Confidence in the Process needs to be rebuilt

Sinn Féin Vice President Pat Doherty MP has said that the suspension of the political institutions and the cancellation of the Assembly elections has "allowed politics to be reduced to little more than squabbles between different wings of rejectionist unionism".

"Five years on from the Good Friday Agreement, this is unacceptable," he said. "People did not vote for a unionist side show dominating politics here. Amongst things they voted for all-Ireland political institutions and they voted for equality and human rights. So far these have not been delivered.

"The approach of the British government has allowed confidence to drain from the political process. This confidence needs to be rebuilt. This can only be done through setting an early date for the Assembly elections, re-establishing the political institutions and implementing the outstanding aspects of the Agreement."