Latest Articles
COVID, culture and recovery (part 2 of 2)
Reading Time: 8 minutes To support the Communities Committee’s consideration of recommendations for the culture sector’s recovery in Northern Ireland, this two-part blog post provides an overview of cultural recovery initiatives from other jurisdictions. Part 1 examined the local
COVID, culture and recovery (part 1 of 2)
Reading Time: 10 minutes To support the Communities Committee’s consideration of future recommendations for the recovery of the cultural sectors in Northern Ireland, this two-part blog post provides an overview of cultural recovery initiatives from other jurisdictions. Part 1
Mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic
Reading Time: 8 minutes As lockdown measures begin to ease, what evidence is there about the impact that COVID-19 has had on our mental health? The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the physical health and safety of populations across
COVID-19 and farming – A bitter harvest?
Reading Time: 6 minutes 2020 was already set to be a challenging year for farmers across the UK. Having finally reached an agreed Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, the UK is set to formally leave the EU at
Farmers and mental health
Reading Time: 5 minutes In this Mental Health Awareness Week, which also coincides with this year’s Balmoral Show, this article examines an issue which has received comparatively little attention and on which, so far, not much research has been
What now for direct support to farmers in Northern Ireland post-Brexit?
Reading Time: 5 minutes A key issue within Northern Ireland since the UK’s decision to leave the EU in June 2016 is exactly how this decision will affect local farming?
High street regeneration: What can we learn from other cities?
Reading Time: 6 minutes Data recently released by the footfall-counter Springboard highlights how the number of shoppers in the United Kingdom’s (UK’s) town centres was down by a third (32.7%) when compared to April 2019, despite the easing of
Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit goods trade
Reading Time: 7 minutes This blog article complements the Assembly Research and Information Paper Internal Market Act 2020 and the Protocol on Ireland/Northern Ireland. It explains Northern Ireland’s post-Brexit trading arrangements. including how those arrangements have been defined by
Is Northern Ireland ‘Open’ for business? Examining the social and economic impact of sporting events
Reading Time: 7 minutes This article draws on recent experiences of Government-funded sporting events in Northern Ireland (NI), highlighting a number of those events, in particular their economic and social benefits. Such past events have helped to develop NI’s
Every child deserves a real chance in life: A renewed government focus on solving educational underachievement in Northern Ireland?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Young people have faced unprecedented changes to their childhoods and futures due to COVID-19. A significant part of this disruption has been to their education. While schools and education staff adapted admirably to online learning,
COVID-19 and school shutdowns: Examining the after-effects
Reading Time: 7 minutes In an effort to minimise the spread of the virus SARS-CoV-2 (which causes the disease COVID-19), schools in Northern Ireland closed their doors to normal school life on 23 March 2020. Approximately 450 schools remained
Free periods? Period poverty, its impact on education, and policy responses to the issue
Reading Time: 7 minutes Period poverty is a topical issue, globally and within the United Kingdom (UK). Recently, there has been some concern about the relationship between period poverty and school attendance. In addition, the reduction of taxation on
Who runs Northern Ireland? Taking stock of gender and power in Northern Ireland
Reading Time: 4 minutes Please note that more up-to-date statistics on gender representation can be found in the RaISe research paper Who Runs Northern Ireland? A Summary of Statistics Relating to Gender and Power in 2020. The late feminist
EU exit regulations and Northern Ireland
Reading Time: 4 minutes A high profile consequence of the continuing failure to establish an Executive and fully functioning Assembly was the legislative passage this week of the Northern Ireland (Executive Formation and Exercise of Functions) Bill 2018. A
A brief overview of the Northern Ireland Assembly Library
Reading Time: 5 minutes This week is Libraries Week so we thought we would provide an insight into the Northern Ireland Assembly Library, its work and the collection that it manages. The Assembly Library The Library, like the Assembly
Mental health and the COVID-19 pandemic
Reading Time: 8 minutes As lockdown measures begin to ease, what evidence is there about the impact that COVID-19 has had on our mental health? The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted on the physical health and safety of populations across
Alcohol-specific deaths in Northern Ireland
Reading Time: 5 minutes Overview The latest figures published by the Northern Ireland Statistics and Research Agency (NISRA) (February 2021) show that the number of alcohol-specific deaths in 2019 was the highest ever recorded, with 336 registered deaths linked
Eating disorders during the COVID-19 pandemic
Reading Time: 6 minutes Following the Eating Disorders Awareness Week, which took place in the United Kingdom in March 2021, this article examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns on individuals with eating disorders. This article is
Ready for the journey? Public attitudes to electric and ultra-low emission vehicles
Reading Time: 6 minutes The UK Government is encouraging drivers to buy zero emission battery electric vehicles to accelerate the decarbonisation of transport. It will phase out the sale of new petrol and diesel cars and vans by 2030,
Reservoir safety in Northern Ireland: What changes are in the pipeline?
Reading Time: 7 minutes Reservoir safety is changing in order to better protect people in Northern Ireland. This article gives an overview of a recent Research and Information Service paper about the Reservoirs Act (Northern Ireland) 2015. It explains
Union connectivity: What does it mean for Northern Ireland?
Reading Time: 8 minutes Transport links between Northern Ireland and the rest of the United Kingdom (UK) have entered the spotlight in recent months. The realities of the UK leaving the European Union mean that there has been greater
Update – the Gibraltar Protocol
Reading Time: 5 minutes This article updates a previous article on the negotiations around the Gibraltar Protocol. Gibraltar provides an interesting point of comparison with Northern Ireland in terms of arrangements following the UK’s exit from the EU. The
Consent, cross-community support and the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol
Reading Time: 7 minutes John Locke once wrote, ‘we should have a great many fewer disputes in the world if words were taken for what they are, signs of our ideas only, and not for things themselves’. In
Judicial Review of the Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol – Allister (James Hugh) et al’s Application AND In the Matter of the Protocol NI[2021] NIQB 64
Reading Time: 7 minutes The Ireland/Northern Ireland Protocol (‘the Protocol’) was the subject of a judicial review challenge at the High Court of Justice in Belfast. The hearing, which stretched over several days, took place in May 2021 and
