Abstract
This chapter considers how Brexit intersects with gender in Northern Ireland in a multi-layered and multi-dimensional manner. It shows how internal politics, location bordering a European Union state, and the legacy of conflict interact to create unique conditions for the Brexit process and women’s rights. It notes that while female political leaders are visible in the debate, women’s civil society organisations are not. The chapter highlights that the equivalence of rights on the island, guaranteed by the 1998 Belfast/Good Friday Agreement, is not sustainable in a post-Brexit context and has the potential for women’s rights in Northern Ireland to fall behind those enjoyed by women in the Republic of Ireland. The chapter concludes by discussing the region’s participation in the European Economic Area as a possible solution to the tensions on the island created by Brexit.
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Notes
- 1.
Joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union; para. 43 ‘The United Kingdom also recalls its commitment to the avoidance of a hard border, including any physical infrastructure or related checks and controls’.
- 2.
Joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union; para. 49 ‘The United Kingdom remains committed to protecting North-South cooperation and to its guarantee of avoiding a hard border.’ … ‘In the absence of agreed solutions, the United Kingdom will maintain full alignment with those rules of the Internal Market and the Customs Union which, now or in the future, support North-South cooperation, the all-island economy and the protection of the 1998 Agreement.’
- 3.
Joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union; para. 52 ‘The people of Northern Ireland who are Irish citizens will continue to enjoy rights as EU citizens, including where they reside in Northern Ireland. Both Parties therefore agree that the Withdrawal Agreement should respect and be without prejudice to the rights, opportunities and identity that come with European Union citizenship for such people.’
- 4.
Joint report from the negotiators of the European Union and the United Kingdom Government on progress during phase 1 of negotiations under Article 50 TEU on the United Kingdom’s orderly withdrawal from the European Union; para. 53 ‘The United Kingdom commits to facilitating the related work of the institutions and bodies, established by the 1998 Agreement, in upholding human rights and equality standards.’
- 5.
McCord’s (Raymond) Application; Agnew (and others) v HMG, Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2016] NIQB 85, at: https://www.judiciary-ni.gov.uk/judicial-decisions/2016-niqb-85, accessed 20 June 2018.
- 6.
R (Miller) v Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union [2017] UKSC5, at: http://www.bailii.org/uk/cases/UKSC/2017/5.html, accessed 21 June 2018; Tughans Legal Insights: Brexit: The Supreme Court Decision—Only Parliament Can Pull the Brexit Trigger, at: https://www.tughans.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/01/Only-Parliament-can-pull-Brexit-trigger-AMENDED-DRAFT.pdf, accessed 21 June 2018.
- 7.
The British Irish Council was created in 1999 to “to promote the harmonious and mutually beneficial development of the totality of relationships among the peoples of these islands.”
- 8.
http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/eli/1999/act/1/enacted/en/pdf, accessed 20 June 2018.
- 9.
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-belfast-agreement, accessed 10 August 2018.
- 10.
Northern Ireland PEACE programme, at: http://www.europarl.europa.eu/atyourservice/en/displayFtu.html?ftuId=FTU_3.1.9.html, accessed 20 June 2018.
- 11.
http://www.bdoni.com/en-gb/news/2016/cbi-bdo-northern-ireland-the-big-brexit, accessed 19 August 2018.
- 12.
https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/ireland-an-afterthought-during-brexit-campaign-when-i-was-cameron-adviser-1.3242732, accessed 10 August 2018; https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/northern-ireland/dup-confirms-it-will-campaign-for-brexit-in-leaveremain-referendum-34470806.html, accessed 10 August 2018.
- 13.
http://www.thejournal.ie/ireland-rejoining-the-commonwealth-4174082-Aug2018/, accessed 10 August 2018.
- 14.
https://inews.co.uk/news/brexit/does-dup-support-theresa-may-chequers-brexit-plan/, accessed 10 August 2018.
- 15.
Jon Stone, ‘Downing Street Was Warned About Brexit Border Plan by Head of Northern Ireland Civil Service,’ Independent, 25 April 2018, https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/brexit-irish-border-northern-ireland-uk-letter-eu-a8322611.html, accessed 10 August 2018.
- 16.
- 17.
Martina Anderson (Sinn Féin); Diane Dodds (Democratic Unionist Party); Jim Nicholson (Ulster Unionist Party).
- 18.
- 19.
https://www.bbc.com/news/live/uk-northern-ireland-politics-38635708, accessed 19 August 2018.
- 20.
- 21.
- 22.
- 23.
- 24.
http://www.seupb.eu/Libraries/PEACE_IV_Programme_Guidance/PIV_AdoptionByEC_30-11-2015.sflb.ashx, accessed 2 August 2016.
- 25.
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Galligan, Y. (2019). Brexit, Gender and Northern Ireland. In: Dustin, M., Ferreira, N., Millns, S. (eds) Gender and Queer Perspectives on Brexit. Gender and Politics. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-03122-0_14
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