Dublin and London must untie legacy knot together
The Stormont House Agreement in 2014 sought to find a way forward on legacy
Denis Bradley, Irish News, July 4th, 2025
MY preference would be not to write this article. It is ground that has been trampled and overworked… BUT.
I once described the issue of the past, victims, justice and truth as having turned into a swamp that gobbles up and suffocates everyone and every proposal that dares enter the terrain.
But it is also a bit cowardly to opt out of a matter just because it has become so entangled that it is nigh impossible to untie.
In failure there is also learning. It reveals what hasn’t or can’t work and provides some pointers to what might have a more positive outcome.
So, there is plenty that we have already learned.
We know that the mantra – most favoured by politicians – that the process must be victim-led is not just unrealistic but is also naive, perhaps even cruel.
It is akin to asking the chronically ill to communally devise a treatment regime.
Sensitivity to and learning from victims is right and proper, but asking them devise a solution is really only self-protection by the political establishment.
‘The overarching learning from the past is that the British should not and cannot do it alone.’
There was a victims’ forum for years which did good work but also revealed that victims are as divided amongst themselves as are the political parties and the general public.
Victims, in their hurt and disappointment, can be excused for not being able to agree a way forward or even settling on a definition of what a victim is.
The same excuse cannot be granted to politicians.
At a few inflection moments in examining and constructing a way to deal with the past, the British government insisted that the political parties here had to have ownership of the process.
That appeared positive for a day or two after the Stormont House Agreement, until some of the parties walked away and the agreement collapsed. It is still collapsed.
When the past is viewed through the lens of an individual or a single family, it is possible to envisage a satisfactory justice or truth-revealing response.
Seen through the lens of thousands of deaths and greater numbers of injured, the responses are more complex and difficult.
For a time, there was a supposition that some cases would represent a coterie of other cases.
A Canadian judge was appointed to decide what cases might represent and address the issue of collusion on both sides of the border.
That had limited success and we have ended up with the conundrum that every case gets a judicial inquiry or no case gets one.
The individualistic response is even more destructive at governmental level.
That learning was stark when the last Conservative government introduced a Legacy Bill that was obviously directed at the demands of the security forces rather than at the needs of all who had been touched by 40 years of violence.
Absentee Government
Equally stark is the historical reluctance of the Irish government to immerse itself in our Troubles.
‘Keep it up there’ is the crude attitude of Irish Foreign Affairs and perhaps even more so by the historically powerful Department of Justice.
Which brings us up to present times, when the Labour government is proposing new legislation.
The overarching learning from the past, and even more so from the Good Friday Agreement itself, from policing, decommissioning, is that the British should not and cannot do it alone.
The two governments need to underwrite the way forward.
Together they need to lay out what is possible and what is not. Obfuscation and confusion unties no knots.
We have been told that the ICRIR, established by the last government and presently fighting for credibility, is going to be retained.
If that is the case, then it needs to be the settled mind of both governments.
There can be no parameters to its power to go where ‘no man has gone before’.
Not even the favoured mantra of ‘national security’ can be allowed to further tighten the knot.
82% of PSNI applicants are from east of Bann
Call for ‘renewal’ of force as figures also show almost 90% of officers live in mainly unionist districts
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, July 4th, 2025
THERE have been fresh calls for “serious renewal” of the PSNI after it emerged more than 80% of potential recruits live in mainly unionist council districts east of the Bann.
Details of the latest cross-community disparity emerged as PSNI figures also reveal that almost 90% of all police officers live in traditionally unionist areas.
Historically, areas east of the River Bann are predominantly unionist, while west of the demographic dividing line have a majority nationalist population.
SDLP Policing Board member Mark H Durkan has now said “policing and the rule of law” need “serious renewal”. His comments come after party leader Claire Hanna called for a review of the PSNI and voiced concern that policing has drifted from the reforms introduced by the Patten Commission.
The Independent Commission on Policing for Northern Ireland, chaired by Chris Patten, established sweeping reforms in the years after the 1998 Good Friday Agreement.
Catholic applicants still falling
PSNI statistics confirm that the numbers of Catholics and nationalists willing to join the PSNI continues to fall.
As of April 1, the total number of serving officers was 6,353, with civilian staff comprising 2,405.
Catholics comprise 32% of the officer total, with the figure for members of the Protestant community sitting at 66%.
Just 18% of civilian staff are from a Catholic background compared to 78% from the Protestant community.
The PSNI’s approach to dealing with the past is cited by some as a factor in its rejection by many nationalists.
A recently published Policing Board survey revealed that Catholics are less likely to believe the PSNI represents their community.
The survey results emerged days after The Irish News revealed that Catholics made up just over 17% of new recruits to the force.
Figures provided to Policing Board member Peter Osborne and discussed at last month’s meeting show that 82% of 2025 applicants to the PSNI are from council districts located east of the Bann, while 87% of officers also reside in those areas.
These include Causeway Coast and Glens and Armagh, Banbridge and Craigavon (ABC) council areas, which straddle the east-west split, with the strongly nationalist Newry, Mourne and Down local authority counted as west of the Bann.
The recently released figures show that 16% of all 2025 applicants to join the force live in the unionist Ards and North Down area – the highest number per council district in the north.
The percentage of PSNI officers who live in the district sits at 21%, again, the highest total in the north.
Ten per cent of those seeking to join the PSNI this year reside in the Lisburn and Castlereagh council area, with the total number of serving officers living there at 14%.
The number of hopefuls and serving officers who live in the ABC council district is 12%.
The greatest concentration of the north’s population is east of the Bann, which includes Belfast with a population of almost 350,000 people.
Police figures show that 13% of applicants and 8% of police officers currently reside there.
At the lower end of the table, which includes predominately nationalist districts, the total number of recruits is 19%, while 13% of the PSNI officer workforce reside there.
Mid-Ulster and Derry show lowest participation rates
Just 4% of applicants to the PSNI live in the Mid Ulster and Derry and Strabane council areas, while the number of serving officers who live in both districts is 2%.
The number of applicants and serving officers who live in Fermanagh and Omagh sits at 5%.
Applications from Newry Mourne and Down came in at 6%, with 4% of the officer total residing in the area.
Commenting on the figures, Mr Durkan said change is now needed.
“Policing and the rule of law needs serious renewal just as proposed by Claire Hanna…a month ago. The executive needs to stop its prevarication on funding 7,000 officers by 2028.
“London and Dublin need to recognise that as things stand their more and more common legacy proposals will compound the recruitment challenge.”
The PSNI did not respond directly to Mr Durkan’s call for “renewal”.
At last month’s Policing Board meeting a senior official told members “all council areas had a representative application coming into the recruitment process”.
She added that police are “closing the gap in Mid Ulster, Newry, Mourne and Down and Derry and Strabane, adding that there is a “greater percentage of people applying from these areas than we have got currently in the organisation”.
Former senior PSNI detective fears he’s ‘unfinished business’ for the New IRA
John Cassidy, Irish News, July 4th, 2025
A FORMER senior PSNI detective who survived a New IRA murder bid still fears he is a target for dissident republicans, a court has heard.
John Caldwell was shot by two gunmen in front of his son and left seriously injured in Omagh in February 2023.
Now retired due to medical reasons, Mr Caldwell, who was 48 at the time of the attack, attended a hearing via videolink yesterday.
Three Derry men previously admitted possessing a document claiming responsibility for the murder bid.
They are Caolan Robert Brogan (25), from Bluebellhill Gardens, Tiarnan McFadden (27), from Carnhill; and a third man from Derry who cannot be named due to a reporting restriction.
At yesterday’s plea hearing, a senior prosecutor said the charge the defendants had pleaded guilty to charges that arose out of the attempted murder of DCI Caldwell.
“Not only was that clearly a claim of responsibility for the attempt to kill John Caldwell, but it also gave a chilling expression of terrorist intent in respect of future attacks.
“No doubt there is a clear intention to kill other members of the security forces.”
Judge Gordon Kerr KC was told that Mr Caldwell had prepared a victim impact statement for the hearing.
‘Living in constant fear’
He wrote: “I live in constant fear of being attacked. In my mind I am thinking will I be attacked today? Is this the last day my wife and son will see me alive?
Former senior PSNI officer John Caldwell, who survived a New IRA shooting in February 2023 in Omagh. Right, Caolan Brogan at Belfast Crown Court yesterday, where he had previously pleaded guilty along with two others after admitting possessing a document that claimed responsibility for the attempted murder of Mr Caldwell
“The fear of a further attack on me is immeasurable. I feel that in terms of the New IRA I am unfinished business. A number of persons have been charged in relation to my attack.
“A further attack leaves me very vulnerable.”
The court heard that less than two hours after DCI Caldwell was shot, and before details became public, McFadden made fun of the attack online.
He uploaded an image of a ball hitting the back of a net on Facebook with the caption “Anyone fancy a kickabout”, according to the senior prosecutor.
He shared a video of police vans travelling to the scene of the shooting, along with the comment “What’s the rush?” and a laughing emoji.
When someone else online suggested they were late for their dinner, McFadden replied: “Must have missed a football match or something.”
A further comment referred to looking for a sieve.
The prosecutor said: “Clearly the intention in possessing this article was to disseminate it publicly and electronically to take responsibility for the actions and to disseminate that future threat.”
He added that not only was culpability high but the harm in the case was also high.
“Firstly, the obvious impact it has had on the victim of the original attack. Secondly, the chilling effect it has had for other officers and sections of the public,” he said.
The hearing was adjourned until August for defence submissions.
‘No intervention’ instruction during race riots not issued by me - Boutcher
Connla Young, Crime and Security Correspondent, Irish News, July 4th, 2025
PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has said an order to officers not to intervene during last month’s race riots in Co Derry did not come from him.
Concerns were raised by west Belfast MLA Gerry Carroll after The Irish News revealed that a senior officer in the Causeway Coast and Glens district had emailed colleagues.
It is believed the correspondence was in response to criticism of police after footage showed a PSNI officer standing with a hand in his pocket as masked and hooded men dragged wheelie bins onto a burning barricade across the main Derry to Belfast railway line in Coleraine.
One man was filmed casually pushing a large blue bin past two PSNI officers as he made his way to a burning barricade at a level crossing close to the local train station.
Another masked man was also filmed dragging a green wheelie bin in the direction of the barricade.
Sources say a riot squad unit was positioned in an Asda carpark just over one mile away, but the specially trained Tactical Support Group officers were not tasked to help their colleagues.
In the email, a chief inspector said she was “aware of various social media posts regarding our response over the last few days.
“These posts do not capture the bigger picture,” she said.
The senior officer referred to Article Two of the European Convention on Human Rights, which protects the right to life.
No unecessary risk
“It is important for you to understand our expectations – unless there is an obvious Art 2 issue – we do not expect you to expose yourself to significant risk unnecessarily,” she said.
The senior officer then provided a long list of potential risks including “environment, numbers of people, hazards, inadequate resources, equipment”.
The footage was posted online after concerns were raised about the PSNI response to race riots in Ballymena, Co Antrim.
Officers in high-viz jackets could be seen failing to intervene as several homes were attacked by a frenzied mob in the Clonavon Terrace area of the town.
At a meeting of the Policing Board yesterday, Mr Boutcher was asked by Sinn Féin MLA Linda Dillon if the ‘no intervention’ instruction was issued “across all districts”.
Mr Boutcher replied that “in a particular local instance a senior officer, because of the nature of what we were seeing, did advise officers not to intervene unless there was a risk to life,” he said.
“And when you have an escalating situation like this, I can understand those comments.
“That was a localised comment, probably because as well, contributed to by the fact that not sufficient resources were available to go to assist officers.”
Mr Boutcher added that he “saw some reporting about that – that wasn’t something that came from me”.
Culture Wars: - When language becomes Signage
DUP leader Gavin Robinson says application was lodged for Irish language sign at his east Belfast office
Amy Cochrane, Belfast Telegraph, July 4th, 2025
DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said those behind an application to erect an Irish language sign on his east Belfast constituency office are engaging in “political agitation”.
The East Belfast MP was discussing the rise in applications for Irish language signs — notably the controversy surrounding signage at Grand Central station in Belfast, when he referenced the bid to put one up at his Belmont Avenue base.
Speaking on the latest episode of the podcast Stormont Sources, he said: “Belfast City Council has this really bizarre signage policy that 15% can push for a sign that would be objected to or resisted by 85%.
“Somebody has applied to put one of those signs on my office in east Belfast.
“That is someone who is making a mockery and trying to inject political agitation around what they say is just a normal linguistic aspiration for a part of our community that engage in this culture.”
The council's dual-language street sign policy states that each application undergoes an initial assessment for potential impacts on equality, good relations, and rural needs, with any concerns referred to the committee.
In March, a DUP proposal to exempt 10 streets in Belfast — including Belmont Avenue where Mr Robinson's office is located — was rejected by the council.
However, according to the council's website, Belmont Avenue did not meet the 15% threshold as of June 2025.
Judicial Review for Grand Central
Last week a High Court judge granted DUP Minister Gordon Lyons permission to provide evidence to a judicial review of a decision to install dual language signage at Grand Central Station.
Despite warnings from Irish language advocacy groups, the signage was not installed when the station was originally built, with Infrastructure Minister Liz Kimmins introducing the move retrospectively at a cost of £150,000. Following criticism from unionist politicians, loyalist activist Jamie Bryson applied for a judicial review into the Department for Infrastructure (DfI)'s decision and was granted leave to do so in May.
This week, Tracy Kelly — the DUP's first female lord mayor in Belfast — made headlines after removing a portrait of Irish president Michael D Higgins from the Lord Mayor's parlour at City Hall. Defending Ms Kelly, Mr Robinson said the public are being “spoon-fed” a grievance against the portrait being taken down and that the same thing will happen next year when a new mayor is installed.
He added: “If people want to be offended, if people want to go out of their way and manufacture a grievance or even better than that get spoon-fed a grievance by the commentariat that love reducing these things then great, lap it up.
“It won't do any good for your own well-being and it'll only encourage a huge dose of hypocrisy next year when the office changes and the same thing happens in reverse and then you will feign outrage that anyone would ever question the integrity of any change when it happens every year.”
It is not the first dispute over portraits in the Lord Mayor's parlour. In 2011, Sinn Fein's Niall Ó Donnghaile upset unionists by removing pictures of the Queen Mother and the then Prince Charles.
An image of the 1916 Proclamation and a portrait of United Irishmen were introduced instead.
Belfast City Council was approached for comment on the bid to erect an Irish language sign on Mr Robinson's office.
Marian Price issues legal bid over ‘Say Nothing’ McConville murder claims
Connla Young, Irish News, July 4th, 2025
VETERAN republican Marian Price has issued formal legal proceedings against Walt Disney and a production company for defamation after she was depicted killing mother-of-10 Jean McConville over 50 years ago.
Ms Price, who is also known as Marian McGlinchey, has previously denied firing the shots that killed the widowed mother.
Ms Price was accused of the murder in a nine-part Disney+ series, ‘Say Nothing’, which focuses on the life of her sister Dolours Price.
The pair were convicted for their part in the IRA car-bomb attack on London’s Old Bailey in 1973.
Mrs McConville was abducted, shot dead and secretly buried by the IRA in 1972.
Her remains were discovered buried on a Co Louth beach in 2000.
Solicitors for Ms Price say they have launched proceedings against Walt Disney and Minim Productions.
Victoria Haddock, of Phoenix Law, said her client “should not be placed in the position of having to take formal legal action to vindicate her reputation”.
“Despite multiple opportunities to address the defamatory content of the ‘Say Nothing’ series, Disney and Minim Productions have failed to take any step to do so,” she said.
“There is no justification for making abhorrent accusations under the guise of entertainment and we will be seeking to hold all responsible parties to account.”
Bizarre case torpedoed a career, ate up valuable court time — and exposed nothing
SMILE ON FACE OF DAITHÍ MCKAY OUTSIDE LAGANSIDE COURT HOUSE TOLD ITS OWN STORY
Liam Tunney, Belfast Telegraph, July 4th, 2025
A smiling McKay told journalists he was “happily retired” from a political career that saw the North Antrim man earmarked for a potential ministerial future. Looking back, 2015 must seem like a lifetime ago.
The moment co-accused Thomas O'Hara adjusted his blazer, broke into a smile and thanked an exasperated Judge Gordon Kerr KC for his not guilty verdict kickstarted the final chapter of this sorry saga as all three defendants walked out of the gates as innocent men.
The trial itself lasted almost seven weeks, much of it repetition of the same lines from both defence and prosecution. At this point all present could probably recite tomes from the 140 messages exchanged between the men.
This was a highly unusual trial in many ways. The defendants — with the exception of Mr O'Hara — were relaxed throughout, chatting contently with media and legal staff as the case progressed.
Mr McKay didn't take the stand even in the face of damning evidence from his former Sinn Fein colleague, who was accompanied by a registered intermediary and had to listen to an embarrassing dissection of his intellect from his own legal team.
Bryson lapped up media attention
Mr Bryson, on the other hand, revelled in the spotlight. He was warned on several occasions by Judge Kerr to be more concise, but his input brought colour to a trial that was fading into dry obscurity.
There were lighter moments too. With both their legal teams squeezed into a lift returning from lunch one afternoon, Mr Bryson quipped: “This looks like a conspiracy.”
Even more so when the doors opened on the second floor and lead prosecutor Toby Hedworth was confronted with his cross-court adversaries. “I think I'll get the next one,” he offered.
Both McKay and Bryson took the opportunity during their victory lap to lash out at the Public Prosecution Service (PPS), who the former said had “massive questions” to answer.
One of those questions could be whether the time spent reliving the political drama of Stormont past could have been better spent clearing some of the more pressing criminal trials enmeshed in a system struggling to cope.
Another could be whether the money spent on fulfilling this trial could have found a home elsewhere in the justice system, or even whether a trial that appeared doomed to failure from an early stage should have even made it into a courtroom.
The PPS defended its decision to proceed, saying yesterday it was satisfied the available evidence provided a “reasonable prospect of conviction”.
Yet, billed as a political show trial, this case never got close to opening up any awkward details for anyone within the Stormont system.
It exposed virtually nothing of note.
Instead it sucked up valuable time and resources. It ruined a promising political career and subjected a low-level party activist to an excruciating public humiliation.
The public has been left none the wiser, and the public purse significantly lighter. Ultimately, the main question on everyone's lips was “what was the point?”
Lyons: GAA has to consider a ‘strategic need’ for Casement
Executive still waiting on clarification of terms of British government’s £50m contribution, says DUP minister
David Young, Irish News, July 4th, 2025
The GAA needs to consider its “strategic need” around the redevelopment of Casement Park in the face of the project’s ongoing funding gap, the sports minister has said.
Gordon Lyons said the executive was also still awaiting clarification from the UK government on the terms of the £50 million financial contribution to the rebuild of the west Belfast stadium that was announced in last month’s Spending Review.
The government has said the money will be offered as an equity stake and will not have to be repaid.
Plans for a £270 million, 34,000-capacity stadium have been mired in uncertainty because of a major funding shortfall.
The £50 million provided by the government has not bridged that gap, which remains at an estimated £100 million if the redevelopment was to proceed as currently envisaged by the GAA.
Stormont ministers committed £62.5 million to Casement in 2011, as part of a strategy to revamp it along with soccer’s Windsor Park and the rugby ground at Ravenhill.
While the two other Belfast-based projects went ahead, the redevelopment of Casement was delayed for several years because of legal challenges by local residents.
The estimated build cost spiralled in the interim. While planning permission has since been secured, the money committed to the rebuild is not currently enough to deliver it.
As well as the Stormont contribution of £62.5 million and the UK government’s £50 million, the Irish government has offered roughly £42 million and the GAA has pledged to contribute at least £15 million.
Mr Lyons was asked how he intended to progress the project as he faced questions from members of his assembly scrutiny committee at Stormont yesterday.
Lack of clarity
“The first thing that we need, and what we don’t have, is clarity on exactly what this money (from the UK government) is and what this means,” he said.
“I know that discussions are ongoing between DoF (Stormont’s Department of Finance) and the Treasury, but I think it’s fair to say that we don’t have clarity on exactly what that means, what that means in terms of debt, what that means in terms of equity. So that is something that will need to be bottomed out. But other work can go on in the meantime.”
He added: “The finance minister (John O’Dowd) has requested a meeting with me, which I would like to bottom out some of the issues around exactly what that means, because it’s not simple and it’s not straightforward, and we’ll hear, I’m sure, more of this soon. We need to figure that out.
“Secondly, I think the GAA, and I know they’re taking time to consider this, but I think the GAA need to consider what this means for their plans. I think they need to consider their strategic need and what way they want to take this forward, and if they’re committed to what is still on the table.
“We haven’t had anyone reach out yet in relation to that – in terms of a meeting with me personally – but certainly that engagement can absolutely continue, and let’s get those issues bottomed out.”
The committee was told that engagement between officials in Mr Lyon’s department and the GAA was continuing.
Objections from local residents delayed the redevelopment of Casement Park for several years, resulting in the GAA ground standing empty and the cost of the proposed build to construct a 34,000-capacity stadium, spiralling
Elizabeth Emblems to honour 34 people who lost their lives in line of duty in NI
Mark Bain, Belfast Telegraph, July 4th, 2025
POSTHUMOUS AWARD ACKNOWLEDGES THE 'ULTIMATE SACRIFICE' OF PUBLIC SERVANTS
The families of 34 people from Northern Ireland who died in the line of duty are to receive national recognition with the award of an Elizabeth Emblem.
The honour scheme, launched last year and conferred by King Charles, acknowledges the sacrifice of police officers, firefighters and public servants.
Across the UK the families of 106 families people who lost their lives are to receive the honour in what is only the second ever list of Elizabeth Emblem recipients to be published.
The high proportion from Northern Ireland includes many families whose loved ones were killed during the Troubles.
Among those named in the list of recipients is Brian Armour from the NI Prison Service, who was serving at the Maze when he was killed on October 4, 1988 by the IRA who had planted a bomb under his car. John Doherty, of the Royal Ulster Constabulary will also be honoured. He was visiting his mother in Ardnasool, near Lifford, Co Donegal when he was ambushed and shot dead by the IRA on October 28, 1973.
An Elizabeth Emblem — the civilian equivalent of the Elizabeth Cross, which recognises members of the Armed Forces who died in action or as a result of a terrorist attack — will also be presented to the family of William Ivan Toombs.
He had been working for HM Customs and Excise in his office at Warrenpoint Harbour when members of the IRA entered and fired handguns at point blank range on January 16, 1981.
RUC Reserve Constable Robert Struthers is also included in the list. He had been working in the office of his full-time employer, Lorne Electric Ltd in Londonderry, when two armed men entered and shot him on June 16, 1978.
The families of two more RUC reserve constables will also be honoured. Margaret Cherry Campbell, who died on November 21, 1975 had been investigating a road traffic accident on the main Londonderry to Limavady road when she attempted to stop a passing car, which swerved, stuck another vehicle which then stuck her. And RUC reserve constable Wallace Allen who had been working in his regular job, driving a lorry for Milk Marketing Board in South Armagh, when he was shot by the IRA and his body taken. He died on August 31, with his remains located two weeks later on September 12.
The family of firefighter John Nicholl, who was working to bring a blaze under control at a disused shop on August 27, 1976 when the building collapsed and trapped him inside, will be receiving the award in recognition of his sacrifice.
It will also be presented to the loved ones of PSNI officer Philippa Reynolds who died after a stolen car crashed into a police patrol vehicle in February 2013.
Lasting memory
Chief Constable Jon Boutcher said the Elizabeth Emblem was “a lasting memory” of officers' bravery.
“It is a poignant and powerful symbol of national gratitude - a recognition not only of the officers' ultimate sacrifice, but also of the pain their loved ones have been left behind to process and carry,” he said.
Secretary of State, Hilary Benn, who this week marks a year in office, said the nation owes “a huge debt of gratitude to all of the public servants who will posthumously receive this honour.
“I want to personally thank the families of those police officers, firefighters and other public servants from Northern Ireland who are recognised for their bravery and service,” he added.
“Your loved ones made the ultimate sacrifice to protect the wider community, many during the deeply traumatic period of the Troubles, and for that we will be forever grateful.”
Two Executive ministers also added their appreciation.
Justice Minister Naomi Long, said: “We owe a great debt to those who lost their lives as a result of their public service. I am pleased to see the first recipients of the Elizabeth Emblem in Northern Ireland named today. It is a fitting testament to the dedication of those police officers and prison officers in Northern Ireland who lost their lives in the course of their duty, and to their families.”
Health Minister Mike Nesbitt acknowledged “the profound sacrifice” of the two late firefighters, “whose deaths occurred many years ago but whose courage remains deeply respected."
In addition to 34 people from Northern Ireland the list of recipients includes 63 from England, eight from Scotland and one from Wales.
The Emblem's design incorporates a rosemary wreath, a traditional symbol of remembrance, which surrounds the Tudor Crown. It is inscribed with 'For A Life Given In Service', and will have the name of the person for whom it is in memoriam inscribed on the reverse.
Lyons ‘deeply concerned’ by Climate Act implications
But DUP minister still unable to say what they will be
John Manley, Political Correspondent, Irish News, July 4th,
Minister Gordon Lyons has said he doesn’t know what implications Stormont’s climate change legislation will have on housebuilding, despite telling MLAs he is “deeply concerned”.
The Department of Communities has also declined to elaborate on the concerns Mr Lyons spoke about earlier this week in the assembly or disclose the legal advice he cited in relation to the impact of the Climate Change Act for “anything that we seek to build”.
On Monday, in response to a question from his DUP colleague Trevor Clarke, the minister indicated that last week’s A5 court ruling would have consequences for housebuilding.
He criticised political rivals who supported the 2022 climate action legislation, describing it as a “mistake” that was “driven by ideology”.
High Court judge Mr Justice McAlinden quashed an executive decision to approve the £1.2 billion A5 road upgrade on the basis that the proposals did not demonstrate how they complied with the Climate Change Act, which set targets net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.
But Mr Lyon’s department has been unable to specify what the concerns were or to elaborate on the legal advice the minister had sought regarding the implications of the A5 court ruling.
He was also asked about the matter at yesterday’s communities committee.
‘We don’t know’
“This will have wide-ranging consequences – we just don’t know how wide-ranging at this moment in time,” the minister said.
“We’ve had conversations with DSO (departmental solicitors office) and I’ve taken other legal advice on this, and at the minute, the answer is, we don’t know.”
Under the legislation, there’s an expectation that the north’s housing stock will be transformed in terms of energy efficiency through retrofitting and enhanced standards for new builds.
Agriculture and Environment Minister Andrew Muir said the delivery of major infrastructure projects and climate legislation were “not incompatible but collective cross governmental commitment to climate action is essential”.
“This is not the time to renege on our climate commitments,” he said.
“Together we must drive forward climate action and embrace the benefits of decarbonisation such as lower energy bills from investing in renewables and better insulation of our homes.”
SDLP MLA Mark H Durkan described the communities minister’s remarks as “distraction tactics”.
“The issue is not climate legislation, which is essential, but rather the failure of the NI Executive to get the basics right when planning and delivering major projects,” the Foyle representative said.
“It is particularly rich for Gordon Lyons to be blaming others when he himself admitted he would miss his social housing target just weeks after the target was announced.”
