Ulster Unionist Party Leader Robin Swann MLA has welcomed the Secretary of State’s formal announcement of political talks, but warned that the process should not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Robin Swann MLA said:
“We welcome the formal announcement of talks by the Secretary of State Karen Bradley. It`s what we have been calling for for many months. It`s an opportunity which should be seized.
“We also need to be realistic. If parties are going into these talks demanding the implementation of their red lines, then we`ll be on the road to nowhere. Hopefully we will see some realism take hold.
“Given the state of our Health Service, our education sector and how the lack of any form of functioning government impacts on people`s lives, people are demanding that politicians get on with the job. Now is the time.
“This process should not repeat the mistakes of last year`s, excluding other parties and letting the process drift along. It needs to be open and transparent so that all the political parties are aware of just how close, or not, Sinn Fein and the DUP came to agreement last year. We need all the cards on the table and we need to see what the DUP and SF have agreed to date and what differences still remain.”