Opinion

Deaglán de Bréadún: Time to get serious on protocol talks

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, pictured with George Mitchell and Tony Blair at the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, has called for serious negotiations to take place over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Photo: PA Wire
Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, pictured with George Mitchell and Tony Blair at the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, has called for serious negotiations to take place over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Photo: PA Wire Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, pictured with George Mitchell and Tony Blair at the signing of the Good Friday Agreement, has called for serious negotiations to take place over the Northern Ireland Protocol. Photo: PA Wire

BETTER late than never: the first episode of Derry Girls I watched was also the final one, set at the time of the referendum on the Belfast/Good Friday Agreement in 1998.

That historic event has been well-covered in terms of news, analysis and political discourse, but Lisa McGee’s drama brought a more human and emotional dimension to the story.

The script was lively and the acting superb: quite a few cast members could have a very bright future in the profession. In addition, the emotion conveyed by film superstar Liam Neeson as an officer from the Royal Ulster Constabulary silently pondering his vote was a dramatic bonus. The segment at the end featuring Chelsea Clinton brought back personal memories of reporting on the presidential visit in 1995, which cemented the relationship between the Clintons and the Irish people and ensured the White House would make a vital contribution to the peace process.

It all made for very interesting viewing. For example, we were shown footage of Ian Paisley senior campaigning for a No vote. If you had suggested at the time that, just over nine years later, he would end up in a power-sharing partnership known as “The Chuckle Brothers” alongside Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness (which also featured near the end of the episode), you might have been taken away for psychiatric assessment.

The sight of the agreement itself reminded me to dig out my own print copy, as I have been consulting the online version in recent times. When you think about it, one of the factors which brought the negotiations to a successful conclusion was that key players were on-site at Castle Buildings in the Stormont Estate for considerable periods of time, during which they finally managed to arrive at a consensus on measures required for a true and lasting peace.

The television footage of Derry reminded me that its spectacular location makes it possibly the most beautiful city on these islands. It has also had more than its share of tragedy of course, as recalled by the photograph of future Bishop Edward Daly leading the small group that carried fatally-wounded Jackie Duddy (17) from the scene on Bloody Sunday in 1972. I met Bishop Daly years later at Stormont where the autobiography of Eurovision song contest winner and subsequent Member of the European Parliament, Dana Scallon, was being launched. He said it was his first time in the place and it struck me as a poor reflection on Northern Ireland politics that such an important figure was left on the outside, although he had been a guest in Oslo at the award of the Nobel Peace Prize to John Hume and David Trimble in December 1998.

Moving forward to the present day and the continuing fall-out from Brexit, it might be a good idea to place United Kingdom and European Union negotiating teams at a location “far from the madding crowd”– the Channel Islands come to mind – and urge them to stay there until they agree a compromise on the Northern Ireland Protocol and Irish Sea border. One of the problems with the protocol interaction between London and Brussels is that there hasn’t been enough of it.

Former taoiseach Bertie Ahern, who was of course a key figure in the Good Friday process, told Justin McCarthy on RTÉ Radio One’s This Week last Sunday: “I’ve been saying for months that I think you need protracted negotiations, serious negotiations - and we haven’t had that.” He continued: “What is required is some serious conversation about where the compromise is.” On a positive note, he described Democratic Unionist Party leader Sir Jeffrey Donaldson as "a good guy" (no doubt that assessment is mutual.)

Speaking last Wednesday on Newstalk’s Pat Kenny Show, Ahern said it was “hamfisted” that there had been “no talks since the first week in February”. Calling for “really detailed negotiations”, he added: “The best way of doing this is to sit at the table and stay at the table and negotiate these issues out.”

A similar point was made by US Congressman Richard Neal at a meeting in London last Saturday with UK foreign secretary Liz Truss. The head of the powerful Ways and Means committee in Washington, who is leading a nine-member delegation on a trade visit, said afterwards that Brussels had indicated a willingness to negotiate and he added: "A clear message that we offered to the UK: if they want to negotiate, and you say you want to negotiate, there should be negotiation.”

To adapt a popular phrase: Jaw-jaw is better than trade war.

Email: Ddebre1@aol.com; Twitter: @DdeBreadun