Preparations for the return of devolved government in Northern Ireland are being discussed but it hinges on a response from the UK government, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has said.
The DUP leader said he is hopeful that solutions can be found but added he does not take that for granted.
The Stormont Assembly has been in flux for more than a year amid DUP protest action over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Sir Jeffrey said he has put proposals to the UK government around the Windsor Framework and awaits their response.
His comments came as the Stormont parties took part in their weekly meetings with the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service, Jayne Brady.
Meanwhile, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris tweeted that he is “deeply disappointed” to be setting a budget for Northern Ireland in the absence of devolved government.
“The NI parties need to get back into an Executive so that spending decisions flowing from the budget allocations can be taken by locally elected politicians,” he tweeted.
Sir Jeffrey said they had a “useful conversation about the preparations for the return of devolved government”.
He said topics included budgetary pressures, what key elements might form a future programme for government and what the priority areas will be.
“We’re content to continue engaging in those kind of conversations and doing some ground work now so that if and when an Executive is restored we can hit the ground running in terms of tackling issues that need to be prioritised,” he said.
“Obviously none of this means that the restoration of devolution is inevitable – that requires the Government now to respond to the concerns that we have raised with them about what we feel are shortcomings in the Windsor Framework in relation to the UK internal market, the management and operation of the UK internal market. So we’re waiting on the Government to come back to us and respond to those concerns and to the specific proposals we have put to them.”
Asked for a potential timescale for Stormont returning, Sir Jeffrey said: “I see no reason why we can’t in the next few weeks make real progress.
“The timetable is outside our gift, it’s really down to the Government now to respond to the issues we have put forward. That in some parts will require legislation and hopefully that legislation can be brought before Parliament quickly.”
The DUP leader also said that in parallel with the party leaders’ conversations with Ms Brady, it is “important to engage at a political level”.
“The DUP is certainly up for those conversations with the other parties about the political decisions that will need to be taken early on in the process of restoring devolution,” he said. “But we’re very clear, none of this suggests that there is an inevitability about that. We need to resolve the outstanding issues related to the protocol and the Windsor Framework,” he said.
Sir Jeffrey said he is hopeful they “can get resolutions that enable the restoration of our Executive and Assembly”.
“But I don’t take that for granted,” he added.
