IRELAND EYES DEVOLUTION OF POLICING AND JUSTICE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 DUBLIN 000225

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SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 04/29/2018
TAGS: PGOV PREL EINV EI
SUBJECT: IRELAND EYES DEVOLUTION OF POLICING AND JUSTICE
CALMLY; WELCOMES COLLABORATION WITH U.S. ON NORTH-SOUTH
INITIATIVES

REF: DUBLIN 188

DUBLIN 00000225 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM Rob Faucher; Reasons 1.4 (B) and (D).

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Summary
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1. (C) Pat Hennessy, Director General, Anglo-Irish Division,
Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA),told EMBOFFs on April 24
that while the issue of devolution of policing and justice in
Northern Ireland clearly provides potential for damaging the
political rapprochement that has been growing between Sinn
Fein and the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP),he believed
that the two parties would continue to negotiate and
eventually reach agreement. Hennessy assured EMBOFFs that
Brian Cowen, who will be appointed Irish Taoiseach on May 7,
will participate in the U.S. supported investment conference
in Northern Ireland, May 7-9. Hennessy invited EMBOFFs to
meet in late May to develop a framework to enhance joint
U.S.-Irish collaboration in support of North-South
initiatives. End summary.

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Northern Ireland Peace Process
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2. (C) Hennessy, the senior-most person in the Irish DFA
working full-time on matters relating to Northern Ireland,
described the workings of the Northern Ireland Assembly (NIA)
as "businesslike," with much useful discussion taking place
behind the scenes on contentious issues like the devolution
of policing and justice. He said that the Irish Government
is taking a firm stand that devolution of policing and
justice to the NIA must take place as agreed in the St.
Andrews Agreement, which evolved from the Good Friday
Agreement (Ref A). However, Hennessy indicated that Ireland
is not insisting that devolution be achieved in May 2008 as
envisaged in the St. Andrews Agreement. Rather, he said, by
the end of May the Irish Government would like to see an
agreement reached by Sinn Fein and the DUP in regards to a
timeframe for devolution. Hennessy indicated that May could
become a flashpoint for inter-party recriminations as the DUP
tries to gradually persuade its constituents to accept that
Sinn Fein will have a say in future policing and justice
issues, while Sinn Fein tries to explain to its constituents
why the DUP is not honoring a promise Sinn Fein thought was
made at St. Andrews in October 2006 to devolve policing and
justice by May 2008. Hennessy did not have any immediate
solutions to offer, except to say that he thought the two
sides would continue to talk -- and eventually resolve --
this contentious issue.


3. (C) Subsequently, POLOFF discussed the devolution issue
with Rita O'Hare, Secretary General of Sinn Fein. O'Hare
acknowledged the difficulty faced by DUP leader-designate
Peter Robinson in ensuring that the DUP rank and file feel
confident in sharing policing power with Sinn Fein. She
noted that it was particularly difficult for Robinson to
convince Deputy DUP leader Nigel Dodds (who is Minister of
Enterprise, Trade, and Investment in the NIA, and regarded as
a hard-liner) to support devolution and bring his
constituents around. While she indicated that Sinn Fein
could live with the actual date of devolution slipping past
May (as has occurred with virtually every past "deadline"
between Sinn Fein and the DUP),she mused that it would be a
"huge problem" for Sinn Fein if the parties moved into June
with no perceptible agreement on devolution.

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Northern Ireland Leadership
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4. (C) Hennessy described Northern Ireland First
Minister-designate Peter Robinson as a moderate DUP leader,
with whom the Irish Government can easily work. He said that
the relationship between Robinson and Irish Taoiseach (Prime
Minister)-designate Brian Cowen was excellent, noting that
they had worked together well as Ministers of Finance in
their respective states and seemed to genuinely like each
other. He commented, however, that DUP leader Nigel Dodds
was continuing to resist cooperation with the Irish
Government on North-South initiatives, having maintained for
many years that the Government of Ireland supported the Irish
Republican Army (IRA) and sought to subjugate the unionist
communities of Northern Ireland.

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Investment Conference
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5. (SBU) Hennessy expressed delight that the upcoming U.S.
supported May 7-9 investment conference had gained so much
momentum. He attributed this largely to the strong promotion
of the conference by the U.S. Government. Hennessy assured
EMBOFFs that Brian Cowen, who will be appointed Irish
Taoiseach on May 7, will participate in the conference --
virtually his first duty as Taoiseach. UK Prime Minister
Gordon Brown will also participate. The conference will be
headlined by a U.S. Presidential delegation, led by Under
Secretary Paula Dobriansky, and will include New York City

SIPDIS
Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the CEOs of more than 90 U.S.
firms.

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North-South Cooperation
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6. (SBU) Hennessy briefly described some of the more
successful on-going North-South cooperative ventures, which
are designed to create stronger political, economic, and
social links between Ireland and Northern Ireland. He
invited EMBOFFs to meet with him in late May to develop a
framework that will strengthen joint U.S.-Irish collaboration
on North-South initiatives, particularly in areas such as
research and development, community reconciliation,
education, and urban renewal -- in addition, of course, to
trade and investment.

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Comment
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7. (C) While the issue of devolution of policing and justice
clearly provides potential for damaging the political
rapprochement that has been growing between Sinn Fein and the
DUP, neither Hennessy nor O'Hare appeared anywhere close to
panic. They seemed to feel that the leadership changes in
Ireland, the DUP, and the UK provide a credible rationale for
slippage of the May 2008 "deadline." Nonetheless, the Irish
Government intends to push hard for devolution to occur as
soon as possible, and we expect this issue to figure
prominently in outgoing Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's address to a
Joint Session of Congress on April 30 in Washington, DC. In
the meantime, we have agreed with Hennessy to meet later in
May to develop a framework for joint U.S.-Irish collaboration
in support of North-South initiatives.
FAUCHER