Brown arrives in Northern Ireland after power-sharing deal is agreed » Central Government » 24dash.com

The British and Irish Premiers arrived in Northern Ireland today to formally launch a deal to save the power-sharing government.

Nearly two weeks of round-the-clock negotiations ended in success late last night when Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) members of the Stormont Assembly agreed to back the deal brokered with Sinn Fein.

The settlement will see the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster to the Assembly within weeks, satisfying a key republican goal, while new arrangements for overseeing loyal order parades will meet the demands of unionists.

The talks, which centred on Hillsborough Castle, Co Down, are the longest set of continuous negotiations held in the near 20-year peace process.

Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Taoiseach Brian Cowen (both pictured) returned to the venue today to meet all of Northern Ireland's main political parties before unveiling the terms of the accord.

With Sinn Fein accusing the DUP of stalling on the transfer of policing powers for the last three years, it was feared that failure to find agreement could see the collapse of the power-sharing government led by the two parties.

The final piece in the political jigsaw that sealed agreement came at Stormont's Parliament Building last night as the clock in its Great Hall approached midnight.

It followed Sinn Fein's announcement earlier that negotiations on policing, justice and parades had ended and republicans believed the basis for an agreement existed.

DUP leader Peter Robinson emerged from a late-night meeting of party colleagues to confirm that he had secured unanimous support for the proposals.

Flanked by DUP Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and Finance Minister Sammy Wilson, Mr Robinson said all members of his party were behind the blueprint for agreement.

Emerging from the two-hour meeting, he said: "The assembly group asked questions and considered the matter and have unanimously supported the way forward.

"Everyone present believes this is consistent with our election manifesto and pledges that we have made to the people."

Sinn Fein welcomed confirmation of the DUP decision.

The party's president Gerry Adams said: "I welcome the DUP's decision. We have been involved in what has been a lengthy stretch of negotiations.

"I commend the Sinn Fein negotiating team. I believe that the Assembly and political institutions can now proceed on the basis of equality, fairness and partnership. They also have to deliver for all citizens, that is the collective responsibility of all the political parties."

Leader of the hardline Traditional Unionist Voice Jim Allister, who is an arch critic of the DUP, asked why party members who rejected proposals at the start of the week had now come on board with the plan.

He said the deal secured a key policy goal for republicans, who want to see as many powers as possible transferred away from London and towards Belfast.

"The deal the DUP so meekly accepted is the same deal they rejected on Monday," he said.

"The deal hasn't changed, only the snowmen of the DUP, who melted once the heat came on."

But DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson dismissed Mr Allister's comments as "scaremongering" and said that last night's agreement was intended to secure peace and stability for Northern Ireland's future.

Mr Donaldson said: "Unlike Jim Allister, we don't want to drag people back to the dark days of the past. We want to see a peaceful, stable Northern Ireland with a good government attracting investment and jobs for our people and addressing the issues that matter to the local community."

Today's announcement will be followed by a period of consultation leading to a vote in the Assembly, with the aim of transferring policing and justice powers in early April.

In an early sign of potential discord, the Ulster Unionist party said it would not be attending the round table meeting with the two premiers.

During the negotiations the party consistently complained that it had been kept in the dark.

A spokeswoman said members wished to have sight of the proposed agreement before they give their response to the two governments.

"We have not had sight of this agreement and until we do we will not be signing up to it," she said.

The Ulster Unionist assembly group is due to meet at Stormont to consider its response later this morning.

Northern Ireland Secretary Shaun Woodward said "the game is up" for violent dissident groups following last night's agreement.

He said the agreement would "absolutely" make Northern Ireland a safer place, and said it reached out to all communities in the province.

Mr Woodward told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "This political agreement will be the last part of the jigsaw which is predicated on the entire peace process...

"If everybody embraces this agreement in the spirit with which it was created... I think people will see that this agreement is above the politics of any one-party interest, it is genuinely reaching out to the interests of all the people in Northern Ireland."

He added: "The peace process has been built consistently on people putting the national interest of the peace of Northern Ireland above any single party interest and that is still a choice people will make.

"I am confident that in this politics of this Northern Ireland today, when it come to that cross-community vote, people will see sense, they will do what their constituents want and ensure that this final piece of the jigsaw enshrines the peace process itself."

Mr Woodward said the violence seen over the last few years was driven by a group of people who want to destabilise the political process and undermine peace.

"The best answer to violence is politics and dialogue and local solutions," he said. "That is what is at the heart of this agreement.

"They have to recognise this morning that the game is up. Regrettably, I think some of them will continue to cling to the violence of the past as the only way of resolving difficulties, but they have no community support.

"When they see this agreement today, they will see that two groups of people who were once terrible rivals have found their way through a very big challenge and I think what they will present to everybody is a very strong, reasonable agreement that will enable everyone to come on board."

Mr Woodward hailed the "leadership" of senior figures in all parties in the talks, who had found ways to compromise without giving up their principles.

And he said that Mr Robinson had no further questions to answer over events surrounding his wife Iris.

"I think he has cleared his name. I think he has justifiably done so," said the Northern Ireland Secretary. "He is an outstanding politician.

"I am looking forward to seeing the First Minister and Deputy First Minister moving forward and ensuring that people get what they need in Northern Ireland, which is good government."

Mr Adams added later that the agreement was a wonderful opportunity.

He said: "There's a wonderful chance now in a new spirit for us all to go forward.

"This is not just about structures or protocols, it obviously has to be about inspired leadership and people accepting in leadership positions that people want this to work."

He said he wanted dialogue on the basis of equality and paid tribute to Mr McGuinness's role in the process.

"If anyone is listening to what citizens are saying, if anyone is listening to what ordinary people are saying, those in the Assembly, including our opponents, are in there to serve people.

"What we need to do is serve all of the people and all of the citizens and if we keep our ears open to that, then that new spirit will flourish."