Belfast City Council has agreed to legally challenge DUP Minister Edwin Poots over his order to halt Irish Sea border checks last week.
At a special meeting of the full council on Monday, the council backed a Sinn Fein motion to authorise the city solicitor John Walsh to commence legal proceedings to “compel the minister and the British government to comply with protocol requirements, subject to any current derogations in the grace period.”
The vote received 29 in favour, from Sinn Fein, Alliance, the SDLP, the Green Party, and People Before Profit, and 18 against from all the unionist parties, and one independent unionist.
The motion states: “This council wishes to place on record it’s concern with the actions of Minister Poots relating to the withdrawal of checks required for the implementation of the protocol and his failure to comply with an international treaty and legal obligations negotiated by the British government with the EU.
“The council further notes with concern that this is likely to impact its ability to meet the legal obligations for which it is responsible, relating to inspections at the port.”
Last Friday the High Court ordered a suspension of Poots' directions at the Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs to halt Irish Sea border checks, and confirmed inspections on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain must continue pending the outcome of legal challenges.
At Monday’s council meeting, after a query from the DUP on the competency of a council legal challenge, the city solicitor said: “I am aware there is an order by the High Court, but it is an interim order, for the substantive order still to be tried by the court.” He added: “This council is free to join those proceedings if it wishes to do so.”
Sinn Fein Councillor Ronan McLaughlin told the chamber: “The internal politics of the DUP has meant we are all here today. The opinion polls by LucidTalk are why we are here today. The DUP have decided they are going to hang out their dirty laundry for all to see, and we all have to pay the consequences for it.”
He said he had been to the council facilities at Corry Place recently with Green Councillor Anthony Flynn. He said: “Let's talk about what Belfast City Council does down there. We carry out a variety of checks on fish and non-animal origin goods. We need DAERA to front the ferries and ships to bring them to Corry Place, and they do some of the checks in terms of seals etc.
“Without DAERA facilitating those checks, we as a council cannot stand over any of the checks we do. By one action of one minister, Belfast City Council would be breaking international law. I don’t believe that is a sustainable position. As Belfast councillors we can’t stand over our staff breaking international law.”
Green Councillor Anthony Flynn said: “If any of the other parties, particularly the DUP, had bothered to go to Corry Place and meet staff and hear their concerns, and what is actually happening down there, they would understand the pressures they are under.
“This electoral stunt by the DUP and the DUP minister only puts that work into an even more difficult place. I have concerns about security, but we are checking constantly with the harbour police to make sure everything is under control there. There have been protests in the past, and I would be concerned they might pop up again.
“And I would urge all members of any party, that while we talk about these issues, to do so in a way that is respectful, bearing in mind that there are people working for this council that we have a duty of responsibility towards. It’s a difficult bloody job, particularly when your political representatives don’t back you up.”
Alliance Councillor Nuala McAllister said: “Whilst some of us shout from the sidelines about not wanting the protocol, rigorous implementation or not, some people are actually doing work on the inside to change it.”
DUP Alderman Brian Kingston said: “Even within the current grace period, the so-called Irish Sea border is doing real damage to the supply of goods to our people, our businesses, and to our public services.”
The UUP and PUP both said they could not support the motion and stated the council should await the findings of the judicial review.
SDLP Councillor Carl Whyte said: “We need to start listening to business leaders who have been very clear in the past week they don’t want to see the chaos that will evolve because of (Poots’s) move. They are also beginning to understand the benefits the protocol is actually bringing.
“Instead of DUP posturing, the focus of all political parties here and the assembly should be on the cost of living crisis, rising energy bills, the collapse of the NHS, on waiting lists in housing and education, and undoing the damage of Brexit.”
