Call for plan to restore Stormont as British-Irish body meets for first time in 11 years

Q Radio News

A UK and Irish government consultation body will meet later for the first time in more than a decade amid efforts to restore Stormont powersharing.

The British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference will be held in London, a year and a half after devolved government imploded in Belfast.

It gives the Irish a consultative role on non-devolved issues affecting Northern Ireland.

It last met in 2007 and its return has proved controversial. When it was last called security was a major part of its remit but those powers were later devolved to Stormont.

Sinn Fein and the SDLP have long been calling for the conference's re-establishment to inject fresh impetus into the stalled political process in Belfast.

But unionists have been wary of handing too much influence to Dublin and dismissed the gathering as a "talking shop".

Cabinet Office minister David Lidington and Northern Ireland Secretary Karen Bradley are expected to attend.

The Irish government will be represented by Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney and Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan.

Powersharing crashed in January 2017 after a bitter row between the DUP and Sinn Fein over a botched green energy scheme.

The impasse later widened to include more traditional issues of contention, such as the Irish language, LGBT rights and how to handle to legacy of the Troubles.

The SDLP leadership has written to the governments urging them to use the conference to agree a package of legislation for breaking the deadlock at Stormont.

Here's former Irish Senator Mairia Cahill who last night became the party's new councillor in Lisburn and Castlereagh...

She says many big issues need to be tackled urgently, including the plight of abuse victims...

.@SDLPlive newcomer @mairiac31 wastes no time in calling for action on Stormont at British-Irish conference and says @duponline & @sinnfeinireland need to "wise up, get the finger out and get back to work." More on air at 8 and https://t.co/boX2EdCtC7 pic.twitter.com/k8SnnyKWAf

— Q Radio News (@qnewsdesk) July 25, 2018

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