Nearly a year after the Executive parties signed the Stormont House Agreement, Theresa Villiers spent ten weeks helping the DUP and Sinn Fein agree a strategy for its implementation. As the title suggests, a Fresh Start is not a brand new deal, but rather a plan to get the parties to live up to their existing commitments.
It’s ironic that the latest talks process ended with republican tantrums over Conservative government policy and waffle about national security considerations overriding the interests of victims. We shouldn’t forget that the latest crisis at Stormont was caused by the continued existence of the IRA and its links to Sinn Fein.
The party has actually gone back on previous commitments to deal with the past, as institutions designed to investigate incidents from the Troubles have been delayed indefinitely, thanks to the negotiations. Sinn Fein’s refusal to take responsibility for the terror its movement caused or to accept a balanced approach to the legacy of violence, remains the single biggest obstacle to moving our society forward.
The most significant new parts of a Fresh Start impose new obligations on MLAs to work to disband paramilitaries and provide significant extra resources to tackle paramilitary crime.
The focus of the talks also centred on political differences between unionists and republicans, and a lack of delivery from Stormont. The Secretary of State, Theresa Villiers, showed incredible patience, tenacity and ingenuity, coaxing the parties into developing a plan to deliver on promises they’d made almost 12 months ago.
Implementing a fairer welfare system, which protects vulnerable people, combats benefits dependency and helps more people into work, was central to the Stormont Agreement and we’re now seeing some rapid movement, after the Executive proved completely incapable of passing reforms without help. The Conservative government has again stuck to its principles, while showing flexibility and taking Northern Ireland’s special circumstances into account.
This new deal helps to shove failing, inept Stormont parties a little further along the road of taking responsibility for our governance. It provides a timetabled plan to cut Corporation Tax, which has the potential to transform Northern Ireland’s economy and create thousands of new jobs. It will encourage new companies to set up here and allow existing businesses to invest more money into our communities.
Ultimately though, the success or otherwise of a Fresh Start rests upon the Executive’s willingness to make decisions and deliver on its commitments. An endless series of crises and one set of talks after another isn’t a sustainable model for devolved government. The new document has some positive points, but it also skates over some disagreements or puts off dealing with them to a later date.
For mature parties in a mature political system, that might not be a problem, but the current incumbents’ record does not inspire confidence. It has to be their last chance to start doing their job, because the people of Northern Ireland will simply not tolerate another crisis months or years down the line.