In celebration (if that’s the right word) of the 25th anniversary (last month) of powers being devolved to the Northern Ireland Assembly, former Committee Clerk Paul Moore has been recounting some stories from the Assembly’s early days.
In this fifth (of eight) episodes, a farming crisis looms. How will the recently appointed Agriculture Minister perform under pressure, and how supportive will Ian Paisley’s Committee be in its scrutiny of the Department’s work under such circumstances?
Audio versions of this episode (and the previous four) are available on Paul’s ‘Mister Clerk’ podcast which may be found on the Spotify, Apple and Amazon podcast platforms.
Listen below:
Episode 5 – A virus strikes
Can you imagine the difficulties that would be faced if a fairly new, devolved, administration in Northern Ireland had to deal with multiple outbreaks of an acute infectious disease caused by a virus?
You probably can, given recent history, but I’m not talking about ‘that’ virus. In late February 2001 it was Foot and Mouth Disease (let’s call it FMD) that was hitting the headlines. I remember that the Agriculture Committee’s first exposure to the subject was on the 23rd of February, with the Agriculture Minister briefing members about an FMD outbreak in England.
*
Mrs. Rodgers is explaining to the Committee (in very sombre tones) that she has put in place a temporary ban on animal imports from GB and has arranged for the cleansing and disinfecting of vehicles at the ports. The EU has also banned UK goods, including those from Northern Ireland, but the Minister says that she is already pressing for ‘regionalisation’ for NI exports.
George Savage is chairing today, in Dr Paisley’s absence, and he and the rest of the Committee are very supportive, agreeing a press release for me to issue immediately after the meeting commending the Minister and her staff for their actions.
I immediately hope that the ‘greater good’ element of this situation will bring a unanimity of purpose among the Committee, for a while at least, but I worry it might be naïve of me to think that this will last very long.
*
It is the following week, and the situation has got considerably worse, with hopes of containment across the water now dashed. An outbreak has occurred in South Armagh, and the Minister is outlining her response to the Committee. New policies include farm exclusion zones and the slaughter of animals, as well as closure of the Department’s colleges and forest parks.
It is becoming clear that this crisis is going to affect the wider public as well as the farming community, and the mood in the room is deadly serious. I am relieved that Dr Paisley is chairing this meeting with a gravity that feels entirely appropriate. Members are taking their lead from him, and the exchanges are business-like and non-confrontational.
The Minister calls for everyone’s co-operation during this crisis. For their part, the members again express their appreciation for the Minister’s work and that of her officials.
Again, I wonder if this level of cordiality will continue. The South Armagh outbreak has, it seems, involved the smuggling of sheep. Unfortunately, the words “smuggling” and “South Armagh” are synonymous just now, and I expect that, given the demographic in that area, it may not be long before political capital will be sought by certain elements within the Committee.
*
It’s now three days later, and it’s clear I wasn’t wrong.
I’m listening to the internal broadcast system, and the Minister is making a statement on FMD during the Assembly’s plenary meeting. She reports the banning of livestock auctions and markets, advises the public not to visit the countryside, and asks that sporting event organisers consider whether their events are really necessary. Things are getting more serious by the day.
Dr Paisley, as Chairman of the ARD Committee, gets called to ask the first question to the Minister following her statement, and it seems that cordiality is now over. He goes on the attack, referring to the minister’s “friends in the South of Ireland” and their apparent suggestion that the RoI response has been better than Northern Ireland’s.
I stop what I’m doing, to listen more closely. I feel very uneasy about what he is saying, since, as Chairman, he should be articulating the Committee’s views, unless he makes it clear that these are his own views, but he has not done so.
Ian Junior weighs in next – here we go – asking the Minister to substantiate claims that Republicans are behind much of the smuggling trade in the area.
*
The Paisleys’ change of tack from congratulatory co-operation to ‘cheap shot’ confrontation is disappointing, but not, if I’m honest, particularly surprising, since the bigger picture context is one of very low levels of political trust, not helped by the fact that no arms have as yet been ‘put beyond use’. And I suppose the Assembly Chamber offers a bigger audience for political points-scoring than the Committee room.
Indeed, this confrontational stuff doesn’t immediately translate to the Committee, and during today’s Committee meeting (it’s now the 9th of March) Dr Paisley asks the Minister to convey, to her officials, members’ “appreciation of the strain that those officials are working under”. For her part, the Minister thanks the Committee for their concern, interest, and co-operation.
It is almost like there are two Dr Paisleys in play – the Committee Chair that I know well, who is acutely aware of (and constrained by) the responsibilities of his office, and the other – the MLA and Party leader – who is seemingly free of those shackles.
*
And another three days later, they’re back in the Chamber for the next FMD statement and hostilities re-commence.
The Minister suggests that events involving large numbers, or involving rural communities, should really not go ahead, and she thanks the authorities involved in GAA, rugby and soccer who have all cancelled events in the last few days.
Sensing his opportunity, Sinn Fein’s Gerry McHugh gleefully asks the Minister about the proposed General Assembly of Dr Paisley’s Free Presbyterian Church – it is, apparently, scheduled to take place next week in Belfast’s Odyssey Arena – and if it is her view that the event should be cancelled.
Even through the TV sound system you can tell that Ian junior is absolutely livid at this obvious attack on his Dad. He hisses “Papish Bigot” at Gerry. Another member queries whether this constitutes ‘unparliamentary language’, and Ian Junior calls him a papish bigot for good measure too!
*
I’m afraid that after the Paisley/McHugh exchange, the unpleasantness has started to seep into the Committee, with tensions mounting in the Committee room today (the 23rd of March) as the Minister reports an outbreak of FMD in County Louth, just across the border from the NI outbreak. Dr Paisley and Ian Junior ‘gang up’ on the Minister to criticize her for ‘tying herself’ to the South. Not surprisingly, Gerry McHugh’s response is to be critical of those who want to be tied to GB which, he says, was the source of the problem.
John Dallat lobs in a grenade by asking the Minister for her views about one Committee member’s plan to go to Scotland even though such travel is being discouraged. After much consternation and raised voices, it becomes clear that Gardiner Kane is the member in question, and Dr Paisley complains loudly that this is “very cheap politics” on John Dallat’s part. My immediate thought is “Pot, kettle and black”, Mister Chairman, given your own tactics at times (but I keep that to myself)!
*
It’s now the 30th of March and the Minister’s latest weekly update to the Committee. Her mood is more upbeat today, and she is indulging in some self-congratulation about the achievement of regionalization status for Northern Ireland. Well, you would do, in her shoes, I think. And with still only one outbreak of FMD in Northern Ireland, (against the 700 or so cases so far in Great Britain) she reports that the Executive feels able to relax some of the restrictions on the general public’s movements.
I suspect that Dr Paisley may be a little hacked off at the widespread recognition that the Minister has responded well to the crisis. Whatever the catalyst, he has (it seems, though I didn’t hear it) given a scathing radio interview this morning – and apparently he did so as Committee Chair, I’m afraid. He follows this up in the Committee itself, accusing the Minister of not being open about negotiations that are taking place with South Armagh farmers who, he alleges, are demanding amnesty over possible prosecution over smuggling offences.
This attack prompts a level of antagonism and disunity within the Committee that I have never seen before. The atmosphere is awful, and three members demand that it be put on record that they disassociate themselves from the Chairman’s remarks.
As an inexperienced Clerk I am finding this all very stressful and difficult to deal with, and all I can really do is to ensure these exchanges are recorded faithfully in the minutes.
*
It’s the 2nd of April and the Rodgers/Paisley rancour continues in the Assembly Chamber following the latest Minister’s Statement, with Dr Paisley trying to get more mileage out of the alleged amnesty. This time another Committee member, Alliance’s David Ford, publicly distances himself from the Chairman’s remarks.
I continue to listen in from my office as there is other agriculture-related business being discussed in the Chamber. And again, I have to stop what I’m doing when Dr Paisley goes on a complete rant, viciously attacking the SDLP’s Eddie McGrady for no obvious reason.
I am beginning to think that these aren’t the actions and words of a completely rational person. I wonder whether, at 75, this might all be getting too much for him.
I am also saddened that the exchanges of these last few days and weeks have quite clearly damaged the goodwill and collective approach within the Committee, which Dr Paisley had so carefully fostered at the beginning. What a waste!
*
With so many updates and battles to keep track of, I was delighted when the Chairman brought the 6th of April Committee meeting to a close, meaning that the Easter recess had arrived. We were only due to have Easter Monday and Tuesday off, but my plan was to take some additional annual leave days to spend with my wife and young family, and to just relax.
The best laid plans, eh?
*
It is Easter Sunday (the 15th of April 2001), and I am sitting in the conservatory in my house in Bangor, enjoying some Spring sunshine. My mobile rings and I am surprised to hear Ian junior’s voice on the other end of the line, it being the Sabbath and all that.
Junior gets straight to the point: “My Dad wants to call an urgent Committee meeting. There’s been more outbreaks of Foot and Mouth.” He goes on to say that I need to get all the members together for this meeting, in the next couple of days, and to ensure that the Minister comes ‘up the Hill’ to brief the Committee.
Junior seems very animated during this call. Do I sense an element of relish in his voice – perhaps at having the Minister on the ‘back foot’? I also can’t help having cynical thoughts that the point in recalling the Committee from its Easter break is more about looking good and playing well with rural constituents than being likely to serve any real purpose.
Setting aside my cynicism, I tell myself that this is yet another early test of my credentials as ‘Mister Clerk’. I am determined not to be found wanting, and I assure Ian Junior that I’ll get it done.
I get on the phone to Michael, the Minister’s Private Secretary. We are conscious of the wider effects of arranging an extra meeting during recess, and we agree to avoid Easter Monday and Tuesday and to suggest the Wednesday to our respective principals. I get back to Ian Junior quickly and he agrees those arrangements on his Dad’s behalf. I spend much of the rest of the day, and Easter Monday, making calls to staff and Committee members. A holiday spoiled for us all.
*
It’s now the 18th of April and the hastily arranged Wednesday meeting is now underway. The Minister gives details of the two new cases which are in Ardboe and Cushendall, reporting also that regionalization for Northern Ireland has been lost. Several new measures are being planned, she says, including culling yet more animals and mass vaccinations of others.
When questions are asked about the cause of the outbreaks, her response is that some farmers had, apparently, moved sheep when such movements were restricted. Here we go, I think, expecting fireworks, and some “you’re not so clever now” grandstanding. But no, I’m very surprised at the Chairman’s conciliatory tone. He pushes the Minister to take action on the illegal movement of sheep, but there’s no judgement or blame, or attempts to denigrate ‘republicans’.
Have we again reached a point where the extent of the crisis means that unity is more important than division, I wonder? Probably not, with the elections coming up in six or seven weeks, I decide.
*
The Easter meeting did, however, seem to mark the end of ‘hostilities’ about Foot and Mouth disease. I wonder now if the DUP’s rural base had anything to do with this, with eradication of FMD considered to be more important than scoring political points. Who knows?
The Minister continued to brief the Committee weekly for a short while after that, but with no further outbreaks to report, she ended up reporting to the Assembly and the Committee on alternate weeks.
In the last Committee meeting before the elections, on the 25th of May, the Minister reported that there were still no further outbreaks, and no suspect animals. It seemed the worst was over.
*
The Committee took a two-week break from meetings to enable members to concentrate on the elections on the 7th of June. When the results were announced, the political landscape in Northern Ireland changed completely.
The DUP gained an additional three of the eighteen Westminster seats, while the Ulster Unionists lost four. In the local elections, the DUP gained 40 Council seats while the UUP lost 31.
The DUP’s tactics of working within the Institutions while continuing to oppose and blame others for them had paid off, and all the consequences of going into government with Sinn Fein were, it seemed, falling on David Trimble and his party. Any concern Dr Paisley may have had that working alongside Sinn Fein members might be electorally damaging had, it seemed, been swept away.
*
So, it is an understandably triumphant Dr Paisley who returns to the Chair for the Committee’s meeting today, the 15th of June.
Dr Paisley is a big man. You could say he is always ‘larger than life’, but today, his presence seems to fill the entire Committee room – an almost physical manifestation of his party’s election victory.
He opens the meeting with a strident statement of intent that he isn’t going to be messed with. Having, he says, consulted with the Speaker, he forcefully sets out his powers as Chairman of the Committee. He insists that the conduct of Committee business should not be for outside discussion and threatens sanctions for any member who makes his chairmanship the subject of external debate.
I wasn’t warned of Dr Paisley’s intention to flex his political ‘muscles’ in this way today, so I am as gob-smacked as the rest of the Committee. But there isn’t a single word of dissent from any of them. Heads are lowered and eyes are averted. There is no doubt as to who the alpha in the room is.
I am finding this very awkward, but I am content that his summation of a Chairman’s powers is factually and procedurally accurate, so I feel no inclination to interfere in his ‘show of strength’. I just hope that members understand that I haven’t written any of this diatribe for the Chairman, although I think that is probably clear enough from the look on my face!
With the Committee still sitting in submissive silence, the Minister attends to give what she hopes will be her last FMD update in person. It is all positive news, with Northern Ireland’s ‘regionalization’ status having been regained from the 5th of June, and no further outbreaks or suspect animals. Happily, she reports that controls are also being relaxed, with land and properties re-opening and a resumption of countryside pursuits such as angling.
There is tangible relief among members, who by now feel able to speak again, and several pay tribute to the Minister and her staff for their efforts during the crisis. Even the Chairman says that DARD staff “deserved the thanks of the people”.
The Minister concludes by saying that she is grateful to the Committee. In response, Dr Paisley tells her that he would “like to thank you personally for keeping me informed. It was appreciated”. The man never ceases to amaze me!
Given all the barbs that have been exchanged during the crisis, the Minister looks as surprised as I feel at this sentiment, and she thanks Dr Paisley for his comments.
I suppose a successful election allows a bit of magnanimity to creep in, but nonetheless, I think that was almost a statesman-like touch on the Chairman’s part.
Perhaps we’ll see more of that side of him from now on.
Next time: In Episode 6, Paul arranges and sets out on his first foreign trip as the Committee’s Clerk, accompanying a three-man delegation to Strasbourg to meet with the EU Fisheries Commissioner ahead of the annual December Fisheries Council meeting. Can he ensure the visit is conducted without diplomatic incident and that no MLAs go missing on his ‘watch’?
Paul has adapted these episodes from his book: ‘Doctor Paisley and Mister Clerk – Recollections of Ian Paisley’s Agriculture Committee Years’, which is still available in paperback and e-book formats from amazon.co.uk: https://amzn.eu/d/89Lkwxq.
This is a guest slot to give a platform for new writers either as a one off, or a prelude to becoming part of the regular Slugger team.
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