Parades ‘not price of policing’ – Adams
Devolution cannot be held hostage to a resolution on parades, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams warned as a plenary session went underway at Hillsborough Castle in a bid to break the deadlock
Mr Adams said: “Anybody who thinks that the price of policing and justice is a walk down the Garvaghy Road (Drumcree) or through Ardoyne (north Belfast), it is just ridiculous.”
“Let’s deal with the issues sensibly, let’s do our best to make sure the outstanding matters of this agreement are implemented.”
The Sinn Fein President briefed party officers on Thursday, ahead of a plenary session with other parties at Hillsborough.
Sinn Fein and the DUP have until Friday to resolve their differences on devolution, parades, the Irish language, north/south co-operation and the unfinished bill of rights, or the British and Irish governments will publish their own proposals.
If there is no deal Sinn Fein could walk out of the power-sharing government, triggering fresh elections.
“Nothing is going to be sorted out if it is talked up as absolute.
“We still don’t have an agreement but it isn’t over until it is over,” Mr Adams added.
DUP Finance Minister Sammy Wilson said his party was in the “mindset” to do a deal. He added they were capable of making a sustainable agreement which members could stand by without the help of the two premiers.
“I would rather have a ‘Made in Ulster’ deal than something which is brought here and imposed on us, whether a suggestion or a proposal from London or Dublin,” he said.
“A “Made in Ulster” deal will stick, a proposal from London or Dublin will mean that in some way we are seen as incapable of dealing with these things.”
Mr Wilson was asked about parades. “As far as individual marches are concerned I don’t think that’s the job of negotiators,” he said, adding they required working at a local level.
“To think politicians guarantee outcomes, I think is really living in cloud cuckoo land,” he added.
Nationalist SDLP leader Mark Durkan said there were papers being exchanged and people were focused on the issues.
“I still think the parties can get there,” he added optimistically.
“There is a bit more perspective being shown today, people have a bigger sense of the importance of individual issues but also the importance of the overall picture here, making sure we have devolution, that it is stable and it goes forward.
“Stalemate, stand-off and recrimination coming out of here is not going to do anything for the reputation of politics in general.”
Meanwhile, Irish President Mary McAleese, who attended a police college event for new recruits in Belfast, praised the sacrifices of the PSNI.
“We were reminded earlier this week of how real and present remain the difficulties of building that shared future,” she said.
The plenary talks at Hillsborough Castle are expected to last well into the night.
