Briefing from the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman on: Northern Ireland and Europe.
Northern Ireland
Asked about the chances of restoring the institutions in Northern Ireland in the light of the Rev Ian Paisley’s refusal to compromise and sit on the Executive with Sinn Fein, the Prime Minister’s Official Spokesman (PMOS) said that everyone was broadly aware of the DUP’s position. The Prime Minister’s meeting with Rev Paisley this morning was clearly the beginning of a conversation. We wanted the party’s detailed assessment of the way forward following the elections at the end of last month. They had said in public that they wanted to be positive. We wanted to explore precisely what that meant. Since we were clearly at the beginning of the process, it was obviously important to give it time to develop. Tomorrow afternoon, the Prime Minister and the Taoiseach would be meeting the leaders of the other Northern Ireland parties - the UUP, SDLP, Sinn Fein and the Alliance party - on a bilateral basis to gauge their assessment of the situation. After that, we would be in a better position to consider in which direction we were heading. We had made it clear that we were prepared to continue to act as facilitators, as we had done in the past.
Europe
Asked about the Foreign Secretary’s speech on Europe in Dublin later today, the PMOS said that he hadn’t seen a text as yet. However, as he understood it, it would be an analysis of the current position, rather than break any new ground.
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