09:48

Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire has given the parties locked in negotiations at Stormont an extended deadline of Easter Tuesday to reach a deal which would restore power sharing government to the region.

The parties have until 18 April to secure an agreement on issues ranging from creating a mechanism to deal with the past legacy of the Troubles to the role of the Irish language in Northern Irish society.

After that dates passes Brokenshire could use the return of parliament in Westminster to trigger legislation that would transfer powers to run devolved government back to London. Alternatively, the secretary of state could call another election to yet another assembly.

The Easter deadline will bring back memories of Holy Week 1998 when the then majority Ulster Unionists and all the nationalist parties reached the Good Friday agreement just hours before that deadline was about to be missed.

Speaking at Antrim Area Hospital, Brokenshire warned that “public services will suffer if there continues to be political stalemate.” The Northern Ireland Secretary said:

That is why I am urging the political parties to continue to talk and find a way through the outstanding issues. It remains important that an agreement is reached which enables the restoration of devolved government - this is absolutely critical for Northern Ireland and its people. Whilst I recognise some of the issues are difficult, they are not insurmountable. The window in which this can happen is narrow, but it is my hope that the politicians will do all in their power to help to bring about the resumption of secure devolved government, an objective supported by the majority of the people in Northern Ireland, is our shared aim. We owe it to the entire community to deliver the best outcome for Northern Ireland - strong devolved government with locally accountable ministers.

The late Martin McGuinness’ last public political act was to resign as deputy first minister of Northern Ireland in January. He did so in protest at first minister and Democratic Unionist leader Arlene Foster’s refusal to stand aside temporarily from her post while a public inquiry was held into a costly botched green energy scheme.



The Renewal Heating Initiative which the DUP championed ended up costing the public purse an estimated £500m. Once McGuinness resigned over the controversy under the rules of power sharing the cross-community government in Belfast collapsed prompting elections to a new assembly.