Don't rest on your laurels - Thoughts on the Stormont Assembly

A piece of news on RTE's Morning Edition caught my attention today. Theresa May, the British secretary of state for Northern Ireland, blocked a motion for a full judicial enquiry into the 1998 Real IRA bombing in Omagh, Co. Tyrone, in 1998. This latest misstep by British authorities in dealing with the still volatile situation in Northern Ireland has caused me to think about how things have developed since the Good Friday Agreement.

Looking back, the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 was a momentous achievement both for the United Kingdom and for the Republic of Ireland. It established for the first time a political system that was accepted by most political groups in that wartorn area of Ireland. It seemingly brought an end to the Troubles, that on-and-off campaign of guerilla warfare that had rocked both Ireland and the United Kingdom for decades, and that had drenched the soil of the emerald isle in red. Out of that sordid history, the "Stormont system", the Northern Ireland Assembly and the Northern Ireland Executive seemed to rise like a phoenix from the ashes. It brought an end to direct rule of Northern Ireland from London, and firmly established it at Stormont Estate, an expansive complex of more or less representative buildings in the east of Belfast. In 2002, militant Republican groups began disarming, with the IRA completing that process in 2005. With the Celtic Tiger having a firm grip on the Republic of Ireland, the North also began evolving, with Derry and Belfast, both former hotspots of sectarian violence, slowly turning into tourist destinations. It seemed as if Northern Ireland had finally left its bloody past behind.

Except that it didn't. While the IRA, after a bumpy start, went ahead with disarmament, a process completed in 2005, Unionist groups delayed their disarmament with more or less questionable reasons. By 2009, only one major Unionist group, the UVF, had completed disarmament, though to be fair, the other group, the UDA, has since stepped up and completed disarmament on their side in 2010.

The biggest problem however is not with militant groups. It is the Stormont Assembly itself. While the very existence of this body itself was and still is a major achievement, I cannot help but feel as if the parties involved there are all content with just sitting there. Decades of what can best be described as civil war has meant that there was little private enterprise investment in Northern Ireland. The Infrastructure is poor in many areas, and the fact that large employers like Harland & Wolff, the famous builders yard of the Titanic, or the aircraft manufacturer Shorts Brothers laid off large parts of their work force did not improve the situation. While average unemployment has fallen again and is now at 7.5%, working age inactivity, the number of people who are of working age, but not taking part in in the employment process in any way, is at a shocking 28%.

There is more enough work for the Stormont Assembly, as was clearly shown by the Union Flag controversy in December 2012, when riots broke out over a decision to reduce the number of occasions on which the British flag would be flown over Belfast city hall. It is no surprise that the violent elements behind both the Union Flag riots and the violent Orange Order March riots of this summer have no problem with recruiting new supporters, considering the numbers I quoted above.

What is needed in Northern Ireland? A sweeping new social policy, one that is aimed at reaching those who have given up on finding work. That cannot stand alone, however. Along with that, a new economic policy is needed, aimed at decentralizing the Northern Irish economy. Infrastructure needs to be vastly improved in large areas of the region. The Titanic Quarter in Belfast may be an impressive sight, however that does not benefit the people in Derry, Newry, or indeed Omagh. Transport links with the Republic of Ireland need to be improved, especially the rail connection. The current condition of the line between Dublin and Belfast is quite simply a disgrace, the Enterprise train service not much more than a joke. Last but not least, Northern Ireland needs an assembly in Stormont that has the guts to see this through, an assembly that confronts the militant elements among their supporters and does not simpy pass the buck to their respecitve opponents.

Ireland is a nation, is an island that has seen more than its share of bloodshed over the 20th century. I've heard it referred to as the "Balkans of the British Isles" more than once. This is a shame, as Ireland is not only an emerald isle, but an emerald, a jewel, in its own right. The Good Friday Agreement was a watershed moment for this torn island, a chance to heal the wounds. The responsibility now lies with the people of Northern Ireland, and especially their representatives in the Stormont assembly, to banish the spectre of violent sectarianism from this island once and for all. The establishemnt of the Stormont Assembly was a milestone, but it is no longer sufficient to bask in the fading afterglow of that achievement. All parties in Stormont must now get to work to cement the progress that has been made and to lay a foundation for the future. For the sake of the people of Northern Ireland, and indeed for all of Ireland, failure is not an option!