Latest news with #NicholaMallon
Fibre2Fashion
11-05-2025
- Business
- Fibre2Fashion
Logistics UK expects more stability from US deal, GTRI cautions India
Logistics UK, a body of logistics businesses, has expressed hope that the recently-announced US-UK trade agreement will lead to a period of greater stability as British businesses in the sector had been unsettled by the lack of clarity and consistency provided for traders since reciprocal tariffs were announced. 'We will be scrutinising the detail of the agreement in the coming weeks to identify the opportunities for growth that the deal should bring,' Logistics UK head of trade and devolved policy Nichola Mallon said in a statement. Logistics UK is hopeful that the recently-announced US-UK trade deal will lead to a period of greater stability as UK businesses in the sector had been unsettled by the lack of clarity and consistency provided for traders since reciprocal tariffs were announced. Meanwhile, Indian think tank GTRI cautioned that India may soon come under similar pressure from the US to sign a narrow mini-trade deal. Meanwhile, Indian trade policy think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) cautioned that India may soon come under similar pressure from the United states to finalise a narrowly focused mini-trade package, centred around tariff cuts, strategic market openings and large-value commercial deals, rather than a broader free trade agreement (FTA) that would require Congressional approval. The US-UK deal, appears to be heavily tilted in the US' favour, with the united Kingdom granting sweeping market access in return for relatively modest tariff cuts—a lopsided outcome that Indian negotiators should avoid, said a brief report by the think tank. The UK deal, according to the GTRI, reflects the Trump administration's preferred style: limited, transactional arrangements that deliver quick wins without the legislative complexity of a full-fledged FTA. If India mirrors the United Kingdom's approach, it could end up granting sweeping concessions without securing equivalent gains, it added. Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Belfast Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Hill Street saga continues as councillor hits out at MLA: ‘The brass neck of this'
Belfast councillor Brian Smyth aired his criticism of the SDLP over its alleged role in the scheme, given that former SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon was Infrastructure Minister when Hill Street was pedestrianised in a pilot project in 2020. This week, the SDLP posted a video on X of several party representatives standing on Hill Street calling for progress in its pedestrianisation. In the footage, Stormont Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole tells the camera: 'Some things in politics are difficult, others are expensive, and sadly lots of things are difficult and expensive. 'But this isn't either. It should be easy, but ministers won't get on and do it.' Brian Smyth took issue with the clip, responding: 'The brass neck of this. It was an SDLP minister who first trailed pedestrianising Hill Street during Covid & was never made permanent. 'The same SDLP minister who failed to use that period as the window to accelerate change. Don't try to pin all this on the current Executive.' Elsewhere, TUV leader Jim Allister has submitted an early day motion in the Commons calling for a museum to be founded in Belfast in honour of Harry Ferguson, the father of the modern tractor. The motion notes that Ferguson filed his master patent for his tractor in Belfast 100 years ago and Mr Allister said 'as Northern Ireland's most celebrated inventor, his life and work deserve a permanent and inspiring home.' Just how popular a tractor museum would be is unclear. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a new film loosely based on the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in 2004 is to begin shooting in June. Interesting, Chasing Millions won't be a straight crime flick, but rather a 'dark, character-driven comedy', according to director Stephen Burke. For some reason, the film is also set to feature a 'determined young Australian police detective' who finds herself investigating the heist while on a family visit to Northern Ireland. Certainly a unique take.
Belfast Telegraph
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Belfast Telegraph
Belfast Diary: Hill Street saga, a tractor museum and a unique interpretation
Belfast councillor Brian Smyth aired his criticism of the SDLP over its alleged role in the scheme, given that former SDLP MLA Nichola Mallon was Infrastructure Minister when Hill Street was pedestrianised in a pilot project in 2020. This week, the SDLP posted a video on X of several party representatives standing on Hill Street calling for progress in its pedestrianisation. In the footage, Stormont Opposition leader Matthew O'Toole tells the camera: 'Some things in politics are difficult, others are expensive, and sadly lots of things are difficult and expensive. 'But this isn't either. It should be easy, but ministers won't get on and do it.' Brian Smyth took issue with the clip, responding: 'The brass neck of this. It was an SDLP minister who first trailed pedestrianising Hill Street during Covid & was never made permanent. 'The same SDLP minister who failed to use that period as the window to accelerate change. Don't try to pin all this on the current Executive.' Elsewhere, TUV leader Jim Allister has submitted an early day motion in the Commons calling for a museum to be founded in Belfast in honour of Harry Ferguson, the father of the modern tractor. The motion notes that Ferguson filed his master patent for his tractor in Belfast 100 years ago and Mr Allister said 'as Northern Ireland's most celebrated inventor, his life and work deserve a permanent and inspiring home.' Just how popular a tractor museum would be is unclear. Meanwhile, it has emerged that a new film loosely based on the £26.5m Northern Bank robbery in 2004 is to begin shooting in June. Interesting, Chasing Millions won't be a straight crime flick, but rather a 'dark, character-driven comedy', according to director Stephen Burke. For some reason, the film is also set to feature a 'determined young Australian police detective' who finds herself investigating the heist while on a family visit to Northern Ireland. Certainly a unique take.
The Independent
12-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
New Brexit rules risk leaving ‘gaps on shelves' in Northern Ireland by July
New post- Brexit labelling rules could see 'gaps on shelves' in Northern Ireland by July, a Westminster committee has heard. Business representatives told the Northern Ireland Affairs Committee that the Windsor Framework was 'an improvement' on previous post-Brexit trade arrangements but there were still challenges. Concerns were also raised about new parcel delivery requirements needed from March 31, and 'phase three' labelling rules that are to be introduced from July 31. Nichola Mallon, head of trade and devolved policy at Logistics UK, said a 'more trusted' approach was needed on checks. The former SDLP deputy leader said the Windsor Framework was 'an improvement' on the Northern Ireland protocol, but that there were some problems with GB to NI trade. 'I think there is a consensus within our membership that the Windsor Framework was to some extent oversold and it created a misperception that all of the challenges under the Northern Ireland protocol had been removed. 'It has contributed to a lack of awareness, particularly among GB businesses, of the requirements that must be met under the Windsor Framework and, to some degree, there is a reluctance among some GB-based businesses to trade in Northern Ireland because of the administrative and cost requirements.' Neil Johnston, director of the Northern Ireland Retail Consortium, repeatedly raised concerns about new labelling requirements in July, which aim to ensure goods are not moved onwards into the EU. 'We are not Del Boy and Rodney,' he said. 'We are not trying to get our goods secretly over the border into the south.' He said that for supermarket chains such as Asda and Sainsburys, they should not need to fill in 'vast amount of paperwork' to prove the goods are not travelling south of the border, where they do not have branches in that jurisdiction. 'The risk of any of these products from the supermarkets that don't have southern premises going astray is negligible, so why do we have those levels of checks is certainly a question that we are asking regularly. 'In the case of Marks and Sparks and Tesco's, who have big operations in the Republic of Ireland, they have track and trace technology that they have invested heavily in and they should be relied upon without vast levels of inspections and paperwork to be able to deliver that.' He said that while the Windsor Framework was 'an improvement', trading had become 'more and more difficult' in recent times. 'I think we started from the wrong position, the wrong place and basically we have an overly bureaucratic approach. 'I think we have successfully achieved what we were required to do, high levels of compliance at the moment, but it's very, very difficult. 'The nature of our businesses, what's in the back of these trucks is highly diverse and regularly changing, it's not about you get this right once and be done. It's just a neverending saga.' He said that work from businesses had meant customers had largely not noticed the scale of the change, but there was a risk they would by July. 'This is like a swan on a lake. The reason consumers haven't noticed anything is because Nichola's members and my members are pedalling furiously to comply and have achieved a lot. 'Going forward, it's going to become more and more difficult, particularly, as mentioned before, the phase three labelling. 'There are branded products that we cannot tell suppliers to brand them for Northern Ireland. 'The government, to my mind, hasn't really been clear on how they are going to resolve that problem. 'They say they've taken the powers to require those producers to label for Northern Ireland, but it's not very clear as to how that will happen. 'So come July, it's highly likely that there will be gaps on shelves. Household products that people are used to having on their shelves in Northern Ireland may well – I hope not, we've had this before with phase one and phase two – but there may be products that, come the end of July, that disappear.' Ms Mallon said there had been a 'change in tone' from the Government in the last number of months and said the UK-EU reset had 'led to more positive approach to things'. She said there had been a series of webinars and roundtables in Great Britain held about changes. Anne-Marie Murphy, director of strategy and emerging markets at the NI Consumer Council, said they had already identified 'difficulties' in delivering goods from GB to NI. She said 'it isn't going to be business as usual' once the parcel changes come into force on March 31. 'The difficulty about this is that Northern Ireland consumers will be on the receiving end of these arrangements. 'So it is going to be a grandmother sending a gift to her grandchild in Northern Ireland. 'It is going to be a business sending something to a consumer in Northern Ireland. 'It is going to be a consumer in the UK returning a product to a business in Northern Ireland. 'So there's three different processes already and our parcels research has already identified … that there have been some difficulties in relation to delivering to Northern Ireland, either by business deciding that they are not going to deliver to Northern Ireland or it is too difficult, or by some mistakes in the process.' Jennifer Pheasey, director of public affairs at the Horticultural Trades Association, also appeared before the committee on Wednesday.
Yahoo
19-02-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Almost half a million spent so far on public inquiry into gold mine
A twice suspended public inquiry into proposed plans for a gold mine in Co Tyrone has cost almost half a million pounds, it can be revealed. Strong views have been expressed over the proposed Curraghinalt Project by Dalradian Gold Ltd in the Sperrin Mountains. While supporters say the location is believed to contain one of the world's most significant undeveloped gold deposits, those against are concerned about the health and environmental impacts in an area of Outstanding Natural Beauty. Dalradian has been working on the Curraghinalt site near Greencastle for 15 years, and says the proposed underground mine could create and support up to 1,000 jobs and add five billion dollars (£4.1 billion) to the Northern Ireland economy. A Planning Appeals Commission (PAC) inquiry was ordered by then Infrastructure Minister Nichola Mallon in 2020. The inquiry, led by Commissioner Jacqueline McParland, was previously adjourned in September 2024 amid confusion over water licence approvals. The probe opened for public hearings at the Strule Arts Centre in Omagh last month, but on the third day of evidence it ran aground after regulation breaches emerged. It was reported that the Department for Infrastructure had not notified the Irish government, or given Donegal County Council adequate time to respond after a cross-border issue was identified. Commissioner McParland told the hearing on January 15 it was 'deeply regrettable that members of the PAC have been put in this position by the inaction of government departments particularly the planning department of the DFI to follow their own legislative procedures'. She also said that the inquiry has been 'besieged with difficulties' and this was a 'necessary juncture', adding that the cost to the public purse and impact on communities 'cannot be understated'. In a statement on January 17, the Planning Appeals Commission said the department had requested that the commissions suspend the inquiries on January 15. They added: 'The Commissions will provide an update in due course.' It can now been revealed that the process has cost almost half a million in public finances. Responding to a Freedom of Information request from the PA news agency, the Northern Ireland Courts and Tribunal Service detailed costs so far totalling £478,159. While salaries account for most of the costs, there is also a sum of more than £10,955 which is described as being for 'security costs'. The smallest number in the breakdown was £672 for mailing costs, while £219,089 was for administrative staff salaries and £212,957 for commissioner salaries. Fidelma O'Kane from the Save Our Sperrins group, which opposes the mine application, said they were shocked at the costs. 'Almost half a million, it's unbelievable, we couldn't believe the cost of it so far,' she told PA. 'And if that was only after three days, what will it be like at the end, if it goes on.' She described a police presence and security at the pre-hearing last March. It follows police telling three members of the group of death threats against them in June 2019. Ms O'Kane said it is unclear what will happen and when with the inquiry, adding it is understood there had been correspondence with the Irish government, and that if a trans boundary consultation is held, it is likely to take at least six weeks. 'We had an expert coming from America, and he was to come on January 17. When it was cancelled on January 15, we had to rush home and contact him, and get the flights postponed which had cost us £1,200,' she said. She said she is driven to act for the future of her grandchildren living in the area. 'We have to participate in it (the inquiry), and put forward the best case we can,' she said. 'We have eight grandchildren, to think of their future, will they be able to live in the Sperrins, will the water and the air be poisoned, what will the impact be on their health. It'll not be my generation, it'll be the younger ones and we have got to do this now.' A spokesperson for the Department of Justice described an 'unprecedented inquiry'. 'The Curraghinalt Project (Dalradian) Inquiry is unprecedented in the history of the Planning Appeals Commission in terms of its complexity and scale,' they said. 'PAC is an independent Tribunal Non-Departmental Public Body and as such the operation of the Commission is the responsibility of the Chief Commission. 'The NI Courts and Tribunals Service provides financial and administrative support to the Commission and continues to work closely with the Commission to ensure the inquiry is delivered in the most cost-effective way. 'It is important to note that costs provided in the Freedom of Information (FOI) response are total costs relating to the Inquiry including the administrative costs of processing and analysing the significant number of representations made by interested parties; the significant amount of correspondence and research relating to eight separate planning applications prior to arranging the pre-inquiry meeting in 2024; and three days of hearings which took place in January 2025.'
