It will be "several lifetimes" before policing and justice responsibility is devolved to a Northern Executive if Sinn Féin fails to move on policing, according to DUP deputy leader Peter Robinson. Gerry Moriarty, Northern Editor, reports.
Mr Robinson issued his warning after he and Sinn Féin leaders Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness came face-to-face at Stormont yesterday at the first meeting of the Assembly's Programme for Government committee. DUP leader the Rev Ian Paisley did not attend.
One of the main obstacles to ensuring full devolution by the scheduled date of March 26th, 2007, is resolving the issue of when justice and policing matters would be handed over from Northern Secretary Peter Hain to the Northern Executive.
Sinn Féin has argued that it must have a timetable for this devolution before it would call an ardfheis on policing. But yesterday Mr Robinson appeared to harden the recent comment by North Belfast DUP MP Nigel Dodds that the transfer of policing and justice responsibility to the Executive would not happen for a "political lifetime".
Asked when such devolution might occur Mr Robinson said, "At the rate Sinn Féin are going at the present time it will be several political lifetimes - they really have to get down to it." The DUP deputy leader said it was essential that Sinn Féin recognised the need to build confidence within the community that it supported and endorsed the police in order to allow the transfer of these powers. "And like Nigel, indeed I probably said it before Nigel, that it would not be in my lifetime, never mind my political lifetime," he added.
This issue is now the main block to Sinn Féin supporting the police and the DUP signing up to powersharing. Nonetheless, the DUP, Sinn Féin, the Ulster Unionist Party, the SDLP and the smaller parties are beginning to consider a number of models for a department of justice that might reconcile current problems.
These include allowing the DUP, some time after May 2008, as the largest party, have temporary sole control of the department of justice in a resumed Northern Executive or, if by then Sinn Féin and the DUP remain deadlocked on the issue, UUP and/or SDLP ministers running the department.
Said Mr Robinson after yesterday's Programme for Government committee meeting, "of course there are many ways of dealing with policing and justice: you don't have to have Sinn Féin participation in it. So we will look at all of those issues in the years ahead. Let's hope that we will have the kind of peace and stability that will make policing and justice less important issues."
Sinn Féin president Mr Adams said yesterday's meeting was "businesslike" and some progress was made. "It's inch by inch," he said. "But given that some people used to say 'not an inch' that's, I think, quite appropriate."