‘A chaotic nightmare’ – the hunt for a plain English explanation of NI’s Covid laws

The comments from UUP justice spokesman Doug Beattie come as the News Letter has sought to unearth a single, plainly-written set of the coronavirus rules online, laying out what exactly are crimes and what the punishments are.

But it appears that, around eight months into the crisis, no such webpage exists – leaving the public to wade their way through a baffling array of material.

When searching for a clear list of the legal regulations, the News Letter typed the following request into Google: ‘Northern Ireland coronavirus regulations’.

The top response was a webpage on the government’s general public announcement site, NI Direct (www.nidirect.gov.uk/articles/coronavirus-covid-19-regulations).

This webpage did not set out the law but gave readers links for two other Department of Health webpages.

The first of those links (www.health-ni.gov.uk/covid-19-legislation) takes you to a webpage consisting of no fewer than 39 other links to various statutory instruments and amendments – something which could take days of work from an experienced reader to properly understand.

The second link (www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/health-protection-coronavirus-restrictions-northern-ireland-regulations-2020) takes you to a webpage consisting of 21 other links – most of which take you to the exact same statutory instruments and amendments, though there are also some links to something called ‘Your guide to the COVID-19 restrictions’.

When you click on this, it comes up with an empty page saying: GUIDANCE IS CURRENTLY UNAVAILABLE.

Some other links do allow you to download the guidance – but only if you are able to read Lithuanian, Mandarin, Arabic, Romanian, Portuguese or Polish.

The second top result on Google brings you to a different webpage on NI Direct, titled “Coronavirus (COVID-19) regulations guidance: what the restrictions mean for you”.

Whilst this does include instructions for people, and states “everyone is legally required to comply with the regulations”, it mixes up the law with things which are merely advice.

It also says nothing about what happens if people don’t comply.

If you follow from that webpage by clicking another two links, it brings you to a kind of graphic table which purports to set out the rules (www.nidirect.gov.uk/sites/default/files/publications/TEO_coronavirus-restrictions-table-update_20102020_0.pdf).

But again, this lacks detail (for example, on where you must wear face masks, and what counts as “unnecessary travel”), and says nothing about the consequences for breaking the law.

And returning to the basic Google search for ‘Northern Ireland coronavirus regulations’, the third top result is the same Department of Health webpage with 21 links mentioned earlier on.

The News Letter put it to the Department of Health, the Department of Justice, the PSNI, and the Executive Office that this is simply a mess, and they were asked why no clear breakdown of the law is available.

The Executive Office did not respond at all.

The PSNI said it would “await further details from the Executive” (which doesn’t address the question of why there is no current clear explanation of the law).

The Department of Justice referred the News Letter to the Department of Health.

And the Department of Health in turn directed the News Letter to yet another NI Direct webpage, which simply links to many of the webpages already listed above (www.nidirect.gov.uk/campaigns/coronavirus-covid-19).

Doug Beattie, who is the UUP’s representative on Stormont’s justice committee, said that “the whole issue about enforcement has been so badly handled since the start of this pandemic”.

He said when it comes to getting people to obey the law it was more than just about legal threats – but there still had to be “a justice arm” involved, ready to enforce them if needed.

“It is a nightmare,” he said.

“If you just lay out ... ‘this is what you have to do; if you don’t do it, this is the rule you’re breaking and these are the consequences’ – that absolutely needs to be put out and collated.

“That’d be up to the Executive to do that.

“There is so much out there. It’s just absolutely chaotic.”

He said enforcement “does sit naturally with justice”, not health, and other ministers – particularly Justice Minister Naomi Long – have “slipped away” when it comes to leading on the issue.

For example, he said in his view Mrs Long should have taken on the chairmanship of a Stormont group looking at enforcement (which is instead led by two junior ministers from the Executive Office).

READ MORE FROM THE NEWS LETTER:

CLICK HERE: IN FULL: Outspoken anti-lockdown doctor on why she’s quitting council seat

CLICK HERE: Dissident who avoided jail after judge was told he ‘matured’ still vocally backs hardcore republicans

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