Opinion

Newton Emerson: The DUP seeking a fig-leaf to cover its retreat on the backstop

Newton Emerson

Newton Emerson

Newton Emerson writes a twice-weekly column for The Irish News and is a regular commentator on current affairs on radio and television.

Arlene Foster and Nigel Dodds (left) and Boris Johnson (right)
Arlene Foster and Nigel Dodds (left) and Boris Johnson (right) Arlene Foster and Nigel Dodds (left) and Boris Johnson (right)

DUP back-tracking on the backstop is now reversing over the Stormont lock.

Some kind of Stormont oversight for backstop-like arrangements is the fig-leaf the DUP is seeking to cover its Brexit retreat.

But ahead of a speech in Dublin three days ago, party leader Arlene Foster said London could provide oversight in Stormont’s absence. The following morning, chief whip Jeffrey Donaldson said the North-South Ministerial Council (NSMC) of the Good Friday Agreement could be the key oversight body, bringing Stormont and Irish ministers together. Fine Gael’s Phil Hogan, the EU’s new trade commissioner, indicated something similar last week.

Yet this is already in the backstop, with NMSC having a consultative role on the management committee of British ministers and EU officials.

At this rate, by next week, the DUP will be saying the backstop is wonderful, probably causing nationalists to reject it.

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The Irish government has engaged a reverse gear of its own over direct rule, which as recently as July it was telling the Dáil it would “never accept”. This week, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar told the Dail direct rule is “not something that the government can support” as it would be “contrary to the spirit of the Good Friday Agreement”.

“However,” he continued, “if the sovereign British government were to impose it, we would seek a consultative role under the auspices of the British-Irish Intergovernmental Conference, as envisaged by the Good Friday Agreement.”

To put that in terms the DUP would understand, Dublin rejects the backstop in favour of the backstop.

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Varadkar also told the Dáil his government is drafting a law to ensure Northern Ireland residents will retain full access to the European Health Insurance Card after Brexit, whether they identify as British, Irish or EU citizens.

In a mirror image of the DeSouza case, Dublin appears to have given up trying to untangle identity from citizenship and is just treating everyone in Northern Ireland as de facto dual nationals. Will any unionist find this offensive enough to renounce their entitlement to it, or even demand not to be considered entitled to it in the first place?

There is bound to be one.

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Following the abduction and near-fatal beating of Quinn Industrial Holdings director Kevin Lunney, trade associations and business groups have challenged the PSNI and Garda Síochána directly to explain why they are making no progress against a campaign of violence that has lasted five years and involved at least 70 serious incidents in a small area.

No doubt the usual police excuses will be trotted out about requiring community cooperation, as if that is a realistic expectation in a community being deliberately terrorised. Whatever the reason for tiptoeing around the culprits, it is legally unambitious. The nature of the crimes, the involvement of republicans and the threats to the economy and security of Northern Ireland and the Republic are each sufficient on their own to invoke special powers and courts in either jurisdiction and end this medieval nonsense before it inevitably costs 800 jobs - or someone’s life.

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It is a golden rule of government that whenever you hear the phrase “data protection” you should immediately think ‘bull****’.

The Department for Communities, which controls the Public Records Office, claims 19 Kincora files have been sealed until dates ranging up to 2085 in order to “protect the names and other personal details of victims and to comply with data protection legislation.”

The youngest any former Kincora resident could be today is 54, so victims are being protected until they are at least 120, despite having made their identities public in many cases and asked for the files to be opened.

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The BBC has broadcast an allegation Gerry Adams was on the IRA army council, despite legal warnings from the former Sinn Féin president.

This marks a new line in the sand on this subject.

For decades the media was concerned with accuracy rather than court action in reporting on Adams, as it was not felt he would put his own history in the dock.

However, over the past few years, Adams has appeared more willing to sue. In July this year he obtained an apology and retraction from Louth FM on other allegations.

The BBC has clearly decided not to accept this direction of travel.