SDLP MLA Justin McNulty has been called upon to refute claims that his party would willingly enter a Stormont Executive without an agreed resolution on the issues of rights that are governing the current political impasse.
Sinn Féin’s Megan Fearon claims the SDLP is “desperate” to return to an Executive “at any cost”, and says Mr McNulty should distance himself from the recent assertion made publicly by DUP MLA Nigel Dodds that “the SDLP would be prepared to enter an Executive tomorrow”.
Responding to what she termed “his latest attack on Sinn Fein”, Ms Fearon said: “Justin McNulty again ignores the facts. Primarily, the fact that there was no agreed programme of government between the DUP and Sinn Féin, as negotiations were still ongoing when the Executive collapsed. He also ignores the recent public comments from DUP MP Nigel Dodds in which he stated that the SDLP ‘would be prepared to enter an Executive tomorrow’.
“[Sinn Fein] have been concerned for some time that the SDLP are desperate to get back into an Executive at any cost, even if that means abandoning people’s rights. Therefore, Justin should clarify now whether Nigel Dodds is correct in his assertion. And, if so, which rights are the SDLP prepared to abandon in return for an Executive seat? Is it the rights of Irish speakers? The rights of the LGBT community? Or the rights of victim’s families to proper inquests? Or perhaps it’s the rights of all those people,” she added.