Opinion

Depressing failure to address flags and bonfires reveals DUP and Sinn Féin’s lack of political maturity - The Irish News view

Difficulties around the Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition Commission reflect delays and inaction in our devolved structures

There remains no consensus at Stormont on flags, bonfires and other familiar cultural issues (Liam McBurney/PA)
By The Irish News

The Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition Commission (FICT) has many important questions to consider, and there were hopes that it would have been able to encourage progress in some key areas when it was launched at Stormont back in 2016.

It was depressing but perhaps not entirely surprising to hear FICT’s co-chair Professor Dominic Bryan ruefully conclude on Wednesday that despite his best efforts what had been achieved to date amounted to a collective failure.

There can be no doubt that complex and sensitive matters are involved but unfortunately the difficulties surrounding FICT reflect the delays and inaction found in too many aspects of our devolved structures.

We are coming into the time of year when flags provocatively appear in a range of areas, in a blatant attempt to mark out territory and intimidate particular communities, and, while both sides have regularly engaged in this practice, loyalists invariably appear determined to display contentious emblems, often specifically promoting illegal organisations, on a widespread basis before, during and after the July 12 period.

There are also many serious problems associated with bonfires, again mainly but not exclusively on the loyalist side, including the environmental damage they cause and the major risk they present to those involved in their construction, and it will be noted that tensions have been defused in some districts as a result of positive dialogue between community representatives, but much more plainly needs to be done across the board.

Progress by the Flags, Identity, Culture and Tradition Commission has not been helped by the well documented Stormont disruptions but it is deeply frustrating that a document which cost the public almost £1m has been surrounded by such a huge degree of stalemate

FICT was initially established as part of the follow up to what was optimistically known as the Fresh Start Agreement of 2015, with the intention that a full report would be delivered to the executive by 2018.

It was not eventually published until the end of 2021, when it made 44 recommendations but was unable to find consensus on a number of issues including changing legislation around the flying of flags from lampposts.

An implementation programme was eventually approved, and a working group set up, but an Assembly committee was told earlier this week that it had not met since January 2022.

Its progress has not been helped by the well documented Stormont disruptions but it is deeply frustrating that a document which cost the public almost £1m has been surrounded by such a huge degree of stalemate.

The Assembly committee was told that no movement was expected until executive ministers agree on a way forward, which effectively means that some form of consensus needs to be reached between Sinn Féin and the DUP.

It is a familiar pattern, and the onus is firmly on the two main parties to demonstrate that they are capable of demonstrating the kind of political maturity which will allow solutions to be found in the best interests of all traditions.