asked Her Majesty’s Government:

What issues remain to be settled before an Executive can be formed in Northern Ireland following the elections on 7 March.

My Lords, there is much work still to be done, but there are no issues before us which should prevent the successful restoration of devolved government on Monday 26 March. The fact that so much progress has already been made is testament to the commitment of the Northern Ireland political parties to achieving a final political settlement.

My Lords, I thank the noble Lord for his Answer. The Taoiseach of the Irish Republic is reported in the Irish Times as saying that the Prime Minister assured him, based on Mr Blair’s conversation with Mr Paisley, that the Democratic Unionist Party would form a power-sharing government with Sinn Fein/IRA on 24 March. Does the Minister agree with me that the Government cannot put the people of Northern Ireland through an election based on a wing and a prayer? Surely the Government must get this issue publicly clarified right away.

My Lords, to be honest, I do not have a clue what the noble Lord is talking about. There are no issues before us which should prevent the successful restoration of devolved government on 26, not 24, March. An election to the devolved Assembly will take place on 7 March. That election process is already under way in Northern Ireland. It is probably best that it is not under way in this Chamber.

My Lords, I entirely agree with what the Minister has said. However, there is now a certain lack of clarity. Are we to believe and understand that Sinn Fein and the DUP have agreed to sit down together as an Executive after the election?

My Lords, an election will take place on 7 March. The legislation has been approved and passed by this Parliament. Only after that election, once the composition of the parties is known, will it be clear which party will have the right to nominate the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. There are more than two parties in Northern Ireland contesting the election. Why should we prejudge it? There are no impediments to devolved government in Northern Ireland. No new hurdles will be put in the way by the Government, and they should not be put in the way by anybody else. The commitments that have been made to policing by Sinn Fein recently have removed the final hurdle—if there was a hurdle—to devolved government and power sharing.

My Lords, does the Minister agree with me that the ball is now very much in the DUP’s court, given the recent development of Sinn Fein joining the Policing Board and encouraging the Police Service of Northern Ireland? In that DUP posture, is the trouble coming from elements in the DUP—the “Real DUP” or the “Continuity DUP”—or is it coming from the generalised posture of the DUP on the issue?

My Lords, I am not walking into that. I understand where the noble Lord’s question is coming from. The fact of the matter is that an election is under way. Everyone knows what the rules are. They are crystal clear in the legislation. The Government want devolved government. I think Parliament wants devolved government. It is a voluntary process, though. This House, the other place and the Government cannot force the political parties into devolved government. It is a voluntary process, but it will be done on a power-sharing basis or not at all.

My Lords, does the Minister agree, however, that there is one thing that Sinn Fein can and should be required to do by this Government before devolution: to allow the McCartney trial to take place, so that it can clearly be seen in Northern Ireland that Sinn Fein is not only committed to going into the police and probably hoping to run it, but that before that time it makes a clear commitment that the case can go to trial as it has been hanging fire now for two years? The Government now have a duty to require Sinn Fein to do that.

My Lords, I understand the reason for the noble Baroness’s question, but neither the Government nor anyone else are seeking to impose new hurdles. I have here some of the statements that were made following the recent Sinn Fein conference which gave the approval and mandate to the leadership to encourage its members to join the police force, to join the local policing structures, and to report to the police on information relating to crime, rape, car theft and violence. On the McCartney murder, the statement said:

“Anybody who has any information on the McCartney killing should give it to the police”.

There are no new hurdles to be put in the way of devolved government, and we should not seek to do that.

My Lords, many people will believe that both the British and Irish Governments deserve great credit for having taken the process as far as they have. How long after 26 March will the parties have to reach an agreement before we say, “It’s no deal”?

My Lords, I understand that it is 26 March, which consists of 24 hours. That is the day that the parties will be expected to create the First and Deputy First Ministers, take the pledge of office, run the d’Hondt process and form the Executive. The deadline for that is 26 March. As I understand it from the legislation approved by Parliament, if it does not occur on 26 March, nothing will happen for a considerable time.

My Lords, the Minister said that the recent statements of Sinn Fein removed the final hurdle, but does he take account of what William McCrea said in another place yesterday in describing the present position of Sinn Fein as “totally unacceptable”? The leader of the DUP may wish to maintain a degree of ambiguity about his position, but is it wise for the Government, as the Minister has indicated, to allow that ambiguity to run right up until 26 March? Is it not desirable that the Government try to achieve some clarity in the matter?

No, my Lords. We have an election under way, and now the attempt is to fight it on the Floors of the other place and this place. I am not going to co-operate with that. To the best of my knowledge and all the information and briefing that I have been given, there are no issues in the way that require to be resolved before the successful restoration of devolved government on 26 March. The commitments that have been demanded of Sinn Fein relating to the police and support for the courts and the criminal justice system have been met, following its conference. The fact is that Sinn Fein is committed to put those in place, with devolved, shared government. There should be no impediment to that following the elections on 7 March.

My Lords, I thank the Minister for his sensible suggestions. Despite what he said, because he sounds a bit pessimistic, is he confident that the DUP will not keep inventing new conditions for Sinn Fein to follow? Otherwise, it will be accused of wrecking the election.

My Lords, what I have said is that there are no new conditions, barriers and hurdles that the Government, Parliament or anyone else should put in the way. All the commitments that have been demanded have been met. That is why the election process is now under way. If it they had not been met, we would not be in this process. It now falls to the parties to fight it out, with their mandates, before the people of Northern Ireland on 7 March—it is only four weeks from today, so we do not have long to wait to get some answers.