Northern Ireland solutions

There are political parties in the UK which believe in fairness - such as the Liberal Democrats and the Alliance Party in NI.

But unfortunately, in Northern Ireland, tribal factors seem to out weigh any consideration of fairness.

nadateturbe

Is it fair that SF are not condemned for collapsing the assembly, and DUP are?

Not fair at all. But this is not tit for tat, is it? It has been for far too long. As said above, what the DUP is currently doing will have exactly the opposite of their desired effect - hastening reunification (which is not something SF are opposed to, on the other hand).

No. It is not fair. but nothing has ever been fair in NI and it was certainly not fair that Arlene Foster enabled the UK government to take us out of the EU .

NI is now the only part of the UK which has the best of both worlds - in the UK and in the EU single market./

Is it fair that SF are not condemned for collapsing the assembly, and DUP are?

Exactly what I said Paddyann totally condemned because of views on two issues
I remember our local Boys Brigade asking the RC school if they would like a football game - trying to unite the communities The answer was yes, as long as it wasn't in a Protestant church.
Who is preventing integrated education? The only thing that might save this country ( incidentally my best friend and I sent our children to integrated schools in the 70s )
The GFA wasn't thought through well enough imo .

No one I know cares about religion. We do not practice hatred. Or pass it on We are not alone
But I like to be fair. Many people see problems with a border that divides the UK. Its a valid point.

It will always be orange and green as long as parents indocrinate their kids ,generation after generation.Surely people our age should know better .the hatred can be stopped .The good Friday agreement made a great start ,dont let that potential be lost .
RC's were discriminated against until quite recent times ,my uncles family finally gave up and moved to Scotland in the mid seventies because of it .
There were terrorists on BOTH sides and its not the catholic church thats stopping NI moving into the 21st century its the DUP with their anti abortion anti same sex marriage and anti just about everything if it involves moving with the times

Scotland going its own way, reunification of Ireland- and Wales next. England is going to be a lonely place! What a mess.

always will be down to orange and green here, nothing else.

so true Alioop.

I am very interested in the next election outcome.

So it's ok for SF to collapse the Assembly?

Perhaps you would care to look at the last election results.

SF walked out of their jobs for 3 years for what they believed in and now the DUP have done exactly the same. They have wanted the UK government to sort the protocol and we are all still waiting for that to happen. Their wages were paid when SF left the building for 3 years and again all the parties have their money going into their bank accounts for doing sod all for any of us. We don't even have a health minister at present and like everywhere our NHS is in dire straits.
Stop their wages and let the UK government make all the decisions. I know some definitely don't want that or to be associated with the UK, but yet they are happy enough to take all the benefit money and have the use of the free NHS that we are lucky to have because we are part of the UK. It's all a mess that is and always will be down to orange and green here, nothing else.

As said before, the behaviour of the DUP is hastening the process of reunification, as they currently represent a smaller and smaller number of people. Is that what they really want?

Yes, Nadateturbe The DUP have the support of their voters but they are only 21.3% of those who voted at the last Assembly election. I imagine the other 78.7% of the voters also support the policy of whichever party they voted for.

Why should the DUP, which actively campaigned for Brexit and propped up a Tory government to ensure we left the EU against the wishes of the majority of NI voters who want to Remain in the EU, be able to sabotage the NI Assembly ?
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2022_Northern_Ireland_Assembly_election#:~:text=The%20DUP's%20vote%20share%20dropped,largest%20party%20in%20the%20Assembly.

They collapsed the Assembly because of the money wasted in the RHI fiasco, as I said previously due to the DUP failing to take responsibility.
The DUP is hurting everyone in NI, but it’s not NI politicians who can sort the protocol, that’s for the UK government.

Wrong Stargazer. SF deliberately collapsed the Assembly. We were without an Assembly until 2020, which caused big problems.
The DUP have the support of their voters.

I think RCs were discriminated against in the past and
I can understand the wish for a united Ireland.
But I believe in fairness. There are two sides to this problem.

Stormont collapsed in 2017 because the DUP cost the taxpayer half a billion pounds through its shambolic handling of the Renewable Heating Initiative. No acceptance of responsibility or integrity, the Special Advisor who didn’t even read the relevant documents in order to advise Arlene Foster got a new job, no shame that he advised relatives to sign up to the scheme when he knew it was about to be restricted. If that had happened in Scotland, it would have been all over the news, absolutely scandalous.
As far as the protocol goes, it is up to the UK government to sort it, but they have other things to worry about. The other parties in N Ireland don’t have the power to change the protocol so the DUP are wasting their time, they’re harming their own people.

Not all businesses are thriving. Many are having difficulties and prices of some things have increased. But it's difficult to get an accurate picture.

This is the kind of thing that makes many people want to be part of the UK.
SF are becoming the major party in Ireland, and many do not want to be part of a country where IRA supporters rule.

Personally I and many others would not care as long as the Republic's economy was healthy. But it isn't and the cost of living is expensive.

www.bbc.com/news/uk-northern-ireland-53275733.amp

Yes, I understand this too

''I am not a great DUP fan, but I understand the DUP objections to the Protocol.''

but Johnson is responsible for this, and the blessed Arlene took the bung! However, one thing is clear, because of it, NI is thriving and doing much better than any other part of UK.

Yes, it would apply. You can't be aprt of Customs Union unless FMOP is also agreed.

grandtanteJE65
Freedom of movement within the EU means that if you are a citizen of one EU country you can legally move to another either to work, or to study.

But if we joined their Customs Union, that wouldn't apply would it, and we would have no tariff barriers?

By their shameful behaviour, they are enabling and hastening- the inevitable- exactly what they never wanted, then or now.

DUP actions are no more shameful than SF in 2017, when SF were the cause of us having no Assembly. But you are right., Fleurpepper They may be hastening the inevitable.

www.google.com/amp/s/www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-politics-50822912.amp

They also attended a high profile IRA funeral, bad enough in itself, but it was during the pandemic, with huge crowds. Whilst telling others to stick to the rules.
Total hypocrites.
But somehow they are always seen as better than DUP.

I am not a great DUP fan, but I understand the DUP objections to the Protocol.
We need a solution that suits both "sides" and quickly. Our country is in a mess. What that is, I have no idea, as terrorists are always waiting in the wings.

"The lack of any compassion, of ordinary human kindness and decency, of even a cursory recognition of the seriousness of what people are facing in both the question and the reply is deeply shameful and morally repugnant.

At times I despair."

Naomi Long, Leader of The Alliance Party

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Curtaintwitcher

If Northern Ireland severs ties with Great Britain and becomes an independent country, will civil war be the result?
I know all Irish people blame the British for their problems but it's no use harking on about the past. What is the best choice for the future of Northern Ireland?

Irish citizens north and south have the right to live and work in the UK, the Unionists have lost their majority and this “dog in the manger” attitude is going to loose them more support.

If the UK stays out of Europe NI will be a de facto province of Ireland, if the UK rejoins in some way the border problem disappears

Little of any of this is relevant to Northern Ireland or to Britain and has nothing to do with the border between Northern Ireland and the republic.

It is relevant because NI is still in the Single Market and has freedom of movement in the EU. That's part of the problem. There is an EU border in the Irish Sea and it makes it more complex for goods intended for NI only to move between the UK mainland and NI. Apart from that, NI is doing well trade wise because it is still in the SM.

Curtaintwitcher

If Northern Ireland severs ties with Great Britain and becomes an independent country, will civil war be the result?
I know all Irish people blame the British for their problems but it's no use harking on about the past. What is the best choice for the future of Northern Ireland?

Reunification. Splitting the island of Ireland into two was never a good idea.

Freedom of movement within the EU means that if you are a citizen of one EU country you can legally move to another either to work, or to study.

If you go to another country looking for work, you can, if you qualify for it in your home country, receive unemployment benefit for a limited time. After that you can apply for it, or social security on the same footing as the citizens of the country you are in.

If you are unable to find work, you can be required to move back to the country where you hold a passport. Likewise if you commit a crime, you can be deported, either before or after serving a prison sentence in the country where you were convicted.

Whether you can as a citizen of an EU country live permanently in another EU country, is, as far as I know, up to the country you move to to decide.

The rules are complex, determined by such factors as whether you are in work and paying taxes, married to a citizen of the country you reside in, over retirement age etc.

Little of any of this is relevant to Northern Ireland or to Britain and has nothing to do with the border between Northern Ireland and the republic.

Brexit was always going to affect the movement of goods between Britain and the EU. We could clearly see this in the EU and took steps to meet the eventuality. Why the British could not do the same is a complete mystery.