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Dr Catherine Day Sam Boal/RollingNews.ie

Catherine Day: 'Continued political oversight' needed to end Direct Provision

Dr Day said today the current Direct Provision system is “reactive” and said that people living in the system “bear the consequences” of its failures.

THE GOVERNMENT HAS said Direct Provision is not fit for purpose and should be replaced following the publication of a landmark report today on ending the controversial system. 

An Advisory Group, chaired by former Secretary General of the European Commission Dr Catherine Day, has made a number of sweeping recommendations in its report, including a once-off grant to people who have lived in the current system for more than two years. It also recommends increasing access to the labour market and own-door accommodation. 

Direct Provision was set up in 1999 in response to a sharp increase in the number of people seeking asylum in Ireland.

The system has been repeatedly criticised by migrant rights groups due to the length of time people remain in centres while their asylum applications or appeals are processed, the conditions of centres as well as the psychological effects on those living in these centres. 

Over €1 billion has been paid to private contractors and businesses since the system was established. 

Dr Day said today the current Direct Provision system is “reactive” and said that people living in the system “bear the consequences” of its failures. 

“A whole-of-government approach” is needed to replace the system, she said, adding that “continued political oversight” was required to implement the new system. 

Day’s report recommends that any person who has been living in Direct Provision for more than two years be granted leave-to-remain for a period of five years – pending security vetting.

There should be an option to renew this under a once-off case-processing approach which should be put in place by January in order to clear the current backlog of asylum applications. 

Leave-to-remain is granted to people who have been refused refugee or subsidiary protection but are not deported for humanitarian or other reasons. 

Whole-of-government approach

Today’s report was commissioned by former Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan. The Advisory Group first convened in November 2019 and presented its findings to Government in recent days. 

It was drawn up in consultation with a number of NGOs, including Nasc, the Irish Refugee Council and Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) as well as current and retired senior civil servants. 

The current system of accommodating asylum seekers should be ended and replaced by a three-stage system of State-run accommodation by mid-2023, the report says. 

The new reception system outlined in the Advisory Group’s report would see accommodation provided to people at State-owned centres for three months, according to the report. 

On-site services should also be available at this stage to assist applicants in accessing services such as health and social welfare. 

After three months at a reception centre, applicants should be helped to move to own-door accommodation through a housing allowance model.

Dr Day said today that a “mix of housing solutions” should be found and recommended that “for at least some time” the Housing Assistance Payment should be expanded to include asylum seekers. 

“We are not asking for any privilege for asylum seekers, there is no jumping up the housing list or anything else,” she said, after concerns were raised as to the impact such a move could have on the housing crisis. 

“What we have a system that was designed to be temporary. But for some people it has gone on for years and years and years,” she said. “We need to be aware of the implications of living a long time in [Direct Provision].”

A payment similar to the Housing Assistance Payment (HAP) would also be made available as well as a weekly allowance under this new system, the report recommends, as well as a number of other key recommendation which can be read here. 

It is estimated that the new system would cost €35 million less than was paid to administer Direct Provision in 2019. 

‘Keyboard warriors’

Speaking this afternoon, Minister Roderic O’Gorman said any new asylum system will take time to implement and said it was “important that we immediately begin to create a more humane system, rooted in human rights.”

O’Gorman confirmed that vulnerability assessments for asylum seekers will be introduced by the end of the year, following the report’s publication, and that the Health Information and Quality Authority (HIQA) will carry out inspections of Direct Provision centres around the country starting next year -  a key recommendation of the report. 

cabinet 187 Minister for Children, Disabilty, Equality and Integration Roderic O’Gorman TD. Sam Boal Sam Boal

The Day report, which is not legally-binding, will now inform the Government’s White Paper for replacing the controversial system of accommodating asylum seekers in Ireland, which is due to be published by January. 

Responsibility for administering Direct Provision accommodation transferred last week from the Department of Justice & Equality to the Department of Children & Youth Affairs, as part of an agreement under the Programme For Government. 

The report and its recommendations will now be considered by a committee overseeing the drafting of the White Paper. 

Said O’Gorman: “To address the homelessness crisis, we have a very ambitious target of 30,000 social houses to be provided across the lifetime of the government and we saw the first steps towards that taking the budget, to deliver 9000 of social houses from next year.”

“We will be setting out, how we achieve the various steps within the sphere of direct provision, within the white paper and the timelines we’ll need to add to deliver that, we don’t minimise the scale of the challenge here but, we have set it as an objective within the programme for government and the government is fully committed to delivering on that objective.”

In response to concern regarding opposition to Direct Provision centres in Ireland and the rise of the far-right, O’Gorman said that improved community engagement and “open communication” should help counteract opposition from “the far-right and keyboard warriors”. 

Justice Minister Helen McEntee said this afternoon that violent behaviour “is never acceptable, whether it’s from a far-right group, whether it’s a group opposed to Direct Provision…and as a society we need to make that very clearly.”

‘Significant’ 

NGOs and migrant rights groups have broadly welcomed today’s report. 

“The significance of this report cannot be understated,” Fiona Finn, CEO of Nasc said.

“Twenty years after the introduction of Direct Provision, a government-commissioned independent report has called for an end to Direct Provision and charted a pathway for the State to provide a protection and reception system for international protection applicants with the needs of applicants at its heart.”

The Movement of Asylum Seekers in Ireland (MASI) said that “while the report makes groundbreaking recommendations such as recommending the provision of housing, healthcare, and welfare payments to asylum seekers who do not stay in reception centres… there are some areas that need further consideration in the report.”

MASI spokesman Bulelani Mfaco raised concerns that asylum seekers could be open to discrimination under a HAP housing model. 

While it has welcomed a 6-month statutory timeframe for processing asylum claims, MASI said this is unhelpful without consequences or benefit for an asylum seeker “if and when the State fails to meet this deadline”. 

MASI called on the Irish State to match this with a legislative provision for the granting of permission to remain to any applicant who has not received a final decision on their asylum claim within 18 months from the date they lodged their application. 

It says it would end the legal limbo facing many asylum seekers and ensure that no asylum seeker spends years waiting for a decision in future. 

“The alternative to Direct Provision must truly mark a departure from the horrors of the past two decades. This must be reflected in the White Paper that will be published before the end of this year to set out a new policy on reception conditions for asylum seekers in Ireland,” Mfaco said. 

007 Fireworks Minister for Justice McEntee RollingNews.ie RollingNews.ie

Amnesty International, meanwhile, said it welcomed the expert group’s recommendations but said “this is just the beginning”.  

“At this stage, we will need detailed implementation plans with ironclad commitments and timelines that will outlast any shifts in the political landscape,” Amnesty said in a statement.

“The pandemic has also forced government to confront the brutal reality of Direct Provision’s accommodation system. So, the practical recommendations in this report such as own-door accommodation, as well as housing people in areas where they can actually access employment and education, will have profound impacts on people’s lives.”

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23 Comments
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:36 AM

    Unfortunately the UK need to pay a penalty for breaking an agreement. I have no idea what that penalty should be. The EU is between the rock and that hard place, but needs to do something.

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    Mute Padraic O Sullivan
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:47 AM

    @Paul Furey: well the EU cant use the Enigma machine as Turing cracked that during WWII.
    They will have to come up with a more secure communication system to support an invasion.

    37
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    Mute Ima Bored
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:56 AM

    @Paul Furey: and when the EU activated article 16 , what penalty should they recieve

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    Mute john s
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:02 PM

    @Ima Bored: they reversed that knee jerk decision in a matter of hours . Have the UK changed their mind no. Dup are pushing ahead

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    Mute Daimhín De Naois
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:06 PM

    @Ima Bored: when did they activate it? They threatened to, but, didnt. Same as UK did two weeks prior to that occassion. How is there so much mis-information out there by people when its been literally all over the news? Fascinating and kinda frightening that people havent got a clue what theyre on about when they can easily check for themselves. Alternate reality kinda stuff

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    Mute Ima Bored
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:12 PM

    @john s: That may be true, but the fact that an unelected commision can do that worries me

    34
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:14 PM

    @Ima Bored: so many get so much wrong here. A couple of EU lawyers under pressure trying to ensure no vaccination conniving would happen up north. Ursula corrected her error and apologised within hours. Nothing was activated. So stop it with your twisted news. At least only 5 sheep liked your post and that’s a good sign.

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    Mute Gerry Ryan
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:15 PM

    @Paul Furey: fianacial services passport to EU trade, in the pocket, that’ll learn em

    19
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:27 PM

    @Gerry Ryan: looks like EU legal action is imminent. I wonder are the brits actually moving towards cancelling the brexit trade deal? I’m getting the popcorn.

    23
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    Mute Mad Worldman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:43 PM

    @Ima Bored: they didn’t do it though. It was a reaction to vaccines produced in the EU going to the UK where they already have plenty.
    And the commission is elected. Stop swallowing the propaganda in the British press.

    54
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    Mute Niall O
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:24 PM

    @Paul Furey: Keep a cool head, don’t say too much publicly, don’t upset the status quo…and head to court.

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    Mute Niall O
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:27 PM

    @Ima Bored: You mean European Parliament, don’t you, which is, in fact, elected. The Commission are just civil servants.

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    Mute Rudy de Groot
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    Mar 5th 2021, 3:15 PM

    @Ima Bored: they are not unelected. They are voted in by the European Parliament. Last time I looked, the European Parliament is elected by the voters in the respective EU Memberstates.

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    Mute Ima Bored
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    Mar 5th 2021, 7:36 PM

    @Mad Worldman:

    How is the European Commission elected?
    The Commissioners are proposed by the Council of the European Union, on the basis of suggestions made by the national governments, and then appointed by the European Council after the approval of the European Parliament.

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    Mute Mad Worldman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 8:58 PM

    @Ima Bored: you’ve answered your own question there

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    Mute A Well Known Comical Stereotype
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    Mar 5th 2021, 9:40 PM

    @Padraic O Sullivan: You stuck in the 1940′s? This is 2021. The EU is 27 countries.

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    Mute Nigel Barlow
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    Mar 6th 2021, 3:09 AM

    @Paul Furey: baaaaa

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    Mute SPQH
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:45 AM

    As we all know UK has a long history of not honoring territorial agreements all around the world, it was almost laughable was it not so serious, when the UK was insisting last December the agreements should be based on trust. The EU rightly insisted on a rules based approach.

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:56 AM

    The UK never even thought about Ireland… either part… in the run up to their referendum. The problems associated with their Brexit should have been addressed before the referendum and leaving there EU. These problems have all been caused by the UK side and now in typical Johnson style he’s trying to make the EU responsible for the UK’s irresponsibility. The UK and by default the unionists are the problem here… not Ireland or the EU

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:18 PM

    @Marc Power: and they never thought about their emigrants living elsewhere in the EU and never thought that so many businesses want to keep a presence within the EU. The voted on emotions….zero facts

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    Mute Marc Power
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:19 PM

    @Paul Furey: they voted on ignorance and arrogance

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:29 PM

    @Marc Power: that to :) and delusion based on tainted nostalgia

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    Mute Dara Mac Fhionnain
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:42 AM

    GB trying to delay the enivitable. Use the grace period to set up the customs infrastructure and just get on with it. This is what GB voted for.

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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:16 PM

    @Dara Mac Fhionnain: actually they had no idea what brexit entailed. They only now realise what it means.

    57
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    Mute Mad Worldman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:02 PM

    It’s obvious now that Brexit was a bad idea. Only a small number of very rich people are going to benefit.
    The majority of people in Northern Ireland voted against it but because of the claptrap pedalled by the British tabloids now have to live with the reality of it.
    Some democracy.

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    Mute Jack Cass
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:27 PM

    @Mad Worldman: @Mad Worldman: And the majority of people in the Roscommon/ South Leitrim constituency voted against the same sex referendum. Should their democratic rights be upheld or only the democratic rights of causes you believe in?

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    Mute Mad Worldman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:19 PM

    @Jack Cass: that’s a false equivalence. The people of Roscommon dont have to participate in same sex marriage if they dont want to. Those in NI who knew Brexit was bad for NI now have no choice but to go along with it. Voters in Yorkshire or Cornwall have imposed restrictions on people in an area they don’t know about or give a damn about.

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    Mute Jack Cass
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    Mar 5th 2021, 2:08 PM

    @Mad Worldman: Brexit was an all UK referendum the same as the same sex marriage referendum was a Republic of Ireland referendum. The Leave side won the Brexit referendum, a victory for democracy whether you like the outcome or not. Complaints regarding voting jurisdictions are nothing more than diversions to those that refuse to accept outcomes of votes. How is your argument different than those of Donald Trump supporters in Florida? Trump won that state but lost the overall vote.

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    Mute Mad Worldman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 2:57 PM

    @Jack Cass: Brexit was a vote on international trade and politics. It is not the same as a general election or a vote on civil rights. You should try to understand this. International politics is very complicated and specialised. The Brexit vote, specifically, was a failure of democracy. The arguments for it were spurious, misinformed, vague, populist and deliberately divisive, influenced by agents outside the UK, data analysts, PR companies and dodgy algorithms. It definitely was not a “victory for democracy”, it was a victory for a small number of wealthy vested interests.

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    Mute Jack Cass
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    Mar 5th 2021, 3:21 PM

    @Mad Worldman: Are you saying that a nations vote on a General Election or a Civil Rights issue is less important than a vote on International Trade and/or Politics? Wow!!!

    3
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    Mute Mad Worldman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 3:34 PM

    @Jack Cass: now you’re just being silly because your argument doesn’t stand up

    6
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    Mute Hugo Bugo
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:55 AM

    The uk were always going to play this card, if the eu negotiators didn’t forsee this then I don’t know what to say, you’ve been had

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    Mute Gerry Ryan
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:18 PM

    @Hugo Bugo: Boris pandering to the ERG, giving them a reason to puff out their chests, he’s done it before and changed his mind, several times, this is yet another, he’ll back off when it’s pointed out to him that financial services still haven’t been given the all clear to shake down EU citizens

    31
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:20 PM

    @Hugo Bugo: they knew! The EU constantly agreed to a UK delays over the last 2 years. The EU know that the UK government cannot be trusted.

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    Mute Rory J Leonard
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:45 PM

    @Hugo Bugo:

    EU negotiated with UK in good faith, so their hands are spotlessly clean, in the eyes of the World.

    The only folk who have “been had” are the UK Electorate in that 2016 Referendum, which was won on the basis of lies and false promises from the ERG driven Tories, ably assisted by a largely unquestioning and compliant main stream media.

    Now that Brexit has been delivered, all signed off agreements need to be honoured.

    Allowing UK sail off into their Brexit sunset would be relatively easy for EU, except for NI with a leg in each camp, which should in itself be brilliant news for NI Economy, but not according to gospel of the DUP, who seeming would feel lonely for yet-to-be-defined delights of Brexit (unless it’s to do with tax), if they ever stopped rattling their sabres.

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    Mute Gerard
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:05 PM

    I’m sure China is getting ready for the next time the UK cries foul over the Sino-British Joint Declaration.

    The most egregious part, and the very reason why this is so tricky to navigate, is that the extensions the UK has “decided” on (after having asked for them), were ones the EU was likely to grant by all accounts.

    Now if the EU agrees to them, it looks like we just rolled over to the Great Trading Nation of the UK. If the EU refuses, it looks unreasonable because the extension was reasonable (which was why we were likely to agree). It was intentionally inflamatory.

    34
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    Mute Julian Friesel
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    Mar 5th 2021, 2:00 PM

    @Gerard: which leaves EU negotiators with few options, one of them being a complete halt of trade with the UK (we can call it “temporary” too) until they implement even a hint of their commitments. I don’t favour this but I don’t like being bullied by English men either.

    22
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    Mute Tom Mc Phillips
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:04 PM

    A United ireland would solve all these problems including tighter covid controls (quarantines and PCR testing) on flights coming into belfast.

    28
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    Mute Paul Furey
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:26 PM

    @Tom Mc Phillips: except for a lot of unionists. I’ve no idea how these can be won over.

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    Mute Niall O
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    Mar 5th 2021, 1:28 PM

    @Tom Mc Phillips: I think we should give talk of a United Ireland a rest for a while. Not likely in our lifetime.

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    Mute A Well Known Comical Stereotype
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    Mar 5th 2021, 9:47 PM

    @Niall O: Bozo is working hard to make it happen.

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:50 AM

    The empty shelves and keeping people fed, etc. that are betrayed sometimes cannot be a consequence of the Brexit rules that are only to be applied in the future… I too have fallen into that trap forgetting that the current supply issue, if there is one, is caused by existing rules and not new rules and aaking for a deferrment past April will not address the issues caused since January.

    While some wish to tar the DUP as antagonists, and make this political, this needs to be avoided aa the underlying issue is more serious and deep rooted.

    I really believe the UK government had no idea what it was signing up to as many people do not remember pre EEC and EU days although some should have realised that the deal cut NI off just like Jersey etc.

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    Mute SPQH
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    Mar 5th 2021, 11:55 AM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: that’s a good point regarding “existing” third country rules.

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    Mute Niall Ó Cofaigh
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    Mar 5th 2021, 12:02 PM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: The problem is that the only comeback that the EU have is to stop and check the flow of goods into the EU at the NI border if the UK does not stop and check the flow of goods into NI. If this does not happen then the next step is to implement stops and checks of goods leaving Ireland for the rest of the EU. We should have joined Schengen as, withour membership, there are already controls on the movement of people between Ireland and the EU so adding Customs to existing immigration controls is an option – which I hasten to add I wouod be against but it is easy to implement. The risk to the EU is small at this time while the risk of a hard border on the island of Ireland increases despite the unproven argument that such a border breaches the Good Friday Agreement.

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    Mute Joe Thorpe
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    Mar 5th 2021, 4:21 PM

    @Niall Ó Cofaigh: Absolutely no reason Ireland couldn’t join Schengen, just withdraw from the common travel area with the UK & end all rights to live & work in each other’s jurisdictions. I doubt many in the UK would object & the days of passports at airports for intra EU travel would be over, except they wouldn’t because our airports are not up to the job they can’t funnel passengers who need passports and those that don’t to separate arrival desks which is why Irish travellers to the UK don’t need to show passports while travellers from the U.K. to Ireland do have to show passports.

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    Mute Albert Brennerman
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    Mar 5th 2021, 2:45 PM

    NI have a point if they are having issues in food supply.
    EU hasa a right to secure its trade border.

    Abandonning protocol is biased towards unionist politics. It cannot be the solution.

    The basic principle must remain towards the greatest peace for all people those who fly the union jack and people that fly the tri colour our history is shared.

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    Mute brendan o connell
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    Mar 5th 2021, 2:00 PM

    The UK just keep poking the best who is obviously sleeping.

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    Mute brendan o connell
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    Mar 5th 2021, 2:01 PM

    @brendan o connell: meant BEAR

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