Northern Ireland Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris rules out immediate election call
The Secretary of State says he will be assessing all his options in the next few weeks if no Executive is formed ahead of Thursday's deadline.
If the Stormont parties do not agree to form an administration in Belfast on Thursday, the UK Government assumes a legal duty at midnight to call a snap Assembly election.
Mr Heaton-Harris has ruled out calling an election this week. He said he will have to consider his options and the powers of civil servants, which expire on June 5. He said he hoped devolution would be restored before that date.
Political leaders are meeting at the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference in Dublin on Thursday, with both Chris Heaton-Harris and Tanaiste Micheal Martin attending.
Ahead of the meeting, Mr Heaton-Harris in The Irish Times wrote of the 'difficult decisions' he had taken and what is needed if Stormont fails to return.
"I have already had to make difficult decisions in the absence of an Executive, setting a budget to protect public services and finances," he said.
"If this stalemate continues, sadly, I will have to do more for the 2023-2024 budget. I will also keep under review the powers provided to civil servants that are due to expire on 5 June, but it is my sincere hope that we will have an Executive in place well before that point."
He added: "The restoration of the devolved institutions in Northern Ireland is an absolute priority for my government.
"I know the Irish Government shares my desire to see the return of power sharing as soon as possible and we continue to urge all parties to take up their responsibilities.
"We also both want to see a resolution to the problems we face over the protocol through negotiation between the UK government and EU Commission.
"I am very conscious that the conference takes place on the final day of the Executive formation period, which expires at midnight.
"From tomorrow, if there is no Executive, I will once again be under a legal duty to hold elections to the NI Assembly in the next 12 weeks.
"I will use the next few weeks I have available to me to assess carefully all options about what happens next and to continue to talk to all interested parties before I make any decisions.
"This is not a situation any of us want to be in. The people of Northern Ireland deserve to have the votes that they cast in May honoured, they deserve locally elected decision-makers getting back to work, delivering on the issues that matter most to them."
In a tweet, the Secretary of State added: "If no Executive is formed today, I’ll be under a legal duty to hold elections to the Assembly in the next 12 weeks.
"I’ll use the next few weeks to carefully assess all options about what happens next and continue to talk to all interested parties before I make any decisions."
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