Being a Law student living in Northern Ireland

A blog post by Rachel Lafferty 

Before I started studying law, I thought nothing of any of the political views or amendments; including the Northern Ireland Protocol, Windsor Framework and Northern Ireland Assembly; they are the people who are in charge of the Northern Ireland Executive.

I understood that Northern Ireland is a state that has been divided by religion and politics, which can lead to extreme violence and hostility. I never truly understood about the legislative orders or the laws of the land.

The Northern Ireland Executive

The Northern Ireland Executive is made up of the First Minister, the Deputy First Minister, two Junior Ministers and eight other government ministers. Within the Northern Ireland Executive various political parties are represented through elections, as of 2023 these are the elected Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAS):

• Sinn Fein – Michelle O’Neill
• DUP – Jeffrey Donaldson
• Alliance – Naomi Long
• Ulster Unionist – Doug Beattie
• SDLP – Colum Eastwood
• TUV – Jim Allister
• GPNI – Mai O’Hara
• People Before Profit – Eamon McCann
• PUP – Billy Hutchinson

So, what is the Northern Ireland Protocol?

“The Northern Ireland Protocol Bill was introduced in Parliament on 13 June 2022. It aims to fix parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol, restore stability and protect the Belfast (Good Friday) Agreement.” https://www.gov.uk/government/collections/northern-ireland-protocol-bill

This Protocol represents the view of the UK Government, not everyone would necessarily share this viewpoint. Many of these issues that the Protocol seeks to address have arisen post Brexit.

The four main important areas it wants to focus on are, as stated by the UK government:

• burdensome customs processes
• inflexible regulation
• tax and spend discrepancies
• democratic governance issues  

The Good Friday Agreement

The Good Friday Agreement was signed on the 10^th April 1998 following three decades of horrid conflict known as the “Troubles” although the tensions, and roots of the conflict, go back much further than this. The Troubles were an awful time for those living in Northern Ireland; the violence involved killed many. The Good Friday Agreement introduced a new power-sharing arrangement, including an Executive and Assembly, which attempted to put an end to all the conflict.

Principles of the Good Friday Agreement included:

• The right for any citizen in Northern Ireland to identify as either “Irish” or “British” or both if they choose to.
• The parity of esteem of both communities
• The principle of consent underpinning Northern Ireland’s constitutional status

The GFA led to legislation creating public sector equality duties and bodies to oversee equality i.e., Equality Commission Northern Ireland “ECNI” to create equality between communities. And Northern Ireland Human Rights Commission ( NIHRC) 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement

I was naive to what the laws really meant and why it is so important to have a functioning government in Northern Ireland that works for everyone. It is paramount for families across Northern Ireland to feel supported by their government. For quite some time now the Northern Ireland Assembly has been divided due to issues surrounding the Northern Ireland Protocol resulting in a struggle between the parties. Tensions can sometimes be high between both parties especially the First Minister and Deputy First Minister whom are from different political backgrounds.

This has unfortunately left the people of Northern Ireland without a fully functioning government to make decisions and to put forward new laws and to put funding into the correct places, like our health care, education, and policing.

It makes the citizens of Northern Ireland feel like they’ve no one who is listening to them. It makes them lose hope of a government that’s going to come together for the sake of their country and provide much-needed legislative resources. This blog is being written we have still not got a working government in Northern Ireland.

My studies, as a law student, have helped to raise my awareness of the ongoing issues and the situation as it stands which is very useful. Studying law does assist in learning about the background to legal issues as well as the possible stalemates that can sometimes be created.

Rachel Lafferty 

Rachel is currently studying towards her LLB. She has already obtained her BSc in psychology with the OU. She volunteers within the OU in various roles.

She has a three year old son called "Justice" and lives on the North coast of Northern Ireland.