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MINISTER FOR FOREIGN Affairs Simon Coveney has said the decision by the European Commission to trigger Article 16 of the Northern Ireland Protocol to stop flow of vaccines into the North from the EU was ‘extraordinary’.
Under the terms of the protocol, goods should be able to move freely between the EU and Northern Ireland as the region remains in the single market for goods and still operates under EU customs rules.
On Friday the EU had signalled its intention to trigger Article 16 of the protocol, a safeguard clause, to temporarily place export controls on this movement in respect of vaccines.
The European Commission later rowed back on those plans, but the move has caused tension, particularly with the Northern Ireland Executive.
Speaking to Pat Kenny on Newstalk this morning, Minister Coveney described the move made by the European Commission as “a costly mistake” that was made in an attempt to “solve an entirely different problem to Brexit”.
Coveney said the Commission has been under pressure to ensure that member states are treated fairly by AstraZeneca after the company stated its supply of vaccine to the EU in the first three months of the year would be reduced.
“There was a lot of evidence to suggest that AstraZenca were saying that they could not follow through on the commitments that they made to deliver huge volumes of vaccine to the EU, yet they were fully following through on their commitments to other third countries,” he said.
“So what the EU Commission proposed was that there would be a vaccine authorisation scheme which would be contingent on companies complying with their contractual commitments to the EU.”
The minister said someone in the Commission had clearly given advice to Commission President Ursula von der Leyen that the protocol would allow Northern Ireland to be used by the pharmaceutical company as a “back door” into Britain with vaccine supplies from the EU.
“It was a costly mistake, it shouldn’t have happened. It wouldn’t have happened if there had been any consultation with the Irish government and I think everybody regrets that now,” he said.
He said once the issue was communicated to Ireland the government “objected strongly and immediately” and the decision was reversed that same evening.
Coveney said announcing the decision without having communicated with governments in the Republic, in the North or in Britain was “an extraordinary thing to do”.
“In simple terms you do not touch the Northern Ireland-Irish protocol without talking to the Irish and British governments and also to the Executive in Northern Ireland.
It’s far too sensitive, it’s a very fine balance in terms of a compromise negotiated over a long period of time and it does very important work – the protocol – in terms of protecting the Peace Process, preventing border infrastructure, facilitating trade between Northern Ireland and the UK.
“To do anything that would disrupt or undermine that, particularly on an issue that isn’t linked to the Brexit issues at all was a mistake that will not happen again.
The minister said he was not interested in “blaming people” and that the focus should be on learning lessons and rebuilding relationships and trust that had been damaged by the decision.
EU justifies #article16 Northern Ireland "mistake" saying, "only the Pope is infallible". #brexit #coronavirus #vaccine pic.twitter.com/5Mkb48XIik
— Georg von Harrach (@georgvh) February 1, 2021
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster has said she does not accept that the move was a mistake.
“It was absolutely an act of hostility and actually they have not ruled out using it again,” she told BBC Radio Ulster.
The blunder came amid mounting pressure on the Commission to address vaccine shortages across the EU.
All three companies that produce vaccines approved by the European Medicines Agency (Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna and AstraZeneca) have reported supply issues in the last month as member states struggle to manage the roll-our of the vaccination programmes.
Following tense negotiations with AstraZeneca last week, the Commission said the company will deliver nine million additional doses in the first three months of 2021, with deliveries starting a week earlier than planned.
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Interesting. With the exception of the strikes, the Luas has been very reliable and usually runs to schedule, compared to Irish rail and Dublin Bus. Its going to be harder to keep buses to a tight schedule due traffic, and people clogging up bus lanes.
The proposed routes for outsourcing are not prone to delays as they are orbital rows
They are prone to delays as they operate through some very congested roads.
Not compared to city centre, most of them routes make their time + the “new operator” will be controlled from Dublin bus control centre ………….
There is no agreement in place for Dublin Bus to control routes operated by a competitor. I don’t know where you got that fact.
You would hardly expect a competitor to control a service for you. DB will not be controlling any route not operated by them.
Examining what happened after Britain privatised the rail this isnt a good idea, just leads to huge ticket increases and lesser used/night services being scrapped. Organisng the Luas and Dublin Bus and Dart into a Transport for London style system would be more benificial where any profits are put back into infrastructure and there arent any private interests or shareholders anywhere, just quality public transport where busy routes subsidise free transport for school children or the elderly. That system works well in London where the tube drivers even end up being paid more than our train drivers. Privatisation and Transdev and the decentralisation and fragmentation of our Public transport is a bad thing for commuters pockets and for the night time economy.
Luas runs to Schedule due to the fact its on a track nothing in its way no real mechanical parts and has traffic light priority. Of course it would run on schedule.
It’s not really privatisation any more than the Luas is, it’s a similar model to Luas. Privatisation would be selling off the network and buses British Rail style. This is competing to MANAGE the routes not own them, and surely the drivers will be protected by the TUPE law. It seems to work well in London , rail competition or privatisation would never work here but this might. CIE is a bloated inefficient monster.
I doubt the drivers are transferring. Are these new routes? If not surely DB drivers would be redeployed somewhere else. You’re right it’s not privatisation so much as outsourcing, or even a concession. A lot of people get mixed up with it though, think everything is privatisation.
Yeah well privatisation sounds better on the news for the ‘everything for free brigade’ than outsourcing or concession routes and gets bums off seats while they get siptu to parade up and down about it.
It does work well . But the drivers will lose thousands. I know because I use to work for them.
Given the way we do things here – the workers will likely transfer – with ALL their old entitlements and work practices/habilts which will no doubt cripple any new offering in the same way the LUAS is being attacked now.
Any new bus operator managing a route would be well advised to hire only people with no prior CIE group experience.
Ryan just a few facts for you…
“It seems to work well in London”?? That’s because of a subvention level of £675 million per year. That budget is being cut this year so let’s see how well it works.
There is 83 different pay rates among London bus drivers. Most at the lower end of the scale.
Workers are forced to move every time a contract moves ( 5 years), meaning huge disturbance and more frozen pension entitlement.
TUPE offers no protection: if the transport network is broken up the multinational vultures will descend and the taxpayers will be paying multiples of the current subvention for a worse service.
Wonderful now we know a big part of the strike!
In even better news they have cancelled sixk leave pay for drivers whcih has increased from 4.5% to over 10% since start of 2016.
Own goal by SIPTU as they cannot so anything as the agreement allows them scrap it once aboce 5.
It does certainly seem SIPTU had the bigger picture in mind and used the all-too-willing luas drivers as pawns. I guess if they embarrassed transdev then SIPTU could say they’re not fit to run the buses and they could keep their gravy train flowing. Maybe I’ve been watching too much Game of Trones and am giving them too much credit.
SIPTU certainly got this one badly wrong and I reckon Transdev are trying to capitalise on the good will this dispute has given them
Not sure how this will pan out but the transit system in Dublin at present is awful for a European capital. Perhaps brining in an experienced expert from another jurisdiction might help Dublin move forward from the impasse of Luas strikes, lack of airport railway. .lack of night busses and from the undignified scrum called the last bus at 11.30 each night?
Buses full of scabs in case of future issues
Transdev dont have experience with any of those things? Dublin transport should be ran by a centralised authority and hire experts from London.
excellent news, transdev everyone favorite transport company
No Tommy. Every blueshirt’s favorite transport company.
Seen a piece on the Irish times website this morning about this and have been waiting for it to hit here.
Transdev certainly know how to make life interesting for themselves
If transdev win the bid to run these, i hope they recruit a better class of employee. Have a look at the picture on rte website with siptu rep, its hilarious. They really dont hire them for their looks. If you can look unintelligent, well this is a picture of it.
You want them to hire on the basis of looks? Oookay.
Eehhh No. They dont look to bright at all and im guessing thats why they are driving their greedy agenda. A brighter employee may be more appreciative of their terms and conditions
I thought their service was already derailed
No they just need more on the job train-ing!
Can’t wait til we’re paying a fiver to bus it into town.
If they give me the same wages as the luas drivers, I’m applying, happy days. I’ve over 30yrs experience.
The treatment off unions by the corporate bossed causing the chaos off luas our voted represented political people allow the rest off our transport infrastructure to foreign corporate thieves whose existence is profit based not service based any right thinking person will e mail local political rep’s for these people never be allowed hold our services held to ransom for the greed off these outside entity now is time for the famous irish fighting spirit that brought about the end off the British empire wake up Ireland please
Grow up Tadgh
“the fighting spirit that brought about the end of the British Empire ” They honoured this by striking throughout the 1916 commemorations. Sound lads.
Tadhg
Any chance you could rewrite your post to make it somewhat intelligible. I have no idea what the first half of your post is trying to say
Yeah, I’m sure Connolly and the ICA would’ve been appalled that the tram drivers would dare to go on strike…
Veolia/Transderv have a reputation of causing chaos in industrial relations all over the world. The trample all over workers rights, pay and conditions.
They already have a grip on our water, and a foot in the public transport door with the Luas. Now they want to muscle in on bus transport.
Is everything to be privatised in the country? Water, Health,Education, Social Welfare, Public Transport.
It sure looks like we are really being made TTIP friendly.
Great news if they win the deal. Onwards and upwards we go
So Dublin can expect a lot of strikes if Transdev do buy the routes seemingly as the las is on strike every day now it seems with no end in sight to this dispute….
Cos CIE never strikes over new trains? Or 10 minute DARTs (God forbid!!)or “pay differential ” or “pay equity” or “its Tuesday”??
Damn those Tuesday’s to hell
Privatise the Cops while you’re at it. The OCP Corporation really turned around the Detroit PD.
Agree Matt. Private cops is the way forward. No more brutality at water protests
Typical they can’t run the luas so they’ll probably have first choice on the bus routes. They should be thrown out of the country and let the transport authority take over and run the trains darts luas and the bus services. Get these leeches out of the country
Surely a London type system would be much better? ‘Transport for Dublin’ where all profits go straight back into the infrastructure and makes the ticket price cheaper? Privatisation leads to much higher prices (Britain’s train system an example).
Perfect opportunity for them to do this. The media have helped Transdev to look like the corporate kid with a lollipop.
TTIP McGowan, it looks like the purpose of the strike is coming out now.
All the bus drivers will be lining up to get on those routes now they know what the luas operators get. Imagine the pay where a bit of effort is required ??
Hmmm….so is this the real reason why SIPTU has backed the Luas drivers to turn down the WRC agreement. Risking their members jobs and livelihoods in a strategic power game over the privatisation of new bus services.
Looks like Dublin bus going to get the tender for the 10% so there’ll be no problem Transdev or any other private company won’t be getting any of these routes. None of the privates will operate at night when there not making money.
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