NI protocol – Slugger O'Toole

This reflective view from the Taoiseach and the Irish Government will be welcomed…

Brian Pope on January 21, 2023, 11:39 am

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In an interview with the BBC the Irish Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has said that he regrets the protocol being imposed on Northern Ireland without the support of unionists and nationalists. This intervention, which is probably a more reflective approach from the Irish Government, will be welcomed by many people in Northern Ireland given that the protocol talks between the UK Government and the EU are at a critical stage. The intense pressures on the health service, on hospital waiting …

The Brexit effect on UK business…

Brian O'Neill on October 20, 2022, 11:29 am

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Bugger Brexit.London Street art Shoreditch.Shot on film, Kodak Portra 800, Nikon FM2n

This new video from the FT is an essential watch. It goes into detail about the disastrous effect that Brexit has had on UK business – in short, it is not good. Some of the stuff is just madness, like the tea company that went from being able to deliver their product in 2 days to taking three months due to customs. Or the company that had to close one of its UK warehouses and move it to Poland to …

A view on the Northern Ireland Protocol from Germany…

Soapbox on October 13, 2022, 11:54 am

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Berlin lighted free standing signage during night time

Susanne Ditzen (SDfromBerlin in the comments), is a German fan of Slugger O’Toole. She has no formal qualifications to comment on Northern Ireland except for knowing what it means to cross an international border in order to visit Grandma… To me personally, the most remarkable thing about the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (NIP) is still that exists at all, that 28 countries negotiated and agreed on an arrangement so unusual in rights and obligations with respect to handling an international …

NI Protocol gives boost to NI food and drink exports…

Brian O'Neill on October 10, 2022, 10:56 am

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Caprese Sandwich

From Margaret Canning in the Ulster Grocer Magazine: The biggest ever annual surge in output from food and drink firms in Northern Ireland may have been fuelled by the Nl Protocol, an economist has said. Figures on the economy from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (Nisra) show that food and drink firms’ output was up just under 14% in the second quarter of 2022, compared to the year before. There had also been growth of 6 2% between …

The latest polls are not good news for those of us who love the United Kingdom

Andy Boal on August 22, 2022, 7:00 am

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To be polite, I have been… annoyed by the shenanigans over the NI Protocol. Unfortunately, real life has taken up too much time to allow me to writing for Slugger in recent months. This Irish passport holder who was born British and Irish, will die British and Irish, and quite frankly has better things to worry about than whether Belfast is in the United Kingdom or an independent Ireland, has been extremely frustrated by the (to continue to be polite) …

Five ways to scrap the protocol…

Frank Schnittger on August 20, 2022, 3:52 pm

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The UK has refused to engage with extensive proposals from the EU to introduce an “Express Lane” for goods intended only for consumption in N. Ireland, and to radically reduce the amount of paperwork associated with phytosanitary controls. The Joint EU UK committee to oversee the workings of the protocol hasn’t even met since last February. Instead, the UK has gone for a “maximalist” position, passing legislation in the Commons to give Ministers the power to disapply large parts of an international Treaty, …

As the UK plans to rip up Northern Ireland protocol the EU threatens to seem them in court…

Brian O'Neill on June 13, 2022, 6:44 pm

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The FT reports that the EU are not happy bunnies about Boris’s plans to ‘amend’ the NI Protocol. From the article: Brussels threatened legal action against the UK on Monday, as a chorus of criticism greeted Boris Johnson’s plan to unilaterally rip up his 2020 Brexit deal with the EU covering trade with Northern Ireland. The British prime minister insisted that new legislation to override the Northern Ireland protocol was vital to stabilise the peace process in the region and …

Day light robbery of our democracy: the trap of the Anti-Protocol rhetoric…

Michael Walker on May 17, 2022, 11:25 am

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Stairs going down.

Has there ever been a more ironically named political party across the UK and Ireland than the Democratic Unionist Party? The party, enabled by our broken political infrastructure, has graduated from padlocking swings in Ballymena on Sundays to effectively padlocking the doors to our democracy. It is currently holding the existence of democracy in Northern Ireland hostage, at the behest of an issue which they themselves have no idea what the issue being resolved looks like. Not only that: its …

Henderson Group – NI protocol has not damaged business…

Brian O'Neill on January 7, 2022, 11:04 am

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shopping, corona, business

The Henderson Group own or supply all the Spar and Vivo shops you see all over the place. With annual sales close to 1 billion they are a massive local success story. Speaking to the Belfast Telegraph not only are they getting on fine with the NI Protocol, but they are also expanding: Mr Doody, Henderson Group sales and marketing director, said: “Our long-term local sourcing strategy has allowed us to take a strong advantage against the multiples who are …

Fears of Societal Split over the NI Protocol have been Overblown according to New Survey…

Brian Pope on November 5, 2021, 10:57 am

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pixel cells, observation, internship

There is inter-community consensus for the NI Protocol mitigations proposed by the EU and UK government according to a new survey undertaken by the University of Liverpool. Indeed, the survey completed in mid to late October 2021 and comprising over 1000 participants across all council areas, not only showed wide-ranging agreement for pragmatic solutions, it indicated that the Protocol is simply not a top priority for most people in Northern Ireland. This will be sobering reading for those who have …

“Five to 10 years down the road, we’re looking at Irish unification because the economic forces at work just aren’t going to be reconcilable with the political situation.”

Brian O'Neill on October 6, 2021, 10:59 am

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ireland, connemara, nature

Some Unionists may have choked on their Rice Crispies this morning reading Margaret Canning’s story in the Belfast Telegraph – Reunification of Ireland is close, says top economist Posen. From the article: The reunification of Ireland will take place “within five to 10 years” because the conflict between politics and the economy under the NI Protocol is not sustainable, an economist has said. Dr Adam S Posen, president of the Peterson Institute for International Economics, said he believed there was …

The protocol is being attacked not because it doesn’t work, but because it DOES…

Brian O'Neill on October 5, 2021, 1:59 pm

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bicycle, children, graffiti

Speakers at the Policy Exchange think that businesses in Northern Ireland have adjusted very well to the new situation. The issue for Unionists seems to be that they have adjusted too well and North/South trade has been increasing. Backing Brexit has forced Northern Ireland into an economic United Ireland and best of all business is booming. Can Unionists ever get out of the corner they have painted themselves into? Hey, stop laughing at the back… Quite the admission on the …

Confidence, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson and the NI Protocol…

Brian Pope on September 13, 2021, 7:39 am

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Sir Jeffrey Donaldson has threatened to pull down Stormont and said the NI Protocol is undermining confidence in devolution, but how can we define this confidence? Confidence, in general, is a mysterious commodity. One minute we seem to have it in abundance and the next – just when we need it the most – seems to melt away like a Mr Whippy on a scorching hot day. If we want to increase our self-confidence we might want to obtain some …

“He did not read the protocol, he has not read the bill, he does not know his stuff”…

Brian O'Neill on July 22, 2021, 8:41 pm

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As Labour leader, Ed Miliband’s awkward geekiness never found favour with the English voters but he has grown in stature over the years. His Reasons to be cheerful podcast is an entertaining and informative listen. In his day job role as MP and shadow Minister, he gave Boris quite the evisceration over his handling of NI Protocol. It makes for an entertaining watch. https://twitter.com/WinstonCProject/status/1417855877697179653?s=20 But all this is water of a ducks back for Boris. Very little sticks to our …

Summary of High Court ruling on the NI Protocol

Jay Burbank on June 30, 2021, 8:09 pm

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As the media and others mull over the 68 page judgement handed down at the Belfast High court today I thought I would pull the key points from the summary for you all to digest and get an initial idea of the arguments presented to the court. The ruling on each is set out below: The applicants raised five grounds of challenge to the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland (Democratic Consent Process) (EU) Regulations 2020 (“the 2020 Regulations”) but in effect …

#SluggerTV looks at the NI Protocol and a pathway out of lockdown

David McCann on February 26, 2021, 8:00 pm

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Slugger TV returns! This episode we have Belfast Live political reporter, Brendan Hughes and Irish News security correspondent, Allison Morris looking through the developments around the NI Protocol and the new pathway out of lockdown.

Unionism’s Approach To The NI Protocol Is Disappointing But Not Surprising…

Stephen Donnan-Dalzell on February 6, 2021, 12:05 pm

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I’m not going to pretend to understand the legal minutiae of the Northern Ireland Protocol, Article 16, or the ins and outs of the Brexit agreement struck between the UK and the EU, but what I do understand is the reaction from mainstream Unionism, and that’s what I’m going to talk about. Before I get into it I just want to put out there that I voted Remain, my husband voted Leave. I live in a working class, predominantly Protestant …

Ian Paisley – “What did we do to members on those benches over there to be screwed over by this protocol?”

Brian O'Neill on January 13, 2021, 6:07 pm

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The right honourable member for North Antrim seems a little upset with how the Conservative Government is handling the Northern Ireland Protocol. Some might be inclined to say you reap what you sow, but I could not possibly comment. "What did we do to members on those benches over there to be screwed over by this protocol?" DUP MP Ian Paisley says the Northern Ireland Protocol has "ruined trade" between NI and GB – as he criticises Boris Johnson for …