“Unfortunately, progress this week has again been frustratingly slow. Whilst there has been more intensive engagement between parties, there is very little evidence of any tangible progress. We are up against the clock and we now need to focus on getting agreement.
“The deadline for these talks to reach a successful conclusion is effectively Tuesday – while we welcome the fact the DUP and Sinn Fein appear to finally be buckling down to try and close the gaps between them, it needs to be remembered if they run the clock out on those issues, there will be no time left to deal with the issues other parties have raised as part of this process.
“If the DUP and Sinn Fein truly want a multi-party Executive, they need to deal with all the issues on the table thoroughly and treat all parties in the process equally.”