Taoiseach accuses UK of stalling over deal on Irish border
THE Taoiseach has accused the UK of stalling progress in Brexit negotiations and warned of the consequences of not striking a deal on the border.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar suggested other countries will baulk at signing trade deals with the UK post-Brexit if Prime Minister Theresa May fails to honour commitments made to the EU on the Irish issue.
Mr Varadkar’s comments came amid a stand-off over how to avoid a hard border on the island when the UK leaves the European Union.
Both sides have agreed to include a so-called “backstop” option in the withdrawal treaty, which would commit the UK to align with an EU regulatory framework in the absence of a wider trade deal.
But the shape of that fallback remains a sticking point, with the EU rejecting a UK contention that it should only be temporary, even if a broader agreement fails to materialise.
Mr Varadkar urged the EU to continue to “stand behind Ireland” on the border issue.
He made the remarks in Dublin ahead of a visit to the city by European Commission president Jean Claude Juncker and EU chief negotiator Michel Barnier today. “It is our view that we haven’t seen sufficient progress from the United Kingdom in the last couple of months,” said the Taoiseach.
“We had a good political agreement in December. We had further progress in March where they accepted there had to be a backstop as part of the withdrawal agreement.
“But since then, quite frankly, progress has stalled, and what I want all of Europe to do is to continue to stand behind Ireland and say to the UK they have to honour the commitments they made. And you know the UK is a country that’s talking about going global, talking about making trade deals all over the world.
“How could anyone make a deal with a country that doesn’t stand by its commitments?”
THE education system in Northern Ireland would have folded years ago if it was a business, according to a damning report by the Children’s Commissioner.
The report is Koulla Yiasouma’s first statement on children’s rights here since she took office in 2015.
It highlights the ongoing failure to address educational underachievement.
“Our children cannot continue in a system where how well you do in education relies on your gender, religion, race, sexuality, or whether you are rich or poor. Statistics are telling us that all of these things impact children’s ability to achieve academically,” the report says.
Some 94% of children at grammar schools achieve five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths, as opposed to 50% of children who do not attend grammars.
Just 50% of free school meal entitled (FSME) children achieve five GCSEs at grades A* to C including English and maths compared to 78% of children who are not entitled. And only 14% of children in grammar schools are FSME as opposed to 40% in secondary schools.
The report adds: “If the education system in Northern Ireland were a business it would have folded years ago.
“There is insufficient evidence that resources are spent as well as they could be and whether the various education sectors in NI represent value for money.
“We are failing to have the honest and open conversations that set aside vested interests and put all our children at the centre of decision-making.”
The report also reveals how children with special educational needs are not having their needs met. The vast majority — 79% — of statements of special educational needs are completed outside the statutory time limit of 26 weeks.
“Whenever I visit a school, particularly a primary school, children with special educational needs is the number one issue raised with me. This is also being reflected in the calls coming through to my office,” said the commissioner.
Children remain the most likely age group to be in poverty here and this, Ms Yiasouma said, has an adverse impact on their educational achievement, mental and physical health, and has been the case since 2002/3 when data was first published.
She said that “27%, that’s 118,000 children in Northern Ireland, are in poverty, and changes to social security are likely to increase this. So not only are we failing currently, we are set to take major backwards steps”.
Ms Yiasouma also said the
❝ If the Northern Ireland education system was a business, it would have folded years ago
lack of a functioning Executive meant that nothing had been put in place to alleviate the limiting of the child tax credit to two children.
She said this “is projected to affect 2,518 children and their families in Northern Ireland this year and 11,870 by 2020. This will cost families £2,780 per child or £7m across NI this year and £33m by 2020”.
“While it is clear the lack of a government is preventing improvements being made to the lives of our children and young people, there is also a history of slow progress on children’s issues which pre-date the collapse and add to systemic failures in their lives,” she added.
She called for a stronger voice for young people here.
“At a time when Northern Ireland is at the centre of Brexit negotiations, it is more than disappointing that we don’t have a Northern Ireland voice informed by young people here to discuss how future rights, the border, funding and child safeguarding arrangements will be protected,” she said. “The lack of government can no longer be used as an excuse for lack of progress.”