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THE IRISH BACKSTOP.
It’s almost been a year since the UK government and the EU agreed to a political safety net for Ireland, and we’re still no closer to agreeing the details of what it would look like.
Further than that, the UK government has created uncertainty over whether the final Withdrawal Agreement will include a backstop, which is why the EU and Irish government have been so staunch in repeating that it was a vital, “cast iron guarantee” of no border in a final Brexit deal.
Former foreign secretary Boris Johnson, who’s among the candidates to become the next Tory leader, has said that the backstop should be scrapped completely.
On the latest episode of the Guardian ‘Politics Weekly’ podcast, one contributor Jonathan Lis said that there needed to be “less illusion” at this “11th hour, or five minutes to midnight” about the backstop that Theresa May signed up to in December.
“Michael Gove, who is not a stupid man, and Boris Johnson and others have been falling over themselves to say that they didn’t understand what their own government signed up to in December. Now that is not acceptable.
This idea that there’s no unified government position at the end of the negotiations, is unprecedented in its level of incompetence.
So if you haven’t quite grasped what exactly the backstop is, you’d be forgiven.
Here’s what it is
The backstop is a sort of Plan B, insurance policy, or safety net that would kick in if a better deal isn’t agreed in the second stage of Brexit talks, which will focus on trade (a part of the Future Relationship).
The backstop would kick in at the end of the transition period – which starts on 29 March and ends on 31 December 2020 - if a final deal is agreed.
Put simply, the backstop ensures that Northern Ireland would stay “aligned” to the regulations of the single market and the customs union if there is still no other solution that would avoid infrastructure along the Irish border.
To avoid a border, it means there would have to be the same or similar custom rules and regulations for products, food, animals, people and vehicles between the UK and the EU – or Northern Ireland and the EU.
“Regulatory alignment” is the guarantee, which is important: it doesn’t mean the regulations would be the exact same, but similar enough to avoid a hard border.
Until talks between the EU and UK on trade begin, it won’t be clear how many regulations and customs checks will be the same or different, and because of that it isn’t clear whether the backstop is necessary.
But almost immediately after the deal was struck, there’s been disagreement over what the backstop is. For example:
Should be for a limited period of time or not? The UK says it should be time limited, the EU responded by saying it needed to be an “all-weather” backstop, and would be pointless if it were temporary.
Would it apply to the UK as a whole, or just Northern Ireland? The UK wants it to apply to the whole of the UK until a better deal is made. But the EU say that it can only apply to Northern Ireland, as its whole point is to preserve the peace process. It also says that it’s less of a hassle for the backstop to apply to a small region than it would the entire UK.
If there’s no agreement on the backstop – as in, if they can’t agree on “regulatory alignment” on the island of Ireland that would mean no infrastructure is needed – then there is no Brexit deal and the UK will go crashing out of the EU.
Ironically, if the UK does go crashing out of the EU, it’s most likely that a hard border will automatically reappear on the island of Ireland anyway – which is something German Chancellor Angela Merkel admitted to last week.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar warned EU leaders at the end of the October summit, that if a hard border does return to the island of Ireland, it could see a return to Troubles-era violence.
Political influence on the backstop
The backstop was first decided upon in early December 2017, but although the EU and UK came to an agreement, the final signing was delayed after the DUP said it was unhappy with the wording.
The party wanted an assurance that a border would not appear along the Irish Sea, which the backstop wording had remained helpfully vague on before the DUP’s input.
But last December, as the EU and UK were on the cusp of an agreed backstop, Theresa May flew out from Brussels to meet the DUP leadership to hear their concerns (as its 10 Westminster MPs are propping up her Tory government).
After this, the backstop included a line confirming that there would be “no new regulatory barriers develop (sic) between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom”.
If the EU negotiators thought that the UK’s stance on this would soften, they were wrong. Theresa May has repeatedly said that she wouldn’t accept a deal that would “carve off” Northern Ireland from Great Britain, and that she would preserve the integrity of the United Kingdom.
Barnier tried to “de-dramatize” the idea of customs checks on trade between Great Britain and Ireland, saying that it would simply increase the number of goods and vehicles checked at ports and airports.
But as recently as yesterday, May told the House of Commons: “Anything that effectively creates a customs border along the Irish Sea is not acceptable.”
Many theorise that the DUP is a major part of May’s inability to strike a deal: although there are already differences in social policies between Northern Ireland and Great Britain, unionists fear that if the EU were to treat the North as an exception for peace-keeping reasons, that it could eventually lead to a united Ireland.
So, what’s the latest?
Among the discarded solutions to the Northern Irish border issue that have been shot down over the past year are “Oyster-card-like technology” to check the movement of goods and people; the Canada border which was dismissed by the Irish government as “efficient, but it’s still a hard border” and a backstop to the backstop.
Yesterday in the House of Commons, May said that they were 95% agreed on a Brexit deal, but that there remained ”one real sticking point”. The backstop.
She said that four things needed to happen now, just five months before her country leaves the European Union.
Firstly, she wants the UK and EU to agree to a temporary customs deal so that the Northern Ireland only proposal is no longer needed, adding that the relationship between the North and the UK was integral to the Good Friday Agreement and that “nothing we agree with EU under Article 50 should risk a return to a hard border”.
Secondly, and most importantly, she said that she wanted the option to extend the implementation period as an alternative to the backstop, despite describing an extension as “undesirable”.
“By far the best outcome for the UK, for Ireland and for the EU – is that our future relationship is agreed and in place by 1st January 2021… But the impasse we are trying to resolve is about the insurance policy if this does not happen.”
If at the end of 2020 our future relationship was not quite ready, the proposal is that the UK would be able to make a sovereign choice between the UK-wide customs backstop or a short extension of the implementation period.
There are some limited circumstances in which it could be argued that an extension to the implementation period might be preferable, if we were certain it was only for a short time.
(The third point she made was that neither of these options could be indefinite, and the fourth was that Northern Irish businesses enjoy full access to Great Britain.)
“We have to explore every possible option to break the impasse and that is what I am doing,” she said. So for now, the ball is in the EU’s court.
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The sentence should be the maximum you can receive if do not participate in these courses. What they are telling us is that they do not want to be cured if they refuse to do these courses . This guy gets early release for not doing the courses what lesson does this teach him .The judges are to lenient on these crimes.
@Donal Carey: Well said.
@Donal Carey: Well he didn’t get early release. He served every day of his sentence minus the remission which is automatically given to every prisoner. But sex offenders do not qualify for early release. Early release is separate to remission. Also you cant have prisoners taking part in sex offender treatment against their will for two reasons. Firstly it will adversely affect the participant’s who are genuinely trying to correct their behaviour if they have a disruptive individual in the group. It’s pretty much all group work. Secondly they have to talk about their offence etc so if someone is claiming that they’re innocent they obviously can’t do that. Personally I think there should be some sort of extra monitoring or something done when they are released if they haven’t taken part.
@Donal Carey: I see your point but it is probably also better that the people doing the course are the ones who genuinely want to be cured. Having the participation diluted by people faking it wouldn’t be good. It would waste a lot of professionals time. If there is a group element with others who actually want to be better than it would be unfair to them too.
I’m not saying I’m happy with unrepentant peadophiles getting the same sentence as repentant ones but it’s not straight forward
@Donal Carey: reopen spike island, dont renovate just reopen with armed guards
@Donal Carey: There is no evidence that paedophilia can be “cured” in fact most therapy sessions are based on getting them to refrain from there actions .I have heard the view its would be akin to asking to cure people of Heterosexuality
Give them the snip
@Oisin Curry: or snip them everyday with a hedge shears..where it hurts most..
@Oisin Curry: give them the rope, dont deserve anything less
@Oisin Curry: A rusty secateurs for pruning should keep things under control.
A team of psychologists and 60 therapy sessions how many children could do with them services no wonder the waiting list is so long for child services in this country being wasted on this sh@t.
@Faixa Roxa: Go away you nut case! Ffs you need help, find it elsewhere, or tell your story!
@GerryCummins: Look “Gerry” your fake Twitter account literally has no info on who you really are. Another troll & another spineless twit.
@Faixa Roxa: fine glass house you’re in there
@stephen bracken: really a ridiculous comment
He has done his time , leave him alone, he will be watched, if he re offends then he is —- whatever, . We have to stop being paranoid about prisoners being released.
@Eugene Comaskey: people need proper justice not this soft BS from a weak government
@Eugene Comaskey: Would you be happy if he was living near you and you had children ?
@Eugene Comaskey: the problem is if he reoffends it’s too late, another innocent child is destroyed. When he didn’t engage with services in prison he should have served his full sentence, which was light anyway. That needs to be built into sentences.
@Eugene Comaskey: ah yeah, we’re far too paranoid about sex offenders who refuse to engage in rehabilitation.
@Eugene Comaskey: you really are an idiot
@Eugene Comaskey: will he be watched if he emigrates to Spain? And then returns to UK or back to Ireland?
@Alan Scott: the chances are if Humpheries and his ilk are living in a neighbourhood and a child gets sexually assaulted, it will be by someone known to the child (& not to the community) who will have offended. We have to stop thinking if we punish known offenders and isolate them.. we are making things safer for our children… we aren’t…
I’d much prefer having a known offender as a neighbour than one who hasn’t been convicted (the latter being a much greater number).
@Eugene Comaskey: yeah all those stories of serial offenders and repeat offenders. And then this lad is clearly completely in denial about his crime. But yeah. You’re right. We’re paranoid for nothing.
Target practice, at best!
@Willie Murphy: What Humphreys is he is a evil B who at best should be still in behind bars the fact that he did cooperate in any of the courses and I bet he would go after children the minute he got the chance .
@Alan Scott: he will come to notice again
@Alan Scott: That’s why he & “they” should be deleted. Too much money d “rehabilitation” wasted on these vermin.
Why was this joker released early , he refused to participate in any sex offender courses whilst in prison, he is as much a danger now as he was before he was jailed. Sentences by out of touch judges are destroying people’s faith in the justice system.
@Gus Sheridan: why was his sentence only 22 months in the first place. Disgraceful
There should be a sex offenders register which is made public. Every parent has the right to know what type of individual is living in their area.
@Dwayne Jordan: most sex offenders never get justice. 9 out of 10 sex crimes are never reported
There should be some kind of a system like in the US where you’re notified if there’s anyone on the sex offender register moving into or living in your area. Whether that’s true or not I don’t know but I was told you can find out if they’re living near you
@Alex Nevin: What happens if the wrong person is targeted.
Oooohhhhh….look at me, I’m outraged.
As much as I hate to say this but in the eyes of the law he was punished and served his sentence and has a right to be left alone
Great article, well done Michelle, much needed. We must never loose our capacity to have empathy for each other. The victim should always come first its true but until we are prepared to consider the abuser as a human being, things can only get worse. Imagine for a moment, you are the abuser or one of your children has abused. Think about that for a moment. Of course what abusers do is heinous but that is the point. The damage they cause through their actions destroys lives and we have to be open to trying anything to prevent that happening and if we are so full of hatred and rage nothing will change. Things will get worse and we wont be able to break this awful cycle of abuse thats destroying our lives.
@June Kelly: life behind bars in an adult only prison would be just as effective. I don’t feel any empathy for a man that groomed and raped a child.
@June Kelly: I disagree I think it a ridiculous article. Sex offenders come out if prison every day. Tom Humphreys is no different to the sex offender released yesterday or the one tomorrow. He was sentenced in the basis of the information provided to the sitting judge.
His risk of re-offending is very low. These crimes happened 2010/11 he has spent a large portion of that time before he went to prison in a mental hospital. He has suffered enough. Why do people want to keep punishing him.
So much crap in this Article and I know from personal experience.
HOPE I BUMP INTO THIS FILTH
@STOIC SAVAGE: and what will you do?
@Paul O’Sullivan: that’s none of your concern Paul.
@STOIC SAVAGE: you are worse than him
@Paul O’Sullivan: hahaha cop yourself on pal…. You seem extremely sympathetic to paedos… Sicko yourself by the sounds of it
That programme sounds incredibly light handed, it isn’t like they were caught with a bit of hash, these are sick predators! Sorry, I don’t support this programme at all. If you’re wondering why it’s easy to get money for prisons it’s because these paedophiles should never get the opportunity to offend again, and this isn’t unique to any one party, across the board none of us want to see Tom Humphries or people like him to be free again.
Choose a life as a sex offender!! Out before 70% of other offenders! Don’t be stupid, choose SEX OFFENDER
A person becomes homeless…can’t find a place to live, it’s a hard life!!!… Another one defiles a child and on release is given accomodation???? Really!
Best way to cure these sick f_€ks is to burn them slowly
Paedophiles find minors sexually attractive in the same way I find mature women attractive and gays find their own gender attractive. We have the issue with it, not the paedophile. In the past, people made homosexuality illegal and tried curing it; we now know it doesn’t work and accept same sex couples as normal. If we can’t accept paedophilia as normal, we should at least accept it can’t be cured. For the record, it is possible for an adult to legally have sex with a minor in this country; a person is a minor until age 18, the age of consent is 17; try figuring that anomaly out.
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