Weekly Bulletin. What you need to know this week…

Economy Minister warns of ‘devastating impact’ on tourism sector as ETA scheme goes live

In a press release issued by the Department for the Economy on Tuesday (7 January), Minister Conor Murphy MLA pressed the Home Office to reconsider their implementation of the new Electronic Travel Authorisation (ETA) scheme, warning it will have a devastating impact on tourism in the region. Under the scheme, as of the 8 January, visitors from 48 more countries need to apply for an ETA (digital travel permit) before travelling to the UK at a cost of £10 per person. Businesses in NI have highlighted that 70% of international tourists arrive after visiting the Republic of Ireland, and have raised concerns that the ETA may deter these tourists from visiting NI. Minister Murphy has called on Westminster to adopt a “pragmatic and flexible approach” to exempt NI from the scheme if visitors are not travelling on to Great Britain.
What Next: The final phase of the scheme rolls out to EU states from 2 April 2025 reports BBC News NI. The report further notes that it is expected NI Ministers will continue to lobby for an exemption ahead of the final phase of the scheme’s roll out.

Health Minister briefs emergency sitting of Health Committee
On Tuesday (7 January) Health Minister Mike Nesbitt MLA attended an emergency meeting of the Assembly Health Committee to update members on emergency department waiting times. The meeting was called following reports that NI’s hospitals and ambulance services were facing severe pressures, with a reported 500 patients unable to be discharged from hospitals across NI on Sunday night due to a lack of care packages. In his statement to the Committee, the Minister emphasied that the pressures being experienced were “not just a Northern Ireland specific problem”, explaining that health trusts in England had also declared a critical incident in recent days. The Minister said that staff in emergency departments are suffering moral injury, adding that the emergency department pressures being seen are a “symptom and not the cause”. The Minister said that his “single and most important contribution” to winter pressures was to avoid immediate industrial action by staff.
What Next: In addition to calls for an increase to the workforce, the Minister called on the NI Executive to support initiatives to help close “the relatively small gap in delivering pay parity” during the upcoming January monitoring round.

TUV leader critical of UK Government’s commitment to ‘unfettered access’ to UK internal market
TUV leader Jim Allister MP has questioned the integrity of the UK Government’s previous promise that businesses in NI would have “unfettered access” to the UK internal market as new inland checks are introduced on goods coming in to Great Britain, the News Letter reports this week. The “Safeguarding the Union” deal, agreed by the DUP with the last Conservative Government as part of the deal to restore devolution, pledged to “guarantee unfettered access for Northern Ireland goods to the rest of the UK, on a permanent basis”. However, the UK Government has introduced new rules which allow officials to carry out checks on animal products away from border posts, called “inland checks”. In committee on Wednesday, Mr Allister asked the Minister for Food Security and Rural Affairs Daniel Zeichner “how can there be unfettered access if goods are subject to checks?”. Mr Ziechner said the processes were designed to protected the UK from pests and diseases while being “as simple and effective as possible.”
What Next: Meanwhile, it was reported yesterday that a former NI Secretary of State Lord (Paul) Murphy of Torfaen has been appointed to lead the review of the Windsor Framework. The review was triggered after a motion to extend the application of the Framework was passed by the NI Assembly in December. The TUV have criticised the review terms of reference requirement that the scope of the review must have cross community consent, whilst the initial vote did not. In other commentary, SDLP Leader of the Opposition Matthew O’Toole MLA has called for the review of the Windsor Framework to include the opportunities around NI’s relationship with Europe.

Stakeholder Watch

David Honeyford MLA (Alliance, Lagan Valley): “Economy committee met yesterday in Derry at Magee and we also took time to visit the City of Derry Airport to discuss the economic benefits it brings to the region. Our main agenda was the Magee Taskforce and the UU Magee Campus expansion to 10,000 students. There’s so much good work happening and exciting plans and growth starting to be realised.” (full tweet here)

Ulster University Economic Policy Centre: “UUEPC recently published the Winter 2024 Outlook for the UK and NI, focusing on sectoral forecasts, job growth and demographics. It highlights Northern Ireland’s economic trajectory such as GVA growth, key job market trends, sectoral performance and challenges faced”.

Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Hilary Benn MP : “Following last month’s NI Assembly consent vote, and in line with my statutory duties, I have commissioned Lord Murphy of Torfaen to conduct an Independent Review of the functioning of the Windsor Framework. This will report to me within six months”.

Intertrade Ireland : “The Circular Economy represents a massive opportunity for businesses across the island. We recently published a report identifying those opportunities and illustrating how to drive solutions at scale. Read more here“

DUP: @GRobinsonDUP has said the Review into the Windsor Framework arrangements is an opportunity to focus on the damage being done to Northern Ireland but warned the Government that it has been slow to respond to our concerns”.

Other stories

NI Affairs Committee hears evidence on funding and delivery of public services in NI
On Wednesday (8 January), the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee held a briefing on the funding and delivery of public services in NI. The committee heard evidence from Sir Robert Chote, Chair at Northern Ireland Fiscal Council, Dorinnia Carville, Controller and Auditor General at Northern Ireland Audit Office, and Professor Stephen Farry, Co-Director of the Strategic Policy Unit at UU. The committee discussed the impact of single year budgets on long-term planning and stability for Northern Ireland. Ms Carville (NIAO) stated that Department for Infrastructure and Department for Health were “most in need” of funding . Mr Chote said the Stabilisation Funding was helpful in providing short-term relief for public services, but a more long-term solution needs to be found. In response to a question from Claire Hanna MP, he added that it did not look likely that the Executive was on track to deliver a balanced budget.

Ministers launch Ending Violence Against Women and Girls Local Change Fund
On Wednesday (8 January), the First Minister and deputy First Minister announced the launch of the Ending Violence Against Women and Girls (EVAWG) Local Change Fund. As part of a wider £3.2 million investment, this first step will see £2 million shared across all 11 councils to enable them to support EVAWG action in their local areas. The Local Change Fund will support community networks and provide opportunities for grassroots organisations to play their part in tackling violence, harm and abuse against women and girls.

Domestic abuse prosecutions, convictions and case processing time statistics published
The Department of Justice published the official statistics publication ‘The Domestic Abuse and Civil Proceedings Act (Northern Ireland) 2021 – Prosecutions at courts and case processing time for domestic abuse related cases dealt with in 2022/23 to 2023/24’. This bulletin presents information on prosecutions and convictions for domestic abuse related criminal cases dealt with at courts in Northern Ireland for the financial years 2022/23 and 2023/24, as well as out of court disposals completed within the same period.

House prices in NI up by £25,000
The News Letter reported that the average price of a house in Northern Ireland has risen by £25,000 in the past year. The article reports that “the province is bouncing back after months of decline in 2023” as compared to the 2023 figure of around £180,000, the average home in 2024, cost just under £206,000. Despite this increase, Northern Ireland is still “one of the most affordable regions” to buy a house, compared to the rest of the UK. According to the report, the rise in prices has been influenced by “impending changes to stamp duty thresholds”, as well as greater demand for mortgages.

CEF calls on NI Executive to act to boost confidence in NI construction sector
In a statement published on Monday (6 January), the Construction Employers Federation said that the downturn in fortunes of the construction sector, as evidenced by their latest Construction Survey (July-December 2024), highlighted the need for the NI Executive to take action in 2025. The survey showed that the three challenges facing contractors in the next six months will involve: the “impact of NI Water underfunding”, skilled labour access and “insufficient public sector budgets leading to a limited procurement pipeline”. The survey also showed that GB and ROI markets are “more attractive” due to increased security, better profit margins and greater company growth.

Department for Infrastructure publishes data on renewable energy planning applications 2002-2024
On Thursday (9 January), the Department for Infrastructure published the renewable energy planning applications list for the period April 2002 to December 2024. It can be found here.

SDLP appoint new strategic director
The SDLP has appointed Anna Mercer as its new strategic director. According to party leader Claire Hanna MP, “She’ll help us have more impact in Stormont, Dublin and London and to redesign how we organise”.

Across the border

Government may not be formed by return of Dáil on 22 January
Senior figures in both Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have expressed doubts that a new government will be formed by the time parliament returns from its recess on 22 January, the Irish Examiner reports. Both parties will need to conduct “convoluted” ratification processes with party membership once negotiations over a new Programme for Government conclude. Meanwhile, the Journal reported on Thursday (9 January) that the two parties are still split over whether the “hugely important” ministerial briefing for energy should be moved from the Department of the Environment to the Department for Enterprise.

Independent TD’s role in government negotiations questioned as Garda file on Moriarty tribunal sent to DPP
The leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáíl, Simon Harris and Micheál Martin, have this week faced questions from journalists about Independent TD Michael Lowry, after the Irish Times reported that the Garda has completed its long-running criminal investigation into the findings of the Moriarty tribunal, the payments to politicians inquiry, and has now sent its file on the case to the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). The Moriarty tribunal, which published its report in 2011, made “adverse findings” against Mr Lowry relating to his role as Minister for Communications and the awarding of a State mobile phone licence to businessman Denis O’Brien. In a statement, Mr Lowry said he is “fully confident” there is no basis for a case against him. Mr Lowry is the lead negotiator for the Regional Independents group who are expected to support a Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil coalition government. Mr Martin and Mr Harris both denied in interviews that Lowry would be “kingmaker” in government formation talks.

Taoiseach to meet First Minister of Wales to discuss Holyhead closure
Yesterday (Friday 10 January), Taoiseach Simon Harris spoke with the First Minister of Wales, Eluned Morgan, about the ongoing impact of the closure of Holyhead port. Ferry services at the port have been suspended since Storm Darragh damaged two terminals in early December. The Journal reports that Terminal 5 is due to reopen on 16 January, while no timeline has been given for the reopening of Terminal 3. A government spokesperson said that the Taoiseach will use the meeting to highlight the importance of the Welsh and Irish governments working closely together to put in place contingencies.

What we’re reading

Good Friday-era politician picked to review NI’s Brexit rules
Writing for Politico, Shawn Pogatchnik, provides a deep dive into Paul Murphy, the former Labour MP and current peer in the House of Lord’s, who has been chosen to lead the review into the Windsor Framework. Pogatchnik notes that Murphy, a former NI Secretary of State (2002-05), played a “key but under-appreciated role in delivering the Good Friday peace deal”. Delving into some of the political reaction to the appointment, Pogatchnik observes how some unionist hardliners have immediately “denounced Murphy as a Remoaner and Europhile”. He goes on to reference TUV leader Jim Allister’s comments that the review is “tethered to nationalist consent” and thereby that “unionists are being treated as fools”. Pogatchnick highlights that Murphy has previously described the trade protocol, and particularly the Windsor Framework, as a necessary policy to limit Brexit-related shockwaves in Ireland. He concludes his article with comments made by Murphy in a 2024 Lord’s speech, where he said that the “idea that somehow or other Northern Ireland should not be different [in terms of trade rules to GB] really is nonsense”.