THE GOVERNMENT HAS confirmed that US diplomat Richard Haass is to travel to Dublin later this month for talks on Northern Ireland.
Haass will meet with Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore on 23 May to talk about recent developments.
A spokesperson for Gilmore confirmed that the meeting has been scheduled, and arose from a conversation the Tánaiste had with Haass on Monday.
Haass spent a number of months in Belfast and presented proposals to parties in the north on how to deal with issues like flags, parades and the past.
However talks broke down at the start of this year and Haass said the responsibility for this failure lay at the door of unionist and Alliance parties.
The Tánaiste has previously said he was disappointed by the insufficient progress made in Northern Ireland since the talks tailed to reach an agreement. He said in March that he was initially “reasonably satisfied” by the progress being made among party leaders, but noted this was “derailed” when John Downey, the man accused of carrying out the IRA bombing in Hyde Park in 1982, walked free from court in February.
Responding to the news this morning, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said he believes it is worth giving proposals another chance.
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