UK & Ireland
Irish health minister: ICUs need to prepare for COVID surge
The department of health is preparing for a surge in ICU capacity in hospitals because of the “roaring” growth in COVID-19 cases, according to Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, the Irish Times reports. Donnelly compared the possible fatality rates to those in the...
Von der Leyen rejects UK bid to reopen Irish protocol
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen on Thursday (22 July) insisted that the EU would not reopen the controversial Northern Ireland protocol, a key part of the Brexit agreement with the UK, just a day after Boris Johnson’s published a paper setting out its plans to renegotiate it.
EU won’t renegotiate Northern Ireland Protocol
The EU will not agree to a UK demand to renegotiate the protocol on Northern Ireland, the European Commission has said after the UK demanded changes to the post-Brexit arrangements, the Irish Times reported. The deal to keep the North broadly in...
UK accuses EU of ‘seeking to undermine’ Gibraltar status
The UK government on Tuesday (20 July) accused the European Union of “seeking to undermine the UK’s sovereignty over Gibraltar”, warning that the bloc’s plans “cannot form a basis for negotiations”.
Cummings: Johnson did not want to impose second lockdown last autumn
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson did not want to tighten COVID-19 restrictions and impose a second lockdown last autumn because he said that the people dying from it were “essentially all over 80,” the PM’s former adviser, Dominic Cummings, said...
Irish PM: Delta variant situation is serious
The government is very worried about the Delta coronavirus variant and is predicting a high volume of cases, Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin said on Saturday, the Irish Times has reported. “The situation is serious with respect to the Delta...
EU-UK lost in translation over COVID vaccine certification
COVID-19 measures are set to lift in England on Monday in what is being dubbed as “freedom day”. But there is still no freedom for EU citizens hoping to travel unhindered to the country as it does not yet recognise...
Irish Deputy PM: Expect indoor dining from 26 July
Deputy Prime Minister Leo Varadkar has set the date of 26 July as the new target for indoor hospitality to open in Ireland. Varadkar anticipated the legislation to be cleared through the parliament and signed into law by this date,...
Ireland begins digital COVID certificate roll-out
More than 1.3 million emails and letters containing the EU Digital COVID-19 Certificate have so far been issued Irish residents who have been fully vaccinated, RTE has reported. The government aims to have 1.8 million certificates issued by Monday, Minister of State...
Ireland to soon reopen indoor hospitality
The Irish parliament committee on health has voted to waive pre-legislative scrutiny of a new bill to permit indoor hospitality, which will speed up its passage through parliament, news RTE News has reported. The opposition voted against the measure, but other...
Call for Ireland to recognise non-EMA approved jabs for expats
A renewed appeal has been made for Ireland to assist Irish citizens living abroad who want to return home but have received a vaccine not accepted by the European Medicines Agency (EMA), the Irish Times reported. Fianna Fail Senator Micheal...
Northern Ireland could have restrictions imposed until autumn
COVID-19 restrictions in Northern Ireland may stretch into the autumn, warned Stormont deputy First Minister Michelle O’Neill, saying that “cases are increasing and will continue to increase” and that officials are carefully watching how that rise translates into hospitalisation and...
UK signs trade deal with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein
Britain’s government said it signed a free trade deal with Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein on Thursday, its latest post-Brexit trade agreement. The signing of the deal on Thursday followed an agreement in principle reached last month by the four countries....
Irish Transport Minister: Fully vaccinated UK travellers won’t have to quarantine
Transport Minister Eamon Ryan has said travel from the UK to Ireland will be much easier for fully vaccinated people as they will not have to quarantine from 19 July, RTE news has reported. “For others who don’t have the...
Irish PM: ‘Window of opportunity’ for NI Protocol
Irish Prime Minister Micheál Martin on Monday called on the UK government to engage with the EU to work out an agreement on the protocol, saying “there’s a window of opportunity now given the extension that has been granted to...
London to follow Denmark’s lead on migration
The UK is set to follow the lead of Denmark in seeking to establish offshore asylum processing centres as part of new legislation. The provision to allow asylum claims to be processed outside the UK, potentially in third countries, is...
Ireland will soon start using digital COVID-19 passport
Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin has confirmed that the COVID-19 digital passport will be available in Ireland from 19 July, despite concerns from some government officials. “We will commence with this on 19 July, and significant progress has been made...
Johnson confirms easing measures
The wearing of face masks will no longer be compulsory and social distancing rules will end in England on 19 July, Prime Minister Boris Johnson confirmed on Monday. The end of the remaining pandemic-era social restrictions will be confirmed next...
Ireland: UK showing ‘no generosity at all’ in protocol row
The UK is showing “no generosity at all” to the EU in a deepening row over the Northern Ireland protocol, said Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney in response to an op-ed by Britain’s chief negotiator David Frost and London’s Northern...
DUP Leader: Northern Ireland protocol threatens North’s political institutions
“The protocol threatens the stability of the political institutions. It is the problem, and that problem needs to be resolved,” DUP leader Jeffrey Donaldson said in his keynote speech in Belfast on Thursday. Donaldson went on to describe the protocol...
EU, UK agree on temporary deal, allowing chilled meats into Northern Ireland
The EU and Britain have announced a temporary deal that will allow uncooked meats to flow into Northern Ireland for an extra three months alongside a number of other post-Brexit changes, the Irish Times has reported. Chilled meats cannot be imported into...
Britain’s Sunak promises to sharpen City of London’s competitive edge
Britain will unveil its blueprint on Thursday (1 July) for building the world’s “most advanced” financial sector after Brexit largely severed the City of London financial district from the European Union, its biggest export customer. Finance minister Rishi Sunak will...
Ireland’s FM: UK needs to ‘show honesty’ over Brexit
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney has urged the UK to “show some honesty” around what it signed up to on Brexit as he warned of rising tensions among loyalists in the north, the Irish Times reported. Coveney also said that...