Statement by TUV leader Jim Allister:-
“The compliant acquiescence of DUP and UUP in a talks process, of which Coveney gives the appearance of being the ringmaster, strengthens the perception that these parties have given up on resisting Dublin meddling.
“That stance is then compounded by the deception being wrought on the long suffering people of Northern Ireland that the current Stormont system can ever be made to work. It can’t, because it only allows government jointly led the party, Sinn Fein, whose overriding objective is to ensure Northern Ireland doesn’t work. Hence, the folly of talks designed only to again patch together the unworkable.
“Only when the other parties find the courage to insist that government by the willing is the only way ahead will Stormont have any chance of success. Otherwise, these talks are a fraud and a deceit.”