The Brexit ‘power grab’

In August 2022, the then-Chancellor Nadhim Zahawi meets HMRC staff at Erskine House, the UK Government Hub in Belfast.

A new Whitehall department, quietly set up in Northern Ireland to manage the international trade implications of Brexit, will bypass devolved decision-making and Executive accountability in its spending.

The UK Government’s Department for International Trade (DIT), which describes its new office in Belfast as “a new government department in Northern Ireland”, became operational in March 2022 and plans to have up to 75 staff located in Belfast by 2030.

It is one of four similar offices being established across the UK, following an announcement by then-UK Secretary of State for International Trade Liz Truss MP in 2021, with others in Darlington, Cardiff, and Edinburgh.

The UK Internal Market Act, signed into law in December 2020, centralised powers previously exercised in Brussels to Whitehall, rather than dividing them up to the devolved nations.

“We can’t have a system of direct rule lite where London ministers ignore the priorities of people and parties here to pursue budget busting sea bridges or tunnels and ignore our real needs.”

Former Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon

Critics argued that the move represented a ‘power grab’ and an attempt to roll back on devolution, stressing that any responsibility which is not specifically reserved should automatically pass to the devolved administrations.

The UK Government claims the move was necessary to preserve economic exchanges. However, the move comes at a time when the union has never been more fragile, with pushes for Scottish independence and Irish unity. It is arguable that the UK Government wants new major spending initiatives to be seen as centrally driven, and as a benefit of the union.

In March 2021, the UK Government touted that the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government (now called Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities) was to open an office in Belfast. At the time, then-Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon described the move as the “latest step in dismantling devolution and removing power from local people here”.

Mallon was joined by counterparts in both Scotland and Wales in raising concerns that the setting up of a Whitehall office in Northern Ireland, with unilateral spending powers, undermined the core principle of devolution.

“We can’t have a system of direct rule lite where London ministers ignore the priorities of people and parties here to pursue budget busting sea bridges or tunnels and ignore our real needs,” she said at the time.

Opting against a Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities, however, the Government have instead installed the Department of International Trade, which it says is dedicated to bringing more investment, high-value jobs, and export opportunities to the whole of Northern Ireland.

The Internal Markets Act enables a UK Minister to provide “financial assistance for economic development etc”, out of money provided by Parliament, to a whole range of economic areas including infrastructure, housing, health facilities, and for economic development. This means that UK officials will have power to invest centralised levelling-up funding without the need for sign off from devolved assemblies or ministers.

In their annual report, published in July 2022, the Department of International Trade said that their future focus was for further expansion of trade and investment hubs in Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland: “Contributing to strengthening the union and levelling up by continuing to ensure equivalent access to DIT services for businesses across the nations and enhance local business knowledge of our FTA programme and trade policy.”

The Department is based in Erskine House on Belfast’s Chichester Street, which from February 2022 is also home to the Northern Ireland Office. Described as the UK Government Hub in Belfast city centre, Erskine House is expected to host over 22,000 civil service roles moved out of London by 2030. Alongside DIT and the NIO, Erskine House is also home to other UK Government departments including HMRC and the Competitions and Marketing Authority.

Dáil Reform Committee says no to northern Oireachtas representation

Seamus Mallon, Austin Currie, and Ian Marshall are just three examples of how the Seanad has often been used as a means by successive Irish governments to give a platform to political voices from the North. However, whether at committee level or in the chambers of the Seanad or the Dáil, politicians elected in Northern Ireland are not granted any formal speaking rights in the Oireachtas.

The Committee for Dáil Reform voted down a motion which would have granted MPs and MLAs from Northern Ireland speaking rights in special committees in the Oireachtas.

Sinn Féin Senator Niall Ó Donnghaile, who hails from east Belfast, expressed his disappointment after a vote in June 2022 which failed to attract sufficient support to allow politicians from Northern Ireland to take part in special committees in the Oireachtas, stating in the Seanad that, “a shared island has to mean a shared Oireachtas”.

The former Lord Mayor of Belfast was calling for politicians elected in Northern Ireland to be given a right to speak and sit in committees which do not vote on legislation. “Let us look at what special committees do. Autism is an issue that is very important to many of us in the house and we raise it regularly. It is an issue that affects families throughout Ireland. The all-Ireland autism centre is based in Armagh,” he emphasised.

This is not the first time a motion to invite Northern politicians has been struck down by the Oireachtas.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern proposed a motion which would have allowed northern MPs and MLAs the right to speak in the Dáil back in 2005, only for the motion to be defeated amid opposition from Fine Gael, Labour, the Green Party, the Progressive Democrats, the Socialist Party, and some of his Fianna Fáil backbenchers. The former Taoiseach did succeed in ensuring that northern politicians could partake in the Oireachtas Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement, albeit as guests. Indeed, Sinn Féin MPs Mickey Brady and Michelle Gildernew, and Alliance Party MP Stephen Farry recently took part in a debate in this committee.

Sinn Féin and the SDLP have both consistently supported introducing speaking rights for Northern MLAs and MPs in the Oireachtas, in both chambers as well at committee level. Aontú leader Peadar Tóibín TD has also expressed support.

Text

Jim Fitzpatrick 1929-2022

Credit: The Irish News

Jim Fitzpatrick, as chair of The Irish News, played an unassuming yet crucial role in journalism and political life in Northern Ireland. Aged 92, Fitzpatrick’s life spanned the entirety of ‘the Troubles’ and the peace process.

Having entered the seminary with the intention of becoming a Redemptorist priest, Fitzpatrick changed his mind and qualified as a solicitor, where he worked for the family law firm in College Square North in Belfast.

The outbreak of ‘the Troubles’ heightened Fitzpatrick’s interest in journalism and public affairs, motivating him to enrol in a nightcourse in journalism, subsequently writing articles and conducting interviews for The Irish News.

Fitzpatrick was appointed as a director of The Irish News in 1969, and his political outlook, which was similar to that of the late former SDLP leader John Hume, proved crucial in the editorial line espoused by the newspaper throughout the conflict and subsequent peace process, including his guidance on the terminology used in IRA death notices during the conflict.

He assumed the role of managing editor of The Irish News in 1981, following the tragic death of his predecessor Daniel ‘Dinty’ McSparron and his sister Mary. He also later became chair of the paper.

Fitzpatrick retained a relationship with the Redemptorist Order and, in particular, Gerry Reynolds. His relationship with him and others at Clonard Monastery proved to be a crucial factor in efforts to establish dialogue between John Hume and Gerry Adams, talks which would become the crucial building blocks of the Good Friday Agreement.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin TD paid tribute to Fitzpatrick, remarking: “In his quiet and ceaseless philanthropy over a lifetime, his generosity has left its stamp all across Belfast and further afield.”

Sinn Féin vice-president Michelle O’Neill MLA said Fitzpatrick was a “quiet diplomat who worked to advance and influence peace and reconciliation across the political divide”.

SDLP leader Colum Eastwood MP described Fitzpatrick as “full of integrity and unfailingly kind”, further reflecting that “he will be missed by everyone who knew him”.

Jim Fitzpatrick died on June 25 after a short illness. Predeceased by his wife Alice in 2013, he is survived by their children Anne, Bríd, Bernard, Eileen, Dominic, Clare, Jim, and Andrew as well as 26 grandchildren, and his sisters Anne and Dympna.

Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam.