Distretto Nord

Sinn Féin blocca la riforma del welfare a Stormont

Sinn Féin blocks welfare bill in Northern Ireland Assembly

Martin McGuinness, Peter Robinson

The Northern Ireland Assembly is in crisis after Sinn Féin suddenly withdrew its support for welfare reform.

Sinn Féin and the Democratic Unionist Party, partners in the executive, have accused each other of bad faith.

Moving to block a welfare reform bill, Martin McGuinness, of Sinn Féin, accused the DUP of reneging on commitments.

DUP leader Peter Robinson said that was “dishonourable and ham-fisted”.

A spokesman for David Cameron said the prime minister found the development “deeply concerning”.

He said it was “very important” that the Stormont House Agreement, which included a deal on welfare reform, was implemented in full, and that “it must be for the locally elected political leadership to find a way forward, the responsibility is with them””

‘Profound implications’

Welfare reform was the issue that threatened the future of power-sharing at Stormont last year.

The five main parties reached broad agreement on 23 December on a number of key issues, including welfare.

It followed 12 weeks of talks involving the Northern Ireland parties and the British and Irish governments.

However, Mr McGuinness, Northern Ireland’s deputy first minister, said the DUP had reneged on its commitments in the Stormont House Agreement to protect the most vulnerable people in society.

He described it as a “very serious situation” that could have “profound implications” for both the agreement and the Northern Ireland political institutions.

“At Stormont House, the five parties agreed a series of measures to protect the vulnerable and safeguard current and future welfare claimants under the control of the executive,” he said.

“However, the DUP have acted in bad faith and are now reneging on their commitments to protect the most vulnerable. It is their intention to provide only partial protection to current recipients of benefit and no protection whatsoever for future claimants. That is totally unacceptable.”

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said on Monday night that until the DUP social development minister produces a scheme, “which reflects what was agreed at Christmas” his party would not support the welfare bill.

“Of course, we are very mindful that our opposition to the welfare bill could have wider implications for the political institutions and the Stormont House Agreement but there can be no reneging on this issue,” he said.

“Sinn Féin is equally committed to finding an acceptable resolution on the terms agreed at the Stormont House Agreement.”

Pagina precedente 1 2
Tags

René Querin

Di professione grafico e web designer, sono appassionato di trekking e innamorato dell'Irlanda e della sua storia. Insieme ad Andrea Varacalli ho creato e gestisco Les Enfants Terribles.

Related Articles

Close