Bertie Ahern calls for restoration of Stormont before end of November

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said he would be “very disappointed” if Stormont is not restored by the end of next month.

The former Irish premier was speaking at the One Young World summit in Belfast on the creating and legacy of the Good Friday Agreement.

Also speaking at the summit on Thursday was former Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams who said “the ground had shifted” in Irish politics.

The One Young World summit has brought thousands of young people to Belfast to discuss global issues and has been recognised as part of the official celebrations for the 25th anniversary of the Agreement.

Mr Ahern said there was an opportunity now to restore the devolved government which has not been functioning for over a year due to the DUPs ongoing protest in response to post-Brexit trading arrangements.

“I would be very disappointed if it’s not by the end of next month,” he said

“I think we have an opportunity now and I think that opportunity needs to be taken.”

He added: “But if it’s not by the end of November, we drift into a position where it’s election year all over the place and life will become far more difficult.”

Mr Ahern also said work was being done to restore power-sharing, but that party leaders would need to convince their communities it was the right decision, as their predecessors did to secure the Good Friday Agreement.

“There’s a lot of work, a lot of reference, a lot of people working hard on it, and it won’t be easy, it won’t be without some difficult decisions,” he said.

“But if those difficult decisions are not taken – like the leaders that I had the honour of working with, all the party leaders and the people that I worked with 25 years ago.

“They all had to go to their own people and convince their own people that this was the right thing to do, that this was the inclusive, comprehensive will and that they were prepared to put their name to it and prepared to work to make it happen.

“And we’re in the same boat today.”

Mr Adams shared his advice for DUP leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson.

“Without being at all provocative, if I had advice to give to Jeffrey it would be to lead.

“That’s the only way you can do it, and to lead in a positive way,” he said.

“The ground has shifted.

“This place is not the same as it was when I was growing up and it’s not the same as it was during this change.”

He added: “It has changed, and change can be threatening for some people and those of us that want the maximum change, need to be understanding of that.”

On a panel with former Alliance party leader Lord John Alderdice and former PUP leader Dawn Purvis, Mr Adams said the British government’s legacy bill was in breach of the Good Friday Agreement.

The Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) bill would give a limited form of immunity from prosecution for Troubles-related offences to those who co-operate with the new Independent Commission for Reconciliation and Information Recovery.

It will also halt future civil cases and inquests.

“I also want to deal with it in the wider context.

“The British Government are in breach of the Good Friday Agreement with their bill of shame,” he said.

“Peace isn’t just the absence of conflict and justice has to be the work of peace.”

On the question of attaining justice and peace, Mr Adams said politicians should “not give up”.

Lord Alderdice said there was a problem in reconciling the need for peace and for justice, adding that the question of victims could have been addressed sooner in the peace process.

“Is there a conflict between peace of justice?

“And I think the truth is, there is a conflict, there is a problem,” he said.

“Because if you are going to maintain the determination to see justice, as you see it implemented, then it is very difficult at the same time to say, well, I will let go of some things in order to have a better relationship with my neighbour with whom I deeply disagree.

“One of the things that troubles me about the legacy business of just the building, is that here we are more than 25 years on and I think on all sides, people have effectively given up trying to resolve it.

“Some people are weaponising it, some people want to forget about it.

“And the troubling thing for me is that we have not, despite all the calls on all the sides, all the efforts, all the initiatives, all the Commissions, we haven’t really made a great new ground.

“Maybe one of the mistakes that we made was that, unlike Colombians who started off their process by having a victims’ bill, maybe if we’d attended to the question of victims at an earlier stage during the talks process, we might not have found ourselves in the situation.

“But we are where we are now.”