Northern ireland

The European Commission’s latest offer to end the stand-off over the Northern Ireland Protocol is welcome as far as it goes. It involves reduced customs checks on goods travelling between the British mainland and the Province. Red tape has led suppliers to choose different markets, and to a consequent increase in north-south commerce in Ireland. The rules have proved to be a particular barrier to the trade in chilled meats and other fresh products, which the EU does not want getting into the single market by the back door. But this has exposed a much bigger issue than the supply of particular goods. While the EU sees the row in trade terms, the British also consider it to be a constitutional matter. Nowhere in the EU offer is there a recognition of the need to remove the European Court from adjudicating on trade matters concerning Northern Ireland. The Unionists see this as the most critical point to resolve and in his speech in Lisbon this week , Lord Frost, the Brexit …

[Read more...] about A compromise on the Northern Ireland Protocol is possible

The EU's four-pronged Brexit plan on Northern Ireland has been revealed and is set to resolve the dispute over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Among the proposals will be the removal of nearly 80 per cent of checks needed for meat and plants being shipped to Northern Ireland and the continuation of British pharmaceutical firms supplying cheap generic medicines to Northern Ireland. However, one of the main issues surrounding the new deal has been the EU’s refusal to strip European judges of their role in the province, which the Brexit Minister Lord Frost has repeatedly called to be replaced with international arbitration modelled on the Brexit trade deal. Despite this, Britain could compromise over the European Court of Justice's role in Northern Ireland after Lord Frost suggested he would enter negotiations with Brussels without "red lines". Last night, Government sources acknowledged the EU had "clearly" gone further than the UK had expected, with the two sides now expected to …

[Read more...] about ‘Northern Ireland was always going to be a compromise’: Readers on the NI protocol

Lord Frost will demand that Brussels allows the free movement of British pets in Northern Ireland as it emerged that "ferret wars" is the latest front in Britain's battle with the EU over a new Brexit deal . The European Commission has offered to dramatically reduce Irish Sea border checks in a bid to break the deadlock over the Northern Ireland Protocol – but not to ease movement of cats, dogs and ferrets, which benefits from the EU pet passport scheme. Northern Ireland continues to follow EU rules on animal health to prevent a hard Irish border. British pet owners face costly and onerous documentary requirements costing more than £110 to travel to the EU and Northern Ireland. On Thursday night, government sources called it a "glaring omission" from the EU's proposals, with one saying: "It should be as easy to get a pet from London to Belfast as it is to get them from London to Glasgow." Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP leader, warned that any new agreement would need to …

[Read more...] about ‘Ferret wars’ new front in Northern Ireland Brexit deal battle

Published 2 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Two more North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) meetings are expected to be cancelled on Friday because the Democratic Unionist Party refused to sign them off. The DUP is refusing to attend in protest against the Northern Ireland Protocol . But earlier this week, a High Court judge ruled the party's ongoing boycott was unlawful . On Thursday, ministers attended a NSMC meeting on health issues. The DUP said this was in line with its position . The planned north-south meetings on Friday are on the environment and aquaculture and the marine. The protocol is part of the Brexit deal agreed in 2019 and was introduced to help prevent checks along the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. But unionists say it creates a barrier to trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and …

[Read more...] about NI Protocol: Cross-border meetings to be cancelled over DUP boycott

By Julian Fowler Published 44 minutes ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic There has been a further fall in the number of Covid-19-related deaths registered in Northern Ireland. The government statistics agency, Nisra, said in the week up to 8 October, the virus was mentioned on the death certificates of 28 people - 20 fewer than the previous week. It brings the total number of deaths registered by the agency to 3,501. The Department of Health's total for the same date, based on a positive test result being recorded, is 2,585. Nisra's figures are higher, because it records mentions of the virus on death certificates, where it may or may not have been confirmed by way of a test. On the agency's measure, just over two-thirds (68%) of Covid-19-related deaths have occurred in hospital (2,389). There have been …

[Read more...] about Covid-19: Nisra records drop in virus-related deaths

Published 2 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics Coronavirus pandemic BBC News NI outlines the latest data on coronavirus and Covid-19 vaccinations across Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. Four more coronavirus-related deaths have been reported in Northern Ireland on Friday. Deaths are measured by recording those who died within 28 days of receiving a positive result in a test for coronavirus. The total number of deaths linked to Covid-19 in Northern Ireland since the start of the pandemic is 2,610. Another 1,349 cases of the virus were also notified by the Department of Health, up from 1,304 on Thursday. That includes cases confirmed from samples taken in recent days, not necessarily just in the latest 24-hour reporting period. A total of 256,332 cases of the coronavirus have been confirmed in Northern Ireland since the …

[Read more...] about Covid-19: Four more deaths and 1,349 new cases

Leo Varadkar's comments on UK slammed by Mordaunt Sign up for FREE now and never miss the top politics stories again SUBSCRIBE Invalid email We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. This may include adverts from us and 3rd parties based on our understanding. You can unsubscribe at any time. More info Ireland's deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar , a staunch critic of Brexit , questioned whether countries could trust the UK during negotiations. Dominic Cummings, who had been Boris Johnson's chief adviser, claimed the UK had always planned to renegotiate the Northern Ireland Protocol. Mr Varadkar then raged in an interview with RTE: "Those comments are very alarming because that would indicate that this is a government, an administration, that acted in bad faith and that message needs to be heard around the world. Related articles Brexit LIVE: Dead in water! …

[Read more...] about ‘We bailed out Ireland!’ Varadkar Brexit rant unravels after claim UK ‘doesn’t keep word’

Published 2 hours ago Share close Share page Copy link About sharing Related Topics David Amess death Politicians in Northern Ireland have been paying tribute to Conservative MP Sir David Amess, who has died after being stabbed at his constituency surgery in Essex on Friday. Sir David, who represented Southend West, had been an MP since 1983 and was married with five children. First Minister Paul Givan "I was shocked to hear the news about Sir David Amess. "This was a brutal attack on a man with a distinguished history of public service, and the repercussions will resonate with us all. "But, more than this, Sir David was a husband, father and colleague - and it is those closest to him who will feel this loss most profoundly. "My immediate thoughts are with Sir David's family and friends at this very sad time." Deputy First Minister Michelle O'Neill …

[Read more...] about Sir David Amess: NI political leaders pay tribute to MP

It was Mood Indigo, or maybe Song Sung Blue as Maros Sefcovic strode into the cavernous aircraft hanger-style venue of the EU press conference room. Resplendent in a riot of azure - sky-blue tie and navy jacket against a harebell-blue backdrop - the European Commission vice-president bounded in, fizzing with self-importance to deliver an eagerly awaited speech. So eagerly awaited in fact, that some of the key players had struggled to contain themselves at all. On Saturday night, Ireland’s Foreign Minister Simon Coveney, Ireland’s foreign minister, had started a late-night Twitter spat with Brexit negotiator David Frost. “Does UKG actually want an agreed way forward or a further breakdown in relations?”, he tweeted. Shots fired, as they say. It took Frost an hour to reply, but at half-past midnight (one assumes after stumbling indoors, kebab in hand) he’d countered with sass levels usually reserved for Rebecca Vardy’s spats with Colleen Rooney . “I prefer not to do negotiations …

[Read more...] about Shiny happy EU people as Maros Sefcovic refuses to sing the blues

Britain could compromise over the European Court of Justice's role in Northern Ireland after Lord Frost suggested he would enter negotiations with Brussels without "red lines". In a bid to finally break the deadlock over the Northern Ireland Protocol, the EU yesterday proposed to slash red tape and cut the majority of checks on British goods crossing into Northern Ireland. Maros Sefcovic, the European Commission vice president, also announced in Brussels that it would ease food standard rules and change its laws to ensure that British medicines can still be sent to Northern Ireland. Under its proposals, checks on food and plant products would be reduced by up to 80 per cent, a looming ban on British chilled meats would end, and customs paperwork would be cut in half. However, the EU's proposals made no mention of the EU court's oversight of the protocol, which Mr Sefcovic suggested was a secondary issue and had been raised only "once" in his discussions with Northern …

[Read more...] about Lord Frost raises prospect of EU court compromise