Plans A, B and C
Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness invited journalists into Stormont Castle this morning for an on the record briefing. Probably the most newsworthy aspect was their revelation that they are looking for three options for addressing the plight of the 10,000 savers at the Presbyterian Mutual Society.
Plan A is a commercial option, with a bank currently conducting "due diligence" on the society's assets. Plan B is described as a "Northern Ireland solution with Treasury support", presumably something similar to Plan A but with a big cheque written by Whitehall. Plan C, the least favoured option, is a "hardship fund" to help out those individuals who have suffered the most because of the loss of their savings.
The ministers stressed that Plan C was not their favoured option, but the fact that it got a mention must raise concerns that Plan A is not making as much headway as the politicians would have hoped.
The FM and DFM expressed optimism that their parades working group would hit the Tuesday deadline for a report on new structures to deal with contentious marches. But they did not commit to publishing that report, indicating only that it would be forwarded to the legal draftsmen and that the public would see any legislation they might produce.
The two ministers once again portrayed their Hillsborough deal as the chance for a fresh start. Mr McGuinnness said "Peter and I are prepared to work together. We have had difficulties in the past. As far as I am concerned they are in the past." Mr Robinson added "We would be the first to put our hands up and say the issue of policing and justice has been toxic in OFMDFM (the Office of First Minister and Deputy First Minister).
It has held back a lot of other work."
Questioned about plans for a US Investment conference, Mr Robinson said this needed to be properly prepared and may go ahead in the autumn. Gordon Brown referred to this happening in the spring during his Hillsborough news conference, but subsequently the NIO clarified that he had misspoken and had simply been referring to the traditional St. Patrick's Day visit to Washington. However it now seems that a conference of some kind is on track for the autumn.
As I write this the two politicians are giving evidence to a Stormont Committee, repeating a broadly similar message. The feistiest exchange so far came between Peter Robinson and the SDLP's Declan O'Loan who had talked about the Hillsborough deal having "potential" but questioned why the Parades Commission should be replaced. The First Minister responded by telling MLAs that sitting on the sidelines "whinging and gurning" about the agreement is not an option for politicians if they want to unlock the full potential of the deal.
I'm 
Comments