This is how it begins

[Suff]

With violent protests in Northern Ireland.

Personally I think that all sides in the NI protocol have forgotten what the good Friday accord was about and what the two sides of the dispute were about.

There were two sides to this civil war and one side had no intention of being cut off from the UK, regardless of how violent the other side got.

Now we have a NI protocol which is totally one sided based on the vote to remain in the EU. You can be pretty sure that if a majority of voters had thought that voting to remain in the EU would see NI separated from the UK with trade barriers, they would have voted to leave.

The EU has no clue what a witches brew they are creating with their attempt to isolate NI from the UK. Whereas, before, the Provo's saw the UK as a legitimate bombing target, you can be sure that the loyalists see Dublin and Brussels in the same light.

The is a catastrophe waiting to happen and those in power, on all sides, need to make moves and concessions to ensure that this catastrophe does not happen.

My worry is that Covid has eclipsed this situation and by the time it comes back to the front burner it may be too late to solve easily.

It only needs one stupid decision for this situation to spiral out of control and the direction Ireland is going, gaining Full access to the SII Schengen policing information database, shows how dangerous a direction that is.

Ireland and the UK were refused full access for two reasons. The largest was that the UK would not join Schengen and the minor one was that the UK, as a member of the 5 eyes intelligence alliance, has information it will not share with the EU systems because some EU countries have proven to leak at a governmental level.

So, now, if I read this correctly, Ireland will be locked out of UK policing data at a time when they need it the most.

In my mind the EU can only have allowed this data sharing as a prelude to full Schengen access.

Should this happen and NI be dragged into Schengen and segregated from the UK at a physical access level, I would expect the lid to come off in a very explosive way.

The politicians involved in this need to take a large step back and rethink what they are doing.

[Workingman]

Not sure what is meant by this or where it is going.

There will come a time when the peoples on the island of Ireland will have referendums on uniting. This is written in the GFA and they are inevitable imo, the NI Protocol does not change that.

If Ireland unites the whole of the island will be in the EU and possibly the Schengen area, the Common Travel Area will cease. When Scotland gets independence it too will (attempt to) join the EU. Wales - who knows.

England will then be left on its own surrounded by the Evil Empire - it's what Brexiters wanted - sovereign(?), with secured borders, no forriners. Utopia, but with customs posts where once there were none. You knew it was coming Brexthicks, so "Well done!"

[Suff]

This violence is part driven by covid and also part driven by the NI protocol in the withdrawal agreement. Because of the NI protocol, this can only get worse if Ireland join Schengen.

Come on it's not hard. Before the Provo's were the aggressors. This time it will be the Unionists. But the end result will be the same, the GFA will go up in flames.

[Workingman]

Shengen is not mentioned, not even once, in the NI protocol, nor is security in the terms of criminal data or international (espionage) terms.

If the unionist paras want to go militant it will all be down to Brexit. Own it!

Like it or not the EU is not the cause of these problems, you Brexiters are. You lit the torch.

[medsec222]

It is challenging to say the least for anyone to predict the outcome of a referendum. There are so many what-ifs. Now that the UK is out of the EU, will Ireland be satisfied with its position within the EU. Where does Ireland come within the pecking order of the EU. There is plenty of evidence to suggest that the two major players now are Germany and France, and with no influence or input from the UK will this dilute the importance of the remainder of the other countries within the Bloc, including Ireland, and will they quickly become less equal. Perhaps Ireland will continue to feel that its interests are at the heart of the EU, it is too early to say, although Ireland has had doubts previously regarding the EU.

Scotland will get another referendum and the latest polls are suggesting 50/50 either way. In the event that the Scots vote for independence, will the EU accept them into the fold. Likewise Wales - would the EU welcome them to join. For two countries who make a lot of noise about independence, they need to be sure that joining the EU would give them what they want.

And regards the EU, yes it is a huge BLOC but its power depends on the support of all the other member States sticking together and supporting the concept. If the winds of discontent blow through its doors who know what will happen to the EU in the future.

I just hope that all those in Northern Ireland and on the Island of Ireland manage to stave off any thoughts of violence and keep themselves safe.

[Suff]

Shengen is not mentioned, not even once, in the NI protocol, nor is security in the terms of criminal data or international (espionage) terms.

If the unionist paras want to go militant it will all be down to Brexit. Own it!

Like it or not the EU is not the cause of these problems, you Brexiters are. You lit the torch.

WM, you need to read what I write. Yes I know, I do it to you too....

Ireland has joined the SII (Schengen information system), fully. Something which was barred to the UK and Ireland because we were not in Schengen. We only got a secondary level of access.

There can only be one interpretation and that is that Ireland has made the commitment to join Schengen. Whether it is public or not is irrelevant.

What that will do to this situation is not going to be pretty.

[Suff]

I just hope that all those in Northern Ireland and on the Island of Ireland manage to stave off any thoughts of violence and keep themselves safe.

We all hope that Medsec. But it is not happening and decisions made in Dublin and Brussels may fan the flames with a massive fan.

This is how things go to hell when nobody wants them to. Because the people making the decisions haven't thought it all the way through and with the GFA and the situation in Ireland, nobody should be doing anything without thinking it all the way through. It is too volatile.

[cromwell]

I'm not up to speed on the various protocols; but I think there are still an awful lot of guns around in Ireland.

I remember when the IRA "disarmed" seeing a clip of the guns they had handed in. One thing that caught my eye was a WW2 era "grease gun", a .45 calibre submachine gun, obsolete for years. My thoughts were that there didn't seem to have been a lot of modern guns handed in. I reckon they still have a large arsenal of weapons.

[Osc]

I just hope that all those in Northern Ireland and on the Island of Ireland manage to stave off any thoughts of violence and keep themselves safe.

The only violence being perpetrated at the moment is by those who consider themselves British and would be furious if anyone thought of them as Irish. The UK government has once again shafted the DUP and its followers, Westminster has never cared about NI and I think the DUP knows deep down that they were used and then cast aside when they were of no further use. You really have no idea of their blatant bigotry and prejudice.

[cromwell]

After the Brexit vote NI should have been asked in a referendum which was most important to them, staying in the EU or the UK?

Long term I think Ireland will be re-united, should the RoI want it. Over time with changing demographics NI will want to reunite imo and if it brings peace why not? If the unionists could have written into law respect for their customs with goodwill surely it should be achievable?