Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has expressed hope that power-sharing can be restored in Northern Ireland, but admitted he is not 'naive' about the challenges ahead. Speaking at the Irish Labour Awards in New York on Friday, Adams called for a 'serious step change' in how the Stormont institutions operate as formal negotiations resume next week.
The Northern Ireland Executive collapsed in January, and talks to restore power-sharing have been deadlocked. Adams said: 'Despite the enormous challenges in trying to find a possible agreement we believe it is incumbent on us all to find a solution which brings about a serious step change in how the institutions must operate.'
Adams also described Brexit as the 'most serious social, economic and political threat for a generation'. He warned that workers' rights, jobs and living standards are under threat from the UK's decision to leave the European Union, which he said would 'drag the North with it'.
Northern Ireland Secretary James Brokenshire said on Friday that in the absence of devolution, Assembly members' pay needs to be examined. He had previously warned that the window to agree a deal was 'closing rapidly'. Sinn Féin and the DUP have blamed each other for the lack of progress, but engaged in 'intensified dialogue' last week.
