DUP rejects call from Bertie Ahern, saying a 'quick-fix' won't restore Stormont

On Sunday, former Irish premier Bertie Ahern urged the DUP to reach a compromise to restore Stormont, saying it was “not tenable or sustainable” for the party to stick rigidly to the same position.

Mr Ahern’s was commenting as Northern Ireland embarks on another week of events marking the 25th anniversary of the Belfast Agreement – including a major three-day conference beginning on Monday at Queen’s University.

Former US president Bill Clinton, ex-US secretary of state Hillary Clinton and chairman of the Good Friday talks Senator George Mitchell will be guests at the conference, having also attended several events in Belfast over the weekend.

Bertie Ahern and former UK prime minister Sir Tony Blair will also be at Queen’s.

Responding to Mr Ahern’s criticism of the DUP, North Belfast MLA Phillip Brett said: “We will continue to engage with the Government in relation to the Windsor Framework and what is required to ensure that Northern Ireland’s place within the United Kingdom is respected.

“To have stable and sustainable government in Northern Ireland requires cross-community consensus and the concerns of unionists must be addressed by the Government.

"That is key to unlocking the door to the restoration of stable and sustainable devolution. We need a solid foundation, not just a quick-fix.”

The DUP is refusing to re-enter Stormont while the post-Brexit trading arrangements treat NI differently from the rest of the UK.

Addressing an audience at the Washington-Ireland Program headquarters in Belfast on Sunday, Hillary Clinton said the Windsor Framework, provides an economic boost that should not be missed, and added: "Part of what I hope happens is that people from every part of the political system here will decide that the government needs to get back into business."

As well as criticising the DUP, former taoiseach Mr Ahern commended Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s attempts to secure a return to devolution as he said Ireland had experienced “great difficulty” in its dealings with Boris Johnson during the whole Brexit process over a number of years.

Asked in an interview with Sky News what his message to the current DUP leadership would be, Mr Ahern said past unionist political leaders in Northern Ireland, such as the late David Trimble and Ian Paisley and also Peter Robinson, had shown a willingness to compromise to make progress.

“You do not make much progress in politics if you don’t do that,” he said.

“And I think we have to get away from, you know, this is the position and no other position is satisfactory, it’s not tenable or sustainable. And it’s not in the interests of the people in Northern Ireland, there are huge issues in Northern Ireland as there is everywhere else.”

Mr Ahern said the Windsor Framework “nearly solves” the issues standing in the way of a return to powersharing.

“There seems to be a few outstanding ones that have to be resolved,” he added.

The former Fianna Fail leader contrasted Mr Sunak’s approach with that taken by Mr Johnson.

“To be honest, it doesn’t really matter to me who the prime minister of the United Kingdom is, that’s a matter for the United Kingdom, but you will appreciate that we found it very difficult to deal with Boris,” he said.

“He seems to be a very colourful guy and a very nice guy but, you know, we had the trouble with the backstop, we had trouble with the protocol, we had a lot of trouble with Brexit in the first place.”

Mr Ahern referred to Mr Sunak’s attendance last November at the British Irish Council – one of the east/west bodies established by the Good Friday Agreement.

He said it was “quite odd” that prior to that engagement a UK PM had not attended such a meeting in 15 years.

Mr Ahern said that level of engagement is what he believed US President Joe Biden was referring to last week when he said the UK should be working more closely with the Irish government to support the people of Northern Ireland.