Sir, – Newton Emerson expresses surprise at the DUP’s continued absence from Stormont. He points out that the EU’s apparent acceptance of a green channel would have been enough to satisfy DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson a year ago (“Donaldson is painting himself into a corner”, Opinion & Analysis, November 17th).
That may be true, but a year ago there was not a Sinn Féin first minister in Northern Ireland. As that scenario evolved, the DUP began to emphasise that the “governance issue” – and not the practical workings of the protocol – was their main concern.
Everyone knows that the EU cannot agree to a court in a “third country” deciding which goods and services should enter the single market. But it is entirely understandable that the DUP would insist on a change to the protocol which is impossible to deliver.
Under the current arrangements, the DUP’s “punishment” for bringing down Stormont is direct rule from Westminster. This is the DUP’s second preference (first is that it is the largest party in Stormont) and for the DUP it is infinitely preferable to a Sinn Féin first minister. That is a propaganda disaster for a party that likes to pretend that it represents all the people of Northern Ireland.
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The only way to persuade the DUP to return to Stormont is for the British government to make it clear that in their continued absence, the “parity of esteem” requirements under the Belfast Agreement mean that arrangements will have to be made to ensure that the concerns of nationalists continue to be heard, and while those arrangements would fall short of joint authority, they would have to include a stronger advisory rule for the Irish Government in the governance of Northern Ireland. – Yours, etc,
JOHN McGRATH,
Ashford,
Co Wicklow.