I believe most of Northern Ireland’s problems can be solved with the right leadership and (when required) the right laws.
However, I am sceptical about Alliance’s proposal for a new Commission and regulatory framework for dealing with the display/erection of flags, signs and emblems here.
In this blog I will list some of reasons I believe, the (albeit very broad brush) proposals are fatally flawed.
Firstly.
Existing laws are generally ignored.
It’s already illegal to paint or erect anything on street furniture, by virtue of s 87 of the Roads (NI) Order 1993. This law is largely ignored by the Dept for Infrastructure and the PSNI, unless there is an imminent breach of the peace or a sign is overtly racist.
Likewise the Terrorism Act 2000 covers signs and displays that glorify proscribed groups, yet parts of Northern Ireland are awash with these. Often they are on publicly owned property or erected without planning permission – but nothing is done.
The lack of enforcement or action is not due to an absence of laws, but other factors which new laws won’t change.
Secondly.
Law abiding communities will be penalised, those who threaten violence will be left alone.
Passing new laws that wont actually be enforced would further erode the rule of law here and undermine confidence in our institutions.
To make matters worse, the PSNI and DFI will (if truth be told) be less likely to remove murals or emblems in an area where there are paramilitary influences and a risk of public order.
Law abiding communities will largely (if reluctantly) engage with new laws & seek permission to put up bunting for a cultural event or sporting occasion. Those who erect material that glorifies terrorism or intimidates minorities will not.
The proposals will bureaucratise benign celebration of culture and be toothless in the face of blatant criminality. Imagine going to court for putting up bunting without permission and whilst driving there you pass an ornate giant mural glorifying a murderous gang, that no lawful authority dares to interfere with.
Someone once said, policing in NI works best where it is needed least. The same fate will befall a new commission regulating emblems and signs.
Thirdly.
Stretched public services can’t afford to play whack -a-mole.
The DfI and PSNI will be alive to the reality that removing objects that are placed on lampposts is, in the absence of political & community resolutions, massively resource intensive. And when for example a flag is removed, it could be placed straight back up again. The PSNI are in a resource crisis & the DfI can’t even seem to fix potholes.
Fourthly.
They haven’t gone away you know.
The routine removal of material by the PSNI from lampposts etc poses significant security risks. Terrorists have targeted police in this way before and dissidents could again. This is one reason the PSNI remove items by exception and on a case by case basis. The PSNI need to maintain operational discretion and not be straight jacketed by new laws.
Fifthly.
Cracking a nut with a sledgehammer.
The public consultations refers to the new law achieving clarity between who removes objects (DfI or PSNI). A memorandum of understanding and live time communication between these partners can resolve disputes. A new law and Commission are not required.
Sixthly,
Good money after bad.
£800 k has already been spent on the Commission on Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition (CFICT); established to find resolutions to these issues. What did it achieve ? Ironically, Paula Bradshaw MLA is making a proposal (around the creation of a Commission) that the CFICT did not favour. Are we wasting more time and money looking at an issue that needs political and community resolution first and news laws and fresh money last?
In conclusion.
I am an advocate for upholding the rule of law and believe there should be more action taken in respect of displays that glorify loyalist and republican paramilitaries. This should be the initial focus. Material that incites racial hated is already removed and investigated by the PSNI.
However, the proposal by Alliance that extends to all flags, emblems and the like will, in my view, create more problems than it solves. What is required to address these issues are political leadership, common sense and community led resolutions; not new laws to replace existing ones that are already largely ignored.
There is an opportunity cost to everything Stormont does. With violence against women and girls at disturbing levels in Northern Ireland, what about a public consultation on laws and policies that would really make an impact in keeping women and girls safer? Or one that would allow citizens to give ideas on how front line health services can be better delivered.
I know what I think is more urgent and likely to result in workable and worthwhile solutions.
Burrows Blog 