The impact of Northern Ireland’s Stormont paralysis continued front and centre of political discussion this week with lobby groups calling for a range of key decisions to be made by both Westminster and NI-based civil servants.
Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Karen Bradley was urged by local business leaders to implement ‘special legislative measures’ that will restore stable governance by temporarily empowering senior civil servants to take crucial day-to-day decisions.
Business leaders – representing 12 influential organisations – want Permanent Secretaries to be allowed to take key decisions in the absence of a minister until devolution is restored. They have also demanded that the Planning Appeals Commission be given more power to decide on ‘regionally significant planning applications.’
The landmark referendum decision to reform abortion law in the Republic has resulted in demands for the liberalising of legislation in Northern Ireland.
Currently abortion is illegal in Northern Ireland in all but the most extreme circumstances whereas in Britain they can be legally carried out up to a 24-week limit and beyond if there is a serious threat to the mother’s life – or in cases of fatal foetal abnormality. The Republic’s new laws will permit pregnant women unrestricted abortion up to 12 weeks and until the 24th week of pregnancy if there is a risk to a woman's life, or a risk of serious harm to the physical or mental health of a woman. Whilst former Stormont First Minister, Arlene Foster has said the decision in the Republic has ‘no impact on Northern Ireland law’, she has argued abortion law is a devolved issue and should be debated by local politicians.
Labour’s Baroness Chakrabarti has contended that Prime Minister, Theresa May, whom she described as a ‘self-identifying feminist’ should step in and liberalise Northern Ireland’s abortion laws. However, prominent Tory backbencher, Jacob Rees-Mogg - who opposes abortion as a matter of principle - claims the PM should resist such pressure.
As they say in the newsrooms, this one is going to run and run.
It’s been revealed that the inability to sign off spend since the collapse of the Assembly almost 18 months ago has resulted in serious question marks being raised over the Commonwealth Youth Games taking place, as planned, in 2021 in Northern Ireland.
Robert McVeigh, chair of the NI Commonwealth Games Council (NICGC), said a decision on the games is now expected to be made in the summer.
He has said that continued uncertainty around funding to allow the Games to go ahead was "devastating" to his organisation. He told BBC NI he was at the forefront of meeting with delegates from other places about now not hosting the games. "We have good facilities - we're ready, we should be doing it - but we can't get any progress or movement at all."
Meanwhile the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) has sent a delegation to meet with Israeli and Palestinian figures to “strengthen ties between NI and Israel…”.
Seriously.