Northern Ireland’s power-sharing partners must unite to tackle the economic crisis facing householders, the First Minister said today.
Northern Ireland’s power-sharing partners must unite to tackle the economic crisis facing householders, the First Minister said today.
With soaring energy bills and the credit crunch hitting local people hard, the ministerial Executive has to meet on Thursday, Peter Robinson added.
The Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader is negotiating with Sinn Féin over republicans’ non-attendance at the Executive in protest at lack of progress on its touchstone issues.
These include the failure to devolve policing and justice to a local minister and unionist rejection of an Irish language act. The DUP said its key concern was economic hardship facing the population.
Mr Robinson said: “There seems to me to be in each individual silo a recognition that we need to be dealing with these matters, but we can only resolve them if we come together.
“Even if these matters didn’t need immediate attention, and they do, I believe that the Executive needs to be meeting, that the Executive needs to function and to be able to show to the people out there that this Assembly means business and is able to do business.”
Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness has released his blueprint for easing the economic burden. He has written to Mr Robinson seeking support.
The Deputy First Minister’s proposals include:
- The indefinite deferral of domestic contributions towards water and sewerage services;
-The establishment of an emergency fund to address fuel poverty;
- Making the redirection of departmental spending efficiencies and unspent money across all Departments a priority of the September Monitoring Round;
- The establishment of a Ministerial sub-group on anti-poverty and the initiation of a benefits entitlements uptake campaign;
- Completion of the joint DARD/DSD Warm Homes Scheme, the commissioning of a bulk buying scheme for oil.
Mr Robinson said he had approved over two dozen items for Thursday’s agenda and would be deeply disappointed if it did not meet.
“Our community out there wants to see the Executive working, they want to see us all moving forward. I am committed, as is this party, to working all of the institutions of the Agreement.”
He called for a stabilisation of democracy.
“We need to be moving to a system more based on normal democratic standards,” he added.
SDLP leader Mark Durkan has called for changes to the current government involving a re-examination of the cross-community mandatory coalition arrangements.
However, Mr Robinson said he was confident that in the “foreseeable future” power-sharing would remain.
PA