Intransigence on all sides no way to make progress: Ford

6.36.14pm BST (GMT +0100) Wed 7th Jun 2006

Alliance Party Leader, David Ford

Alliance Party Leader David Ford has said other parties are delaying any progress by refusing to take responsibility for their mandates.

Speaking after the "Restoration Committee" failed once again even to agree a Chair, David Ford stated: "The largest parties are very good about talking about the size of their mandates, but they are not so good about recognising the size of their responsibility.

"The DUP in particular has simply put barrier after barrier in the way of progress -- and this intransigence is now being met on the other side.

"The failure even to agree how to operate a Committee will cause great concern to the general public.

"We have consistently maintained that we in the Alliance Party will play any constructive role to move this process forward, and to try to promote our ideas to reform the institutions so that they work properly and so that MLAs can get on with the job they were elected to do.

"This is impossible for as long as the parties with the largest mandates act as the largest spoilers.

"This Committee was only ever going to deal with a small range of issues.

The UK Government, as signatory of the Agreement, has the duty to convene all-party roundtable talks. If the Committee is not to start the process, then the roundtable talks should begin immediately."

ENDS