The St Andrews Agreement

11 Oct The St Andrews Agreement

In the weeks following the agreement between Paisley and Adams, the four parties – the DUP, Sinn Féin, UUP and SDLP – chose the ministries within the executive and appointed members to occupy them. The Assembly met on May 8, 2007 and elected Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness as Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. It also ratified the ten ministers as appointed by their parties. On 12 May, Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle agreed to take three seats on the Police Board and appointed three MLAs to take them over. Northern Ireland Minister Peter Hain called the deal on BBC Radio Five Live an « astonishing breakthrough ». Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said that if the deadlines set by the two governments were not met, « the plan will be shaken and there will be a step towards plan B without further discussion. » Democratic Unionist Party Chairman Ian Paisley said: « Unionists can have confidence in promoting their interests and winning democracy. » He also said: « The implementation of the central issue of police work and the rule of law begins now. » Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams said the plans must be consulted, but restoring political institutions is a « huge price to pay ». Reg Empey, chairman of the Ulster Unionist Party, described the deal as a « Belfast deal for slow learners ». Mark Durkan, chairman of the Social Democratic Party and the Labour Party, said welcome progress had been made in restoring power-sharing institutions. Alliance Party Chairman David Ford said the result was a mix of « challenges and opportunities. » [3] However, the case must be by the 24th The agreement specifies that the British and Irish governments would cooperate to implement a « plan B » above the minds of Northern Ireland politicians. 2.In § 53 (agreements, etc.) of persons participating in the North-South. Since the so-called Good Friday agreement in 1998, Northern Ireland has been Blair`s favourite asset, which can be used whenever he has to try to renew the image of the Labour Party. It is therefore not surprising that, faced with the disastrous consequences of his criminal policy in Iraq and Afghanistan, not to mention his support for Israel`s bombing of Lebanon, Blair must once again try to pull Ireland out of his magician`s hat. This appears to be one of the reasons that led the government to launch the process that led to its announcement of the so-called « St Andrews Agreement » on October 14.

In the joint statement of 13 October on 10 October, it was stated that the Governments had « requested the parties, after consultation with their members, to confirm their adoption before 10 November ». In a Sinn Féin statement on 6 November, « Sinn Féin Ard Chomhairle instructed the party leadership to follow the course set at St Andrews and continue ongoing negotiations to resolve outstanding issues » and that they are « firmly convinced that any outstanding difficulties can be resolved ». The DUP statement said: « Given that Sinn Féin is not yet ready to take the decisive step in policing, the DUP will not be required to engage in any aspect of power-sharing before this certainty. » While neither declaration was an « acceptance » of the agreement, both governments said there was enough support from all parties to continue the process. The Northern Ireland (St Andrews Agreement) Act 2006, which implemented the agreement, received Royal Approval on 22 November 2006. In the general elections, the seats of the DUP and Sinn Féin were won, which consolidated their position as two main parties in the Assembly. . . .