Governance
Brexit

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
Democracy and Government
Justice

Abortion and safe access zones
Reading Time: 5 minutes In September 2021, Clare Bailey MLA introduced the Abortion Services (Safe Access Zones) Bill to the Assembly. The Bill passed Second Stage on 12 October 2021 and would require the Department of Health to create
Planning

COVID-19 and planning measures
Reading Time: 7 minutes This article explores the temporary planning measures introduced as a response to COVID-19 across the UK and Republic of Ireland (ROI). Some of these measures have, and will, require urgent legislative change, while other aspects
Statistics & GIS

Visualisation of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland
Reading Time: < 1 minutes By Aaron McMurray & James Bamford This dashboard has been prepared by the Assembly Research and Information Service (RaISe) to visualise data describing the spread of COVID-19 in Northern Ireland. This dashboard is intended to

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

Foodbank distribution in Northern Ireland
Reading Time: < 1 minutes Foodbanks are an increasingly useful resource for many in Northern Ireland. They provide a valuable service to communities and are continually helping to feed those in need. An interactive mapping application has been developed which