Sinn Fein's 'Plan B' call for North

[IRiSHMaFIA]

Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern must implement their Plan B for Northern Ireland if the Rev Ian Paisley boycotts an Assembly meeting designed to make him First Minister, Sinn Fein has insisted.

Just hours after the British and Irish Governments announced they would press ahead with the St Andrews timetable for power sharing, Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness insisted the two governments must hold the DUP to the deadlines in the agreement.

And he also countered DUP claims his party had retreated from its St Andrews talks position on policing, arguing members of Mr Paisley's party were instead making unreasonable demands.

Following DUP warnings that the St Andrews timetable could slip, Mr McGuinness told the two Prime Ministers they should be prepared to put their alternative plan in place if Mr Paisley would not participate in the November 24 meeting for nominating new Stormont First and Deputy First Ministers.

"I think it would be a huge mistake if the November 24 deadline were to slip," the Mid Ulster MP said.

"The two governments have in recent times repeatedly said there would be no slippage. If the DUP are not prepared to nominate Ian Paisley as First Minister on November 24, the two governments will have to swiftly move to ensure the sequence and timetable for implementation is kept.

"If the DUP does not participate in the Assembly meeting on November 24, it is in the legislation that the Assembly falls and the two governments will be charged with taking forward new partnership arrangements."

Earlier after receiving the Assembly parties' responses to the two Prime Ministers' plan for reviving power sharing, Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain and Irish Foreign Minister Dermot Ahern set in train the St Andrews timetable.

Both ministers said they were satisfied the St Andrews Agreement provided a basis for a lasting political settlement. "That settlement must rest on the two foundations of support for power-sharing and the political institutions and support for policing and the rule of law," they declared.

"Securing these objectives remains the priority of the two Governments and of everyone in Northern Ireland. We will now proceed to ensure full implementation of the St Andrews Agreement and the British Government will bring forward legislation to give effect to the agreement."

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Someone should just top that hate filled bigot Paisley off. N.Ire would be a lot further ahead and things would go so much more smoothly for everyone concerned.

I think this honestly shows how willing Sinn Fein are to getting things on the right road, and they're showing far more class and maturity than the DUP and that useless dried up nutsack Paisley.

[fritz]

Cheers Irish. Going back as far as I can remember this PRICK (scum bag Ian Paisley) has always been a thorn in the side of the peace process of N.Ireland

[IRiSHMaFIA]