UK – Page 7 – Slugger O'Toole

The stand off over the Ireland/NI protocol is a model of cooperation compared to Covid planning

Brian Walker on May 7, 2020, 11:35 am

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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 …

Normal People depicts an Irish generation to appreciative millions that is at last growing up normally

Brian Walker on May 5, 2020, 4:57 pm

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Irish pornhub or a touching rite of passage? Critics are divided and that may be an age thing. But there’s no doubt that the TV series based on Sally Rooney’s rather minimal novel about the relationship between Sligo teenagers is a smash hit. This boomer old enough to be their grandparent is still getting over the fact that a drama about relationships set in a C21 Irish high school and small town has not a hint of Girl With Green …

Why the wall of silence over north-south Covid cooperation?

Brian Walker on May 5, 2020, 11:15 am

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Whatever the reliability of the figures, it seems possible that the Republic has been managing Covid 19 better – or has been luckier- than Northern Ireland. Whether this can be accounted for by the incubus of UK delay and the complexity of a bigger country with an older average population will emerge from the inevitable spate of inquiries. But north -south coordination and cooperation over phasing out lockdown would seem to be essential. And yet so little has emerged about …

What’s in an app?

Brian Walker on May 4, 2020, 4:48 pm

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In relation to the cross-border use of the app, Mr Harris said inter-operability between EU member states and use of the app across the Border “presents specific challenges which have yet to be addressed”. “The specific challenge of North-South travel in Ireland and across the Irish Sea has been highlighted in EU meetings convened to discuss eHealth and the app.” There in a nutshell is a problem of the moment. How big a problem for the island is the choice …

Pressure for a Troubles amnesty continues to mount.

Brian Walker on May 2, 2020, 11:28 am

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Denis Bradley, the co-author of the original report on Dealing with the Past thirteen years ago which has never been improved on, has come up with an extraordinary argument for what reads like one step away from an amnesty for the Troubles. In this he joins the local academics who for years had been arguing that assessment of the evidence against both the security forces and paramilitaries should be independent from the usual institutions of the state if it was …

Boris Johnson’s perversity on the Brexit cliff edge reminds me of the Free State’s rejection of all things British

Brian Walker on April 30, 2020, 9:05 pm

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Warrenpoint Harbour The UK’s stubbornly negative approach to future relations within the EU reminds me of the newborn Free State’s attitude to Britain after the trauma of independence. They can’t wait to be rid of even the symbols as well as the substance of the former power even to the extent of trying to deny the facts of mutual interdependence particularly over the economy. Granted there are vital differences. No blood has been spilled over Brexit and… I was going …

Emma De Souza: a solution?

Sarah Creighton on April 29, 2020, 9:54 am

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As we drift through another week in lockdown, it’s hard to believe that there’s anything else to discuss apart from Coronavirus. Thankfully, Northern Ireland’s unique brand of identity politics stops for no pandemic. Cast your mind back to last year and the case of Emma De Souza. I wrote about it here. Mrs De Souza’s case concerns Article 1(vi) of the British-Irish Agreement. That section states that the two governments recognise the right of: ‘…..the people of Northern Ireland to …

A Triple Rainbow of Hope: Good Friday 1988

Gladys Ganiel on April 10, 2020, 9:26 am

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By now, we are all familiar with the rainbow as a symbol of hope during the Covid-19 crisis. Today, I am reminded of a Good Friday story of hope from our past: the sighting of a triple rainbow at the end of a Falls-Shankill Good Friday walk, organised by the ecumenical Cornerstone Community in 1988. The 1988 walk took place in the shadow of one of the most notorious periods of the Troubles, memorably recounted in the documentary 14 Days. Those …

Update on abortion. Stormont and the medical establishment will obey the law

Brian Walker on April 9, 2020, 9:29 pm

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According to BBC NI, Stormont has today complied with UK law. Women will not have to travel by ferry to GB for the procedure after all. Medical professionals in NI can now “terminate pregnancies lawfully”, the Department of Health has said. Last month, abortion laws changed to permit terminations up to 12 weeks, but this had not been put into practice. Some of NI’s health trusts had been told by the department not to proceed with temporary plans. The department has now said …

Breakthrough news on the Troubles legacy. Legal critics of the UK government recommend a case by case amnesty

Brian Walker on April 9, 2020, 9:06 pm

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Prof Kieran McEvoy A get out of jail card has been produced by a group of academic lawyers who have spent years wrestling with the intractable problems of the Troubles legacy. The card would not only work for former soldiers facing charges, but also for the British government which is likely to face years in court if it tries to discriminate in their favour. Three weeks ago the government suddenly abandoned the long discussed and much consulted on plans originally …

Is the coronavirus emergency an excuse not to implement the new abortion regulations?

Brian Walker on April 8, 2020, 10:23 pm

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Are Northern Ireland civil servants and health trusts stalling on implementing abortion regulations passed by Westminster during Stormont’s suspension because of DUP pressure? Perhaps not, they have a lot else on their plate; but it doesn’t look good. How will GP surgeries react? Will there be a significant number of conscientious objectors to abortion referrals and prescribing morning after pills? The Executive – wouldn’t you know it – is split. Arlene Foster has made no secret of her opposition but …

Book Review: The Irish Presbyterian Mind by Andrew Holmes

Gladys Ganiel on April 6, 2020, 3:18 pm

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At a recent academic seminar, I remarked (only somewhat tongue-in-cheek) that what defines Irish Presbyterianism is that it cannot agree on anything. I was alluding to the fact that historically, Irish Presbyterians have disagreed on a range of theological, social and political issues; indeed, over several centuries Irish Presbyterians have been preoccupied by such ‘family feuds’. Today, Presbyterian disagreements tend to be reflected in rather crude caricatures of so-called ‘liberal’ and ‘conservative evangelical’ wings of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland …

By all means, hold the UK government’s feet to the fire. But collaboration with the Republic is no magic bullet.

Brian Walker on April 3, 2020, 12:56 pm

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We can hardly be surprised when the fault lines opened during this emergency. As a society still in recovery from a different sort of crisis, let’s admit we all – all – need help to avoid reverting to the old sectarian ding dong. Social media is a virus in itself and social distancing is its incubator. The first thing to hold onto is that we really are all in this together. The second is that things can only get worse …

The Biopolitics of Covid-19

Seán Brennan on April 2, 2020, 11:23 am

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It’s like that Wizard of Oz moment, when the curtain gets pulled back, and we are confronted with the reality, that systems of social administration and political governance appear to be in want: and political leadership has failed in its primary role, to protect the health of the people. Such is the Potemkin-like nature of many globalised societies now, it’s taken a pandemic to see through this façade, of mediocre management and amateur political leadership driving the global polity. And …

As pressure mounts over the delay on UK testing, potential solutions seem neglected by the UK government. Peston asks: Why did Michael Gove lie?

Brian Walker on March 31, 2020, 8:52 pm

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This post is lengthy but I make no apologies. Scroll through it if you will. I concentrate on the vexed issue of “test, test test.” First a caveat. We must accept that western countries were much less prepared than eastern countries for another plague because they unlike the east they were barely affected by SARS . Nevertheless this fails to explain the still mystifying reasons why the UK in particular has failed to mobilise the resources that are actually available. …

How are we really doing compared to the south and GB? The public health and economic positions of coronavirus for Northern Ireland need more searching inquiry

Brian Walker on March 31, 2020, 2:14 pm

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North -south differences of approach to Covid 19 are hampering the chances of saving lives, according to an epidemiologist Prof Gabriel Scally. He brings apparent authority to differences which have been aired politically but not as far as I’ve seen among other experts. These differences should surely be resolved at a north-south ministerial meeting today. Scally writes in the Irish News.. The advice to someone in Lifford with symptoms of the disease is to self-isolate for a minimum of 14 …

Varadkar is having a good crisis. This it seems, is not the time to object.

Brian Walker on March 29, 2020, 11:57 am

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The Republic are doing things a little differently: joining an EU initiative to procure much needed ventilators, sending an Aer Lingus plane to China for hospital workers’ PPE; the Gardai Commissioner calling for people in the streets to produce IDs, off licences to stay open in contrast with GB. The North at first followed the GB rules but has now fallen into line with the south. The consequences if the northern ban remained in force if a hard Prohibition border …

Shining a light into the darkness of the Covid 19 crisis…

Ciaran Ward on March 27, 2020, 2:43 pm

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We’re now living in unprecedented times, sailing in uncharted waters, travelling rudderless to an unknown destination. Now if you had a quid for every time you or heard this sort of thing over the last couple of weeks you’d no doubt be a multi-millionaire several times over. Ok, slight exaggeration – you’d probably be about £74.50 richer. The weird (or not so weird as the case may be) thing about all this is that for many of us who live …

Boris’s Bonkers Brexit Breathing Bet…

Brian O'Neill on March 26, 2020, 6:50 pm

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So the UK g0vernment needs tens of thousands of ventilators so the obvious solution is to turn to er a vacuum cleaner company??? That’s what the UK Government think anyway with their plan to get Dyson to make 10,000 ventilators. Of course in times of crisis, we need creative solutions, but where this story gets weird is the UK Government refused several offers from Ventilator manufacturers and suppliers. From the Guardian: Several small suppliers of ventilators have said the government …

From abortion to coronavirus, Westminster rule is still decisive – if they choose to exercise it

Brian Walker on March 26, 2020, 2:58 pm

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The situation is replete with irony. In the absence of the Assembly a formerly inert Westminster sprung into life to enact three controversial reforms; on same sex marriage, victims’ pensions (pending) and most controversially of all, abortion. Sinn Fein which only acknowledges any legal British authority over Northern Ireland with the greatest reluctance warmly welcomed Westminster’s imposition of the most radical shift possible from the most restrictive to the most sweeping abortion regulations in these islands; while the defenders of …