Irish foreign minister says UK considering delay to N.Ireland elections

The deadline for forming a power-sharing government in the region in the wake of May elections passed last week and the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris said he was legally obliged to call new elections within 12 weeks.

Britain is considering either calling an election in Northern Ireland or changing legislation to allow it to delay a vote, Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said on Wednesday after a meeting with the British government's minister for the region. The deadline for forming a power-sharing government in the region in the wake of May elections passed last week and the British Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Chris Heaton-Harris said he was legally obliged to call new elections within 12 weeks. But he has so far failed to set a date.

"There really are only two options, there is a legal obligation to set a date for an election or else there will have to be new legislation to avoid an election at this time," Coveney told journalists in Belfast after meeting Heaton-Harris. "No decisions have been made yet but certainly we're not going to have to wait weeks for that clarity... I made it clear that the Irish government's position is that we don't believe an election at this time is a good thing for Northern Ireland."