2019t think that needs to stop the efforts of the parties to move back towards power sharing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Both Mr Lidington and Ms Bradley reiterated the UK Government\u2019s \u201cabsolute commitment\u201d to restore devolution.<\/p>\n
Ms Bradley said there was \u201cno alternative\u201d.<\/p>\n
Brexit negotiations and the absence of powersharing in Northern Ireland topped the agenda of the conference.<\/p>\n
T\u00e1naiste Simon Coveney said the most challenging item on the agenda was the political stability in Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
He said both the UK and Irish government ministers had engaged in \u201csubstantial and serious discussions\u201d in particular about how the institutions in Northern Ireland could be re-established.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re going to keep talking regularly to see how we can put a structure in place that can actually work, that can engage all of the parties and that ensures that in the not-too-distant future we have a structure people can believe in,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
North\/south security co-operation and bilateral co-operation between the British and Irish governments was also discussed.<\/p>\n
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan said security concerns including the security threat from paramilitary groups on the island of Ireland were discussed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is sadly no question of the real and persistent threat to life and community safety,\u201d Mr Flanagan said.<\/p>\n
\u201cTheir terrorist intentions are lethal,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
The conference coincided with UK Brexit Secretary Dominic Raab arriving in Northern Ireland for a one-day visit to the region.<\/p>\n
He visited Stormont this afternoon to meet with local political parties.<\/p>\n
Powersharing government at Stormont has been collapsed since January 2017 following a breakdown in relations between the Democratic Unionists and Sinn F\u00e9in.<\/p>\n
Established under the Good Friday Agreement in 1998, the BIIGC focuses on bilateral agreement between the two countries.<\/p>\n
Ahead of the meeting, Mr Coveney said a strong UK-Irish friendship was more important than ever.<\/p>\n
In a tweet, he said: \u201cLooking forward to welcoming @DLidington (and) Karen Bradley to Dublin for British Irish Intergovernmental conference with me (and) @CharlieFlanagan.\u201d<\/p>\n
He added: \u201cStrong UK\/Irish friendship, trust (and) cooperation more NB than ever. Legacy, security coop, East-West relations (and) NI political stability all on agenda.\u201d<\/p>\n