Latest news with #GavinRobinson
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Business
- Irish Times
Windsor deal an opaque mess, says Democratic Unionist Party leader
The rules governing the operation of the Windsor Framework are 'ineffective, opaque and overly bureaucratic' and give Northern Ireland's politicians little opportunity to influence decisions, Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) leader Gavin Robinson has said. Speaking to the House of Lords Northern Ireland scrutiny committee in Westminster, the DUP leader was scathing of the agreement reached between the European Union and the United Kingdom in February 2023. It amended the previously agreed Northern Ireland Protocol and governs post-Brexit trading rules, though unionists complain bitterly that many British companies will no longer sell products to Northern Ireland customers because of the extra rules. Speaking of an announcement expected on Thursday about the availability of veterinary medicines in Northern Ireland, Mr Robinson said the current strategy being followed by the British government made little sense. READ MORE British prime minister Keir Starmer has already made clear he will keep rules governing food and animal security in line with European Union rules, which should mean no extra curbs on the drugs available to Northern farmers. 'We know what the direction of travel will be, even if we do not like it,' said Mr Robinson, yet London's actions will ensure that some drugs will not be sold in Northern Ireland for a year, or more, even though they meet all safety standards. Telling peers that he does not 'have a lot of faith' in the Windsor deal, Mr Robinson said it frustrates 'the ability for ordinary, routine and at times complex and serious engagement to either satisfy, resolve or ameliorate' some of its harmful effects. It could not ever be effective until the imposition of European Union rules 'without the consent of any elected unionist in Northern Ireland, without the consent of party colleagues in Westminster' was resolved, he went on. The House of Lords committee, chaired by the cross-bench peer Lord Carlile, has been holding a series of hearings to investigate in detail the operation of the framework agreement. Meanwhile, an independent report on the operation of the Windsor deal from the former Labour Northern Ireland Secretary of State Paul Murphy, which was started following a Stormont Assembly vote in January, is set to finish shortly, the meeting heard. Lord Murphy has been tasked with examining the effect it has had on social, economic and political life in Northern Ireland, and on the United Kingdom's internal market, and to make recommendations. While paying a personal tribute to the former Labour secretary of state, the DUP leader, however, questioned his independence, saying he is required to advance only ideas that have cross-community backing in Stormont. However, the SDLP's Stormont leader of the Opposition, Matt O'Toole, questioned the value of some of the measures that were taken to coax the DUP back into Stormont government last year. One of them, the East-West Council, designed to improve connections between different parts of the UK, could not be put at the same rank as the institutions created under the Belfast Agreement, he said.
The Independent
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Independent
Windsor Framework structures ineffective and overly bureaucratic
The structures of the Windsor Framework are 'ineffective, opaque and overly bureaucratic', DUP leader Gavin Robinson has told peers. Mr Robinson said that the post-Brexit trading deal could never be effective until fundamental issues around lack of consent from unionists are addressed. The SDLP's Stormont leader Matthew O'Toole said while he supported the framework, he believed there needed to be improvements in how Northern Ireland voices were heard within its structures. The House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee has been holding evidence sessions examining the operation of the framework. The Windsor Framework was agreed between the UK and the EU in 2023, amending the Northern Ireland Protocol. It governs post-Brexit trading arrangements in the region. The DUP later reached the Safeguarding the Union deal with the previous UK government to further reduce some checks and paperwork on goods moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland, leading to the restoration of the powersharing Executive at Stormont last year. However, many unionists remain opposed to the framework, stating it creates a new regulatory border within the United Kingdom and because Northern Ireland continues to follow some EU laws relating to goods. During his appearance before the committee, Mr Robinson was asked to assess the extent to which voices in Northern Ireland could be heard through the structures of the framework. He said: 'I don't have a lot of faith in the current structures. 'When you consider the ability for politicians, parliamentarians, stakeholders, businesses, to engage with them. 'The structures around the Windsor Framework, though they may have evolved, are ineffective, opaque and overly bureaucratic. 'They frustrate the ability for ordinary, routine and at times complex and serious engagement to either satisfy, resolve or ameliorate some of the harmful impositions that Northern Ireland finds itself in under these arrangements.' The DUP leader added: 'I believe it cannot ever be effective until the fundamentals are resolved around the imposition that Northern Ireland was placed in without the consent of any elected unionist in Northern Ireland, without the consent of party colleagues in Westminster.' In December, MLAs at Stormont voted to continue with the current arrangements for at least another four years in a democratic consent motion, which was part of the arrangements agreed between the UK and the EU. However, unlike other votes at Stormont, there was no requirement for cross-community support for the motion. Mr Robinson told peers: 'Though we have gone through a cycle of a parliamentary vote in Assembly terms in December of 2024, an inversion of cross-community protections. 'A false choice, do you wish this imposition to continue for a period of eight years or four years with a potential review. 'I don't believe they have been effective at all and if the Government were serious about increasing the opportunity to have voices heard and engage fundamentally in the propositions that are causing material impact, both constitutionally and practically in Northern Ireland, then they wouldn't only find an effective mechanism for that engagement but they would look at the fundamentals.' He added: 'We have at the heart of this an agreement between the UK and the EU where they decide what is going to happen to Northern Ireland without any recourse to the citizenry of Northern Ireland or the elected representatives. 'Then you have the attempt or the added aspects of inclusion and participation but without any substantial or meaningful outworkings of that participation or inclusion.' Mr O'Toole told the committee that Brexit had led to 'real political division and controversy in Northern Ireland'. He added: 'I do think there can be a degree of, if not consensus, then some degree of agreement that we can improve the mechanisms by which stakeholders in Northern Ireland, be they politicians, business groups, trade unions, other parts of civic society, can have their voice heard in relation to the provisions of the protocol/Windsor Framework. 'I think they improved somewhat after the Windsor Framework was agreed in spring 2023, but I don't think they are there yet. 'Northern Ireland is in the position of being subject to a cohort of EU law, obviously I strongly support that as a necessity, but I probably do agree that our voice could be better heard in terms of making those laws or at least understanding how they are going to apply in Northern Ireland.' Mr O'Toole added: 'The summary answer is not quite where it should be, and I say that as someone who supports the provisions of the Windsor Framework and the protocol.'
BBC News
2 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
NI riots: Officers pursuing sex crimes 'extracted' to deal with riots
Police officers tasked with investigating sex crimes and supporting victims had to be redeployed last week to deal with rioting in Northern Ireland, a senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer has Supt Zoe McKee told MPs that 24 officers were "extracted' from her team to deal with the public disorder which she said had stemmed from "violence" involving "a women and girls' offence".The chief superintendent said a shortfall of £21m in police funding was affecting their ability to prosecute hearing was part of the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee's ongoing inquiry into violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland. "It went on for the past week, every day there was a review of resources and a surge out to support front-line policing" she the issue of a lack of police funding in prosecuting offenders, she added: "We have officer numbers at the lowest ever level at 6,200 and we should be sitting at 7,500."That leaves real challenges which affects how we deliver services, support victims and prosecute offenders."The senior officer said the majority of victims from the recent disorder were women and children, many of whom were displaced from their leader Gavin Robinson said it was a "stark reminder" of how such disorder had a material impact on the police ability to help victims of violence against women and members also heard about the scale of violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland and the challenges facing policing and the justice Supt McKee said it was now an "epidemic" as she revealed that 28% of all victims of crime are domestic-abuse related and 71% of women of all ages experience harassment in public places. The committee also heard from Sonya McMullan from Women's Aid and Dr Siobhan McAlister, a criminology lecturer from Queen's University, McMullan said Stormont's new strategy to tackle violence against women and girls cannot be a "tick box" exercise and must be followed up with also said Northern Ireland is not a "victim friendly" place to go through the criminal justice system, pointing to a recent domestic violence case which took five years to complete."Women cannot afford to put their lives on hold for five years and that is why there is such a high rate of drop outs before cases are concluded," she McKee also linked a legacy of mistrust in policing to the reluctance of some victims in coming was responding to a question from SDLP leader Claire Hanna.
Irish Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Irish Times
PSNI officers diverted from domestic abuse and sexual crimes investigations to police Northern Ireland unrest
A total of 24 police officers were taken away from the unit which investigates domestic abuse and sexual crimes in Northern Ireland to combat last week's public disorder, a senior Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI) officer has said. More than 30 people have been arrested by police investigating the unrest, which began in Ballymena, Co Antrim, on June 9th. A peaceful protest over the alleged sexual assault of a girl in the town was followed by attacks on the homes of people from ethnic minority backgrounds and police officers – described as 'racist thuggery' by the PSNI - and subsequently spread to other towns. Appearing before the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee of MPs at Westminster on Wednesday, Detective Chief Superintendent Zoe McKee said she 'cannot begin to describe the challenges within [the] public protection arena in policing currently'. READ MORE The head of public protection at the PSNI, Ms McKee said: 'this week alone, I have had 24 officers extracted for public disorder, which actually stemmed from a violence against women and girls offence, and that narrative has been lost in a lot of what has happened in recent weeks.' [ Ballymena: Week of violent attacks on Northern Ireland's small immigrant community 'akin to 1930s Germany' Opens in new window ] The DUP leader, Gavin Robinson, responded this 'should be a cool reminder to people out there that some of the outworkings over the last week are having material impact on your ability to do your job to help protect victims'. 'To build on that,' Ms McKee said, 'what you're seeing is the displacement of minority communities, women and children being forced from their homes and crimes committed against them, probably disproportionately, women and children, as a result of the disorder that has happened'. She said the reallocation of police officers had been the case for the last week, and while it was 'slightly going back to normal, we are ready and alive to the fact that that could be ongoing at any minute, as you know it's a fairly febrile situation'. Ms McKee also outlined the 'significant underfunding challenges' facing police, saying there was a '£21 million (€24.5 million) gap and we have officers at the very lowest level we have ever had in the PSNI, at 6,200 and we should be sitting at 7,500″. 'They are very real challenges which affect how we deliver services and support victims and prosecute offenders for all of the violence against women and girls offence types,' she said. Ms McKee was one of several people who gave evidence to the scrutiny committee's session on ending violence against women and girls in Northern Ireland. The Northern Executive adopted a strategic framework on ending violence against women and girls in 2024, the last jurisdiction in the UK and Ireland to do so. Dr Siobhán McAlister, senior lecturer in Criminology at Queen's University Belfast, said survey data showed 'very high prevalence rates' in the North, 'with 98 per cent of women aged 18 plus having experienced at least one form of gender-based violence in their lives'. Such violence was 'highly underreported,' Ms McAlister said, and Ms McKee described underreporting as 'real and significant … it's a real stubborn challenge' for the PSNI. Research showed the 'main reason they don't report … is they don't recognise behaviours as violence' because they were so 'commonplace', Ms McAlister said. Sonya McMullan, regional services manager at Women's Aid NI, said 'we keep coming down to no resourcing and no money, you know, you've got a strategy, but you have no money attached to it, and it's as simple as that'.
RTÉ News
2 days ago
- Politics
- RTÉ News
Windsor Framework structures 'ineffective'
The structures of the Windsor Framework are "ineffective, opaque and overly bureaucratic", DUP leader Gavin Robinson has said. Mr Robinson said that the post-Brexit trading deal could never be effective until fundamental issues around lack of consent from unionists are addressed. The House of Lords Northern Ireland Scrutiny Committee has been holding evidence sessions examining the operation of the framework. The Windsor Framework was agreed between the UK and the EU in 2023, amending the Northern Ireland Protocol. It governs post-Brexit trading arrangements in the region. The DUP later reached the Safeguarding the Union deal with the previous UK government to further reduce some checks and paperwork on goods moving from the rest of the UK into Northern Ireland, leading to the restoration of the powersharing Executive at Stormont last year. However, many unionists remain opposed to the framework, stating it creates a new regulatory border within the United Kingdom and because Northern Ireland continues to follow some EU laws relating to goods. No faith in current structures During his appearance before the committee, Mr Robinson was asked to assess the extent to which voices in Northern Ireland could be heard through the structures of the framework. He said: "I don't have a lot of faith in the current structures. "When you consider the ability for politicians, parliamentarians, stakeholders, businesses, to engage with them. "The structures around the Windsor Framework, though they may have evolved, are ineffective, opaque and overly bureaucratic. "They frustrate the ability for ordinary, routine and at times complex and serious engagement to either satisfy, resolve or ameliorate some of the harmful impositions that Northern Ireland finds itself in under these arrangements." The DUP leader added: "I believe it cannot ever be effective until the fundamentals are resolved around the imposition that Northern Ireland was placed in without the consent of any elected unionist in Northern Ireland, without the consent of party colleagues in Westminster." In December, MLAs at Stormont voted to continue with the current arrangements for at least another four years in a democratic consent motion, which was part of the arrangements agreed between the UK and the EU. However, unlike other votes at Stormont, there was no requirement for cross-community support for the motion. Mr Robinson said: "Though we have gone through a cycle of a parliamentary vote in Assembly terms in December of 2024, an inversion of cross-community protections. "A false choice, do you wish this imposition to continue for a period of eight years or four years with a potential review? "I don't believe they have been effective at all and if the Government were serious about increasing the opportunity to have voices heard and engage fundamentally in the propositions that are causing material impact, both constitutionally and practically in Northern Ireland, then they wouldn't only find an effective mechanism for that engagement but they would look at the fundamentals." He added: "We have at the heart of this an agreement between the UK and the EU where they decide what is going to happen to Northern Ireland without any recourse to the citizenry of Northern Ireland or the elected representatives. "Then you have the attempt or the added aspects of inclusion and participation but without any substantial or meaningful outworkings of that participation or inclusion."
