Minister for Foreign Affairs Simon Coveney is to meet the Northern Secretary today for the first time since he backtracked on a pledge to trigger a fresh Stormont Assembly election before Christmas.
Chris Heaton-Harris is under a legal duty to call a new poll because of the failure to restore power-sharing.
Five days after the legal deadline for restoring the power-sharing Executive at Stormont passed, it is still not clear what will happen next.
The Irish Government and all of the parties at Stormont had been led to believe that Chris Heaton-Harris would name a date for a new Assembly election last Friday, as he had said he would on many occasions.
Instead he again pointed out his legal obligations, but did not pull the election trigger.
Simon Coveney will seek clarity on the British government’s intentions during a working lunch with the Northern Secretary in Belfast this afternoon.
Sinn Féin, the DUP, Alliance Party and the Ulster Unionists all said they failed to receive clarity on the issue when they met Mr Heaton-Harris yesterday.
An election could still be held on 15 December if an announcement is made by Monday, but the Stormont parties say that appears unlikely at this stage.
Mr Coveney and the Northern Secretary will also discuss the latest state of play in technical discussions between the UK and EU in an attempt to resolve the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol, which the DUP says must be scrapped or fundamentally reformed.
It is understood the new British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak overruled Mr Heaton-Harris last week as he wants to give those talks more time to develop.
The meeting today takes place as the PSNI is investigating what it says are uncorroborated reports of a loyalist paramilitary threat to target the Irish Government.
Coveney to meet Northern Ireland Secretary in Belfast
Source: Viral Trends Report
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