The Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, Simon Coveney met representatives from the main parties at Stormont today in order to resolve the current impasse between the main parties.
His comments are noteworthy as the focus turns towards Direct Rule. From an RTE report;
Mr Coveney said there were still grounds for optimism and direct rule should still be avoided.
“There can be no British-only direct rule. That is the Irish Government’s position.”
Mr Coveney added: “It would be very difficult to even contemplate how direct rule would function in that context.”
“We don’t want to go there, it is not good for Northern Ireland, it is not good from the point of view of the government that I am a part of, it is not good from the point of view of the government in London, everybody loses in that scenario.”
He went on speaking about the topic of bringing in a mediator from outside;
“If the parties want that we will try to facilitate that but I think it is unlikely,”
David McCann holds a PhD in North-South relations from University of Ulster. You can follow him on twitter @dmcbfs