Brown O'Connor Communications Weekly Look Ahead: Week Commencing 6 June 2022

Forward Look                                

  • Several news outlets are reporting that Foreign Secretary Liz Truss MP could introduce a bill disapplying parts of the Northern Ireland Protocol next week.

  • The Second Reading of the Levelling Up and Regeneration Bill will take place on Wednesday.

  • The Treasury has confirmed that it is exploring ways to ensure households in Northern Ireland receive cost-of-living support without a functioning Executive in place.

  • Sinn Féin President Mary Lou McDonald TD and Michelle O’Neill MLA are meeting with Vice President of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič today to discuss the Protocol and need for political stability in Northern Ireland.

  • The UUP has written to the Head of the Civil Service NI to ask for cross-party talks to develop a Programme of Government and that the public consultation on the Budget be reopened.

  • Sinn Féin Councillor Christina Black will be nominated as the next Lord Mayor of Belfast at Belfast City Council’s AGM this evening. The party’s Sandra Duffy is expected to be nominated as the new Mayor of Derry City and Strabane District Council on Monday.

  • Alliance and the SDLP are expected to elect new Council Group Leaders in the next few weeks.

  • The Northern Ireland Affairs Committee will receive evidence from the Commission for Victims and Survivors and the NI Human Rights Commission on Tuesday.

  • Parliament’s Standards and Privileges Committee is expected to commence an investigation into the conduct of Prime Minister Boris Johnson MP in October.

  • Planning permission for the redevelopment of Casement Park has been upheld by the High Court following a legal challenge from local residents.

Other Stories this week

  • On Monday, the Assembly failed to elect a new Speaker after the DUP blocked a cross-community vote for the second time.

  • DUP Deputy Leader Paula Bradley will return to politics as a councillor for Antrim and Newtownabbey Borough Council after stepping down from the Assembly before the election.

  • An opinion poll conducted by the Business Post and RED C has placed Sinn Féin on 36% in the Republic of Ireland, ahead of rival parties Fine Gael (20%) and Fianna Fáil (15%).

  • A legal challenge against the decision by DAERA Minister Edwin Poots MLA to halt checks on goods entering Northern Ireland from Great Britain has been put on hold by the High Court.

  • Gillian McAuley has been appointed as the new President of the Northern Ireland Chamber.

  • Baker Tilley International has announced Francesca Lagerberg as Chief Executive of its global network.

  • Docs Ireland launched its fourth programme on Wednesday and will take place from 29 June to 3 July. To view the full programme: LINK.

Upcoming key political and business events

  • 16 June, NI Chamber’s In Camera with the Department for Infrastructure, The Merchant Hotel, Belfast

  • 17 June, North West Business Awards, City Hotel Derry

  • 21 June, House of Commons rises for Summer Recess

  • 24 June, NI Chamber’s Annual Lunch

  • 30 June, Irish News Workplace and Employment Awards, Titanic Belfast

  • 29 – 30 September, Centre for Cross Border Studies’ Annual Conference

  • 21 October, Belfast Chamber Business Awards, Crowne Plaza Hotel, Belfast

  • 4 – 5 November, Sinn Féin Ard Fheis

Consultations