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| Peter Robinson says Stormont 'no longer fit for purpose' | Peter Robinson says Stormont 'no longer fit for purpose' |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Arrangements for devolved government at Stormont "are no longer fit for purpose", Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has said. | Arrangements for devolved government at Stormont "are no longer fit for purpose", Northern Ireland First Minister Peter Robinson has said. |
| The DUP leader said the "weight of the issues to be resolved is such that it must be tackled in a St Andrews 2 setting with government involvement". | The DUP leader said the "weight of the issues to be resolved is such that it must be tackled in a St Andrews 2 setting with government involvement". |
| The 2006 St Andrews Agreement paved the way for the return of devolution. | The 2006 St Andrews Agreement paved the way for the return of devolution. |
| Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Robinson said it led to a system that was "time-consuming and sluggish". | Writing in the Belfast Telegraph, Mr Robinson said it led to a system that was "time-consuming and sluggish". |
| "The structures required cross-community agreement for every significant issue - a process that would have tested and defeated less divergent coalitions," he said. | "The structures required cross-community agreement for every significant issue - a process that would have tested and defeated less divergent coalitions," he said. |
| 'Short-term solution' | |
| Mr Robinson said the Northern Ireland Assembly's rules of engagement meant delays and disagreements were unavoidable, and the "issue needs to be addressed". | Mr Robinson said the Northern Ireland Assembly's rules of engagement meant delays and disagreements were unavoidable, and the "issue needs to be addressed". |
| He said the St Andrews Agreement was a "short-term solution" that came at a time when it was "necessary to kick-start the process with a system that enabled the maximum ownership of the assembly and executive by the widest possible swathe of our community". | He said the St Andrews Agreement was a "short-term solution" that came at a time when it was "necessary to kick-start the process with a system that enabled the maximum ownership of the assembly and executive by the widest possible swathe of our community". |
| "The breadth of the ideological spectrum represented in the executive does, at times, mean agreement cannot be reached on some initiatives and at other times, in order to secure agreement, unsatisfactory compromises are reached." | "The breadth of the ideological spectrum represented in the executive does, at times, mean agreement cannot be reached on some initiatives and at other times, in order to secure agreement, unsatisfactory compromises are reached." |
| Northern Ireland faces penalties by the Treasury for not endorsing welfare reforms passed by Westminster in February 2013. | Northern Ireland faces penalties by the Treasury for not endorsing welfare reforms passed by Westminster in February 2013. |
| Sinn Féin has led the opposition to the reforms. | Sinn Féin has led the opposition to the reforms. |
| Mr Robinson said the cost of going it alone on welfare could rise to 1bn a year, or 10% of Stormont's budget. | |
| The first minister said the consequent job losses of thousands of public workers was "not a price Northern Ireland could afford to pay to maintain devolution". | |
| He said one option was to return social security powers to Westminster, something that has previously been ruled out by Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers. | |
| Mr Robinson said the other option was to reform the assembly's decision-making processes. | Mr Robinson said the other option was to reform the assembly's decision-making processes. |
| "Even if we were not faced with potentially terminal welfare decisions, Stormont's processes need to be fundamentally upgraded," he added. | |
| BBC Northern Ireland political editor Mark Devenport said that although Mr Robinson did not threaten to trigger an election in his lengthy opinion piece in the Belfast Telegraph, in an accompanying interview he did not rule it out. |