The political temperature in the North rose sharply last night after the Irish Government, the SDLP and Sinn Fein decided to travel to Enniskillen tomorrow despite a decision by Mr David Trimble to block Ms Bairbre de Brun, the Sinn Fein minister, from participating in any official North-South element of the meeting.
The Minister for Health, Mr Martin, his Sinn Fein counterpart in the North, Ms de Brun, and the SDLP Deputy First Minister, Mr Seamus Mallon, yesterday announced they would be in Enniskillen for the North-South meeting dealing with health and food safety issues.
They accepted, however, as Mr Trimble has insisted, that the meeting will not be under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC).
Mr Trimble, following adoption of his motion by the Ulster Unionist Council last Saturday, has blocked Ms de Brun from meeting Mr Martin under the official umbrella of the NSMC. The First Minister has said that this ban will continue until the IRA re-engages with the decommissioning body.
Anticipating the decision of Mr Martin and Ms de Brun to travel to Enniskillen, Mr Trimble said yesterday that such action would merely be a "face-saving exercise", because it would have no validity under the NSMC.
Ms de Brun said she would not allow Mr Trimble to "play party politics" with health and social services issues and that she would meet Mr Martin in "bilateral mode" tomorrow. "It will not be organised under the auspices of the North-South Ministerial Council," she said.
Ms de Brun said that the meeting was designed to secure tangible and real benefits for people across the island. "It is crucial that the meeting happens. We cannot allow progress on such important issues to be waylaid by the First Minister's breach of his pledge of office, the ministerial code and the Good Friday agreement," she added.
Ms de Brun would not say what action Sinn Fein might take in response to Mr Trimble's decision to block all such NSMC meetings until the IRA re-engages on decommissioning, but she did not rule out a legal challenge.
At 4.30 p.m., two hours after Ms de Brun's announcement, the Deputy First Minister said that he would also travel to Enniskillen to discuss North-South health and food safety issues with Mr Martin and Ms de Brun.
Mr Trimble, who met Mr Mallon yesterday morning, refused a request from the Deputy First Minister to hold a special executive meeting this week to discuss the current difficulties. Mr Mallon criticised this decision and said he was going to Enniskillen to protect the "integrity and operation" of the institutions of the Belfast Agreement.
While Mr Trimble is imposing his sanction against Sinn Fein, Ulster Unionist ministers are continuing to engage in the North-South element of the agreement. The Enterprise Minister, Sir Reg Empey, will meet the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, in Belfast today for an announcement on North-South e-business, while Sir Reg will travel to Dublin tomorrow, where he will meet the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, for engagements dealing with the promotion of cross-Border enterprise.
Mr Dermot Nesbitt, a junior Ulster Unionist minister, travelled to Dublin last night to address industrialists and academics as part of the annual "Irish Innovation" lecture. He was implicitly critical of Mr Martin's decision to meet Ms de Brun tomorrow, saying that parties should not "pander" to the IRA's refusal to re-engage on decommissioning. Asked if this comment was directed at the Government, Mr Nesbitt said: "If the cap fits, wear it."
The Ulster Unionist Arts Minister, Mr Michael McGimpsey, said that Sinn Fein would be "in detention" until the IRA re-engaged on decommissioning. In the meantime, he expected the SDLP and the Government to "play their full role" in the North-South bodies and other institutions of the agreement.
