Back in the job a year, but who impressed as a minister... and who didn’t?

Next week marks the first anniversary of the New Decade, New Approach deal, which led to devolved government being restored to Northern Ireland. After the most difficult of 12 months, Jon Tonge rates our ministers

Arlene Foster: First Minister

This was the First Minister’s best year in a while, although that may damn with faint praise.

Mrs Foster got her job back, devolution was restored, she sailed through the RHI inquiry report and earned praise even beyond her community for Covid consistency.

Then her party bi zarrely forced a cross-community vote against lockdown before agreeing to tougher restrictions within a fortnight. That at least united lockdown zealots and sceptics in anger and bafflement.

Brexit yielded an Irish Sea border, and many blamed the DUP as midwives of their misfortune.

Arlene nonetheless celebrated five years as DUP leader, most spent not dealing with Sammy Wilson or Edwin Poots.

She was also confronted by the biggest rebellion in DUP history as 11 MLAS refused to support their leader on the Executive Functions Bill.

Yet all the endless talk of leadership challenges remains just that — chatter. Foster remains the undisputed leader of unionism as her beloved country enters its centenary.

6/10

Michelle O’neill: Deputy First Minister

Paid a price for attending what seems the longest funeral in history, given the arguments it still attracts.

Having survived a curious party leadership challenge from

John O’dowd in 2019, the Deputy First Minister began the year promisingly. Sinn Fein’s quiet compromise on a standalone Irish Language Act helped facilitate New Decade, New Approach and the return of Stormont.

Via existing legislation, Irish language provision was to be extended and a dedicated commissioner appointed (but where is that person?) O’neill’s party got most of what it wanted, on terms nonetheless acceptable to the Dup.o’neill’s pronouncements on the need for an all-island strategy to deal with Covid made good sense. But at the end of June came that funeral furore. This extended even beyond those whose views on republican commitments to public safety were shaped by an earlier era.

We did not really miss the joint briefings from the First and Deputy First Minister. Loveless marriages on public show are not a great watch. But their absence symbolised the void in joinedup government. And no one was surprised when Michelle found 1916 reasons why she was unable to attend Arlene’s big centenary party next year.

For the Deputy First Minister, the hope is to seize the main office in 2022. Sinn Fein’s strong performances in the South increase expectations, and pressure, on its northern leader. 6/10

Robin Swann: Health

The lockdown king had a strong ye a r, c o mmanding r e s pect across the political spectrum. Lucidtalk surveys showed most of the public backed tough Covid restrictions. Swann immunised Northern Ireland from the wildlyoptimisticus virus strain offered by the Prime Minister.

The Health Minister must have had moments of regret at choosing the one job more taxing than his former role leading the UUP. Still, such experience helped with the crisis management.

Northern Ireland’s NHS crisis long pre-dated Covid, shocking testimony to the three-year absence of devolved government. Swann helped prevent total collapse and quickly settled the health workers’ strike.

Critics suggested Swann was optimism’s antidote. They criticised his early warning that “15,000 might die” as alarmist, 85% beyond the actual toll. There remained concern over whether the Covid focus was at the expense of other treatments. Businesses raged against stopstart lockdowns. Van Morrison declined the invitation to the Swann Christmas household bubble. Ironically, Swann ended the year being criticised for being too soft in not imposing a travel ban from Britain.

But overall, no one could accuse Swann of swerving science or ducking extraordinarily difficult challenges.

9/10

Edwin Poots: Agriculture

Appeared at times a masked version of Sammy Wilson in terms of lockdown scepticism and leadership challenges.

In an extraordinary scientific breakthrough in October, Poots seemed to discover a mutant strain of the virus in which transmission in nationalist areas exceeded that in unionist communities by “six to one”.

When sticking to his agriculture brief, Poots is well regarded as a capable and often conciliatory minister who listens and engages. The DUP old-school veteran is on top of the issues and commands the respect of the farmers and the community he serves.

Whatever Poots’ aversion to some aspects of lockdown, there were no rule breaches amid the grief of the funeral of his father earlier this year.

Ended a difficult year testing positive for Covid-19.

7/10

Peter Weir: Education

Sometimes seemed so keen on keeping children in school at all costs you half-expected them to be in class on Christmas Day morning. But it’s a strange world when an Education Minister — or “Under-fire Education Minister”, to give Peter Weir his full title for most of the year — gets criticised for wanting children to go to school.

Arguments

‘SF got most of what it wanted’

over

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test locations at least deflected (slightly) from the age-old battle about the tests themselves. Public opinion is evenly divided. Those whose kids are most likely to pass are most in favour of the tests, funnily enough. Such arguments will persist long beyond the DUP minister’s tenure.

An Arlene loyalist, Weir deserves credit for wanting to keep education as normal as possible. He recognised that remote learning experiences vary wildly and disadvantage most those in greatest need. Nonetheless, January classes in school look unlikely. Expect his decision to persist, with some GCSE and A-level examinations next summer to come under further pressure. Another climbdown seems likely. 7/10

Nichola Mallon: Infrastructure

This ought to be one of the more attractive Executive posts, allowing strategic development.

Yet the Covid grimness was so all-consuming that Mallon’s job became simply keeping the show on the road — literally in terms of transport services. The SDLP’S solitary Executive presence, Mallon did good work in terms of liaising with those services and ( just about) keeping airports alive, but some taxi outfits remain close to collapse, even with rescue packages. Greener bus orders and Casement Park renewal were rare decisions beyond the crisis management.

7/10

Naomi Long: Justice

Normally one of the adults in the room. Helped broker difficult Executive compromises on lockdown. A decade after policing and justice were devolved, the Alliance leader found herself dealing with a wide range of issues, ranging from Covid prison outbreaks to Gerry Kelly’s tweets.

After a mainly sure-footed stint, Long found herself embroiled in end-of-year rows over the funding of payments to Troubles victims and delays to much-needed reform of domestic abuse law.

In party leadership terms, it was understandably a quieter year, obviously overshadowed by Covid and the absence of elections, after last year’s spectacular advances for Long’s party.

8/10

Diane Dodds: Economy

Attempted valiantly to keep alive an economy potentially suffering more damage from lockdowns than 25 years of the Troubles. Appeared to be on a Save Ulster from Sobriety mission with a determined campaign to keep open hospitality.

The Democratic Unionist Pubs advocate spent much of the year arguing against prohibition and those believing that requiring the purchase of chips with a pint warded off a virus.

By December, though, even Dodds seemed resigned to a lack of festive cheer, although she did get a retail voucher scheme approved to try and help beleaguered shops.

The mass unemployment coming post-furlough will not be her fault.

7.5/10

Conor Murphy: Finance

Began the year with a somewhat different interpretation of the extent of new money being offered under New Decade, New Approach than successive Secretaries of State Julian Smith and Brandon Lewis. Devolved minister wants more money shock.

Struggled early in the Covid crisis amid the farce of a failed PPE order from China.

Recovered thereafter and was playing a decent Santa by December. Found the cash for the retail voucher scheme, was bolstered by a £400m uplift for extension to the furlough scheme until April 2021 and distributed local pots of cash fairly to help sectors most in need. There was criticism of delays in paying out grants, though.

7.5/10

Deidre Hargey/ Caral ni Chuilin: Communities

Caral ni Chuilin covered for her party colleague for a chunk of the year until Deidre Hargey’s welcome recent return from illness.

There was an early start to the panto season in October over whether fans could enter grounds to watch elite sports. “Oh no you can’t,” said ni Chuilin. “Oh yes you can,” replied Arlene Foster — and the people already in the ground were not leaving the show early. Difficulties otherwise were rare and both ministers performed OK. That said, much of New Decade, New Approach remains to be implemented and this is a ministry to watch for 2021.

7/10

‘She seemed to be on a Save Ulster From Sobriety mission with her determined campaign to keep hospitality open’

And overall? 5/10

— lower than the individual ratings, which highlights the problem.

Decent individual ministerial efforts were evident in a dismal year but joined-up government remained elusive, as lockdown and travel rows showed.

Happy new year.