List of possible replacements for McGuinness at the ready
A Sinn Féin TD has added further fuel to the belief Martin McGuinness has effectively retired from front-line politics by naming five senior figures who could step in to replace him as the party's leader in Stormont,
Waterford TD David Cullinane made the comment as he insisted the crisis in Northern Ireland "was not engineered by Sinn Féin" and lashed out at the DUP for "arrogance" and failing to live up to the Good Friday agreement.
Asked by reporters outside Leinster House if Mr McGuinness's serious health issues mean he will not return to front-line politics, Mr Cullinane initially said he will not speculate on the widespread speculation.
However, he then continued to list a number of senior party figures who could replace the high-profile republican, including Newry and Armagh MLA Conor Murphy, health minister Michelle O Neill, Belfast North MLA Gerry Kelly, finance minister Mairtin O Muilleoir and - potentially - Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams.
"We're not going to speculate on the health of Martin McGuinness. We have any number of figures. If you look at our range of ministers, Conor Murphy is someone being mentioned, Michelle O Neill, Gerry Kelly, we have a whole range of people, Mairtin O Muilleoir who is our finance minister.
"So we're not going to speculate on that because at this point in time Martin McGuinness was our deputy first minister, he is the political leader of the party in the north, and we wish him well in terms of his health problems and in terms of his recovery," he said.
Asked about the potential prospect of Sinn Féin leader and Louth TD Gerry Adams returning to northern politics to replace Mr McGuinness - who is expected to clarify his situation this weekend - Mr Cullinane downplayed the possibility but refused to rule it out.
"We're asked these questions all the time, whether it's Gerry or Martin. Whether people like it or not we have a range of talent north and south of the border.
"I don't see that as a possibility, but that's a matter in the first instance for Gerry," he said.
Meanwhile, speaking at the same media event, Mr Cullinane said the current crisis in Northern Ireland "was not engineered by Sinn Féin" and is due to the DUP's repeated failure to live up to the Good Friday agreement.
"Our focus is on dealing with the crisis that has been engineered by the DUP, it was not a crisis engineered by SF, this has been brewing for some time.
"We have had a range of issues and a range of bad faith by the DUP over the last number of years and it culminated I think in two issues, the renewable heat incentive scandal and then the Irish language bursary fund which was cut by €50,000.
"All of that were examples of bad faith where elements of the DUP, including its leadership, have simply not signed up to the foundations of the Good Friday agreement," he said.
