Republic – Page 18 – Slugger O'Toole

600 English lawyers so far have registered in the Republic in the wake of the Brexit vote

Brian Walker on September 30, 2016, 8:54 am

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From the Times’ The Brief Post-Brexit rush for qualification in Ireland gathers pace Slaughter and May – arguably the most pukka of English law firms – is leading a pack of City of London practices in rushing to Dublin to qualify its lawyers in the republic. It is understood that the blue blood firm has already funded ten lawyers to apply with the Law Society of Ireland to transfer to that profession and retain practice rights in the EU once …

Unionists have to be nudged to talk, with the incentives of common citizenship and other common interests

Brian Walker on September 28, 2016, 10:38 am

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Enda Kenny is surely right to be cautious about setting up an “all-Ireland forum” Better to have a “conversation” at least to start with in November. Even so its ability to speak for all Ireland would be seriously weakened by the absence of unionists, just as it would be counter- productive for the unionists not to take part eventually . As things stand, Northern Ireland’s regional government is therefore neither formally or informally to be represented. A fully fledged forum …

The problems of Brexit are big enough without nurturing new grievances against the Brits

Brian Walker on September 21, 2016, 11:27 am

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In his eloquent contributions to the Mount Stewart conversations, (warm thanks to Alan), Fintan O’Toole in terms stated as fact that the people had exercised an irreversible act of sovereignty in approving the Good Friday Agreement enshrined in international treaty. This had been violated by the “reckless” imposition of Brexit on the Northern Ireland. The UK government had no right to try to take Northern Ireland out of the EU, because a majority voted to Remain. Not only that, his …

Reflections on the British-Irish Association in Oxford

Brian Walker on September 19, 2016, 5:46 pm

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A tale of two Unions: can circles be squared by a new devolution settlement? This was written for the blog of the Constitution Unit of University College London. In the wake of the Brexit vote there has been much discussion about the possibility of Scotland and Northern Ireland, where there were Remain majorities in June, preserving closer relationships with the EU than the UK as a whole. The idea that Scotland and Northern Ireland could be entirely exempted from …

A time to press for Irish unity or a time to stay cool?

Brian Walker on September 14, 2016, 12:18 pm

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In contrast with Chris Donnelly’s reasoned case and the speculation that Fianna Fail may at last organise in the North, herewith Newton Emerson’s latest in the Irish Times The Troubles generation was marked by an almost total collapse in the unionist sense of Irishness, which is usually explained as a reaction to republican violence. However, I do not believe this alone can account for the extent to which I do not feel Irish in the slightest. I think it is …

“Giving meaning to Brexit”

Brian Walker on September 9, 2016, 9:34 am

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The best article I’ve read so far on the UK government’s approach to Brexit has been written by Andrew Tyrie MP, the chairman of the Treasury Select Committee for the think tank Open Europe. Problems for preserving an open border are clear if the UK leaves the customs union. But without doing so the UK cannot negotiate free trade deals with other countries. On the other hand, the analysis leaves open the possibility of an otherwise close relationship with the …

Message for the divided politicians. Read the long list. This is what really matters over Brexit.

Brian Walker on September 3, 2016, 6:53 pm

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Divisions in the Executive and the Assembly contributed to the lack of scenario planning for the referendum outcome and are inhibiting the development of a clear Brexit strategy. These are among the conclusions in a comprehensive briefing paper prepared for the Centre for Peace Building and Democracy ( chair Lord Alderdice) by Queen’s academics Professor David Phinnemore and Dr. Lee McGowan, entitled Establishing the Best Outcome for Northern Ireland. ‘Notoriously, similar strictures apply to Whitehall and Westminster, But party divisions …

David Davis’s bland assurances on an open border reveal only poverty of thinking. Where is the cunning plan?

Brian Walker on September 2, 2016, 11:34 am

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In his flying visit to Belfast yesterday, the Brexit Secretary David Davis failed to square the circle of pledging to keep an open border and controlling immigration. He seemed to equate an open border with the common travel area which of course predates EU membership. But they are not the same thing. In the old days international non-Irish immigration barely existed. The border was also a tariff wall of varying heights from 1923 onwards. While the DUP’s verdict on Arlene …

Big effort is needed to avoid polarising Brexit along Orange and Green lines

Brian Walker on September 1, 2016, 1:17 pm

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Yesterday Theresa May made it clear that while the devolved administrations will be consulted the decisions on Brexit will be taken by the UK government. The triggering of Article 50 will not require parliamentary consent and it will happen probably in January or February next year. A Norway-type deal looks ruled out because it entails free movement of people. Some immigration controls are a requirement for what Downing St is calling a “ bespoke “ solution for the UK. And …

Poor little Ireland is squeezed in the battle of the titans

Brian Walker on August 30, 2016, 1:34 pm

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The basic foundation for the Celtic Tiger and the best hope for its revival? Or a scam that makes Ireland no better than tax haven? The day of reckoning may have arrived – subject to appeal.The Commission insists that they money must be used to pay down Irish debt anyway. Ireland backs away from treating the EU Commission’s implied offer of a €13 billion windfall from Apple because of real fears that wider FDI will dry up if other foreign …

Former top civil servant O’Donnell has a viable vision of Remain

Brian Walker on August 27, 2016, 10:54 am

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Former Remain supporters of the moderate tendency have gained a powerful ally in Gus O’Donnell the former UK Cabinet Secretary. The role is recognised as the fountainhead of Making It Happen in government – or explaining to ministers why it can’t happen. It’s all the more important at such a politically volatile time. In an interview with the Times (£) he gives his thoughts on referendums and the massive difficulties of disengaging from the EU ( “years and years”). He …

Revived plan to scrap the Human Rights Act adds fuel to the fires of Brexit controversy

Brian Walker on August 23, 2016, 11:13 am

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The surprising recommitment of the new UK Justice Secretary Liz Truss to a new British Bill of Rights to replace the Human Rights Act adds a new complexity to the Brexit debate. If there are disagreements over the legitimacy of applying the Brexit referendum result to Northern Ireland and Scotland, there can be none about the central importance of the HRA to the Good Friday Agreement. Yes it’s true that the HRA is not part of the EU but EU …

Why is Martin McGuinness making a stand on ” remain must remain” the obvious loser, whatever happens with Article 50?

Brian Walker on August 20, 2016, 1:14 pm

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Martin McGuinness appears to have reverted to Brexit fundamentalism in an article in the Irish Times. He describes a worst case scenario, “ the biggest constitutional crisis since partition…and insists that “Remain must mean remain.” From our perspective, what is needed now is an island-wide approach to dealing with this crisis. That is why Sinn Féin called on the Taoiseach to establish an all-Ireland forum to discuss the impact of the referendum, to develop strategies and options to ensure that …

An answer to Rentoul. Referendums like terrorism can shape events, but not always in the ways expected

Brian Walker on August 19, 2016, 6:40 pm

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Alerted by Mick on the thoughts on referendums by the Independent’s political commentator John Rentoul, I took in his part 2 “Should Referendums be banned?” This is a rhetorical question which is really in support of Rentoul’s contention that they make very little difference to the course of political events. His pieces prompted my following thoughts. Referendums like terrorism typically make considerable differences but not necessarily as intended. It is not true they never settle anything. It depends on the …

The Catholic church flounders again over sexuality within

Brian Walker on August 13, 2016, 6:59 pm

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You couldn’t make it up. The decision of the Catholic Archbishop of Dublin to remove his diocese’s ( only) three trainees from St Patrick’s Maynooth and pack then off to the comparative safety of Rome (!), because of a “poisonous atmosphere” surrounding allegations about the use of a gay dating app in the College, is more farce than tragedy – or would be, if the seminarians are as worldly – wise as most young people are these days. To this …

United approach to Brexit? Well done, Arlene and Martin.

Brian Walker on August 11, 2016, 12:41 pm

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Rather out of the blue, this joint letter from Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness to the prime minister Theresa May changes the impression of a divided Executive heading for a fresh stand-off and is to be warmly welcomed. It is artfully couched in calling for no weakening of cross border measures to deal with crime and implies that border posts could create targets for dissident republicans and others – points that will hit home with the former home secretary. It …

Time cannot silence the Voices of the Somme

Ian Malcolm on July 31, 2016, 10:36 pm

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At the start of July I posted on Slugger O’Toole to introduce Somme Voices, a month-long series of daily tweets in remembrance of that dreadful World War One battle. I’m returning to Slugger to bring the Somme Voices project to a close with a final poem. The reason is that I’d like to quote this one in its entirety and Twitter is a less-than-perfect medium for something of considerable length. It does, however, give me the chance to make a …

With Brexit fever, lies,lies and damned polls

Brian Walker on July 30, 2016, 4:30 pm

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Lucid Talk have been conducting a curious self selecting exercise in the Belfast Telegraph and finding that, as Lucid Talk’s Bill White explains, “The poll is currently running at 75% Yes to a border poll, and 70% Yes to a United Ireland, and I don’t need to tell you that common sense, and history, tells us that this is obviously not representative of Northern Ireland. Polling companies like ours are ‘easy’ with these ‘self-selecting’ polls as they’re known – i.e. …

Solving the border issue is recognised as an argument against a clean break with the EU

Brian Walker on July 29, 2016, 10:02 am

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Although it’s firmly orientated to business and high finance, the Financial Times (£) concludes in an editorial that the British-Irish relationship should put a brake on the extreme Brexiteers who favour a clean break from the EU. Both sides have much to lose. Without the support of its outsized neighbour, Dublin may now find itself more isolated in Brussels on EU issues such as tax harmonisation, which it opposes. Although Ireland’s economy is less dependent on the UK than it …

Immigration less of a problem, trade and customs more so, as Liam Fox rules out a customs Union with the EU. But Theresa and Enda think they see how to keep the border open

Brian Walker on July 26, 2016, 12:43 pm

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One of the leading authorities on EU affairs Charles Grant, the director of the centre for European Reform has issued this warning: When it comes to economic ties, the 27 will be much tougher than many Britons expect. European leaders have an interest in ensuring that the EU maintains a close economic relationship with the UK, for everyone’s benefit. But they will not compromise on fundamental principles, such as free movement of labour as the price for single market membership. …