Robinson expected to attend Stormont talks despite weekend hospitalisation

Mr Robinson, 66, was taken to the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast on Saturday.

“We are hopeful we can now get down to the real business”, the acting First Minister told Radio Ulster. He is determined to lead our team in the talks that will take place this week, and he recognises the importance of the issues that need to be addressed.

DUP leader Peter Robinson has been admitted to Belfast’s Royal Victoria Hospital as a precautionary measure, a hospital spokesman has confirmed.

The party leader suffered a heart attack in May that he blamed on a poor diet and a lack of exercise.

It comes after the UUP’s Danny Kennedy left the post when his party withdrew from the Executive, amid the crisis at Stormont. At the time he said the incident as a warning about his lifestyle rather than a result of the pressures of his job. It’s all snacking and fast foods and all the things that you shouldn’t do.

Stewart Dickson said the DUP should “stop playing games over ministers” following Ms McIlveen’s appointment.

Political future It is also likely to raise questions about the political future of Mr Robinson -who stood aside as First Minister as part the DUP response to the crisis caused by the murder of Mr McGuigan – and about how long he would want to remain as DUP leader. “Wishing him the best for recovery”, he said.

The DUP said his overnight hospital stint had been a precaution. “I hope that it is not serious and that he will be back on his feet again as soon as possible”.

On Friday, Northern Ireland Secretary Theresa Villiers said an independent assessment of the structure and role of paramilitaries would be carried out enabling round-table discussions to resume.

“We enter the talks with some concerns, not least about whether there will be a two party carve up (DUP and Sinn Fein) in a parallel process, but the glass is half full and we see opportunities”, he said. “There is also the big challenge of seeing whether we can actually get over the hurdle of implementing the Stormont House Agreement”.

She said: “I recognise the scale of the task ahead”.

SDLP MLA Colum Eastwood added: “The Ten-Minute Ministers of the DUP are undermining these institutions, they are undermining the talks process and they’re undermining the partnership between unionism and nationalism that should be at the heart of power-sharing”.

It followed a police assessment that IRA members were involved in the murder of Kevin McGuigan in east Belfast last month.