Brexit Impact on Northern Ireland

I understand perfectly well how EU contributions worked, especially for those who received EU money, like the owner of the new B+B McMansion in a touristy area during the tiger years. Great for them, not so great for those who gave the money....I remember the Englishman being astonished how the EU money about 19 or 20 years ago was being spent, and I remember well he was astonished despite our overheating tiger economy then that we got another annoucement of EU funds coming to Ireland then, it was all over the news.  'Twas a bit embarrassing, lets face it.

I cannot understand the logic however of having a few hundred highly paid translators in Brussels whole sole job is to translate EU documentation in to Irish, which nobody will read. Lets face it, money could be better spent, even if it was only to promote the language.

That ‘stupidity’ is being repaid to those in the ESF sector who believed Tory lies about matching funding and the ‘benefits’ of Brexit. As mentioned they are not the only sector so conned.

For those who didn’t believe and who warned this would happen, it is a sad sad day. I don’t think they will be pointing fingers at Irish translators either.

You say the UK has not been able to police its borders? They are actually paying the French to try to police theirs. The EU is in such a sad state that even last year 45,000-plus people risked their lives trying to cross the English channel in little rubber dinghies and small boats to get away from the EU in to the UK. Last year after tighter security at the Channel tunnel and ports made it almost impossible to cross by train, truck or ferry.

After the deaths of 31 people in the Channel when their inflatable boat sank in November 2021, Johnson said it was clear that French operations to stop the boats leaving “haven’t been enough”, despite £55m of British financial support. 5 days ago the UK has agreed to give France £500m over three years which will go towards more patrol officers and a new detention centre.

I remember before Brexit cartoons showing an inflatable dinghy with refugees leaving the UK, which suggested that after Brexit the boatloads of refugees would be heading the other way after Brexit. That has not happened. Reminds me a bit of during the troubles far more people from Ireland went to live and work in N.Ireland and the UK than came the other way.....dunno how that happened if the UK was that bad towards Irish people.

France is spending 5 times what the UK is. They could have quite easily said 'it's your problem' but they didn't, they behaved like adults, came to an agreement with Sunak (having been repeatedly rebuffed by Brexit hero - Boris)and are investing 5 times more to try solve an English problem.

His first sentence was "Oh, God, not this shIte again. It's like somebody has been asleep since 2016."

His last sentence was "Try to keep up."

Enough said.

Takes some amount of front to do this. The party that tried to re-ignite the conflict over the GFA and who never accepted it

Surely it is the DUP who should stay away from GFA 25th anniversary events. It was agreed and has endured despite them, certainly not because of them.

Just pointing out the hypocrisy of them suggesting others should not be involved.

When I read the first part of your second paragraph, I immediately assumed that you had put the g in the wrong place and left out the t. Funny how the mind automatically associates certain words with certain people.

Obviously, David Cameron thought the Remain side would win the 2016 referendum. But he must have known that a possible Leave victory would have implications for the Good Friday Agreement. So why didn't he just say to the euroskeptics in his party: "Sorry chaps but we have to respect international law"? Those euroskeptics wouldn't have been willing to destroy their own party, would they?

But would the ERG Tories have really been willing to sink their own party to achieve Brexit? Cameron was the boss - so why didn't he act like it?!