“There was nothing in this speech which gave any indication Sinn Fein are willing to show any sense of compromise or any sense of responsibility towards good governance and public services. Gerry Adams’ speech did nothing to dispel the perception Sinn Fein is pursuing a chaos strategy. In fact, it reinforced it.
“While Alliance respects everyone’s constitutional aspirations, a border poll at this stage or even a debate on it would be a major distraction from what should be a singular focus on getting stable and inclusive power-sharing restored as soon as possible.
“Northern Ireland only works based upon sharing and interdependence. Brexit poses a fundamental challenge to this necessity. But equally a singular pursuit of Irish unity runs contrary to the process of building cohesion in a divided society.
“It is therefore critical the Governments and parties have a focus on building a cross-community plan to protect the Good Friday Agreement and the long-term economic future of this region in the face of the most unpredictable challenge facing it in decades.”