Thursday, April 06, 2006
Thursday Thoughts: Devolution plan
I guess I should give my thoughts on today's joint announcement by the Irish and British governments regarding the new deadline for restoring devolution.The North's assembly members now have until 24 November to set up a power-sharing executive.
There does seem to be quite a negative, grudging attitude on the part of the two governments over these plans. It smacks to me of "accept the worst and you won't be disappointed" but considering that they are dealing with the rejectionist unionism of Paisley's DUP, that isn't all that surprising.
The blueprint timetable consists of four basic steps:
1. Recall the Assembly on 15 May: politicians then have given 6 weeks to form an executive
2. If this fails, they have a further 12 weeks after the summer recess to form executive
3. If this is not achieved by the 24 November deadline, assembly members' salaries and allowances will be stopped (something few would have a problem with I'm sure)
4. Governments would then work on partnership arrangements to implement the Good Friday Agreement
Now the last point is what really intrigues me. I have long stated here on United Irelander that if the DUP aren't willing to do a deal, the two governments should press on without them and implement the outstanding aspects of the Good Friday Agreement. This would essentialy involve a form of Joint Authority although, unsurprisingly, the joint statement doesn't refer to it in that way. Instead we hear of terms like "joint stewardship" and "partnership arrangements" but the important thing is that the two governments seem to have agreed with myself, Sinn Féin and everyone else who backed such a stance.
Here are the final six paragraphs of the joint statement which, to me anyway, are by far the most interesting:
"If restoration of the Assembly and Executive has to be deferred, the Governments agree that this will have immediate implications for their joint stewardship of the process.
"We are beginning detailed work on British-Irish partnership arrangements that will be necessary in these circumstances to ensure that the Good Friday Agreement, which is the indispensable framework for relations on and between these islands, is actively developed across its structures and functions.
"This work will be shaped by the commitment of both Governments to a step-change in advancing North-South co-operation and action for the benefit of all.
"The British Government will introduce emergency legislation to facilitate this way forward. It will set out clearly the limited timescale available to the Assembly to reach agreement. In parallel with the recalling of the Assembly, we will engage intensively with the parties to establish the trust necessary to allow the institutions not only to function but to flourish.
"There is a great deal of work to be done. The Governments will do all in their power to restore the institutions and return devolved Government to those elected by the people of Northern Ireland.
"But the final decisions are for the parties. We hope they will seize the opportunity to move forward."
Very interesting indeed. The "expect the worst" scenario that I touched on earlier can be found here in the joint statement:
"If restoration of the Assembly and Executive has to be deferred, the Governments agree that this will have immediate implications for their joint stewardship of the process.
"We are beginning detailed work on British-Irish partnership arrangements that will be necessary in these circumstances..."
So they're basically expecting it to come down to this? Or is this just a veiled threat towards the DUP telling them to get their act together?
Ultimately these statements can be analysed and interpreted in so many different ways but three things stick out quite a bit, at least to my mind. Firstly, that the Good Friday Agreement is still the template for all the parties in NI, secondly, that the two governments aren't all that optimistic about resurrecting the executive and lastly, that they are not going to allow Paisley and the DUP to wreck the Good Friday Agreement through their bully-boy tactics.
All in all I think it's a very positive statement and I think Bertie Ahern and the Irish government will feel quite satisfied with what they've produced here.
# posted by United Irelander @ 5:05 PM 
© 2008 United Irelander.
