There is a growing sense that time is running out for interminable loyalist peace processing. DUP ministers are under increasing if somewhat inconsistent pressure over meeting the Loyalist Communities Council. An SDLP assembly motion received all-party support to review and toughen Stormont’s strategy on paramilitary transition.
The figure of 12,500 UVF and UDA members is being quoted in public debate but this is not as intimidating an obstacle as it might seen. It comes from a 2018 PSNI and MI5 intelligence report, obtained by the BBC two years later.
While the report found loyalist groups were active, dangerous and still recruiting, it stated most “card carrying” members were inactive and would leave if they were not trapped by a coercive system. Loyalist leaders want the kudos, control and income of having ‘men under their command’ - membership dues alone totalled £250,000 a month.
Many of the 12,500 would be among the most relieved people in Northern Ireland to see loyalist transition concluded.
Read more: John Manley: DUP gives platform to a group that lacks legitimacy
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The DUP’s response to safeguarding scandals in Sinn Féin is being carefully watched and care should be taken not to exaggerate it.
Leader Gavin Robinson has issued a disapproving tweet about the “apparent cover-up”, although it contained no demands and he switched off replies. The following day, deputy first minister Emma Little Pengelly called on Sinn Féin to “get its house in order” but added “this isn’t a crisis” for Stormont.
Read more: Niall Ó Donnghaile continued to send ‘inappropriate messages’ to men after he left Sinn Féin
The DUP would be attacked by unionist hardliners if it said nothing, so it is saying the absolute minimum. Sinn Féin might reciprocate by calling out the whataboutery from some of its supporters and members.
The DUP has had its own issues, of course, but by and large it has dealt with them appropriately. The balance of media coverage has also been appropriate, allowing for legal constraints. Sinn Féin can make the questions stop at any time by properly answering them.
Read more: Sinn Féin must cover the questions not cover up the answers - The Irish News view
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Northern Ireland’s natural environment is under “unsustainable pressure” from farming, industry and bad planning, according to a horrifying report from the Office of Environmental Protection (OEP). It recommends Stormont act “urgently and decisively” on problems largely caused by Stormont policies, particularly on intensive agriculture.
The OEP scrutinises public bodies, primarily in England. Its remit was extended to Northern Ireland two years ago as a compromise with the DUP, which will not agree to establishing an independent environmental protection agency. The arrangement is odd and clearly limited - England has an independent environmental protection agency as well - but the OEP seems keen to make it work.
This report is a requirement of the compromise and Stormont is required to take it seriously. However, it is classed as research, advice and expert opinion - it does not legally compel Stormont to act. Ultimately, the OEP’s only enforcement power is going to court for a judicial review. Anyone affected by an issue can do this and this issue affects everyone, so it remains to be seen if the OEP can achieve more than environmental campaigners have achieved - or not achieved - already.
Read more: Puffin poo, sharks and the magic of Rathlin Island - Ruby Free’s walk on the wild side
Sinn Féin can make the questions stop at any time by properly answering them
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Sinn Féin infrastructure minister John O’Dowd has urged drivers to switch to public transport, as roadworks around the new Grand Central Station are expected to cause a year of traffic congestion. Yet at the same time, due to same the same congestion, he intends let taxis use some bus lanes, threatening further delays to public transport across the city.
The proposal is described as a temporary “pilot”, which could be a legal requirement but could also herald permanent change. Sinn Féin has been trying to sneak taxis into bus lanes for years under pressure from the taxi industry, most notoriously in 2017, when trade union Unite accused it of attempting to sabotage the new Glider system.
So far the party has been frustrated because such a policy would breach every other Stormont and indeed Sinn Féin transport policy. It would be perverse if a new station was used as an excuse.
Read more: Record-breaking Belfast gridlock must drive transport debate - The Irish News view
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After 10 months of avoiding the question, including turning down a Freedom of Information request, Invest NI has admitted to a Stormont committee that there is no evidence “yet” of dual market access attracting any inward investment.
The business quango did not admit there is some evidence of harm. Inward investment projects in manufacturing, the only sector protected by the Windsor Framework, have fallen since Brexit in absolute numbers and as a share of the UK total.
Fortunately, the rest of Northern Ireland’s private sector is booming, although that leads to a rather awkward conclusion: Brexit is doing less harm than our supposed protection from Brexit.
Read more: Dual market access ‘key to unlocking growth opportunities in Germany’ says Murphy
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A former North Down councillor who resigned from Alliance said he did so partly because it will not discuss a united Ireland. David Rossiter, who was previously active with the Greens in Drogheda, said “I can no longer support a party that has not embraced the possibility of a new Ireland.”
Alliance has said it will take a position on a border poll if one is called but it can hardly take a position any sooner, as that would negate the entire point of its existence. It beggars belief that anyone involved in politics would fail to understand this, let alone someone involved with the party itself. Perhaps Rossiter would have been happier in then SDLP, even if it cannot get anyone elected in North Down.
Read more: Patrick Murphy: Sinn Féin is pushing a united Ireland further away
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TUV assembly member Timothy Gaston has been causing consternation at the executive office committee, which scrutinises the first and deputy first ministers. It has not taken him long: there have only been five meetings since he was co-opted into Jim Allister’s seat after July’s general election.
Alliance chair Paula Bradshaw has apologised for cutting cameras last week after Gaston presented a letter from a member of the public criticising her conduct. She was not entitled to do so.
Read more: Michelle O’Neill could face scrutiny committee’s questions on McMonagle controversy next week
There is a polite game played at assembly committees, as members who are overwhelmingly from executive parties have to hold the executive to account. It is fascinating to watch the fallout when someone refuses to play along.
But the system is similar in most other parliaments and the game exists for a reason. Without it, committees would be briefly entertaining then totally unmanageable. Fortunately, as a lone backbencher, Gaston could provide just-about manageable entertainment for years.
