One of Disappeared was abducted, killed and secretly buried at least two years after it was initially thought he was murdered

By John Breslin, Irish News, April 14th, 2025

Fresh appeal for information on the IRA murder and secret burial of Seamus Maguire

One of the Disappeared was abducted, killed and secretly buried at least two years after it was initially thought he was murdered, investigators said on Sunday.

The team tasked with recovering the remains of Seamus Maguire revealed the later date as a fresh appeal was launched for information on the location of his remains.

Mr Maguire, from Aghagallon near Lurgan, was, in 2022, the last to be added to the list of those disappeared by the IRA and, in the case of Seamus Ruddy, the INLA.

Investigators are “convinced” someone has a “vital piece” of information about his disappearance.

The Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains (ICLVR) said it was initially thought that he disappeared sometime around 1973-1974.

The Disappeared are Eamon Molloy, Brian McKinney, Danny McIlhone, Gerry Evans, Seamus Wright, Peter Wilson, Eugene Simons, Seamus Ruddy, Robert Nairac, Brendan Megraw, Kevin McKee, Jean McConville, Joe Lynskey, Charlie Armstrong, Columba McVeigh, John McClory and Seamus Maguire.

However, investigators now know Seamus Maguire spent time in Manchester before returning to the north. He was killed and secretly buried in the Aghagallon/Derryclone area in 1976 aged 29, the ICLVR said.

It is believed his death was as a result of republican paramilitary activity though it is not yet clear which wing of the IRA was involved, the group added.

Investigator Mark Pickard, who is leading the Seamus Maguire investigation since joining the ICLVR in 2023, said no specific search site within the Aghagallon/ Derryclone area has yet to be identified by the ICLVR.

“We have been working steadily to resolve the issue of Seamus’ disappearance using all the resources available to the Commission but this is a complex case dating back nearly 50 years and as ever in these circumstances we do need more information,” Mr Pickard said.

Complex Case

Jon Hill, of the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims’ Remains, stands besides excavators at Bragan Bog near Emyvale in Co Monaghan, near where Columba McVeigh is believed buried (Liam McBurney/PA)

A new image of Mr Maguire also has been released in the hope it “might jog someone’s memory and move us on”.

Mr Pickard added: “As with all our cases our interest is purely humanitarian and all information that comes to us is treated in the strictest confidence and will not be passed to any enforcement body and will be used solely to help us find Seamus’ remains and to bring them home to his family.”

The commission is “convinced that someone somewhere has a vital piece of information in relation to his disappearance even though they might not be aware of its significance”.

Mr Pickard said: “We need them to come forward and help end the decades of pain that the Maguire family have suffered”.

Anyone with information on the four outstanding Disappeared cases —Joe Lynskey, Columba McVeigh, Robert Nairac and Seamus Maguire— should contact the ICLVR on +353 1 602 8655 or Secretary@iclvr.ie or ICLVR PO Box 10827 Dublin, Ireland.

All information is treated in the strictest confidence.

Fresh appeal to find Disappeared victim

David Young, Belfast Telegraph, April 14th, 2025

An investigator tasked with finding one of the Disappeared has appealed for the “vital piece” of information that will help end the bereaved family's five decades of pain.

Seamus Maguire, who was 29 and from Aghagallon near Lurgan, was murdered and secretly buried by republicans during the mid-1970s.

He is one of four people whose remains are still being searched for by the Independent Commission for the Location of Victims' Remains (ICLVR).

The ICLVR has issued a fresh appeal in Mr Maguire's case, as it revealed it did not yet have sufficient information to identify any potential search site.

While it was initially thought Mr Maguire was killed in either 1973 or 1974, the commission has now established that he was murdered in 1976 when he returned to Northern Ireland after spending time in Manchester.

The commission said he was secretly buried in the Aghagallon/Derryclone area.

Investigators said it was not clear which wing of the IRA was involved in the murder.

Case was referred to ICLVR in 2022

Mark Pickard, who heads up the Maguire investigation, said that work has been ongoing on the case since it was referred to the commission by the PSNI in 2022.

He said a specific search site within the Aghagallon/Derryclone area has yet to be identified by the commission.

“We have been working steadily to resolve the issue of Seamus's disappearance using all the resources available to the commission, but this is a complex case dating back nearly 50 years and, as ever in these circumstances, we do need more information,” he said.

“With this appeal, we are issuing a photograph of Seamus which we hope might jog someone's memory and move us on.

“As with all our cases, our interest is purely humanitarian and all information that comes to us is treated in the strictest confidence and will not be passed to any enforcement body and will be used solely to help us find Seamus's remains and to bring them home to his family.”

Mr Pickard added: “We are convinced that someone somewhere has a vital piece of information in relation to his disappearance even though they might not be aware of its significance.

“We need them to come forward and help end the decades of pain that the Maguire family have suffered.”

As well as Maguire, the commission is also tasked with finding three other Disappeared victims — Co Tyrone teenager Columba McVeigh, Army Captain Robert Nairac, and former monk turned IRA member Joe Lynskey.

Last week, a senior republican told this newspaper that the remains of Mr Lynskey and Mr Nairac are unlikely to ever be found.

They said people involved in both cases have passed away, with all key leads now exhausted.

“We have passed on any and all information to the ICLVR. Anyone who would have information on both Lynskey and Nairac is now dead; it is unlikely we will be able to provide any more information on either,” the republican source said.

They added that, as a result, it was “highly unlikely” that either set of remains will be found.

Anger after hundreds attend commemoration march for UVF bomber

Conor Coyle, Irish News, April 14th, 2025

A VICTIMS campaigner has hit out as hundreds attended a commemoration parade marking the 50th anniversary of the death of a member of the Glenanne gang.

Hundreds of people turned out for a large loyalist flute band demonstration in Co Tyrone on Saturday evening to commemorate Wesley Somerville, a UVF man linked to the Miami Showband massacre.

The parade took place in Moygashel and featured images of Somerville, believed to have been a member of the Glenanne Gang which was responsible for the murders of more than 100 people during the Troubles.

A Parades Commission application under the name ‘Moygashel Memorial Parade’, applied for up to 30 bands to take part in the Saturday night demonstration.

Some bands carried wreaths with UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) written on them, while the PSNI were in attendance during the parade.

The event took place to mark the 50th anniversary of Somerville’s death.

Somerville, who was also a member of the UDR, died when his own bomb exploded as he attempted to murder members of the Miami Showband in July 1975. Three band members also lost their lives when the minibus they were travelling on was stopped at a bogus UDR checkpoint near Banbridge, Co Down, almost 50 years ago.

No place for eulogies - Donaldson

Kenny Donaldson of victims group the South East Fermanagh Foundation called on anyone connected to the parade to consider their actions.

“We acknowledge the families of Wesley Somerville and Haris Boyle will grieve their loved one, just as is the case with republicans who knew them beyond their involvement in terrorism,” Mr Donaldson said.

“However there is no place for the eulogising of them as being devout sons of Ulster, to plot and to seek to murder others does not demonstrate loyalty to anything, beyond a warped ideology for which they subscribed.

Above, a UVF wreath is carried through Moygashel on Saturday evening during a commemoration to mark the 50th anniversary of Glenanne Gang bomber Wesley Somerville’s death in the Miami Showband massacre. Left, a banner featuring UVF killer Wesley Somerville was previously erected in Moygashel, Co Tyrone

“We ask those connecting themselves with this event to consider their actions, upon the Miami showband bereaved families, survivors but also innocent victims/survivors across Mid Ulster and beyond.

“And if amongst those who glorify Mr Somerville and Mr Boyle are people who speak out against republican terror, hold your tongues in future because to spout again on these issues renders you hypocrites.

“All premeditated acts of violence and terror were/are wrong and are wholly unjustified.”

In a statement, the Lt Wesley Somerville Memorial Committee, said the event was a “commemoration of Mr Somerville’s life, not a glorification of the conflict”.

It said: “The commemorative event is a dignified gathering, remembering a young man who felt compelled – when faced with the siege of an IRA terrorist campaign – to take steps to defend his community and his country. It is regrettable that any young man was ever put in that situation, but the responsibility for such circumstances lies firmly and squarely with the IRA.

“This event was a commemoration of Mr Somerville’s life, not a glorification of the conflict, unlike the continuous events held by Sinn Féin and republican surrogate groups who glorify the actions of IRA terrorists.

“Those who vote for, represent or endorse Sinn Fein have no moral credibility on such issues.”

MPs find no evidence of 'two-tier policing' in forces' response to summer riots

Anahita Hossein-Pour, Belfast Telegraph, April 14th, 2025

The response by police forces to the summer riots was “entirely appropriate”, despite accusations that those involved were policed more strongly than previous protesters, MPs have said.

In NI, anti-immigration protests descended into rioting, largely located in the Sandy Row area of south Belfast.

Rioters targeted migrant-owned businesses and hotels housing migrants.

It followed anti-immigration rallies in response to the stabbing of three girls in Southport, England.

The Home Affairs Committee has today published a new report on the police response to the disorder that broke out across the UK last summer.

It found there was no evidence of “two-tier policing” in officers' handling of the levels of violence and criminality during the period, and it branded the claims as “disgraceful”.

MPs said: “This was not protest. Those participating in disorder were not policed more strongly because of their supposed political views, but because they were throwing missiles, assaulting police officers and committing arson.

“It was disgraceful to see the police officers who bore the brunt of this violence being undermined by baseless claims of 'two-tier policing'.”

During the disorder in NI, windows of houses were broken, cars and various objects were set on fire, and police officers were attacked with bricks and masonry by many masked assailants.

Robust response

Committee chairwoman Dame Karen Bradley added: “Organised disorder is rightly met with a robust response; any implied equivalence with planned non-violent protests is simply wrong.”

They called for the Government to focus on a strategy for retaining police officers, alongside recruitment, after staff during the riots worked for long hours with many suffering injury and trauma.

MPs also found shortfalls in national policing structures that hindered the response to the disorder, and meant forces were not always able to access support they needed.

The parliamentary committee agreed, with findings from a watchdog, that police forces should have better anticipated the risk of disorder in general, and that it should not have been taken for granted that planned protests following the Southport disorder would remain peaceful.

His Majesty's Inspectorate of Constabulary and Fire and Rescue Services (HMICFRS) had said that a number of events in 2023 and 2024 were indicators of potential future disorder — but this had not been reflected in police intelligence assessments. It also found there were gaps in intelligence linked to social media and the dark web.

MPs also recommended a boosted ability for police to monitor and respond to social media at a national level.

It was also highlighted that the criminal justice system has failed to keep pace with the social media age, which created an information vacuum that “allowed disinformation to flourish” in the wake of the Southport murders.

A Home Office spokesperson said: “It is always important that we learn lessons, and we are working closely with policing to improve national decision making, and to ensure that officers get the support they need to keep our streets safe.”

Nairac and British Army’s South Armagh fortess

Sam McBride, Belfast Telegraph, April 14th, 2025

BESSBROOK MILL BASE HAS BEEN UNDER LOCK AND KEY SINCE 2007 WHEN THE MILITARY LEFT — BUT INSIDE REMAINS THE ROOM WHERE ROBERT NAIRAC LEFT ON THE NIGHT OF HIS DEATH AND ANOTHER WHERE THE WALLS HEARD MANY SECRETS. BY SAM MCBRIDE

Deep within the bowels of what was once the Army's key base in the most dangerous part of Northern Ireland lies a relic of the Troubles that was formerly top secret.

It's a series of rooms — three in total — that begin with what has been made to look like a drive-in garage.

A door from the garage opens into what appears to be a living room. From that, there's a door into what is made to look like a kitchen complete with oven and worktops. But all of this was always fake.

This was the room to which informants were brought.

Security sources say that the RUC is not believed to have handled its informants in this way.

Former RUC Special Branch officers say they had a different relationship with their informants, bringing them to rented houses or other sites away from the area in which they were known.

FRU connection?

They believe this room is likely to have been constructed for the Force Research Unit (FRU), the shadowy wing of military intelligence involved not only in agent-running in the early years of the Troubles but in armed undercover work, some of which is now the subject of intense controversy.

It is known that the FRU's 'South Det' team operated from Bessbrook Mill.

The Army arrived there in the early 1970s and only left in 2007. It was a massive military fortress, key to the Army's, and the Royal Air Force's, ability to maintain a presence in south Armagh.

It was where the SAS were based and among those who operated from the site was Robert Nairac, the Grenadier Guardsman who performed a still classified role which officially involved liaising between RUC Special Branch and the SAS, but clearly involved far more than has yet been publicly admitted.

In 1977, Nairac was abducted from a south Armagh pub, tortured and murdered by an IRA man. After this newspaper last month reported on newly-declassified files showing that he was at the pub to meet an informant, a man with long-standing knowledge of the mill agreed to show us around.

Today, the vast majority of it is structurally sound, but rapidly decaying. The external walls are still strong, but many of the internal features put in by the Army — everything from sub-dividing sections into bedrooms to operations rooms — are falling apart.

At first glance, the fake garage, kitchen and living room make little sense.

If someone was an informant, they already knew they were meeting the Army, so why make it seem like they weren't on a military base?

One former intelligence operative said that the FRU — whose top-known spy within the IRA was Freddie Scappaticci — would lift informants at arranged times, sometimes deploying elaborate techniques to ensure they weren't being entrapped, one of which would involve the informer being put into the padded boot of a car.

In the dark

In the darkness, the informant would know nothing of where they were and the route might be deliberately elongated to confuse them.

Eventually, they would drive into the garage where the door would be shut, the boot would be opened, and they would think they were in a safe house.

What was the point of all this? One former RUC intelligence operative questioned whether such techniques could disguise what was happening. He thought that the noise of military vehicles and constant helicopter activity would make the location obvious.

Maybe there was soundproofing that countered this, or perhaps it was a method, as with so much of the Army's early activity in Northern Ireland, which was developed in haste but ultimately found not to work. Perhaps it was just handier to do the talking in a secure environment, and one where heavily-vetted administrative staff were on hand to do the work of transcription.

Those staff sat at desks just through the wall. A tiny hole in the ceiling of the 'living room' contained a hidden microphone which has since been removed.

It's an eerie room because it's made to seem homely, yet oozes fakery.

There are fancier light fittings than elsewhere in the mill. The red brick 'chimney breast' was ornamental; a fake electric fire presumably once sat in front of it.

Every element of this area is a bluff — and the people brought here were bluffing with their lives on the line if they were found out.

Several floors up in the mill is the room where Nairac is said to have worked, and a connecting room where he is said to have slept.

According to Alistair Kerr's 2015 book Betrayal: The Murder of Robert Nairac GC, just hours before he disappeared, Nairac took a call from a man and agreed to meet at the Three Steps Inn in Dromintee that evening.

After doing so, he “spent the early part of the evening closeted in his room preparing for his meet. He said very little about it to anyone else”.

Kerr said that within 24 hours of Nairac's disappearance, SAS officers ransacked his room in Bessbrook Mill, taking some of his belongings, which included “highly classified files” along with “something very significant” which has never been identified.

After that, Kerr said, the room was locked and no one was allowed to enter. A few days later, a police officer was allowed in. After that, Kerr said an SAS officer cleared the room, throwing out a large quantity of what was termed “rubbish”.

Now, the slain soldier's room really does contain rubbish. It's on a high floor into which birds have come through broken windows. Dead pigeons lie in some of the vast number of rooms where, over the course of decades, thousands of soldiers lived and worked.

Nairac's room is uncannily ordinary; at one time, this section of the mill may have marked out that he was in the inner circle of the intelligence war, but now it's just another series of corridors, crumbling plaster and the detritus of vandalism.

The mill site is vast. In three-and-a-half hours, there were many corridors we never set foot in.

Despite its heavy fortifications, Bessbrook Mill was attacked. In one place, the evidence of a mortar attack can be seen on concrete. Yet it was still one of the safest places for a soldier to be in this area during the Troubles. Recreation was on-site for the soldiers.

There's the NAAFI canteen, a pub, a cinema, a small chapel and other attempts to make this deeply abnormal location feel like home.

Yet it must have been an exhausting place. Not only was there the threat of attack, but the noise of helicopters would have been deafening.

Busiest helicopter pad in Europe

At one point, it was reportedly the busiest helicopter landing pad in Europe, with military aircraft thundering in and out every few minutes.

Everything had to be moved by helicopter in south Armagh and the base was key to supplying and protecting the multiple mountaintop watchtowers that enabled intensive surveillance of known IRA figures.

But patrolling by soldiers could not be avoided entirely. The last soldier murdered in the Troubles was Lance Bombardier Stephen Restorick. The 23-year-old was killed by an IRA sniper in February 1997 on Green Road near the base.

Cardinal Sean Brady described it as an “evil deed” which left him “totally appalled”. Anglican Primate Robin Eames told the soldier's mother, who appealed for no retaliation, that “he died serving this community at a time when ordinary decent people here need protection”.

When Restorick's killer, Bernard McGinn, was sentenced to 490 years in jail in 1999, he laughed at the sentence, knowing he'd soon be freed under the Good Friday Agreement.

But in 2013 he died suddenly, aged in his mid-50s.

Bessbrook is now a very different place. Created as a model village by a committed Quaker, it was the template for Bourneville.

This pretty village then contained one of Europe's most advanced linen mills. Now there are plans to transform the huge mill site into housing for hundreds of people.

In one sense, it's perfectly located — a picturesque rural village just two miles from Newry railway station means that Belfast and Dublin are just an hour away. In an age of remote working, someone could draw a high Dublin salary, live here where the cost of living is far lower, and commute to the office two or three times a week.

But the cost of transforming such a complicated and historically-significant site would be astronomical. The housing plans are not universally popular with existing residents.

It's strange to stand in a place where power has been wielded but from which it long ago departed. Across the world, there are now-abandoned palaces and castles where life and death decisions were once made. In Bessbrook Mill, the power was of the rawest military form.

Now this fortress is empty and crumbling.

Nature has already reclaimed the main airfield, which is now grazed by cattle. Birds and wildlife are thriving. Trees have sprouted from the guttering and the stonework. Wallflowers flourish in the old perimeter wall.

It's a site reminiscent of the exclusion zone around Chernobyl where nature and rust have consumed what humans once dominated.

Unlike there — where children's books still sit on desks in the local school, such was the haste of departure — the Army has thoroughly cleansed this site of the once-sensitive material it contained.

There are fragments of maps, walls where 'secret' is still stuck to the walls where papers would have been posted up. A vast safe remains — perhaps because it's almost unmovable due to its vast weight. The key, apparently, is missing, but it's unlikely that anything of value was left inside.

All that's left here are the walls — and they can't tell the secrets they've heard

Failure to invest in higher education leading to ‘a demographic tragedy’

Allan Preston, Irish News, April 14th, 2025

A SENIOR figure at Queen’s University has said a failure to increase student numbers and keep graduates in Northern Ireland has created “a demographic tragedy”.

Garrett Cullen chairs the Queen’s University of Belfast Foundation, which generates philanthropic support for the university in areas such as capital development and academic initiatives.

Also a managing director at Equilibria Capital, he set out his economic argument for greater investment in higher education and academic initiatives.

“While our political leaders rightly aspire to boost productivity and attract investment, we can’t overlook one crucial dependency: our chronic deficit in higher education capacity,” he said.

‘Easy as PIE’

The formula for economic success, he said, is as easy as “PIE”, standing for productivity, investment and education.

Productivity, he explains, generally derives from investment (in areas like infrastructure, technology, research and development) as well as education and skills (academic attainment, skills acquisition, time in education).

He said the north lags behind on all three fronts compared to the rest of the UK and the Republic.

Sharing “stark figures” from 2022/23, he said Northern Ireland had the lowest higher education participation rate, the lowest investment rate and “consequently”, the lowest productivity in the UK.

“This isn’t a recent phenomenon; it’s been the case for decades,” he said.

Mr Cullen said the contrast with the Republic was “particularly telling”, with productivity more than double that in the north, “mirroring its local higher education participation rate and investment rate, which are both more than twice NI’s levels”.

Considering why Northern Ireland educates fewer of its young people at its own universities compared to Britain or the Republic, he said there were simply “fewer places” to offer with the Republic offering 55% more places per capita and Britain offering a third (32%) more.

Youthful talent not coming back

He added: “Second, and perhaps even more alarmingly, we limit the number of places for our own students to just 68% of the total through the maximum students number (MASN) cap. This forces many NI students to leave, with the majority never returning.”

In 2022/23, there were 60,080 higher education places in the north (excluding the Open University), with just 40,960 filled by Northern Ireland students. This meant almost 16,000 northern students, nearly 30% of the total, pursued higher education in Britain. A further 7,435 were also studying with the Open University, more than double the British percentage.

If the same approach used by the Republic was adopted, Mr Cullen said Northern Ireland would have 93,367 places and the number of local students would more than double to 82,993. This scenario, he said, would imply that more school leavers would attend university and stay in Northern Ireland.

“This capacity repression and student exodus represents a demographic tragedy,” he said.

“Despite NI’s fertility rate being 10% higher than GB’s for most of the recent past, we’re not capitalising on this surplus locally. Instead, we’re feeding GB’s demographic deficit.”

While investors and local employers praise the quality of Northern Ireland students, he said “graduate unemployment is practically zero”, with the lack of capacity directly impacting the ability to attract investment.

Need to break cycle

“To break this cycle, we need to invert our thinking.

Increasing higher education capacity isn’t a cost; it’s an investment in our young people and the future of our society, which contributes directly to economic growth.

“We must align this increase with the executive’s and Invest NI’s vision for the economy and for their key growth sectors such as advanced manufacturing, IT and life sciences.”

He said there were multiple examples around the world of universities collaborating with government to stimulate “targeted sectoral inward investment” and transform economies.

“NI needs to follow suit. Geo-political shifts and critical technological dependencies are reshaping investment flows on a tectonic scale, opening up transformative opportunities.”

Without addressing the higher education capacity, he said, any hope for economic growth would remain “pie in the sky”.

“It’s time for us to recognize there can be no P.I. without E, and take decisive action to expand our higher education sector. The future prosperity of Northern Ireland depends on it. Let’s not squander our demographic advantage any longer. It’s time to leverage fully the capacity of our greatest asset – our people.”

North’s medicine bill reaches record high

Allan Preston, Irish News, April 14th, 2025

NORTHERN Ireland’s medicines bill has reached an all-time high, with the Department of Health paying out a record £875 million in the last year.

Annual costs have increased by more than £280m in a decade.

A response to a written assembly question put 2023/24 spending at £837m. However, a department spokesperson later said the cost had actually risen as high as £875m, attributing it to the complex needs of an ageing population and “highly effective” but expensive new medications.

A decade ago the figure was £593m.

Drug costs in primary care (mainly GPs, pharmacists and optometrists) were listed at £501m for 2023/24 – a rise of £75.5m since 2014/15.

Secondary care medicines, reporting costs from the six health and social care trusts, nearly doubled in the same period – from £166.9m in 2014/15 to £326.2m.

SDLP MLA Patsy McGlone, who asked the question, said that while some price rises were to be expected over time, the large increases pointed to more people living with debilitating conditions and needing medication to manage those.

Pharmacies are first port of call for sick

“This has also resulted in an increased workload for pharmacists who are becoming the first port of call for many people due to our crumbling health system, and they also provide ongoing support for those with long-term conditions,” he said.

“As our waiting lists grow that means more and more people struggling to access the healthcare they need, leading to a reliance on medication to treat pain and other conditions. “I believe that if we saw the executive and health minister implementing the change necessary within our health service and making significant progress with our waiting lists then we would see this spend come down considerably, while improving the lives of patients in our communities.”

A spokesperson for Community Pharmacy Northern Ireland said the comparatively smaller price increase in primary care was a positive result.

“Prescribed medicines are vital in maintaining the health and well-being of the local population and, given the growing hospital waiting lists in Northern Ireland, they are increasingly relied upon to help manage patient care,” they said.

While the medicine costs for secondary care have doubled over a decade, they said “significant measures” to control prescription costs in primary care had kept this rise to 17.5%.

“Community pharmacies are now responsible for the sourcing, purchasing, financing, storing, and safe dispensing of almost £500m prescribed medicines annually to local patients,” they said.

“This is a testament to the professionalism and dedication of community pharmacy teams working in the 508 pharmacies across Northern Ireland.”

The annual spend on medicines in Northern Ireland reached a high of £875 million in the last year

A department spokesperson said: “Medicines have a vital role in helping to prevent, treat, and cure disease. They are our most common medical intervention and are relied upon to support health and wellbeing throughout life.

“However, as long-term conditions become more prevalent reflecting demographic change, so does the demand for medicines.”

Rise in long term health problems

They said census data between 2011 and 2021 showed an extra 90,700 people were living with one or more long-term health condition – from 31.4% to 34.7%.

“Many of these conditions require ongoing medications to manage symptoms, prevent complications or slow disease progression. As a result, medicines costs in Northern Ireland are increasing annually and have now reached an all-time high of £875m per year,” they said.

While new highly effective medicines have proven “transformative” for patients with rare diseases that previously had limited treatment options, the department said this often comes at a high cost.

“Driven by demographic change and the increased availability of new and expensive medicines, HSC spend on commissioned high-cost medicines has increased by 85.6% since 2017/18 and was almost £250m in 2023/24,” they said.

The department’s Medicines Optimisation Regional Efficiency Programme works to lower costs by improving compliance with cost-effective prescribing policies across primary and secondary care.

Since launching in 2016, the programme is estimated to have made more than £200m in savings and delivers annual savings of £20m.

The department said sustaining high-levels of prescribing efficiencies had nevertheless become “increasingly challenging”.

A public consultation on the issue, the Valuing Medicines Strategy, closed in February. The department is analysing the responses.

People kept in dark about cost of Stormont repairs

Andrew Madden, Belfast Telegraph, April 14th, 2025

The fact that the public is not allowed to know if they will have to pay for fixing a botched repair job on Stormont's roof has been branded “ridiculous”.

Last week, the Belfast Telegraph revealed that Stormont had reached a “full and final” confidential financial settlement with two firms over repairs to the roof of Parliament Buildings —but how much of the £2.5m price tag the taxpayer will have to pay remains unknown.

The leaking roof at Stormont has been the bane of MLAs and staff for years, with buckets having to be placed along corridors on occasion to catch water.

In 2014, work began in a bid to fix the issue, lasting 12 months. It was not completely successful. This failed repair job cost an estimated £5.4m, with a further £1.4m spent up to August 2021.

Back in 2022, it came to light that legal proceedings against the two firms that worked on the repair job had been issued by the Assembly Commission, which is responsible for the upkeep of Parliament Buildings.

At the core of the legal case was who was ultimately responsible for the leaks. Neither of the two firms involved have commented on the issue.

In January, it emerged that the Assembly Commission had settled the case.

“The costs of remedial work to address issues in the roof arising from work carried out by the previous contractor should be considered in the context that the Assembly Commission was pleased with the outcome of a full and final confidential financial settlement which was reached in January 2025,” a Commission spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said not all invoices relating to the remedial work have been received and the costs to date for the roof repairs have been estimated to be £141,248 for scaffolding and £59,030 in professional fees.

“The estimated total repair costs for the roof are £2.453m,” they added.

This newspaper asked if the settlement would cover the costs of the remedial work, or if any shortfall would have to be made up with public money.

“As the terms of that settlement agreement are full, final and confidential, they do not allow for any further detail to be provided,” we were told.

TUV MLA Timothy Gaston, who has been campaigning on the issue that his Stormont predecessor Jim Allister worked on, criticised the fact that the public are not able to know if they'll be footing any of the bill for the remedial work.

He said: “This is a ridiculous situation. We are talking about public money here, potentially a huge sum, yet the public, whose money it is, after all, is not permitted to know how much, if any, is involved in this settlement.

“The most basic duty of any public representative is the prudent use of public money.

Backroom deal

“Yet here we have a situation where the Assembly Commission — on which Sinn Fein, the DUP, Alliance, UUP and SDLP all sit — has reached a backroom court settlement which the public are not permitted to know about.

“It is an outrageous and intolerable state of affairs which involves all the Executive parties and also those who laughably call themselves the 'constructive' opposition.

“Stormont never had any shine since its restoration, as far as unionists were concerned, given that it only came back because of broken promises.

“However, I detect a growing sense across people from all political backgrounds and none that the Stormont establishment is a racket, which, while shouting about an alleged lack of funds from Westminster, wastes vast amounts of money within its power.”

Mr Gaston added that Stormont has a “moral duty” to tell the public about the details of the legal case, as they “deserve nothing less”.

The Assembly Commission said: “The proceedings issued by the Assembly Commission in respect of defects in work carried out to the roof of Parliament Buildings were settled on confidential terms following a judge-led mediation in January 2025.

“An agreement on costs formed part of the settlement agreement. The settlement agreement has been filed with the High Court. While the Assembly Commission is pleased to have concluded this matter, the terms of the settlement do not allow any further detail to be provided.”

Speaking to MLAs earlier this month, Assembly Commission member Andy Allen said it had “initially hoped to reach a settlement with the original contractors to repair the roof while avoiding legal proceedings”.

He said: “Unfortunately, the commencement of legal proceedings was unavoidable, and the Assembly Commission is pleased to have reached a full and final settlement in that regard.”

Irish Defence Forces join EU intelligence pact to protect our vital undersea cables

Robin Schiller, Irish Independent, April 14th, 2025

DEPARTMENT BUYS NEW SONAR AND RADAR TECHNOLOGY TO JOIN INTELLIGENCE PACT

Ireland is scaling up its maritime security, with the Defence Forces set to join a European intelligence-sharing pact.

Tánaiste Simon Harris has also directed officials in the Department of Defence to expedite the purchase of sonar and radar technology to boost the protection of Irish skies and vital undersea communication and electricity cables and gas pipelines.

The move comes after a Russian spy ship passed through Irish waters last week and was monitored by the naval service after being declared a vessel of interest.

The presence of clandestine Russian vessels has caused alarm over the vulnerability of key underwater infrastructure, especially since Vladimir Putin's invasion of Ukraine.

Mr Harris, who is also Defence Minister, is set to confirm today that the Irish Defence Forces will join an alliance with military and civil agencies from 10 other nations to share intelligence on threats within European waters.

The network, known as the ­Common Information Sharing Environment (CISE), will enable sharing of both classified and unclassified information between the partner groups from countries including Italy, Portugal, Spain and Finland.

CISE has been developed over the past 15 years and became operational last year to address urgent maritime threats including risks to critical infrastructure.

Targeting Drug trafficking

Plans are also in place to use it in anti-drug-trafficking operations.

The Defence Forces' CISE ­involvement will be run from the Naval operations centre in Haulbowline, Co Cork, which will formally be designated a "node” - a key hub within the network.

Mr Harris has said the CISE alliance will enable Ireland to work more ­closely with EU counterparts to keep Irish seas safe and secure.

"By signing up to this initiative, Ireland will now be in a stronger position in terms of information and intelligence-sharing when it comes to our maritime environment,” he said.

"If you look at the countries that we are collaborating with - the likes of Spain, France and Finland - we are all very much connected by a large sea area.

"So, I think it's only appropriate that there would be greater collaboration among these countries and I'm very pleased as Tánaiste and Minister for Defence to ensure Ireland plays a leading role in this regard.

"By signing up to this initiative, our naval base in Haulbowline will be designated as what is termed a 'node'.

"It means that we will now be part of a network that includes 11 other countries - and we will actively share information about vessels of interest and other actors that enter our seas.

"I very much believe that European security is best served by working together and that very much goes to the heart of what this initiative is about.”

Risks to Irish subsea infrastructure have been identified as an emerging threat in recent years with most transatlantic data communications running through Irish seas.

Underwater Cyber Attacks

The Government's emergency response group has also recently conducted operational exercises to test how the State deals with a cyber attack on underwater cables as well as damage to key gas pipelines - both of which led to a greater focus on maritime security.

Improving surveillance within the maritime domain has also been identified as a national defence policy priority by the Government.

The CISE network is a voluntary system that is not enforced by legislation, with institutions joining the system, rather than a country.

It has a decentralised infrastructure, giving the groups control of the ­information that they share, with the intelligence not centrally stored.

CISE has also been carrying out exercises on operational scenarios countries could face.

It includes search and rescue operations, threats to sea infrastructure, and cross-agency co-operation to prevent the trafficking of multi-million-euro cocaine shipments by sea.

The European Commission has also signalled that CISE will be used to support future maritime data systems, services and sharing process.

A key aspect of this will be to support an EU-wide effort to protect critical undersea infrastructure.

Officials say that the move will support the building of a comprehensive recognised maritime picture for Ireland, by ensuring that the Defence Forces have a platform to share information with other CISE members.

The move will also allow for better monitoring and surveillance of potential threats, and abnormal behaviours that may impact critical undersea infrastructure.

‘No justification’ for Irish signs at transport hub say protesters

Paul Ainsworth, Irish News, April 14th, 2025

PROTESTERS taking part in a demonstration against the inclusion of Irish language on signs at Belfast’s Grand Central Station believe there is “no justification” for it to feature in Ireland’s largest integrated travel hub.

A protest had initially been planned to take place in the loyalist Sandy Row area close to the new station last Monday evening, in response to the announcement by Stormont infrastructure minister Liz Kimmins that signs with English and Irish will appear throughout Grand Central.

That gathering was postponed and will now be held this evening.

The £340 million station opened its doors last autumn, with a welcome sign including ‘Fáilte’ alongside other languages being the only trace of Irish visible to passengers.

Irish language campaigners held a protest at the station shortly after the opening, with demonstrators claiming members of Belfast’s Gaeltacht community felt “excluded” from the hub due to a lack of Gaelic signage.

Last month Ms Kimmins, who had replaced Sinn Féin colleague John O’Dowd as infrastructure minister, announced Irish was to be included on all signage and ticket machines as part of the works to complete the station. She told the assembly the move was to make the station “reflective of all citizens”.

Local residents slam Minister’s solo run

The cost of the new signage is estimated at £150,000, and Translink has confirmed work is underway on the plan.

The new signage was expected to appear at the hub later this year but work has halted after a legal challenge.

The DUP has opposed the move, with leader Gavin Robinson calling it “bad process”, while loyalist Jamie Bryson has launched a legal challenge against the “controversial and divisive” decision by the minister.

Although not an organiser of today’s protest, William Dickson of the Blackstaff Residents Association, has urged locals in the Sandy Row area to attend the event to “make their voices heard”.

“Residents feel that there should be a response to the minister’s solo run with the Irish signs,” he told The Irish News.

“The residents have asked for this protest to happen, as there are a number of issues that need addressed.”

Locals in Sandy Row have previously protested against the demolition of the nearby Boyne Bridge, which was recently razed to make way for a new public square currently being built outside Grand Central Station.

“ Residents feel that there should be a response to the minister’s solo run with the Irish signs

Speaking of the latest demonstration, which is advertised on social media with the slogan ‘no sham fight over Irish in Grand Central’, Mr Dickson claimed any opposition to Irish “is the result of Sinn Féin using the language as a weapon during the IRA’s terrorist campaign”.

“When it’s used as a political weapon, it’s hard for people to support it,” he added.

“Even if there was a widespread love for it here, there’s no justification for making it such an important feature within the station.”

Irish language campaign group An Dream Dearg, which was behind the protest following the opening of the station, has said the new signage means “Irish language speakers from across Ireland will now depart or arrive in a Belfast transport hub that recognises them, respects them and proudly displays their native language alongside English”.