The British and Irish governments and the North’s five main parties against a backdrop of crisis over the status of the IRA and welfare reform deadlock will on Monday begin a fresh attempt to bring some stability to Stormont.
The talks will begin in an atmosphere of recrimination with Sinn Féin angered by a British government threat to impose welfare cuts from Westminster and the DUP taking “unilateral action” because of a failure to postpone the return of the Northern Assembly on Monday to facilitate the comprehensive talks.
First Minister Peter Robinson has insisted that it cannot be "business as usual at Stormont" until the issue of the police assessment that the IRA still exists and that some of its members were involved in the killing of Belfast republican Kevin McGuigan was dealt with.
Mr Robinson is expected to announce several moves to upset the running of the Northern Executive and Assembly.
As well as the status of the IRA, the talks will also address how to break the deadlock over welfare reform so that the stalled Stormont House Agreement can be fully implemented.
The agreement provides £2 billion (€2.72 billion) in extra spending powers for the Northern Executive and addresses matters such as dealing with the past, reducing corporation tax, a major public sector redundancy scheme and promoting investment in the North.
It has been put on hold, however, because in the spring Sinn Féin and the SDLP withdrew support for the agreement over British government welfare changes.
At the British Irish Association annual conference in Cambridge at the weekend Northern Secretary Theresa Villiers warned that if the Executive did not apply British government welfare cuts, then Westminster would take over responsibility for welfare from the Executive.
She said she would take such action “reluctantly”, as a “last resort” and only if “we had exhausted all the realistic alternatives”.
Ms Villiers also said the British government would release funding to support a public service redundancy scheme.
Under the Stormont House Agreement 20,000 public sector jobs are to be shed in the coming four years at a cost of £700 million (€952 million).
In relation to the assessment by PSNI chief constable George Hamilton about the IRA, Ms Villiers said the British government would not "compromise" on the rule of law. Ms Villiers, however, by strong implication expressed faith in Sinn Féin's bona fides by saying she accepted that "all" parties in the Executive were committed to the principles of democracy and non-violence.
‘Huge mistake’
The Sinn Féin Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness said Ms Villiers was making a “huge mistake” by her welfare threat. “Any move by the British government to impose its welfare cuts agenda over the heads of the Assembly and Executive will seriously undermine devolution and the political institutions,” he said.
DUP First Minister Peter Robinson welcomed Ms Villiers statement on welfare describing it as a “potential game changer” and a possible means of “resolving the present impasse over welfare reform”.
“We remain committed to seeking to agree a way forward in the coming weeks between the local parties but there is no doubt that this statement will introduce a dose of reality to these negotiations and make a resolution more likely,” added Mr Robinson.
He also said that it was essential that the issue of the IRA and the killing of Mr McGuigan was fully addressed.
Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan at the British Irish Association conference on Sunday urged Northern Ireland politicians to engage in "respectful dialogue" in the talks.
“We must continue our efforts to consolidate peace, political stability and reconciliation in Northern Ireland. Our citizens expect nothing less,” he said.
