Talks to restore powersharing in Northern Ireland were resuming today ahead of a January 13 deadline to strike an agreement.
The latest process, initiated in the wake of the general election, was paused over the festive period after a pre-Christmas deal failed to materialise.
Legislation to give civil servants additional powers to run Northern Ireland’s struggling public services expires on January 13, and Northern Ireland Secretary Julian Smith will assume a legal obligation to call a snap Assembly election if no agreement is reached.
Devolution can be restored only once the DUP and Sinn Fein, the province’s two largest parties, agree terms to re-enter a mandatory coalition executive.
The UK and Irish governments claim the DUP is standing in the way of a deal, but the party rejected the claims, insisting it would not be “bounced” into a “quick fix” that falls apart when tested.
Proposals to reform a contentious cross-community voting mechanism in the Assembly have emerged as a key sticking point, with the DUP unhappy about what is being countenanced.
It was designed to protect minority rights but politicians have accused each other of misusing it for their own ends.
The DUP is also seeking changes to ensure the devolved institutions are more stable in future and cannot be readily pulled down.
Stormont imploded three years ago this month when the late Sinn Fein deputy first minister Martin McGuinness resigned in protest at the DUP’s handling of a botched green energy scheme.
That dispute soon widened to encompass traditional rifts over issues such the Irish language and the toxic legacy of the Troubles.
