A few days ago, naively perhaps, I wondered why north and south weren’t cooperating actively over Covid 19, especially when a memo of understanding had been signed between the two public health authorities at the end of March . After all ” North –South” is one of those pillars of the GFA that are almost a religion albeit a neglected one. Surely Covid created ideal circumstances for holding a big revival.
Across the water, one of the pieties of the devolved Union trotted out in London since the Covid crisis broke is “ the four nations acting together.” This is craftily observed by Nicola Sturgeon timing her very personal press conferences just ahead of Downing St’s and hinting at differences which seldom actually transpire. Stormont is the laggard, often overlooked In the daily No 10 analyses or forgotten altogether.
A terrific example of this occurred in Commons Health questions to the Matt Hancock the other day when the Alliance MP for North Down Stephen Farry asked a question of the Health Secretary for England Matt Hancock. The exchange is worth carrying in full.
Stephen Farry (North Down) (Alliance)
In better times, tens of thousands of people cross the land border in Ireland every day and, more generally, the UK and Ireland are committed to the common travel area. With regard to contact tracing apps, does the Secretary of State recognise the difficulties that will arise if the UK, including Northern Ireland, and Ireland use different systems, and will he undertake to work with the Irish Government to address any such operational issues?
We have considered all the different potential apps being used by different countries around the world. I am confident that any such concerns about international travel can easily be addressed, not least by the potential of someone having two different apps on their phone if they need to travel internationally.
So here we have a UK cabinet minister, clearly not having a clue, busking an answer, classifying the common travel area as “ international travel,” meaning if he had ever considered it, that farmers travelling from Fermanagh to Leitrim or truck drivers from Armagh to Louth would be expected to carry and pay for two mobile phones, each with its separate tracing app. installed. Would they each pick up the other? I only ask.
One excuse for lack of consultation between London and Dublin might be the UK’s unwillingness to discuss their plans for easing lockdown in advance, whereas the Republic have announced their own graduated scheme. The UK’s plans, such as they are, will finally be announced with fanfare by Boris Johnson in a TV address on Sunday. The FT has had a look at the work in progress…
The first wave of tweaks will cover the toughening up of other measures, such as the wearing of face masks on public transport and tougher checks at borders. A possible 14-day quarantine for all arrivals at UK borders will be extended to British citizens, although it may not be introduced immediately. Grant Shapps, the transport secretary, has stated the government is exploring new measures for foreign arrivals. Those arriving at UK borders may be required to follow the same guidance as those within the country, such as being asked to install a Covid-19 tracking app when it becomes available. “Whatever is in place for UK citizens you can expect to be in place for those arriving in the UK,” said one official.
Are we looking at a temporary hard border in Ireland and a requirement for travellers to and from GB and Ireland to carry the British app at GB ports and airports which is not compulsory for residents? Or will the common travel area be exempt? If so, how will contact tracing work throughout Ireland and between the two islands? If each state isn’t cooperating over Covid measures already, how can each of them trust the reliability of the other’s measures? Newton Emerson pins blame squarely on Dublin for persistent Covid north-south partitionism, but London is just as culpable for east –west blindness.
The Irish government has published its lockdown exit timetable without making any attempt to coordinate with Stormont.
In fact, Stormont was actively excluded.
As Fine Gael minister Regina Doherty told RTE this Tuesday, Dublin wanted to “inform Irish people first” before sharing its plans with the Northern Ireland executive.
The Republic began entering lockdown on March 12, with school closures, museum and tourist site closures, limits on indoor and outdoor events and a raft of social distancing measures.
Tourism is marketed on an all-Ireland basis, is obviously a leading health and economic concern in managing the epidemic and is a specified area of north-south cooperation under the Good Friday Agreement. This counted for nothing.
The Irish government subsequently claimed it had offered to discuss its measures with Stormont in advance. The ‘offer’ was made in a telephone call ten minutes before Varadkar’s statement, warning Stormont there would be a statement, with no information on its contents.
It has become common to see claims of unionists jeopardising Irish lives through blind loyalty to Britain, despite Foster and Swann being equally clear they are prepared to diverge from Britain.
Every north-south difference in policy has been seized on as a sectarian wedge.
At its nadir a month ago, this toxic nonsense threatened to bring down devolution. There would be even less cooperation with no northern executive or North-South Ministerial Council.
Since looking over that precipice at the start of April, Sinn Féin and the DUP have made a renewed effort to reach agreed positions, without pretending they have no differences.
The Irish government’s continued, total contempt for cooperation should be the final pointer to where the real obstacle lies. Only the most obtuse of partisans could miss it.
Former BBC journalist and manager in Belfast, Manchester and London, Editor Spolight; Political Editor BBC NI; Current Affairs Commissioning editor BBC Radio 4; Editor Political and Parliamentary Programmes, BBC Westminster; former London Editor Belfast Telegraph. Hon Senior Research Fellow, The Constitution Unit, Univ Coll. London
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