TAOISEACH BRIAN Cowen has “every confidence” that next week’s planned meeting of the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) will go ahead.
Speaking after the closure of the Edinburgh summit of the British-Irish Council, which deals with the east-west aspects of the Belfast and the St Andrews agreements, Mr Cowen said he saw no reason for the council not to meet, despite concerns over prospects for the next meeting of the Stormont Executive scheduled for next Thursday.
This is not thought likely to go ahead due to continuing problems between Sinn Féin and the DUP over policy differences, particularly the devolution of justice and policing powers.
Unionist sources told The Irish Times they would not be responsible for the cancellation of the NSMC, adding that it was vital all Stormont institutions were functioning effectively.
Next Friday’s NSMC meeting, planned for Co Cavan, could be a brief and “perfunctory” gathering of Ministers from both sides of the Border. It is also understood its location could also be switched from Cavan to somewhere in Northern Ireland.
Asked for his views on the next scheduled meetings of the Executive, which has failed to meet since June, and the NSMC the following day, Mr Robinson said he hoped to see all the Stormont institutions fully operational next week.
“I hope we will have two meetings next week,” he said. “It’s important that we do. It’s going to be very difficult to explain to people in Northern Ireland how politicians can sit around a table in Edinburgh but not in Belfast. Let’s move ahead with all the institutions, let’s get everything into place and let’s get down to work.”
Asked if the holding of an NSMC meeting was directly dependent on the holding of a meeting of the Executive at Stormont the previous day, Mr Robinson said: “All of our institutions are interrelated. I took it as a harbinger of good things to come that everybody was sitting down today in Edinburgh. I would hope that all the meetings will take place that are due to take place next week.”
A reliable source told The Irish Times that unionists would not be responsible for “bringing down” next week’s meeting of the NSMC in the case of another failure of the Executive to meet.
Mr Robinson said he was personally committed not just to getting all the institutions working but also to addressing all “outstanding issues” which continue to divide Sinn Féin and the DUP.
Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said that given the fact that the BIC meeting had been held, he “could reasonably expect that the meeting of the NSMC will take place next week”.
Mr McGuinness said an “absolute priority” was the need to “move forward in partnership and equality”.
He said it was a responsibility of himself and Mr Robinson to “establish an agenda for an Executive meeting to take place”.
Both of them wanted the Executive to meet, he added, just as both wanted to see the transfer of justice powers to Stormont.