DUP urges PM to restore NI ability to trade freely with rest of UK

By Q Radio News

The DUP has urged the Prime Minister to restore Northern Ireland’s ability to trade freely with the rest of the UK.

This was during a debate was today at Westminster to discuss the impact of the Northern Ireland protocol on trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

It was called after an e-petition created by the DUP urging for the UK government to trigger Article 16 - and allow unfettered trade between GB and NI - achieved more than 100,000 signatures.

Unionists lambasted the “nonsense” of arrangements which they said have seen deliveries from Great Britain tampered with and delayed, and disrupted supply chains for Belfast businesses.

Sir Jeffrey Donaldson, the DUP's leader at Westminster, said there was enormous strength of feeling about the issue:

He also said that Northern Irish businesses were currently experiencing “enormous difficulties” with their supply chains.

“This is the UK internal market, the difficulties are within that market.

“It is the responsibility of the UK Government to act and that is why we are calling on them to use their powers under the protocol to take the necessary action through Article 16 to resolve the diversion of trade, the disruption in trade between Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and to restore the citizenship rights of the people of Northern Ireland to trade freely with the rest of the UK, a freedom they have enjoyed for 200 years.

“In this, the centenary year of Northern Ireland, we expect the Government and the Prime Minister to act to address and resolve these issues and to replace the protocol with arrangements that respect Northern Ireland’s place within the UK.”

Unionists believe post-Brexit trading arrangements introducing bureaucracy on goods crossing the Irish Sea to avoid a hard border on the island of Ireland jeopardises their citizenship rights as part of the UK.

Nationalists acknowledge problems with trade, but have urged their counterparts to dial down the rhetoric and help work to overcome the glitches.

Northern Ireland Affairs Committee chairman Simon Hoare also addressed the debate, and said that he believes the calling for the triggering of Article 16 or abandonment of the protocol is "naive and premature and hopefully not needed." 

He also said the 1998 Good Friday Agreement could only work when nationalists and unionists were broadly on the same page.