A former moderator of the Presbyterian Church says political parties are “within touching distance” of an agreement. Rev Ken Newell told The Irish Catholic that there is a “very strong desire” among Unionists on the ground to get up and running. “If you believe in Unionism and you have no institutions locally to demonstrate that, it is like a failed political project. There is a real need to get devolved government.”
The “sluggishness of political progress” on day-to-day issues like education and health was like “being in an airplane with no pilot”, he said. “Unionists are as keen as mustard to get back in but are holding on to certain red lines.”
Sinn Féin demands for an Irish Language Act and same sex marriage need to be discussed, he said. “They have to be resolved through dialogue, because as Fr Alec Reid used to say ‘Dialogue is the arena in which the Holy Spirit acts in human history’. Where there is heart-to-heart dialogue, a door opens to new possibilities,” he said.
Pointing out that Republicans are keen on, he argued that “ the proof that you believe in a united Ireland is making Northern Ireland work before it happens”.
“Unionism has to be much more inclusive,” he added.
SDLP Cllr Roisin Lynch agreed, telling this newspaper that with elections out of the way, politicians were “going to have to produce something”. The bigger parties like Sinn Féin, whose vote dropped significantly in the elections, “are keen to get a deal done but it will have to be choreographed”, she said, adding that no decision would be made until the UK has a successor to Prime Minister Theresa May.
“Whatever deal is done will have to be put to the electorate another time, to seal it as the will of the people,” she added.
Welcoming the renewed political talks, the Diocese of Down and Connor’s spokesman Fr Edward McGee said they resonate with “the general desire across communities within Northern Ireland calling for a new momentum within the political process”, and provide “another opportunity to move beyond the longstanding political impasse” towards restoring the North’s institutions.