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LAST UPDATE | 27 Oct 2022
WE’RE FAST APPROACHING THE literal eleventh hour, with the deadline for forming a new Northern Ireland Executive set to be hit at midnight.
After that, Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris is legally bound to call another election.
Technically, legislation could be amended to give the parties another few weeks but Heaton-Harris has pledged to call an election, likely to be held in December.
The reason for the impasse is the DUP, which is refusing to engage with the process in protest at the Northern Ireland Protocol. The DUP is opposing the nomination of speakers in the Assembly and without speakers the Assembly cannot function.
Political reps have left Stormont without any resolution and a second election in the space of seven months now looms.
This is Eoghan Dalton here taking you through the “last-ditch” attempt to recall the Assembly.
Sinn Féin leader Michelle O’Neill starts proceedings, saying that the public will be “watching bewildered” as they see the continued impasse.
She says civil servants have been “left in an impossible position” where come midnight they will be expected to run essential public services “and yet have no budget and no powers to do so”.
O’Neill blasted the DUP, claiming they are “continuing to deny and disrespect” the outcome of the general election earlier this year.
“The DUP want yesterday. It’s no longer available to you,” O’Neill says.
Concluding her address, she warns that there will not be a return to direct rule, with the “alternative to power sharing joint authority between London and Dublin”.
Outside the parliament, the DUP have been holding a press conference, where Jeffresy Donaldson has been adamant that “Unionists will never accept joint authority”, as indicated by governments in London and Dublin.
“Unionists will never accept joint authority.”@J_Donaldson_MP : “If the Irish Gov think by threatening me & my party with joint authority they are deluded”@BBCNewsNI pic.twitter.com/w4jkP29qDu
— Darran Marshall (@DarranMarshall) October 27, 2022
Back in the Assembly, Paul Givan, for the DUP, said the recall is “another flawed and failed attempt at trying to form a new executive”.
Each time they had reentered the parliament unionist members had found their mandate “disrespected”, criticising his counterparts in Sinn Féin and Alliance.
“Power sharing if it has to mean anything has to be about consensus and not contempt,” Givan said.
In her party’s contribution, Alliance leader Naomi Long told the house that the restoration of the executive is vital as many “public services are “on their knees”, while those that aren’t “are teetering on the brink”.
She said that “nobody cared” who occupied the chair of speaker, only that it could be filled so that MLAs can “do the jobs that we were elected to do and serve the public to the fullest of our ability”.
UUP leader Doug Beattie warns members that they will be facing “anger” if they return to the polls.
“There’s an awful lot of anger in here today and I can understand that, but I have to say the anger in here today is absolutely nothing compared to the anger that resides on the streets, the towns and the villages of Northern Ireland.
“I guess we’re all going to feel a little bit of that anger in the next six or seven, seven weeks. It’s gonna be fun.”
On the SDLP side, Matthew O’Toole says it is as “nihilist as it is untrue” to say that a devolved government can’t deliver for Northern Ireland.
He says people’s “trust in politics has fallen even further” due to the crisis, while “their lives have gotten harder”.
“My party isn’t responsible for that mess. But I’m ashamed by it. I’m ashamed of this place because unlike others in this chamber, I’m capable of shame.”
Jim Alister, leader of the Traditional Unionist Party (TUV), starts by declaring “How dare unionists stand up for themselves?”
He says sovereignty is the “fundamental issue” with the Protocol.
“It’s about the fact that we are subject to foreign laws,” he says.
Alister directs a message to Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris that he, as TUV leader, will be there to “stiffen the resolve and make sure unionism does not roll over” in the event of an election.
He adds that Heaton-Harris should be “making sure that the Union rules in Northern Ireland, not the EU”, but that he is “failing miserably in that job”, before drawing some shouts when by finishing with a final call.
“No surrender is not just an historic slogan. It’s a present day necessity in opposing this union’s dismantling,” he says.
Tensions continue to rise in the Assembly, as Alliance leader Naomi Long hits back at “singling out” of MLAs when other members are speaking, calling it an attempt to “undermine” their integrity.
Meanwhile the DUP’s East Antrim MLA Gordon Lyons says today’s gathering is not “a serious attempt to elect a speaker” and instead is “a campaign launch” ahead of the increasingly likely election.
For People Before Profit, Gerry Carroll says the DUP’s focus on the Protocol is designed to “ramp up tensions and ultimately to shore up their own vote”.
“…Recent history has shown that no matter how much misery they inflict on our communities, no matter what the very real damage caused by their actions, they continue their song and dance with the protocol,” the West Belfast MLA says.
South Antrim MLA Steve Aiken notes it may be the “last time” many MLAs speaking in the Assembly, predicting it may be a “long, long time” before it will return.
The UUP representative also directs a message to the Secretary of State, saying he finds the idea of an election “that people don’t want” an “incredulous” idea.
He adds that Heaten-Harris’ own government had “wasted” billions of public money “by their own ineptness” during the brief Liz Truss premiership.
Aiken further derides the proposal for joint authority between London and Dublin as something he finds “absolutely incredible”, calling for all in the chamber to “start listening to the real concerns of all people” who have issues with the Protocol.
In Dublin, the Tánaiste has told the Dáil that the results of May’s election were “clear and should be honoured”, rather than a new vote taking place.
“We believe that Northern Ireland doesn’t need a new election,” Leo Varadkar told Leaders’ Questions.
“It had an election 24 weeks ago. The results were clear and should be honoured. What Northern Ireland needs is a functioning assembly and a functioning executive to give effect to that choice and to provide leadership during the difficult period ahead.
So every effort should be made to avoid, and further in my view, an unwanted election.”
Vardakar says today is the “last chance to do so, with “one political party . . . blocking the formation of the executive”.
“The decision of one party to block the operation of the Northern Ireland executive runs counter to democracy and risks undermining the faith of the people in the potential for democratic politics to respond to their needs.”
Different MLAs have been laying out the cost of what having no functioning executive means.
“Yes we can give out vouchers for food banks but we can’t tackle the reasons people need to go to them,” the SDLP’s Sinead McLoughlin says.
She adds that politicians “can raise cases with the Health Trust” but “can’t bring down waiting lists.
“No, an executive won’t solve all our problems but it has the power to set our priorities,” McLoughlin says, “and is the very, very least people should expect of us.”
She is the latest MLA to note the absence of DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson from the debate.
Danny Donnelly, an Alliance MLA who left his career as a nurse to enter politics, picks up on the theme of other speakers.
“But since the election six months ago, I’ve been prevented from doing what I was sent here to do,” singling out the cost of living crisis and health issues as the key items the Assembly needs to focus towards.
“I’m unable to take part in important issues in this chamber, or attend committee meetings to scrutinise the work for ministers or departments who want us over the last six months however, I have met with many people in groups who have strongly expressed their wish that this assembly is up and delivery for everyone in Northern Ireland as soon as possible.”
He is supported by party colleague and Belfast East MLA Peter McReynolds who calls a new election “indulgent” given those issues facing Northern Ireland.
He says he supports the election of a speaker at today’s sitting and supports devolution, before saying he wanted to “plead with the DUP”.
“Nominate a speaker, get this place up and running again and go back to work.”
Voting has started on whether to elect the SDLP’s longtime MLA Patsy McGlone as speaker, after his selection was challenged.
Members have started filing to cast their vote…
The results are in. While there were 45 votes in favour of McGlone – with all nationalist members supporting him – only one unionist MLA went in his favour. 17 members from the ‘Others’ also voted for him.
Despite that, the motion falls.
A second vote is now underway for another candidate.
The second vote goes the same way as the first and fails.
The Ulster Unionists’ Mike Nesbitt has also failed to secure the necessary cross-community support from MLAs.
“The Assembly has today been unable to elect a speaker and been unable to conduct its first item of business. Therefore, we proceed no further,” the chamber hears.
MLAs agree to adjourn the sitting, with a second election in six months now almost guaranteed.
Proceedings have ended in the Assembly but we’ll be back to report on further developments later ahead of the election deadline.
With no speaker elected, UUP leader Doug Beattie has labelled this afternoon’s Assembly proceedings as “farcical”.
“All we saw today was angry accusations,” Beattie said, speaking to the media outside the chamber.
We need to get the executive up and running again, to get the executive up and running again we must sort out the protocol, and we need to do it now.
It can be done and the Secretary of State needs to stop putting his fingers in his ears and being blind to what’s going on, and start getting the EU and UK Government to do something right to get the executive up and running again by dealing with the protocol
The UK Foreign Secretary, James Cleverly, and EU Commissioner Maros Sefcovic have spoken over the Northern Ireland Protocol.
In a tweet, Sefcovic said that the two had a “good conversation” and that their teams will continue to work on the Protocol.
“The EU’s commitment to finding joint solutions remains unwavering. It’s the only way to ensure certainty and predictability in Northern Ireland,” Sefcovic said.
📞 Good conversation with @JamesCleverly. We agree that our teams will continue to engage on the Protocol on IE/NI.
— Maroš Šefčovič🇪🇺 (@MarosSefcovic) October 27, 2022
The EU's commitment to finding joint solutions remains unwavering. It's the only way to ensure certainty and predictability in Northern Ireland.
We'll speak soon. pic.twitter.com/2T9ZpBJIBu
On the UK side, Cleverly said that the priority must be “upholding the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement and protecting political stability in Northern Ireland.
The SDLP’s Matthew O’Toole has said that a winter election is “unwanted” in Northern Ireland, saying that the likely outcome will be to further polarise society and increase cynicism.
We cannot be knocking on the doors of people across the North, who are struggling to heat their homes and put food on their table, and asking them to vote, but that’s the situation the DUP’s boycott has left us in with the likely result achieving nothing more than further polarising society here and increasing cynicism.
Getting the Assembly and Executive up and running again would not be a panacea for the issues impacting people in our communities, but it’s ridiculous to say that local representatives taking decisions on everything from the cost of living emergency to our crumbling health service would not be in the best interests of people here.
If the political chaos here continues it is inevitable that people’s attentions will turn to building a new North, in a new Ireland, inside Europe. Everyone here deserves more than what they’ve been getting from their politics and the SDLP will keep working to deliver a social democratic new Ireland that lifts people out of poverty and delivers a better life for everyone on this island
MLA salaries should be cut
The leader of the Alliance Party, Naomi Long, has called for the Northern Ireland Secretary Chris Heaton-Harris to introduce a bill that would cut salaries for MLAs and provide more power to senior civil servants to run departments.
Long said that she was ashamed to be a part of the ongoing “circus” and added that new elections were not the solution.
The solution to the problem is this: emergency legislation in Westminster to suspend these institutions until the negotiations with the EU and the UK Government can reach conclusion, potentially within weeks.
“He [Heaton-Harris] should in that Bill include powers to cut MLA salaries. It is unconscionable that we are continued to be paid for a job that we are prevented from doing while other people are suffering whilst working hard.
He should include power for permanent secretaries to take over the running of their department within enhanced ability to be able to make decisions that are necessary and he should include a budget for Northern Ireland so we can start to get control of our public finances and protect our absolutely essential public services.
The United States senator, who oversaw the negotiation of the Good Friday Agreement, is before a Joint Committee on the Implementation of the Agreement.
He has told the committee that even if a solution is found to the current impasse, it is unlikely to be a permanent solution.
“Even if this were magically solved, in the next 60 days, let’s say, and the government is restored, no-one should think that that’s a perfect permanent solution,” the former US special envoy to Northern Ireland said.
He added: “I think the challenge for Northern Ireland, for the political leaders, now is figure out a way, a practical, workable way to get this process back on track, to get the Assembly functioning, the first and deputy ministers in place and deal with practical day-to-day problems that people in Northern Ireland have, and don’t worry about doing, creating something that will last for all time, forever.
The North’s Health Minister Robin Swann has expressed frustration that he will leave office at midnight with no confirmed budget and a projected £450 million overspend.
“I warned a month ago that the current stalemate amounted to the sabotage of our current health service,” he told reporters at the Department of Health in Belfast.
“I’m angry that politics has got in the way of making the progress that our patients require because it’s hard to find the words to how disgusted, how frustrated and how angry I am today.
“I believe that an election won’t help anyone, it will simply get in the way of the work that needs doing.”
No political leadership, no budget and no decision-making ability.
Health Minister Robin Swann is scathing in his criticism.
He said the health service was in a fragile position and has now been left with no political leadership, no budget and no decision-making ability.
“I am truly fearful for what lies ahead,” he said.
“I believe, and it’s not easy to say this, I believe that the public has been let down by the politics here in Northern Ireland.”
Ready to fight an election
SDLP leader Colum Eastwood met with NI Secretary of State Chris Heaton-Harris in London today.
While Eastwood says his party stands ready to fight an election, he adds that it will do nothing to solve the issues facing people across the North.
Eastwood said: “During my meeting with the Secretary of State, I stressed the futility of calling an Assembly election that will waste millions of pounds without solving one single issue or changing the political situation which the DUP is using as justification to stop every other MLA from doing their job.”
That’s all from us on the liveblog for today. Thanks for sticking with us throughout today.
Northern Ireland’s secretary of state Chris Heathon-Harris has previously vowed to call for an election “as soon as is practicable” if no solution is found by midnight.
The last-ditch effort today to elect a Speaker has failed.
Tomorrow, sitting ministers will be removed from office and the Government will assume responsibility to call an election within 12 weeks.
It is understood the election could be called for 15 December, less than seven months after the last one.
Well done benny, but are these priests in prison like they should be? I doubt it.
Here here. It’s a step in the right direction, however prosecutions would mean so much more.
Wow Ben your my hero.
Rodrigo
Again scraping the barrel with such a bike suggestion.
……vile suggestion!
Derek, the church cannot put priests into prison. That’s up to the police to the judicial system.
The church can only defrock them and turn over evidence to the police.
This about sums it up for me .. http://t.co/MaiVFABaua
@ Rodgers keep taking your meds weirdo.
I ask anyone out there just on question
If 400 postmen got their uniforms taken off them for raping our kids ,,,,,, would that be satisfactory punishment?
And postman was used as a random example
Pat I would deem that the perfect response from the post office! Then I would expect the police in the individual states to pursue these people and charge them for their crimes!
People whinge about the church having too much power yet this thread seems to promote idea of the Pope having legal rights to prosecute these ex priests!
Not prosecute but at least report to the police
Ah no not Postman Pat and his cat …. Surely you don’t suggest he is guilty of child abuse ?
Those child molesters were never true Catholic Priests, they were infiltrators who lied about their vocation .
@John Bawn – don’t be an apologist. The Vatican is as corrupt and twisted an organisation as you could hope to find. It’s evident from their leniency alone. Even if there wasn’t pedophilia involved, they’d still be utterly corrupt.
Ted, you are exactly right.
Defrocked them……………..
He should have tarred and feathered them .
shot them and then hung drawn and quartered them.
I wouldn’t waste the bullets
Matthew 18:6
But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.
For once, some thing from the Bible I can agree with.
Remember that applies to all sin
I got another truth from the bible
Q. Why did popoye hit Moses?
A. Cause me went to Mount Olive
Pat, that was Brutus.
Its odd for rodrigo to get lots of red thumbs but the voice lots of green when they are ostensibly saying the same thing!
And we still have the 97% of child abusers in the community , fathers, uncles, family friends etc . Disgusting and all as the priest story is the bigger story is still out there. The Church story is unfortunately cloaking this horrible fact.
True to a point, but the church had a worldwide policy of covering up, moving offenders and not reporting offenders to the local authorities.
Now how many of those 400 cases were referred to police?
At least he did more than the phoney soon to be “saint” John Paul II
Mind you now that I think of it Benedict was the architect of the John Paul 2 policy of see no evil and if you do see it, bury it
In keeping with ‘The Holy See’s in-house procedures’. And therein lies the problem.
Benny defrocked hundreds of priests?……….*joke overload*
He could defrock himself and a lot of cardinals for covering up. Too little too late.
Frankly this defrocking is meaningless and is just for public show. Those 400 men should be in prison if they abused children. Were their cases turned over to authorities in each country to be dealt with by police? Were Bishops who colluded in the abuse by moving these predators around defrocked and held to account by police? Where is the justice for their victims? Until we get that information I am not clapping anyone on the back for finally doing the right thing.
and he also stood down. Coincidence?
There was a HBO documentary done called mea maxima culpa which actually showed him as one of the main ones covering up so many major child abuse cases.He actually changed things around so the abuse cases would be sent directly to him before he became pope and he totally covered them all up and did nothing for the victims and the priests were able to reoffend time and time again so no I have absolutely no respect for him,so he defrocked some,big deal no charges were made against them and they were able to get on with their lives after destroying so many innocent lives,whole thing makes me sick.Total corruption and abuse of power to those most vulnerable.
I always believed Benedict visually looked evil. I could never in any way relate or identify with the guy. I didn’t sense a man of god or of spirituality. The opposite in fact.
The fear with Francis is that he’ll do the opposite and sugar coat everything.
There is an author that writes on the Journal specifically about clerical abuse. He always writes superb fact based articles. I’d be interested in hearing his take on this.
I don’t see what his looks have to do with him being evil or not. A person cannot help how they look.
Well his papal red shoes didn’t make him look like Dorothy.
He always reminded me of Darth Sidious!
@Drew – a comment as low as yours gives good insight into your thought process and how shallow you are.
You mean appearance doesn’t matter to the Church Ross? Lol!
I was wondering why all the pictures people have of the saints around there houses, and my own mothers padre pio pics and souvenirs looked like Catholic ‘artists impressions’.
I was wondering why Jesus looked as if he was born is Scotland rather than Bethlehem.
Never fear though. Even photoshopping couldn’t make Benedict look saintly.
@Drew – appearance matters to everyone. But he cannot help how he looks.
You are trying to instill in people’s minds that the pope emeritus was evil just because of how he physically appears.
No I wasn’t. It would be obvious to anyone that I was expressing my own personal opinion, but not to you. You saw it as an attack.
I’m not trying to instill anything in anyones mind – I leave that up to your Church. I was speaking honestly about my impressions of the guy visually. He is after all, an actor, and his image has been and continues to be finely controlled by the Church. He’s a brand. Get over it.
There is nothing wrong with my original post in any way shape or form. The key lies in your defensiveness.
So you believe there is nothing wrong with you judging another person to be evil based on his looks?
You also make an assumption as to my religious beliefs with no basis whatsoever.
“So you believe there is nothing wrong with you judging another person to be evil based on his looks?”
Benedict made a career out of judging people on their sexuality.
I’m holding him to his own standards. What’s wrong with that?
@Ross
“So you believe there is nothing wrong with you judging another person to be evil based on his looks?”
Bingo.
As you said, you can do little about your looks. Nor can you do anything about your sexuality.
And looks and sexuality is only a small part of the jigsaw where the Church is concerned.
@ Drew – We’ll try again – you are making a judgement on a man based on how he looks. You accuse him of being evil.
You then make judgements and assumptions on me based on no evidence whatsoever.
You are not holding him to his own standards at all. You are merely trying to get a rise from people and a cheap shot on a religious leader.
So by your twisted logic as it is okay for you to call people evil based on how they look, is it okay to call someone evil based on sexuality?
If you answer anything but yes then your argument collapses.
If you answer yes you are giving a carte blanche to brand and label people as evil.
Nope. Wrong again. reread the post. I made no accusation of the man being evil. None. I did not say he was evil. How you read it is your problem. You need to try again.
I’m not trying to get a rise. You are either intentionally misinterpreting what I said, or you missed what I said in the first place.
@ Drew – you said very clearly you didn’t sense him to be a man of God, the opposite in fact. The opposite is the Devil, the Devil is evil therefore you clearly state that he is evil.
Please reread your post.
I said ”I” ”ME” – oh FFS.
@ Drew – thank you for finally admitting I was right. Cheers.
Ross. You are defending the most judgmental figurehead (as pope) in history, and his influence and the influence of the Church he led, by my lowly comments on an internet website.
You need to look in the mirror. All I did was use the same tactics he employs, yet you think I’m the accuser. j’accuse.
You might want to re-examine that last part of your post and maybe have the dictionary entry for irony beside you.
Where’s my Atheist infallibility when I need it?
Do you know what infallibility means?
Yes.
“You also make an assumption as to my religious beliefs with no basis whatsoever”
You are a staunchly Catholic young fella, with a staunchly Catholic upbringing to boot, that has for the first time discovered recently, it ain’t that simple.
But that’s just my sense and opinion, and I’m only guessing.
Sense and opinion – further confirmation that your statements are not based on any evidence.
Your condescending tone is also highly insulting but I’m sure that is intended.
No condescension Ross. How could I condescend in the face of a resurrection? And as well all know there’s loads of scientific ‘evidence’ for that.
No. No insult meant. All I’m trying to do is make an observation without you thinking I was attacking your religion. But you can’t see that.
You believe what you like. As do I. I trust my own intuition. I trust me. Myself.
If you deny you’re Catholic, and a believer, I won’t believe you. Am I wrong Ross?
But he did look very like Nosferatu the Vampire
Ross. Intentionally avoiding the question, is not an answer.
Nor am I looking to snare you.
Stop feeding the troll Ross. Drew Clarke is obviously a wind up merchant.
Drew never stated that the pope was evil because he looked evil. He simply said he looked evil – that is all he said with regards to looks.
He doesn’t seem like a troll. He’s just being defensive in an ineffective way.
@ Joe – I’m well aware Drew is a troll. That’s why I pursued the matter and got him to contradict himself.
A nun who gave birth to a baby boy in the central Italian city of Rieti, said she had no idea she was pregnant, local media report.
Virgin births are not rare in her line of business,so what’s your point?
Was her name Mary
That’s virgin on the ridiculous
She should have tried Immaculate Contraception.
It’s just a few bad apples …. You can’t paint them all with the same brush now ! Sorry he let 400 go in 2 years… 400 …,That’s an epidemic … That entire organization is toxic.
I wouldn’t let my child spend 1 single second near any of those deviants who are doing “gods work”.
I hate priests
And those who care are…?
Priests.
It’s not a quiz.
Disgusting to think how many of these perverts there are and how many continue to be protected after attempting to destroy the lives of innocent children.
He defrocked 400 priest and 500 altar boys.
Defrocked? They should be jailed for life without a chance to see daylight! Death would be too easy a faith for such monstrous pathetic human beings.
Why would anyone believe this report from the Vatican? More PR spin than truth
I believe in religious freedom. Provided it’s my religion.
Where’s all the dumb ass church supporters who tried to claim the pope knew nothing about the abuse . I’d say the vast majority of those defrocked criminals have never been prosecuted nor the evidence against them given to the authorities in the jurisdictions where
They committed their crimes. They probably still get a nice pension from the Vatican.
Cannon “law” – meh. As Michael McDowell said, they are about as relevant to a legal issue as the rules of a golf club are
“Canon law” is simply the internal rules and regulations of a church. It has no authority beyond the members of that particular church and in every country, including Ireland, is subordinate and subject to the civil, criminal and common law of the land as legislated for by government and interpreted, developed and implemented by the judiciary and other authorities such as the police and the prosecuting authorities. If members of a religious organisation break the laws of the land and thus us discovered by that religious organisation, then the religious organisation should have a legal obligation to infirm the relevant civil authorities. It is true however that child sex abuse and exploitation is nit limited to members of religious organisations. It is widespread worldwide in many religions and in society and the vast majority of the perpetrators are not members of religious organisations. However, religious organisations and leaders have a record of protecting and even tolerating their members who have abused and exploited children and other vulnerable people and if they have, they must be held to account by the civil authorities, irrespective of who the perpetrators and their protectors may be.
I would have preferred it if he hung them
The antichrist makes some of his minions take one for the team!! To remain in power, sacrifices must be made!! Evil nazi sc*m!
Looney is right
Former Pope? When did he retire?
Technically he’s not a former pope he’s a pope emeritus.
defrock them wow just give them prison sentences …. wtf
Anything less than prosecution is covering up.
cant beat a bit of defrocking
400?! If that’s not sign enough that change is required in the way the priesthood is run, then I don’t know what
have your say