Displaying items by tag: Northern Ireland

A new survey by the pro-EU group European Movement Ireland and polling company Red C shows that public support for Ireland’s membership of the EU has increased to 93%. The survey of 1,000 people aged 18 and over across the country shows support for the EU at the highest level since the poll began in 2013. 50% of people surveyed now believe that a united Ireland as a member of the EU is more likely in the wake of the UK’s decision to leave the union, while 41% do not think that this is likely. The highest backing for continued EU membership was among the 18- to 24-year-old and 65-plus age groups. The survey was conducted between 21 and 27 March 2019, when there was uncertainty around whether the UK would depart from the EU without an agreement as originally planned on 29 March.

Young people in Northern Ireland have grown up with a unique ability to identity as British, Irish, or both, thanks to the peace agreement that ended decades of conflict. But after Brexit, some people think the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland could again become a scene of violence, and there is uncertainty about what rights Irish and British passport holders will have. Pray for the questions around people’s identities and citizenships to be resolved. Pray for peace to cover all areas threatened with fear and violence. To watch a short documentary about the north/south divide issues discussed by young people, click the ‘More’ button.

Arlene Foster, its leader, has said that the DUP will act in the best interests of the UK. ‘The promotion and protection of the Union is at our core’. She added, ‘We had made clear in all discussions that letters of reassurances were not enough to win our support for the backstop.’ She also said that the backstop did not respect Northern Ireland's constitutional position: ‘Immediately after the Government's meaningful vote defeat, I said we would work to set out a plan which deals with the flawed backstop. When meeting with MPs from all parties over the last few days, I have emphasised that the DUP's clear preference is to have a deal and an orderly exit from the EU. We will meet again with the Prime Minister in the coming days, and will stand up for the Union. We shouldn't fear uncharted waters. We should see them as an opportunity to seize and lay a better foundation for the next generation.’

Brexiteer Tory MPs say a hard border on the island of Ireland can be avoided by using ‘established’ technology and ‘modifying’ existing arrangements. They called for streamlined customs checks and closer working between Belfast and Dublin, to allay compliance and smuggling fears. The Democratic Unionist Party welcomed the ‘positive and timely’ report, Sinn Fein said it was ‘pure fantasy’, and the EU insists on a ‘backstop’ to ensure the single market is protected. After two years of debating the border issue, the Chequers blueprint envisages a free trade zone for goods moving between the UK and the EU, backed up by a ‘facilitated customs arrangement’, as the only credible and negotiable option. However Ireland's foreign minister Simon Coveney said the proposals were an ‘unworkable distraction’.

Vehicles were stolen and torched during disorder linked to loyalist bonfires. A pipe bomb exploded close to a police operation in Belfast. Police were warned that loyalist paramilitaries were planning to ‘orchestrate and participate in serious disorder’. There were nights of disorder in Londonderry. Petrol bombs and missiles were thrown. Hundreds of fires were lit at midnight to usher in the 12 July Orange parades. Masked men used burning cars to block roads close to the Ulster Hospital. A bus with passengers was hijacked before being set alight. Security alerts resulted in main roads being closed, while one incident prevented passengers from leaving Belfast City Airport. Fire and Rescue Service had received 327 emergency calls by 01:00 on 12 July. Dissident republicans were blamed for firing six shots at police with an automatic weapon. The police are treating the incident as attempted murder.

As reported last week, five Northern Ireland supreme court judges are currently considering the Ashers Bakery case - see Gay rights campaigner Peter Tatchell backs Ashers even though he disagrees with their views because he said it’s wrong to compel people to say things they don’t agree with. It is not merely a ‘gay cake case’; what is on trial is society’s attitude to tolerance and the freedom to disagree. Will Muslim bakers be compelled to bake a Charlie Hebdo cake ridiculing their faith? Will lesbian T-shirt makers have to produce T-shirts saying ‘Gay marriage is an abomination’? Will Catholic printers have to print leaflets denouncing the Pope? If Ashers Bakery loses, then everyone loses. The case shows how ‘equality’ is being used to silence anyone who disagrees - with devastating consequences for free speech.

Ashers Bakery in Northern Ireland, which was found to have discriminated by refusing to make a ‘gay cake’, had their appeal heard by the supreme court on 1 and 2 May. They challenged the 2014 ruling over their decision not to make a cake iced with the slogan ‘Support Gay Marriage’. Appeal court judges upheld the original decision in 2016. The Christian owners of the bakery argued, ‘We didn't say no because of the customer; we'd served him before, we'd serve him again. It was because of the message. But some people want the law to make us support something with which we disagree.’ Their QC David Scoffield said, ‘They have been penalised by the state for failing to create and provide a product bearing an explicit slogan “Support Gay Marriage”, to which they had an objection of conscience.’

Many believe that the Northern Ireland peace process is ‘tarnished’. The ‘Peace People’ are well-known in Northern Ireland, but other groups of Catholic and Protestant women are not. At recent seminars in Belfast, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist and Church of Ireland women recorded experiences of the ‘Troubles’ and how women of faith are ahead of their time in developing approaches to repairing the harms of today caused by the conflicts of yesterday. They gave innovative examples of ecumenical activism and community living that defied and transcended sectarianism, including the secret back-channel talks between politicians from different Backgrounds, critical in bringing about a cessation of the violence. We can pray for the continued work of ‘Cornerstone,’ a live-in, praying Community for reconciliation who network with other groups to be a ‘presence’ in their communities; and for ‘Widows Against Violence Empowered’ (WAVE), who help women traumatised after tragedy.

Theresa May’s post-Brexit plans for Northern Ireland to be under the same rules and regulations as the rest of the UK and to leave the EU customs union were challenged in the EU’s 120-page draft withdrawal agreement that includes Northern Ireland in a future customs union. The draft requires checks on goods coming in from the UK; in order for this to happen, single market legislation will also apply. The EU plan would create a border through the Irish Sea, which the UK will not accept. Michel Barnier challenged May to offer something different. The DUP is propping up the UK Government; some believe one wrong decision could see their support withdrawn. Boris Johnson said that the Northern Ireland border row is being used to frustrate Brexit, and there were ‘very good solutions’ to avoid the need for a hard border. Pray for the UK’s future to be directed by God’s Spirit, prompting MPs in all decisions they make.

Simon Coveney, Tánaiste (Irish deputy leader), has said that through the Brexit negotiations Ireland wished to see the creation of the closest possible future connection between the EU and the UK. He said, ‘A key strategic objective is to ensure that the outcome of Brexit does not undermine the hard-won gains of the peace process, as exemplified by the Good Friday Agreement. Despite the efforts of both governments in recent months, and especially in recent weeks, it is deeply regrettable that there is at present no power-sharing executive in place. However, we will not give up - we cannot give up. We urgently need to see the restoration of the Northern Ireland executive and assembly, to harness greater and broader input into how to make the best of Brexit.’