Principle of Integration not Segregation central to restoration of institutions - Ford

4.45.00pm BST (GMT +0100) Mon 27th Mar 2006

Alliance Party Leader David Ford is calling on the Secretary of State to recognise that 'Shared Future' principles are fundamental to any hope of securing stable devolved institutions.

David Ford will say: "We are calling on the Government to stop talking and start acting on making integration central to all aspects of public policy in Northern Ireland - including the restoration of the institutions.

"The days of 'separate but equal' are over. The only way forward is pursuing a settlement based on common interests and common goals. Making personal fiefdoms of departments or forcing people to designate 'unionist' or 'nationalist' is no way to achieve that.

"There is clear evidence of a Government shift to the Alliance position, yet still it all too often contradicts itself. Refusing to fund integrated education even where it is demanded, and creating the policing board in the undemocratic and sectarian way it did, are worrying examples of how to create instability, not stability.

"There are no 'quick fixes', but nor do we want to see any lengthy period of an Assembly which is all talk, no responsibility.

"It is time the Government and local politicians got together for the benefit of all - and 'Shared Future' policies must be central to this across the board, including within the structures of the Executive, the Assembly and the cross-border bodies."

ENDS