THIS IS a time of considerable anxiety in Northern Ireland as plans for the transfer of policing and justice powers from Westminster run into difficulties while threats from dissident republicans to the peace process reach a six-year high. It is a volatile situation that demands courageous political leadership. The gains made during the past five years in bringing about the normalisation of society should not be jeopardised.
The man who holds the key to progress is First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson. He has come under political pressure from Jim Allister and his Traditional Unionists because of his powersharing arrangement with Sinn Féin and from Sir Reg Empey and the Ulster Unionist Party over the manner in which they are being treated within the Executive. At the same time, Sinn Féin is demanding swift action on the transfer of policing. In addition, the SDLP is aggrieved that it may be denied the justice ministry. In all of this, the Dublin and London governments are concerned that further delays in the transfer of powers could be extremely damaging.
Alarm bells began to ring when Mr Robinson appeared to link the transfer of justice powers with abolition of the contentious Parades Commission. Should that become a pre-condition for progress, it could signal that the DUP is prepared to delay the transfer of powers until after the Westminster elections next June. Such a development would be unacceptable to Sinn Féin. Rather than see a full-scale political crisis develop, the two governments are now urging early closure.
The concern of British prime minister Gordon Brown can be judged by the extremely generous financial terms he offered Mr Robinson and Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness for the funding of the transfer arrangements. In addition to an £800 million package, financial reserves would be made available to protect budgetary spending on health, education and housing, in the event of unforeseen circumstances arising.
On the security front, the Independent Monitoring Commission reported that dissident republican activity had reached a six-year high and now poses a substantial danger. The transfer of policing and justice powers would, it felt, remove a point of contention across the political divide while providing a platform for co-operation against such a developing threat. Meanwhile, the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning hopes to complete its work with the destruction of all remaining loyalist paramilitary weapons by next February. That would mark a significant advance in the peace process. It would also clear the way for a determined crack-down by the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) on residual paramilitary and criminal activity within both loyalist and republican districts.
The rule of law is not an optional extra. Through hard work and discipline, the PSNI now attracts broad cross-community support. The transfer of policing and justice powers would mark a further advance towards a self-confident and egalitarian society. Mr Robinson should get on with it.