Campaigner urges UK to ditch legacy bill that’s ‘against victims’
CLAUDIA SAVAGE, Irish News and Belfast Telegraph, January 14th, 2026
A VICTIMS campaigner has said the Labour government’s reforms of the Legacy Act have made it “stronger against victims”.
Raymond McCord told an Irish government committee that Secretary of State Hilary Benn had not done his “homework” and does not “give a damn about a lot of the victims”.
His son Raymond McCord junior was killed by loyalist paramilitaries in 1997.
Mr McCord appeared before the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Good Friday Agreement in the Dáil alongside Sandra Peake, chief executive of Wave Trauma Centre.
On a visit to Stormont last week, Irish Foreign Minister Helen McEntee said any significant changes to the UK government’s Troubles Legacy framework must have the full agreement of London and Dublin.
British Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has indicated that new protections for military veterans will be added to the Bill his government is taking through parliament, which commits to fundamentally reforming structures established by the last Conservative government’s contentious Legacy Act.
This includes the removal of a controversial provision that offered a form of conditional immunity to perpetrators of Troubles crimes.
‘No discussion really’ with victims
Mr McCord was asked if the joint framework on legacy announced by the two governments last September reflected his meetings with Mr Benn.
He said: “There was no discussion really relating to legislation. He just said, this year he met with victims – I knew very few of them that actually had met him, to be honest with you, and it showed you the interest he had in victims.”
In 2007 then Police Ombudsman Nuala O’Loan conducted an investigation into allegations of collusion between the RUC and loyalist paramilitary groups called Operation Ballast.
She found that police acted to protect informants from being fully accountable to the law and revealed issues of concern in relation to other incidents including murders, attempted murders and drug dealing.
Mr McCord told the Dáil committee yesterday: “This point I’m going to make highlights it all and the hypocrisy of it.
“I raised with (Mr Benn), we all made it clear we reject the Bill because they told us (they were) going to scrap it.
‘Made it stronger against victims’
“They didn’t scrap it. They tweaked it, and it made it stronger against victims.”
He added: “When I said to him about the Police Ombudsman’s report in 2007, collusion was proven – it was Tony Blair’s government at the time – the day the report came out, Tony Blair accepted it.
“So I’m saying about that, collusion in that report. I would suggest to everyone sitting here to read Nuala’s report because it doesn’t just deal with young Raymond, it’s more important, it deals with a lot of victims that this unit carried out, the murder squad.
“Hilary Benn, when I said to him about it, had never heard of it.
“The secretary of state trying to enforce a Bill upon victims, and he never heard of Nuala O’Loan’s report. What does that say about the man, and the homework he had done regarding victims?
“A report comes out, ‘collusion proven’, and the Secretary of State is trying to convince us – this here is a magic wand for victims? So you can guess my opinion of him.”
He added: “They need to scrap the Bill, because there’ll be legal challenges in court – obviously, again, more expenses, more time and more trauma on victims and their families.
“Once these actions start before they finish, some victims’ families who’ve been fighting for this are going to die.
“Benn and these people sitting at Westminster, including our own politicians, from both communities who sit at Westminster and Stormont don’t give a damn about a lot of the victims.”
He added: “Start doing things for the voters and start doing things for the victims. That’s not happening, so scrap this Bill.”
Stormont Executive won’t mount defence against Irish language failings
JOHN MANLEY, POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
THE Northern Ireland Executive isn’t expected to mount a defence to the latest High Court challenge over its failure to bring forward an Irish language strategy.
The executive has already been censured by the courts twice in the past decade over its failure to fulfil commitments first made in the St Andrews Agreement almost 20 years ago.
The Irish News understands First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have been unable to agree a joint position on the issue, meaning tomorrow’s legal action against the executive, brought by Conradh na Gaeilge over breaches of a legal obligation to adopt an Irish language strategy, will go unchallenged.
However, Communities Minister Gordon Lyons, a joint respondent to the judicial review proceedings, is expected to defend his department’s record against the allegation that it has failed in its duty to promote and enhance the development of Irish.
The strategy has been in development under the direction of the Department for Communities since 2020.
The case is to be heard by Mr Justice McAlinden, who last September castigated the executive about the row over Irish language signs at Belfast’s Grand Central Station.
Stormont ‘a laughing stock’ says Judge
The senior judge said the regional administration was “regarded as a laughing stock”.
An application for judicial review, brought by loyalist Jamie Bryson, of Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins’ decision to include dual language signs at Belfast’s new transport hub has been scheduled for a two-day hearing, beginning in a fortnight’s time.
Sinn Féin MLA Colm Gildernew said the communities minister had so far failed in his responsibility to publish an Irish language strategy.
“But he clearly has his own strategy for the Irish language – a strategy to prevent the development of Irish and work against its ongoing growth on this island,” he said.
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly have been unable to agree a position on defending the executive over its failure to adopt an Irish language strategy
“It’s a strategy to undermine and attack Irish at every opportunity.”
Waiting 20 years
Conradh na Gaeilge president Ciarán Mac Giolla Bhéin said Mr Lyons had had almost two years to finalise and signoff on a strategy.
“Whatever way those delays are presented, it is outrageous that we are still waiting on a strategy, 20 years since it was promised to our community in 2006, with a statutory duty being placed on the executive,” he said.
“Ultimately, a progressive Irish language strategy, combined with best practice standards from the new Irish language commissioner, would address many of the policy gaps and ongoing public debates across our society regarding the promotion of Irish.”
In 2017, the High Court found the executive’s failure to adopt an Irish language strategy contravened the 1998 Northern Ireland Act.
In 2022, Mr Justice Scoffield found the executive had continued to breach a le-gal obligation in relation to an Irish language strategy.
The Executive Office and Department for Communities had yet to comment last night.
Stormont hasn’t acted on petition of concern reform six years after it was agreed
JOHN MANLEY POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
THE Stormont Assembly has failed to update its procedures to reflect changes agreed six years ago around the circumstances under which the cross-community veto can be deployed.
The reforms to the petition of concern were agreed as part of the New Decade New Approach (NDNA) deal that saw the devolved institutions restored in January 2020.
They were codified in legislation two years later alongside other measures designed to improve governance and executive stability in the aftermath of the RHI scandal.
However, it emerged on Monday after the DUP tabled a petition of concern to block a Sinn Féin motion for EU observer status for Northern Ireland, that the veto should not have been deployed under the terms agreed in NDNA.
The parties agreed in 2020 to tabling or supporting a petition of concern only in the most exceptional circumstances and as a last resort.
It was meant to prevent the veto’s deployment for motions that have “no express legal or procedural effect”, such as that on EU observer status.
But because the assembly has yet to update its standing orders, the petition of concern was used, with the support of Ulster Unionist and TUV MLAs, ensuring the Sinn Féin motion was “accordingly negatived”.
Speaking after the vote on the non-binding motion, DUP leader Gavin Robinson said the petition of concern existed “precisely to stop major constitutional or strategic shifts being imposed without cross-community consent”.
Opposition leader Matthew O’Toole raised his concerns about the veto’s deployment ahead of Monday’s vote and was told by principal deputy speaker Carál Ní Chuilín that the appropriate standing orders had “not been brought in yet regarding that act”.
“It is a matter for the procedures committee,” Ms Ní Chuilín said. “I think that you have members on that committee, so I advise you to use that route, rather than this route.”
Mr O’Toole described the situation as “bizarre and slightly farcical”.
“The 2022 law was clear, as was NDNA: petitions of concern should not he used on non-binding motions but that is exactly what the DUP was allowed to do, gumming up assembly time and distracting from actual issues facing public services,” the SDLP MLA said.
“We need urgent clarity on why this surreal situation has been allowed to develop.”
A spokesperson for the assembly said: “The committee on procedures is continuing to work on developing updated standing orders in relation to petitions of concern.
“Detail of the work that the committee has carried out on this matter is set out in the minutes of its meetings which are available online.
“Any proposed changes to standing orders would have to be agreed by the assembly with cross-community support.”
Calls for change at Stormont are likely to fall on deaf DUP and SF ears
SUZANNE BREEN, POLITICAL EDITOR, Belfast Telegraph, January 14th, 2026
COMMENT
The new year isn't ushering in political change for Northern Ireland. The same old squabbling and stalemate still predominate at Stormont so discussion on reforming the institutions is entirely appropriate.
Alliance and the SDLP are both leading the charge in 2026. Ahead of her Westminster Hall debate on Tuesday, Sorcha Eastwood called on the Government to “get serious” on the issue.
“We are stuck in a cycle of collapse and stagnation,” she said. “Our current system bakes division and dysfunction into politics, making another collapse all but inevitable. It wouldn't be tolerated in any other part of the UK and Ireland.
“We deserve a system of government we can rely on: one whose continued existence is not dependent on the whim of any one party.
“Whether you're nationalist, unionist, or unaligned, the overwhelming majority of people across Northern Ireland are demanding change.”
The Lagan Valley MP said “the definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different result”.
A functioning government and public services were impossible under the present system, she argued. Ms Eastwood urged London and Dublin “as co-guarantors of the Good Friday Agreement”, to “step up to help deliver the reform we all need”.
Meanwhile, Claire Hanna wrote to the Executive party leaders asking them to attend a meeting with the Prime Minister to discuss reform.
The SDLP leader said she was pleasantly surprised that Keir Starmer had shifted position and indicated to her last week that he was prepared to discuss suggestions.
“Support for reforming the Stormont institutions is gathering momentum,” she said.
“Since the return of devolution, the SDLP Opposition has been working hard in Dublin and London to progress reform.
“The Prime Minister's commitment to look seriously at reform is a clear change in approach and an opportunity we can't afford to squander.
“We have heard the Executive parties pay lip service to progressing reform, but with their combined power they have done next to nothing to advance it. We may have different views on the form reform should take, but I believe we can find common ground.”
No progress even on Ministerial labels
Despite the SDLP and Alliance competing to be the super champion of reform, Professor Jon Tonge of the University of Liverpool can't see progress being made.
“There is no agreement on what reform should take place. Even a shared position on changing the titles of First Minister and Deputy First Minister to Joint First Ministers has proved impossible,” he said.
“Both Sinn Fein and the DUP want to retain their vetoes and there is no overwhelming consensus on what should happen if one of those parties collapses the institutions.”
Prof Tonge said polling showed that the most favoured option if the First Minister or Deputy First Minister resigned was the next largest party in the same nationalist or unionist bloc being offered that position.
“Only a minority say the position should go to the next largest party in general — which would currently be Alliance — so the public still supports bloc politics,” he said.
“There is a Stormont committee looking at reform but I don't think the Assembly will be able to agree on it. The parties talk a good game about reform, but they don't follow up.”
Prof Tonge said he “totally understood” why Alliance wanted a system “very unfair to it” to change.
“The party's votes just don't count in the current set-up.
“Alliance is right to press for reform, and it would be good for Stormont.
“However, power-sharing systems like the one in Northern Ireland, Bosnia or the Lebanon tend not to reform themselves. Rather, they stick with what they've got.”
Man charged with attempted murder of police officers in rocket attack
ALAN ERWIN, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
A BELFAST man appeared in court yesterday charged with attempting to murder police officers in a rocket attack nearly 18 years ago.
Terry McConnell (42) was ordered to stand trial for alleged involvement in the bid to kill members of the PSNI in Lisnaskea.
Officers on foot patrol in the Main Street area of the town escaped injury after a rocket-propelled grenade failed to explode on August 16, 2008.
At the time the attack was blamed on dissident republican terrorists.
McConnell, of Belmore Way in Belfast, appeared in the dock at the city’s Magistrates’ Court charged with attempting to murder PSNI officers.
He faces a further count of possessing explosives – namely a projected improvised grenade – with intent to endanger life.
During a preliminary enquiry hearing the defendant’s name was formally changed to the Irish spelling of Tarlach Mac Dhonaill.
He confirmed that he understood the charges but declined to give evidence at this stage in the proceedings.
No further details about the alleged circumstances surrounding the attack were disclosed.
From the PSNI to Stormont
How policing the fleadh, a constable’s death and a misconduct claim against a senior officer shaped Burrows’ leadership style
JOHN BRESLIN, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
UUP leadership candidate Jon Burrows describes 2013 as both the most painful and the proudest year of his policing career and one that took a massive toll.
The recently nominated North Antrim MLA to lead the UUP was the area commander in Foyle when Derry was UK City of Culture and host to the All Ireland Fleadh Cheoil.
“How it was policed changed relations between the PSNI and the nationalist community in the city in a really positive way,” he argues.
But it was also the year Constable Philippa Reynolds was killed when a stolen car crashed into the police vehicle she was travelling in.
“I met her family at the entrance to Altnagelvin A&E and brought them to see their dead daughter,” Mr Burrows told The Irish News.
“Their devastation and that of her colleagues will never leave me.”
It was also the year he received a letter bomb from dissident republicans, one of many threats.
“In the midst of all this I was dealing with the flags protest, dissident attacks in the city and all of the normal policing challenges,” he says.
“At the end of the year I was a different person, pretty exhausted mentally and physically.”
In May 2020, after postings elsewhere, the focus, briefly, for Mr Burrows was back in Derry, as head of PSNI discipline.
He was tasked with investigating what happened at two heated meetings involving approximately 150 police officers inside Strand Road station in Derry.
Bond case cost £31,000
The then PSNI chief inspector was sent a complaint about the alleged behaviour of Chief Superintendent Emma Bond, commander in Derry and Strabane District at the time.
It was the early days of the Covid pandemic and Chief Supt Bond called the two meetings after hearing reports that officers stayed at home without authorisation and some may also have unlawfully claimed expenses. She “pushed for action” against officers.
Constable Philippa Reynolds was killed in 2013 when a stolen car smashed into her unmarked police vehicle
On May 12, 2020, a complaint was received claiming that Ms Bond “lost control, was abusive, threatening and told officers they had committed acts of serious criminality and gross misconduct”.
Within three hours, Chief Inspector Burrows, in his initial review, concluded she had potentially committed “gross misconduct”, with a notice later issued against the senior officer. Some months later it was rescinded and no further action was taken.
Ms Bond, now an assistant chief constable with Police Scotland, later took an industrial tribunal action against the chief constable after being transferred from her post. She won her case and was awarded £31,000.
An external review found Mr Burrows made the wrong decision as he looked at the events much too narrowly and failed to take into account the context around which the meetings took place. But the author also said Mr Burrows acted without bias or any lack of professionalism.
Mr Burrows was extremely unhappy about any suggestion of bias on his part and told The Irish News he wanted to deliver testimony to the tribunal. However, this was up to the PSNI leadership and it did not happen.
By the time of the tribunal hearing, in 2023, Mr Burrows had left the PSNI and was building a public profile delivering forceful opinions online and in newspaper columns.
Among the positions he has taken is that more junior officers were often treated more harshly than they deserved and there was often a rush to judgement by the senior ranks.
Most notable was his defence of two junior officers disciplined following the arrests of individuals attending a memorial service for five people shot dead in the 1992 loyalist attack on Sean Graham’s on the Ormeau Road.
The High Court ultimately ruled the disciplinary action was unlawful, but Mr Burrows believed there were political reasons around what happened to the officers.
“When, for example, I felt someone was being scapegoated for political reasons I would not allow and challenged it, even if that carried risk,” says Mr Burrows.
“I watched a terrible risk aversion and a collapse in morale in the PSNI because good people didn’t feel supported to go and do their job.
“Leaders should support and empower people, whilst also dealing with anyone who is unethical.”
Mr Burrows was a police officer for 22 years, working mainly in Northern Ireland but also in London. His father, Colin Burrows, is a former assistant chief constable.
Apart from Foyle area commander he was in charge of operations in Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon District. His last position was head of discipline, part of the Professional Standards Department.
Mr Burrows was selected as the UUP MLA for North Antrim in August 2025.
On what he learned in more than two decades in the force that will carry into politics, Mr Burrows says: “Making decisions based on evidence, fact and what’s objectively the right thing to do is a skill honed in the PSNI.
“Decisions in policing are very consequential and getting them right is vital.
“I used to coach decision-making skills to officers, and how vital it was to in an objective way weigh up information, examine options and understand the impact a decision will have, road test and then have contingencies.”
He adds: “That is the way I will approach developing policy with colleagues – it’s time to ditch left, right, traditional and progressive labels when it comes to day to day politics.
“We should be evidence-based and not captured by ideology.”
The great North-South health divide
CONOR SHEILS, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
The inequalities in the provision of health on either side of the border have been laid bare by official statistics
NORTHERN Ireland patients are three times more likely to be waiting for hospital treatment as those in the Republic, according to the latest official statistics.
Analysis of the latest figures from both sides of the border shows that Northern Ireland has 454 people per 1,000 population on waiting lists, compared to just 142 per 1,000 in the south, a rate of 3.2 times higher.
This means that nearly 600,000 fewer people, more than the population of Belfast, would not be on waiting lists if Northern Ireland matched the Republic’s healthcare performance.
Meanwhile, the disparity between the two health systems becomes even more stark when patients waiting longer than a year for treatment is put into focus.
North’s patients wait 3.5 times longer for appointment
In Northern Ireland, 55.6% of all outpatients (301,753 people) have been waiting more than a year for an appointment, according to the latest figures.
However, in the south, just 97,879 outpatients (16.0%) have waited that long.
This means that Northern Ireland patients are 3.5 times more likely to wait over a year for an outpatient appointment.
The median outpatient wait in Northern Ireland stands at 64.1 weeks – over 15 months, according to the figures.
For inpatient and day case procedures, 41.6% of Northern Ireland patients (38,166 people) have waited longer than 52 weeks, compared to 16.3% (17,483 people) in the south.
This means that patients in the north are 2.6 times more likely to face year-long waits for surgery or procedures.
The comparison uses the most recent available data for both jurisdictions and such lists are published monthly in the south, while quarterly figures are published in Northern Ireland.
The stark contrast has drawn condemnation with SDLP Opposition Health Spokesperson Colin McGrath describing the situation as “the worst anywhere in these islands”.
“While not perfect, it comes as no surprise that the health service in the south is leaps and bounds beyond what people can access here in the north,” he said.
Expanding cross-border healthcare?
SDLP: ‘We should be looking at expanding cross-border healthcare’
“Waiting lists in the north are the worst anywhere in these islands and action to tackle this have been minimal, with ministers and the executive tinkering around the edges instead of addressing the fundamental issues that would substantially reduce waits.
“Nobody should have to wait for vital healthcare and those with these conditions often see both their mental and physical health deteriorate as they sit on a waiting list, putting huge strain on them and their families.
“Around one in four people in the north are on a waiting list, there is nobody who has not been touched in some way for the fight to access healthcare in a timely manner.
“It’s ridiculous that people living in Enniskillen or Newry face disproportionately longer waits than their neighbours living just a few miles away on the other side of the border.
“The SDLP has been clear that we should be looking at expanding cross-border healthcare to address the deficiencies in both systems to provide people on both sides of the border with the highest standards of care in a timely manner.”
The Department of Health was contacted for comment.
Intimidation of councillors under-reported, body warns
NOEL MCADAM, Belfast Telegraph, January 14th, 2026
Police have urged councillors in Northern Ireland to report all threats and abuse they are receiving.
The failure to disclose all incidents is making it difficult to assess the level of intimidation councillors are facing.
At an online event last month between the PSNI and the Northern Ireland Local Government Association (NILGA), it was acknowledged that elected representatives are under-reporting incidents of intimidation.
NILGA has now said: “This suggests that the actual extent and impact of such cases are much greater than what has been reported.
“While we do not currently have exact figures and statistics, our collaboration with the PSNI is ongoing.”
In recent months, a self-proclaimed group of republicans have issued threats against councillors in Newry, Armagh and Down, who they said they regarded as “legitimate targets”. Loyalists have also threatened Belfast councillors including Seamus de Faoite and Michael Long.
Lisa O'Kane, head of development and impact at NILGA, told a meeting of the organisation's executive: “There are not enough reports to police about occurrences of intimidation or threatening behaviour made in order to ensure trends can be logged.
“Categorising the level of threats differs across the various political roles (councillors, MLAs, MPs), with the level of threat for councillors being seen as low.
“Police are encouraging councillors to report incidents to them. There is value in police being invited in to provide detail on action from their perspective.”
NILGA has now added: “Through our partnership with the PSNI, practical advice and guidance are being provided to our elected members on crime prevention, responding to online and offline threats, strengthening personal and premises security and understanding when and how to report incidents.”
In a joint statement with their council counterparts in England, Scotland and Wales, the local elected representatives organisations have warned: “The intimidation, abuse and harassment of people in public office... poses a serious and real threat to local democracy. These behaviours prevent officers and councillors from fulfilling their roles.”
The local associations called on the Government “to collaborate with the devolved governments, local government and the police to establish formal arrangements that address the abuse and intimidation of everyone in public life”.
Political discord over pipe bands playing ‘second fiddle’ to Fleadh Cheoil fringe event
The TUV has lodged a formal equality impact complaint to Ards and North Down Borough Council, while a DUP councillor was the only one to object to holding both events on the same day in August of this year
MICHAEL KENWOOD, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
Fleadh Cheoil na hEireann, which takes place in Belfast this August, is expected to bring £60m into the Northern Ireland economy
“ Clearly, without bringing the people of Ards and North Down along with us, you are going to inevitably create ill feeling from some groups and organisations. In no way, shape or form is that to demean the event we are talking about. It is about the expectation of the people that elect us”, DUP Councillor Colin Kennedy
A DUP councillor has said a Fleadh Cheoil fringe event being held this summer in Bangor will “create ill-feeling” and added that the people of Ards and North Down were being “bounced into” paying up to £40,000 to hold the event.
Last week, Ards and North Down Borough Council saw controversy after it was revealed that a Fleadh Fringe was planned for Holborn Square Car Park, Bangor on Saturday August 1, the same day as the 73rd Ulster Championships of the Pipe Bands by the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association NI, which will be held at Ward Park, Bangor.
A report for the council’s Place and Prosperity Committee stated the local authority would have a budget of £36,700 to spend on the Pipe Bands event, and up to £40,000 for the Fringe Fleadh event, subject to rates setting and procurement.
The TUV have lodged a formal equality impact complaint to the council stating it would create “conflict”.
They said the Pipe Championships were “playing second fiddle” to the Fleadh, and repeated an erroneous claim reported in the media that the Fleadh was receiving twice the budget to that of the Pipes competition.
Belfast will host Fleadh Cheoil na hÉireann, the world’s biggest celebration of Irish music and culture, from Sunday August 2 to Sunday August 9.
Qualifying competitors from all over the world will showcase the best of traditional music, song, dance and language in All-Ireland competitions.
Belfast expects 700.000 visitors
With a minimum of 700,000 visitors from across the world, it is anticipated to be the biggest cultural event ever held in Belfast.
The Fleadh in Wexford last year generated an estimated €60 million into the local economy, attracting over 800,000 visitors. Tourism NI estimates the 2026 Fleadh will bring £60 million into the Northern Ireland economy.
Ards Comhaltas Ceoltóirí Éireann (Ards CCE) is the host branch for Fleadh Belfast, and was a bid partner with Belfast City Council. Ards CCE will mark its 50th anniversary this year.
The council officer report to the Ards North Down Council committee states: “Due to the local connection,
Belfast City Council colleagues have been in contact with the Chief Executive to inform on planning stages of the event and to highlight the opportunities that will be afforded to the borough due to the proximity of the event. As set out in the Borough Events Strategic Direction, international bid events bringing participants and spend, is an area which the borough should maximise.”
At the meeting of the Place and Prosperity Committee, the chamber overwhelmingly voted to hold both events on the same day, with the proposed budgets, with only one councillor objecting, Newtownards DUP Councillor Colin Kennedy, who voted against the grain of his party. The decision will have to be ratified at the full council later this month.
Councillor Kennedy said at the committee: “In recent years officers have informed this committee and the council there is reducing money to hold and sponsor events. There are many groups in this borough – and let’s face it we are here to represent the people of Ards and North Down – many groups who have sought to run events and who have not been able to obtain funding from the council.
“That is the backdrop to this. All of a sudden.. I read £40,000 has been found for an event, good or bad. And to be fair, nobody is going to look at the Fleadh and say it isn’t a very significant event in the Irish cultural calendar.
“My issue is that clearly there has been work going on in the background discussing this. Scoping work has been done. I would like to know why the committee was not informed of that work taking place.
“My concern is that we haven’t brought along those people who have in the past been unsuccessful, and are perhaps currently looking for council assistance to run events, such as the Donagahdee group.
Creating ill-feeling
“And clearly, without bringing the people of Ards and North Down along with us, you are going to inevitably create ill feeling from some groups and organisations. In no way, shape or form is that to demean the event we are talking about. It is about the expectation of the people that elect us.
“It is disappointing we are being bounced into this. A lot of work may have been going on in the background. Neither I nor the people I represent were aware of that.”
The council director at the committee replied: “This council wouldn’t like to think we bounced anything. This event came via the Chief Executive. We brought it to the council when we had something to tell you. There was no point bringing a report to say we might have something. I wanted to make sure when we brought the report it was of substance, and it gave details and a budget.
“We have made a request for £40,000 as part of the rates setting process. We might not get it, and if we don’t get it the event doesn’t go ahead.”
A council officer said: “The council report presented what we believe is a neutral, strategic and opportunity focused assessment of both events. However (a media article) emphasised elements of conflict prioritisation and drew attention to political contexts, none of which were present in the report.”
She added: “Ards CCE are very positive about the dual approach for the events on August 1, and indeed we have received a letter today from the Chairman of the Royal Scottish Pipe Band Association NI reiterating their positive support for the approach, with regards to the positive opportunities to showcase the musical traditions and indeed the positive bringing of a wider audience to the city (of Bangor).”
LETTERS, Irish News,
NI’s problem is that it never actually had real co-design in the first place
NEWTON Emerson is right to identify a real problem in Northern Ireland’s governance – too much influence exercised by a narrow set of organised stakeholders, too often behind closed doors, with little clarity about who decides and on what basis.
Anyone who has worked in or around Stormont will recognise the pattern. The same groups. The same meetings. The familiar language of partnership, collaboration and ‘asks’.
But access is not the same as influence, and access is rarely neutral. It is often contingent, granted on the condition of playing nicely with power, moderating critique and staying within what feels manageable to the system. In a political culture already paralysed by caution and delay, this kind of managed access does little to improve outcomes and often narrows, rather than broadens, democratic debate.
Where Newton and those welcoming the roll-back of co-design get it wrong is in assuming the lesson is to step back from collaboration altogether.
Northern Ireland’s problem is not that it tried co-design and failed. It’s that it never actually did co-design in the first place. What operated under that label was an expanded and re-branded form of stakeholder consultation – organised interests invited in without clear boundaries, shared understanding of trade-offs, or democratic representativeness. This is participation done badly, then cited as proof that participation doesn’t work.
Real co-design is not stakeholder-centred. ‘Stakeholder’ is a vague term that usually refers to those with social or political capital. They may – or may not – have direct experience of the issues they speak on. While advocacy organisations do vital work, they are not a stand-in for the public and confusing their involvement with meaningful public participation corrodes democratic legitimacy.
Giving organised interests a seat at the policy table does not turn lobbying into democratic decision-making. Lobby groups exist to advocate. As Newton rightly notes, they are not designed to weigh competing priorities across society or take responsibility for finite budgets. Expecting them to do so is unfair and politically naïve.
The alternative is not outsourcing policy, but strengthening it through well-designed deliberative processes that involve a representative cross-section of the public, are honest about constraints and clearly retain decision-making authority with ministers and the Assembly.
Disability policy illustrates this well. Lived experience must shape services. But elevating advocacy groups into quasi-decision-makers without shared consideration of trade-offs invites conflict, disappointment and legal risk. A deliberative approach can include disabled people directly, alongside others, while making scarcity and prioritisation explicit from the outset.
Northern Ireland does not suffer from too much public influence. It suffers from too little meaningful public involvement. Rolling back flawed co-design without replacing it with better democratic infrastructure simply restores the status quo – opaque decisions, loud backlash and deepening mistrust.
The choice facing Stormont is not between ministerial authority and engagement, it is between weak engagement that distorts democracy and better engagement that renews it.
REBEKAH McCABE Head of Northern Ireland, The Involve Foundation,
Belfast BT12
My new resolution is not to write about the Executive. They don’t listen to anyone
ALEX KANE, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
First Minister Michelle O’Neill and Deputy First Minister Emma Little-Pengelly at Stormont Castle
I USUALLY make a couple of gentle resolutions at the start of each year.
None of them particularly demanding – so I won’t be preparing for park runs, marathons, gym sessions, a holier-than-thou dry January, or a trek to ‘find myself’ in the middle of a jungle in Borneo (anyway, I did my own version of that on my 70th last August, when I climbed to the top of the Reichenbach Falls and pondered Sherlock Holmes while eating a banana split birthday cake).
My resolution this year – and I suspect it may actually prove to be much tougher than I’m thinking right now – is not to write about the Executive for the remainder of 2026: apart from this mid-January column, obviously.
And the reason I’m not planning to write about it is that there’s no point writing about it.
It has no impact. None of the parties are listening.
Fair enough, I can understand, sort of, why they’re happy to ignore me: “You could never keep Kane happy. Everything annoys him. He’s even worse than Feeney!” (although they don’t listen to him either, thank goodness, for it really would annoy me if they did).
Anyway, the fact is, they don’t listen to anyone.
Mutual fear and loathing
So bad is it, indeed, that a considerable percentage of my weekly email inbox is from Executive parties attacking each other.
Which, when you think about, is treading on the toes of those of us paid to say nasty things about them.
Full power to the first Executive Committee devolved on December 2 1999, just over 25 years ago.
It managed to hang on until February 11 2000 (when a supposed promise from the IRA to decommission some arms didn’t materialise), was rebooted in May, down again briefly in August and September 2001, and then collapsed altogether in October 2002 because of the spy ring controversy.
But through all of that hoopla, including the DUP not sitting in the same room as Sinn Féin, the Executive did manage to get some useful work done.
So, when power was devolved again to the DUP/Sinn Féin-led Executive in May 2007, there was reason to hope that lessons had been learned from their previous experiences and that they would surprise both themselves and us by their willingness to work together in common cause.
In a piece at the time, I suggested that what was required from the Executive parties was courage: “If they can prove that the beating heart of the political process is capable of providing good government for everyone in Northern Ireland, capable of prioritising the major issues, and capable of delivering genuine, uncluttered power-sharing, then maybe, just maybe, they will send the most important message of all to those who still have huge and understandable reservations about the process.”
Yet here we are, 25 years on, and the final full year of the present mandate has begun with yet another stonking row between the DUP and Sinn Féin over a budget (and I won’t even get into the boat-load of narkiness hanging over from 2025).
On top of that, it’s quite obvious that all the parties are already in election mode, so there will be nothing in the way of compromise or goodwill.
At this point I wouldn’t even rule out the possibility of either the UUP or Alliance – maybe even both – shifting to opposition, if only to have something to set themselves apart from the other Executive parties in the run-up to May 2027.
To paraphrase somebody or other, if the centre can’t coalesce, then don’t be surprised if everybody else is knee-deep in despondency and increasing numbers of voters just stay at home.
Let’s be honest, what, precisely, is being offered to them by the main parties?
Is anyone – and I really do mean anyone at all – capable of putting their hand on their heart and saying, with a completely straight face, that they expect government to be better after May 2027 than it has been between December 1999 and January 14 2026?
For what it’s worth, I don’t believe that any of the Executive parties actually sets out to deliver poop rather than thought-through policy.
But nor do they make any particular effort to agree the sort of compromises required for good government.
Why should they, if poop isn’t followed by a huge drop-in electoral support?
So, on the basis that I’m not expecting anything to change in the next year, there’s not really much point in writing about the Executive again this side of the election (assuming it doesn’t collapse before then).
I would love to have a really good excuse to write something about it: that excuse being surprised by it doing something both different and positive.
As a self-described ‘happy pessimist’, I don’t mind if my pessimism is proved unjustified.
But I’m not expecting it to be.
BBC and RTÉ ‘could be scrapped in united Ireland’
GRÁINNE NÍ AODHA, Irish News, January 14th, 2026
A NEW public service broadcaster should be considered in the event of a united Ireland, researchers have said.
Such a new model would involve hubs in 10 areas across the island and draw on the assets, infrastructure and people of RTÉ and BBC Northern Ireland, the researcher from Ulster University and DCU argued.
An alternative media provision also had merit, the joint report said, where an all-island platform – eg, an iPlayer Ireland – could be established.
The report, launched today, examined whether BBC Northern Ireland would continue, whether RTÉ would take over, or if a new body should be set up in the event of a united Ireland.
The authors concluded that replicating the RTÉ/BBC funding structure would cause difficulties.
“We argue that achieving buy-in and support from the two main communities within NI will be more easily won if institutions are created afresh, rather than simply grafting on northern parts to their southern counterparts,” it said.
“Moreover, the persistent governance issues that RTÉ has faced in recent years means that a new start is preferable.”
It said that maintaining the status quo was “most likely a non-starter”, because the region of Northern Ireland would be outside the UK TV Licence framework in a reunified Ireland.
It said that TV licences that fund the BBC are not levied anywhere outside of the UK, but added that it was also unlikely that audiences in NI would lose access to BBC radio and television programmes.
Instead, it said that a new public service media in the event of Irish unity should be considered, provisionally called Public Media Ireland.
It said regional coverage would be “crucial” and suggested 10 regional journalism hubs – in Belfast, Derry, Enniskillen, Newry, Athlone, Galway, Limerick, Dublin, Waterford and Cork – that would cover cultural stories as well as news. It said such a new media organisation should be diverse and “decentralised” and based on a sustainable funding system.
Finnish funding alternative
The report warned of funding issues and TV licence fee evasion rates at RTÉ and the BBC, as well as political interference if direct funding was introduced, and recommended that a new media group be funded like the Finnish public media model.
This sees people pay 2.5% of their “total earned income and capital income” above €14,000, but the maximum payment is €163 per year.
The research, compiled by academics from Ulster University and Dublin City University, acknowledges that Irish reunification is not imminent or inevitable.
It also said that the media sector is likely to come further down the list of priorities for discussion and planning, after key priorities such as healthcare, taxation, policing and symbols of identity.
An author of the report, Dr Phil Ramsey from Ulster University, said the research “kickstarts a debate” on what the future of media might look like across Ireland.
“This is the beginning of a conversation, and we want interested parties to have their say on the recommendations.”
Dr Dawn Wheatley from Dublin City University, said: “It is impossible to say with certainty what might happen to public media should the reunification of Ireland ever occur.
“But in this report we suggest that public broadcasters play a vital role within democracies, and so they should not be overlooked in wider debates.”
Cushnahan opts not to give evidence in NAMA case
ASHLEIGH MCDONALD, Belfast Telegraph, January 14th, 2026
DEFENCE CONCLUDES CASE AS NAMA TRIAL ENTERS FINAL STAGES
A businessman charged with fraud arising from the proposed sale of the Northern Ireland loan book has opted not to give evidence at his trial, a court heard yesterday.
A defence barrister representing Frank Cushnahan told trial judge Madam Justice McBride: “My Lady, the defendant calls no evidence.”
After this admission, the senior judge asked Frank O'Donoghoe KC “have you advised your client that the stage has now been reached at which he may give evidence and if he chooses not to do so... the jury may draw such inferences as appear proper from the failure to do so?”
Mr O'Donoghoe replied: “I have.”
The fraud trial, which commenced at Belfast Crown Court last September, is now in its final stages.
The 84-year-old accused, from Alexandra Gate in Holywood, has been charged with and denies a single count of fraud.
The alleged offence relates to the sale of the Northern Ireland property loan book held by the National Assets Management Agency (NAMA).
The Agency was set up in the Republic of Ireland in 2009, following the property crash and banking crisis and its purpose was to take over billions of pounds of property development debts held by a number of banks.
Cushnahan was one of two people appointed as an external member of the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee (NIAC), which was set up by NAMA to advise in respect of the property debts in Northern Ireland.
He sat on the Committee from May 2010 until his resignation in November 2013.
It's the Crown's case that Cushnahan was “heavily involved” with American investment firm Pimco, who were potential purchasers of the Northern Ireland loan book, and that he was under a legal duty to disclose any conflict of interests he had, which he failed to do.
The charges he faces, and which the jury have to decide on, is that between April 1 and November 7, 2013, he dishonestly failed to disclose to the Northern Ireland Advisory Committee and the National Asset Management Agency information which he was under a legal duty to disclose, namely that he was providing assistance to Pimco with the proposed purchase of the Northern Ireland Loan Book from NAMA, with the intention, by failing to disclose the information to make a gain for himself or another.
After the jury of nine men and three women were informed that Cushnahan was not giving evidence, this concluded the defence's case.
Following this, Crown barrister Jonathan Kinnear KC addressed the jury and presented them with the prosecution's closing speech.
Telling the 12 members they were the “judges of the facts”, Mr Kinnear said it was now their task to “sift through the evidence” they have heard and to reach a verdict on the charge of fraud.
The Crown barrister told the jury “there are five key questions that you have to answer”, which he set out.
Key issues
The questions are:
⬤ Did Cushnahan provide assistance to Pimco with the proposed purchase?
⬤ Did Cushnahan fail to make a disclosure to NIAC/Nama?
⬤ In failing to make that disclosure, did Cushnahan intend to make a gain for himself or another?
⬤ Was Cushnahan under a legal duty to make the disclosure?
⬤ Did he act dishonestly?
Mr Kinnear also raised the issue of Cushnahan opting not to give evidence to the jury.
Whilst the prosecutor said Cushnahan was “not compelled” to do so, he suggested to the jury there were “a number of questions you may think you would like to have heard answers to”.
These questions, Mr Kinnear suggested, included why Cushnahan allegedly did not tell anyone at Nama or NIAC about his involvement with Pimco and whether this was because he wanted a share of the success fee.
Saying it was the Crown's case that Cushnanan was “silent” about this in 2013, Mr Kinnear said his continued silence in 2026 was “deafening.”
Teachers' workload next, says Givan after unions accept 4% pay increase
CHRISTOPHER LEEBODY, Belfast Telegraph, January 14th, 2026
Education Minister Paul Givan has said that tackling teachers' workload is next on his agenda, after a resolution on increased pay was agreed.
The unions representing teachers here have accepted a pay rise of 4% for 2025/26.
Mr Givan said the pay award “reflects the value that I place on those working in education”.
The pay rise will be backdated to September 1, 2025.
The agreement includes a 4% increase to all teacher salary scale points, with a 4% increase to teaching and special needs allowances.
The Department of Education said the pay increase will cost approximately £38.3m in 2025/26, with an annual recurring cost thereafter of £65.6m.
Mr Givan said the uplift will now see the starting salary for graduate teachers rise to £32,916, with an experienced teacher at the top of the upper pay scale moving to £50,876 — in line with salaries in England and Wales.
Unions welcomed the agreement and said their focus will now shift to reducing teachers' “excessive workload”.
Justin McCamphill, chair of the NI Teachers' Council, said: “The 4% consolidated uplift is a fair and necessary recognition of our members' dedication and hard work during a period of significant financial pressure.
“Our member unions conducted thorough consultations with their memberships, and the collective feedback has been clear. While the broader campaign for better funding and working conditions continues, this offer represents the best achievable outcome on pay for this year.”
Mark McTaggart, secretary of the NITC, added: “Acceptance of this pay offer provides welcome certainty for teachers and brings the 2025/26 pay round to a close.
Focus shifts to workload issues
“Our focus now shifts to ensuring the minister delivers on the parallel and critical agenda of reducing teacher workload. The recommendations of the Independent [Review of Teacher] Workload provide a clear blueprint for meaningful change, and we expect swift and tangible progress.”
Meanwhile, Joanne Whyte, NAHT NI president, said: “We welcome this cost-of-living pay uplift, which restores parity with colleagues in England.
“This outcome reflects the strength of our collective voice and the importance of constructive engagement. We acknowledge the minister's efforts within the Executive to make available the funds to provide this much-needed uplift.
“While this agreement provides some financial relief, it does not resolve the systemic challenges facing our profession.
“Our focus now turns to the host of other significant issues, including, of course, the intolerable levels of school leader workload and shortfalls in school funding, both of which continue to undermine the sustainability of school leadership.”
In recent years, schools have been disrupted by a series of industrial disputes over pay negotiations — though the new offer is separate from ongoing negotiations over workload issues.
Mr Givan welcomed the pay resolution, saying it represents a “further step forward in maintaining positive industrial relations between management and the teachers' unions”.
“Extensive work has taken place to offer a pay increase which is in line with the increase received by teachers in England and Wales,” he added.
“I am pleased that the five trade unions which make up the Northern Ireland Teachers' Council have now formally accepted this on behalf of their members.
“Today's pay award reflects the value that I place on those working in education, despite the severe financial issues facing education and the wider public sector in Northern Ireland.
“It firmly demonstrates my support for teachers and recognises the vital contribution they make to children's life chances.
“In addition to recognising their value through the pay award, I also want to assure teachers that I will respond to the Independent Review on Teacher Workload within the coming weeks.”
PSNI chief warns of £1bn bill over next decade to deal with legacy cases
By Jonathan McCambridge, Press Association, Belfast News Letter, January 14th, 2026
Police in Northern Ireland are facing a potential bill of £1 billion to deal with legacy cases in the next decade, PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has warned.
He told MPs that when the Patten Commission recommended the formation of the PSNI in 2001, there was no expectation it would still be dealing with Troubles cases a quarter of a century later.
The Labour Government's Northern Ireland Troubles Bill is currently at the committee stage in Westminster.
It will reform the structures established by the last Conservative government's contentious Legacy Act, including creating a reformed legacy commission with enhanced powers.
During an appearance before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee, Mr Boutcher said he believes Northern Ireland Secretary Hilary Benn is "incredibly well-intentioned" with regards to legacy.
However, he said he is worried about Schedule 4 of the Bill, which deals with how the PSNI is required to provide information to the legacy body.
He said the legal obligation on the force to categorise sensitive information and provide a determination on it could have a "collateral impact" in the confidence of families of victims in police.
He said: "I don't think we should do that. I don't see any grounds for it.
National security
"I don't see any grounds for it from national security perspective, and certainly with regards to trust and competence for communities, some of whom do not trust the PSNI.
"It will add to their concern around this process going forward."
Mr Boutcher also raised concerns about the cost to the PSNI of preparing cases for the new legacy body.
He said: "When the Patten Commission occurred, which created the PSNI almost 25 years ago, the structures, the accountability, the make-up of the organisation, with regards to recruitment, the oversight with regards the Policing Board, all put in place.
"Nothing was put in place around legacy.
"I don't think Lord Patten would have had any expectation that 25 years later, we'd be having these conversations.
"It was probably too difficult to deal with at the time."
The chief constable said the force is already short on resources, and having to do additional legacy work is a "double whammy".
He added: "It's costing us £24 million a year to just manage at the moment and this will increase the volume of our work significantly, and we have no money in the Executive to provide the PSNI to do that.
"So there will be delays, there will be mistakes, and it will reinforce the narrative that the police are not to be trusted, when actually we're doing our best."
Mr Boutcher also discussed legacy cases the PSNI is investigating which do not fall under the remit of the legacy commission.
He said: "I've talked about 197 cases, 71 of those were during the Troubles period, but they're not Troubles-related that we're reviewing, investigating.
"The others are 1998-2004, that is a significant commitment that we're not funded for.
"We think that's £60 million, but because of civil litigation, because of compensation, we think that that could go towards £1 billion over the next 10 years.
"It's £1 billion we haven't got.
"So unless we come up with some framework to deal with that, the PSNI will still have this anchor holding us back from moving forward.
"Let's focus on the legacy commission and what we can do to get the structures right."
Ulster Banner row: Former UK sports minister says time may have come to replace Conal Heatley as Team NI leader
By Adam Kula, Belfast News Letter, January 14th, 2026
A former UK sports minister has criticised the chief executive of Northern Ireland’s Commonwealth Games team, saying that this week’s row over the squad’s flag shows it may be a time for a change in leadership.
Kate Hoey, who was Labour’s minister for sport from 1999 to 2001, was among those reacting to the news today that Commonwealth Games Northern Ireland Ltd (or CGNI, which organises Team NI’s participation in the 2026 Glasgow games) will not be changing the flag under which its athletes compete after all.
Its leader Conal Heatley had indicated on Monday that, unless directed otherwise by politicians, he planned to replace the Ulster Banner at the upcoming games with a more “inclusive” flag (possibly the logo of Team NI).
But after DUP sports minister Gordon Lyons responded by issuing “clear and unequivocal guidance” that the flag should stay, a scheduled meeting of the CGNI board last night decided that the flag will be kept.
Baroness Hoey (a former Labour MP who has sat as a non-affiliated peer since 2020) told the News Letter: “I welcome the announcement from the CGNI that the Ulster Banner will remain the flag for Commonwealth athletes participating in Glasgow.
"However the handling of this issue by the chief executive calls into question his judgement.
"The Commonwealth Games is a sporting event for Commonwealth countries and the head of the Commonwealth is King Charles.
"The Ulster Banner is a flag traditionally used to represent Northern Ireland not just in sport but in many other ways.
Unwarranted distraction
"The decision of Conal Heatley, the chief executive of CGNI, was totally unnecessary and would have distracted from their real purpose to prepare a well-organised and successful team for Glasgow.
"I have yet to meet one athlete in Northern Ireland who has refused to be part of the team because of the banner.
"Indeed the pictures over the years show medal-winners from all backgrounds with the flag wrapped around them.
"It is a shame that as chief executive he allowed such a wonderful event to be trivialised by this nonsense, and the board should hold him to account.
"Maybe it is time for a new broom at the CGNI who is interested in promoting sport rather than trying to politicise and divide our community.
"The sports minister was quite right to reject his proposal.”
Following its meeting on Tuesday night, the CGNI board issued the following statement: “The CGNI board and member sports are representative of the wider Northern Ireland community.
"We will continue to promote equality, diversity and inclusion in all we do, in line with our motto ‘One Community, One Team’.
"Since November 2020, CGNI has been asking the Northern Ireland government for guidance regarding which flag should be flown at the Commonwealth Games.
"Following extensive media coverage on Monday, January 12, 2026, Mr Gordon Lyons MLA provided such guidance.
"The minister for communities, who holds the portfolio for sport, offered ‘clear and unequivocal guidance’ and stated ‘for the avoidance of doubt, and to reiterate on the guidance which you have sought, the Ulster Banner should be used as the flag for Northern Ireland athletes at the Commonwealth Games’.
"We note this guidance which will be implemented.”
When criticism of his stance was put to Mr Heatley, he reiterated that there will be no comment beyond the statement above.
Following the CGNI statement, minister Lyons told the News Letter: “I do not support any change to the use of the Ulster Banner for athletes from Northern Ireland competing at the Commonwealth Games.
"I have written to CGNI to make this position clear.
"As witnessed at the Olympic Games in Paris, our athletes were proud to represent Northern Ireland and I believe they are proud to represent Northern Ireland on the Commonwealth stage too.
"Our focus should be on providing athletes with the support they need to be successful, rather than seeking to change the long standing and widely accepted status quo.”
A day earlier, TUV MP Jim Allister had said that he did not believe the CGNI’s Articles of Association (basically its founding charter) gave it the authority to change the flag, saying that its powers were limited to sporting matters only.
Mr Heatley had responded: “Many people are saying many things with zero knowledge of who we are, or what we do.
"For clarity, CGNI is a private company, and private companies manage their own affairs.
"No-one is trying to make constitutional change!
“Strangely, we’ve never been inundated with emails from Mr Allister to enquire how he could potentially help the team or our athletes!”
