Ireland

DUP warns over devolution 'incentives'

The DUP will not be bought off into going into a devolved government simply on the back of gaining peerages and extra seats on…

Fri Oct 14 2005 - 01:00

The DUP will not be bought off into going into a devolved government simply on the back of gaining peerages and extra seats on Northern Ireland's Policing Board, a senior member warned today.

DUP MP Gregory Campbell said the party would still require the underlying problems in the North for the unionist community to be addressed.

The former Stormont Regional Development Minister said: "It may be the case that important issues like numerical changes to the DUP's under-representation on the Policing Board and the House of Lords are easiest to address for the government.

If we were to be offered five times the number we are likely to get of members of the House of Lords, the underlying issues remain to be addressed
Gregory Campbell

"It could also be the case that they naively believe a number of DUP elected representatives offered positions to which we are entitled might be an incentive towards hastening a return to devolved government. The latter is a fallacy that has to be dealt a fatal blow.

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"If we were to be offered five times the number we are likely to get of members of the House of Lords, the underlying issues remain to be addressed."

Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain yesterday announced plans to reconstitute the Policing Board next April, which will mean the DUP will increase its representation from three to four.

The British government is also expected to announce soon the first DUP peers, with Eileen Paisley, wife of the Rev Ian Paisley, among those being tipped.

These moves are being interpreted as Government recognition of the change in political climate in Northern Ireland since the 2003 Stormont Election, which has seen the DUP become the largest party.

However, Mr Paisley's party has also presented Downing Street with a 64-page document of issues it feels will need to be addressed before they can contemplate reviving devolved government.

Among the issues the DUP has demanded is a generous severance and training package for Royal Irish Regiment soldiers affected by demilitarisation plans which will axe its three Northern Ireland based battalions, changes to the Parades Commission, and a financial package to revitalise working-class Protestant neighbourhoods.