Northern Ireland | Business Post

McDonald calls for a plan B over Northern Ireland executive

Addressing the Sinn Féin ard fheis this weekend, the party president said that the British and Irish governments should not agree to direct rule in the North

Northern Ireland

Taoiseach says time not right for reform of Good Friday Agreement

Micheál Martin has said current system is ‘not fit for purpose’, but that improvements should be explored in the longer term rather than now

Northern Ireland

Daniel Murray: Spectre of direct rule is raised as DUP forces fresh elections

The British government has dismissed the prospect of joint authority, while the Taoiseach has emphasised Ireland’s right to exert its ‘consultative role’

Business Post's View

Editorial: Irish and British must prioritise reform of North’s political institutions

The principle of cross-community representation must be safeguarded in any talks on reshaping the system

Northern Ireland

Deirdre Heenan: No way to fix protocol problem until Britain acknowledges Brexit was a giant mistake

The North is facing another toxic, polarising and futile Assembly election

Editor’s picks: Sit down with the best of our big reads

Our editors handpick the best writing in this week’s Business Post – including why the political tide might be turning towards Generation Rent

British Politics

Dublin hopes for ‘pragmatic’ Sunak as next British PM

Though government remains publicly neutral, sources say practical, competent former chancellor of the exchequer might see a way forward on NI protocol

Dan O’Brien: How much is post-Brexit ‘trade destruction’ costing this country?

Twenty months of trade data since Britain left the EU indicates that so far the news for the Republic is good – but it may not be set to remain that way

Secrets and Lies: Mountbatten, the Kincora Boys’ Home, and the quest for truth

Next year, a now 56-year-old man will claim in a Belfast court that he was abused as a child by Lord Louis Mountbatten, in a case that will once again raise the accusation that the notorious boys’ home was at the centre of a paedophile ring for the British establishment

Northern Ireland

Deirdre Heenan: DUP must stop the threats and look for a face-saving deal to return to power-sharing

The party and its leaders are clinging to the last vestiges of power, unable to accept that the world around them has fundamentally changed

Matt Cooper: Nesbitt speech explains how our words matter in talking about Ireland’s future

The actor offered a thought-provoking take on the future of this island, pleading for the use of a different language which does not carry political connotations

Northern Ireland

John Walsh: Contrasting Irish and British fortunes could be a selling point for a united Ireland

If Britain’s descent into a fiscally parlous state continues, it could decide to reduce the £10bn subvention to the North, making being part of a united Ireland more attractive in a border poll

Editor’s picks: Sit down with the best of our big reads

Our editors handpick the best writing in this week’s Business Post – including an in-depth look at the tracker mortgage scandal, and the investment fund that bought a Swords three-bed for €1.7m

Northern Ireland

Reconciling the truth: There is a way to achieve justice for the Troubles without punishment

Brian Rowan, a former chief security correspondent for the BBC, believes an internationally chaired conference that talks to all sides and gathers the truth without judgment is the only way to move forward from the Troubles’ painful legacy. The following extract from Rowan’s book, Living With Ghosts, puts forward the argument for an amnesty

Elaine Byrne: United Ireland civic group raises questions worth answering

Ireland’s Future has not yet captured the public imagination, but the complexity of a possible future unity does need to be debated and examined

Business Post's View

Editorial: Census shows North’s politics must catch up with its diverse people

That Catholics now outnumber Protestants in the North is far less interesting than the astonishing range and fluidity of identities the census has revealed

Northern Ireland

Deirdre Heenan: DUP’s royal humiliation reflects a political creed in deep decline

The sight of an unhappy Jeffrey Donaldson playing second fiddle to Sinn Féin in King Charles’s presence last week showed how far unionism has fallen down the pecking order

North’s new Secretary of State warns of election if no executive in place by October 28

Chris Heaton-Harris has told Sinn Féin’s leaders that if no progress is made on restoring the executive, there will be a new poll

Chris Heaton-Harris: Britain’s new man in Belfast will need more than just charm

Although he is regarded as a highly affable character by political friends and foes alike, the Eurosceptic Tory will have his work cut out in his new role of Northern Secretary

British MPs told Troubles amnesty bill ‘not fit for purpose’

Former Irish ambassador Adrian O’Neill tells House of Commons that the Northern Ireland Troubles (Legacy and Reconciliation) Bill is likely to face legal challenge