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It is day 2 of the talks in Belfast aimed at restoring the power sharing devolved government in Northern Ireland. Day 1 has been described as “reasonably constructive” by one senior Irish official.

Both the Irish foreign minister, Simon Coveney, and the Northern Ireland secretary, James Brokenshire, are not at Stormont for the all-party discussions today. Coveney is holding Brexit talks at the EU in Brussels while Brokenshire has commitments in London. However, the parties, most notably Sinn Fein and the Democratic Unionists, will continue talking today.

One of the substantive issues on the table is Sinn Fein’s demand for an Irish Language Act that would put the gaelic language on a par with English, which would be a similar outcome to the situation already pertaining in Wales, where the Welsh language has parity to English. Sources at the talks say this morning that aspects of Ulster Protestant culture rooted in terms of “respect” for things like Ulster Scots might also be built into the legislation to make the language act more acceptable to unionists.

The other major area of contention is legacy or how to deal with the past crimes and atrocities of the Troubles. It appears that, while draft legislation may be possible, the ideas formulated at the talks will be put out to public consultation across Northern Ireland and in particular to a whole range of victims groups. By doing this, it is believed the ‘sting’ will be taken out of the legacy issue and it won’t become a deal breaker at Stormont.

Meanwhile those other talks - the ones between the DUP and the Tories - aimed at creating a minority Conservative government go on in London today. They also cast a shadow over the Belfast negotiations with Sinn Fein and others keeping one eye on what the outcome of the DUP/Tory discussions may bring forward.

In terms of the Belfast talks though the clock is ticking, with the 29 June deadline fopr the restoration of power sharing looming ever closer.