FEATURE - New Decade, Old Outlook
One year ago, ‘New Decade, New Approach’ brought governance back to Northern Ireland. It was an agreement based on the premise of compromise, restoration of representation in an institution which the people of Northern Ireland could trust, and invoked a pledge to bring very different parties with very different approaches into one new approach, all packaged into one ambitious plan with the promise of reform.
One year on, amidst the greatest health crisis the Northern Ireland Executive has faced since its formation, we are left to question whether the agreement delivered on this promise.
The agreement came at a difficult time to launch an ambitious reform package. The Executive signed off on extensive commitments, including social reform, identity, language and education, unaware that only two months later they would face a crisis far greater than that which caused its breakdown almost three years before.
However, if the agreement was founded on the principle of compromise, it came at a critical time to deliver that very thing. The crisis required a cross community, cross sector, coordinated and efficient response. Instead, divergences over its handling caused a breakdown in this commitment, and meant that both reform and emergency response suffered as a result.
The deal was brokered by the then Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs, Simon Coveney and then NI Secretary of State, Julian Smith, and was signed up to by the five main parties in NI
The drive for restoration came on the back of nurses’ strikes only one month before the pandemic was declared. The necessity of reform to the health sector was only compounded by Covid. While the hospitals are more overcrowded than ever, it is hard not to imagine that the promise to deploy more staff was met only because the pandemic made the significant lack of this a stark reality. In terms of health, this infrastructure should have been in place before a restoration agreement had to make the promise, and a global health crisis made it a reality.
After the onset of the crisis, QUB’s most recent cohort of medical students completed their studies weeks early in response to calls from the Department of Health to boost the workforce. According to the university, over 320 nursing and midwifery finalists co-operated with the Trusts and the Nursing and Midwifery Council in the implementation of new legislation allowing final year students with 6 months of registration to become paid NHS workers. 130 pharmacy students took on supporting roles in the packaging of essential medicines. In the next two years, QUB will have largest intake of medical students yet, with the Executive pledging to fund 80 more students over this period.
Queen’s Medical Biology Centre lies in front of Belfast City Hospital, Belfast’s nightingale hospital / Queen’s University Belfast
In other ways of dealing with the crisis, promises laid out in the agreement were put to the test. The united front gave way after Sinn Féin’s handling of the Bobby Storey funeral, and the DUP triggered a cross-community vote to block an extension of the lockdown last November. Despite a pledge to resort to the Petition of Concern only ‘as a last resort’, the DUP invoked the article and with it, a period of delay which brought even more uncertainty to local businesses and the hospitality sector.
Caitlín, a QUB student who is employed in hospitality said, “the limbo of half lockdowns and some of hospitality being open has given little clarity on the situation and left a lot of places with no choice but to either close permanently or to cut staff.”
“It's been stressful, frustrating, and a mess on my personal life. I'd rather one really strict lockdown than all of these half efforts that are doing more harm than good.”
Education was also on the Executive’s priority list. What was laid out in January , should have been redirected into sourcing efficient online educational resources, greater clarity for students, and compensation.
University students are paying the same amount in tuition fees as they would have in an academic year bolstered by face-to-face teaching, accessible resources and internet connection, study spaces and extra-curricular facilities.
While boasting of a multi-million pound support package for local businesses and hospitality, the Executive has not made the same effort to dig out financial support for an equally frustrated sector of students, paying for a service that is far from the norm. As far as the agreement is concerned, if education is a priority, it needs to be treated like one.
The Executive also made far-reaching commitments on human rights. The agreement promised to recognise the importance of the Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission, to ensure public and government bodies respect these rights and help people understand what they were, all with the aim of consolidating a society that reflects “the best international standards of human rights.”
One year later, the same commission is taking action against both the UK government and Northern Ireland Executive for failing to implement adequate infrastructure for safe and accessible abortions in Northern Ireland. Women’s reproductive rights in this sector remain unaddressed and unfunded.
While free school meals vouchers are being rolled out to school children being educated at home as a result of the most recent lockdown, the children of key workers continuing to go into school do not qualify for the same free meals.
These basic human rights cannot afford to be put on hold or unprioritized. The Executive’s failure to deliver on these is a failure to bring certainty over issues that can be controlled, which would help the people they represent navigate this crisis.
One year on, many ambitious commitments outlined in the New Decade, New Approach have not been realised. Understandably, the priority list was readjusted only a few months later. But what should not be hard to understand is that the crisis did not necessitate a shift from reform to emergency response. The Executive could have combined both to procure an efficient response to new priorities and long-awaited action on existing ones. New decade, and new challenges, brought the same approach. We still have a long way to go.
Abby Wallace is an MA Politics student at QUB and member of The Scoop news team