Paddy Wants To Know Brexit

In the first part of a two part episode the guys get to know the City of Derry a bit better and how their citizens feel they will be affected by Brexit. In the first episode we talk to Connor Doherty and we talk about the City Deal, and what it could do for the city. We also discuss the the politics of football in Northern Ireland and how that intersects with identity in the region. We also talk with Brenda Stevenson from Derry Girls against Borders, a local activist group that is campaigning to ensure that there will be no North/South or East/West border that could endanger the Northern Irish economy or even the peace process. See below for timestamps.  ———— 03:07: Derry is like Galway without the money 03:35: Bidding for a City Deal 06:16: The importance of the City Deal for Derry 07:44: Derry Girls against Borders interview with Brenda Stevenson begins 08:06: What is the campaign all about? 10:03: Why Brenda doesn’t want to see a border again 13:21: Doesn’t the Common Travel Area solve a lot of problems that DGAB is campaigning against? 14:50: Taking inspiration from Derry Girls, the TV Show. 16:54: Fears of a return to the dark days in Northern Ireland 18:39: The lived experiences of Derry Girls against Borders 20:20: How to get in contact with Derry Girls Against Borders and the politicisation of other Border campaigns against Brexit 22:49: Back to Connor O’ Doherty on Shane Duffy, and the inevitably playing for the Republic of Ireland 23:55: Why doesn’t Derry City play in the Northern Ireland football league? 25:55: Northern Ireland fans and how they are perceived from Derry 27:05: Mixed identities, Brexit and being Northern Irish 28:15: Use of the phrases ‘Loyalist’ and ‘Republican’ in everyday parlance 29:05: Brexit as a distillation of issues. 30:10: The weight of words in Northern Ireland

Darren McCaffrey joins the pod to discuss all things Brexit. He draws on his time as Sky News’ Westminster Correspondent and Ireland Correspondent to explain the political drivers and stumbling blocks behind Brexit. We also touch on Northern Irish politics and what Westminster makes of the DUP and Sinn Féin. Will Brexit undermine unionism? Did the Irish government blindside the British public? What to look out for over the coming months !

The pod goes on the road for the time to muck in and see how Brexit is going to affect the pig industry. Tommy Brady’s farm in Ballyjamesduff exports 100% of its pigs up north! He gave the low down on the lay of the land as it is now, emerging markets and the other kind of AI. Like the show? We'd appreciate a review on Apple Podcasts if you do. Follow us at @PaddyBrexit 1:10: How many of Tommy’s piggies go to market in Northern Ireland? 2:40: Why does he sell into the North? 4:10: Why isn’t he panicking over Brexit? 4:58: What do the Europeans eat? 6:12: EU food standards versus industry standards 8:20: Irish standard of pork 8:48: Could the Irish farmer export to other markets? 10:40: The 5th quarter of the pig and who eats them? 12:23: Can the pork market diversify away from the UK to another part of the world? 13:05: Where does Ireland fit into the EU pork producing market? 14:40 How pig farming is the same the world over 18:17: Mucking in and EU regulations affecting the industry 20:00: The industrialisation of the pig industry 21:55: The other kind of AI: Artificial insemination 23:55: Will stockpiling work? 25:57: How much of his supply chain is UK related? 27:00: The optimism of the businessman

Our 10th episode is a whopper – they say a week is a long time in politics and it has never been truer than the last week or so in Brexit. In this episode we discuss the White Paper on the UK’s future trading relationship with the EU, the chaos that is the House of Commons and the ongoing preparations for a no deal. In this weeks episode Brian interviews Victoria Hewson from the Institute of Economic Affairs, a right wing think tank based in Brussels. They discuss the resignation of Boris Johnson and David Davis, how the Irish border issue could be solved and the broad strokes of the contents of the White Paper.  You can follow Victoria on twitter at @MissVHewson and the IEA over at @iealondon. See below for timestamps: 1:12: the guys discuss how crazy the last week was. 1:45: What happened in Westminster this week. 2:35: How important are the Labour Leavers in Westminster arithmetic? 4:00: Can Theresa May get anything through her Parliament? 4:45: Ian Paisley has been suspended but does it matter? 5:15: Will Sinn Féin take their seats in Westminster and defeat a Hard Brexit? 5:55: Ireland preparing for a Hard Brexit 8:38: Introduction of Victoria Hewson and discussion of the White Paper on the UK’s Future Trading Relationship with the EU 12:38: What’s the Brexiteer alternative to the White Paper? 14:27: How does regulatory divergence affect the Irish Border? 16:40: Do a trade deal first and then sort out Northern Ireland and the Border? 18:45: The uniqueness of Northern Ireland in carrying out customs checks and how we fix that problem 21:10: The UK Government’s ability to prepare an ambitious customs arrangement in Northern Ireland that has never occurred anywhere else in the world 23:54: The politics of the White Paper – will this deal fly with anyone? 26:39: The Economic Research Group: All bark but no bite in challenging Theresa May?

This week the guys talk about the upcoming summit that's turned out to be something of a damp squib. Paddy Brussels makes a timely return while Aarti Shankar, policy analysist with Open Europe, makes her pod debut. In the first half we discuss with Paddy Brussels: 3:50 Brussels being fed up with brexit 5:10 How the summit has petered out as being relevent to brexit and why the UK backstop position doesn't work 7:53 Is a no deal a realistic proposition. 8:37 Can Merkel get support for her position on asylum? 9:10 And we talk about an imperfect backstop versus none at all. 10:11 Ireland's allies in a new, non UK Europe. In the second half we talk to Aarti Shankar and we talk about: 13:41 Why people voted to leave the EU (immigration unsurprisingly pops up) 17:10 Will there be a second referendum? 18:13 What role will the UK parliament have in deciding a final deal, and whether the pro EU Tory rebels aren't rebels at all. 21:16 How the EU summit is now a damp squib 22:30 Why the UK backstop proposition doesn't work but equally why the EU aren't being realistic in negotiations 26:15 Why are the EU backing Ireland so strongly? 27:54 Is a no deal scenario a bluff and will the final timeline in October actually be pushed back? 30:17 How frustrated are UK businesses? Follow Aarti on twitter @rtshankar and check out more work from Open Europe here: https://openeurope.org.uk

The guys play the yes/no game show to catch up on the Brexit backstop. Dr Kathryn Simpson, Senior Lecturer (Associate Professor) in Political Economy at Manchester Metropolitan University, then outlines how Ireland has transformed from a 'sponger' to a net contributor in 2014; The popular scepticism in the early 2000s; The nine referenda we've had on the EU; The impact the financial crisis had on Ireland's relationship with the EU and; How likely is Ireland to follow the UK out of the EU? You can find Dr Kathryn Simpson on twitter - @DrKathrynSimps Her paper, The Model EU Citizen? Explaining Irish Attitudes towards the EU, is available [here](http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/2041905818764701?utm_source=Adestra&utm_medium=email&utm_content=8J0227&utm_campaign=not+tracked&utm_term=&)

The Irish Border (@BorderIrish) as you’ve never heard it before!  All you ever wanted to know about the Irish Border and the Brexit negotiations and more. Questions include: Will the Irish border question be solved by June? What side of the border does it get out of in the morning? Who owns the fish in Lough Foyle? We are very grateful to an actor for voicing the Irish Border revelations and to the @HSPodNetwork. You can find us on @paddybrexit @JackGood7 & @brianmathuna1

In the first half of the show the guys talk about Barnier’s visit to the the border, Dr Kathryn Simpson joins us to talk customs partnership and Max Fac while we discuss whether either of them are viable. In the second half we get the Airbnb view of domestic politics from around the continent with local input from friends of the pod Raphaëlle, Sebastian and Marcel. 17:08: Raphaëlle Bohu discusses the emergence of Macron, the rightward shift of Les Republicains and life after the Bataclan attacks 28:25: Sebastian Weesjes is optimistic about what Brexit will mean for the Netherlands and then talks us through the (Mark) Rutte the Dutch domestic political scene is working through at the moment. 42:43: Marcel Dirsus tackles the question of whether the end is in sight for Merkel as well as why the far right AfD have grown in popularity and what their prospects are in the future

This week’s episode is all about the DUP, dark money and data. In the first half of the podcast we talk about the most recent comments from UK Brexit Secretary, David Davis, and his knowledge of Irish politics. We also discuss comments from the Irish Foreign Minister, Simon Coveney, who said that ‘if there isn’t significant progress towards trying to find a wording that puts in place an operational backstop in the withdrawal treaty, well then we’ll have to ask some very serious questions as to whether it’s possible to do it by October.’ In the second half we speak to Peter Geoghegan, an investigative journalist with Open Democracy about how the DUP came across some money in the run up to the Brexit referendum, how the leave campaign ran a smart online campaign and we asked him whether George Soros is different from Aaron Banks. [9:53] How the DUP got involved as a player in the Brexit campaign and how they spent their money. [12:08] Who donated the money to the DUP? [13:13] The Aggregate IQ and Cambridge Analytica link [14:23] Why do we care if people spent money with AIQ [15:42] Who are BeLeave and who did they spend their money with? [16:47] Didn’t the Remain campaign cheat too? [18:56] The use of data in the campaign [19:32] How did the DUP find AIQ? [20:25] Why are the campaign finance rules different in Northern Ireland? [23:40] Loopholes in the law [24:25] Could the electoral commission investigation precipitate a second referendum? [25:15] Investigations into Leave.EU [26:10] How is George Soros different from Aaron Banks? FURTHER READING Who are the AIQ? Read more here. Read more work by Peter Geoghegan on this issue here. Listen to a documentary about Aaron Banks here. Find out more about BeLeave here. Read all about Cambridge Analytica and AIQ on the Guardian’s website here. Follow Peter on Twitter @PeterKGeoghegan

We're joined by political scientist Marcel Dirsus, an expert in Russian and East European Affairs, to unravel the Russian dolls and make sense of poisoning, gas and fake news. We begin by mapping out the relationship between Russia and the European Union [03:00] The alleged poisoning of Sergei Skripal and whether Russia is to blame [06:45] Disunity within the European Union over Russia [10:17] Sending a message on assassinations but not on property [15:39] EU-Russia power balance post-Brexit [17:07] A bluffer's guide to Nord Stream II and Russian gas [19:21] RT and Fake news For more on Marcel, see his website - http://www.marceldirsus.com/ Or twitter - @marceldirsus

In the podcast this week the guys talk us through the transition agreement struck between the UK and the EU. The whole document can be read [here](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/draft_agreement_coloured.pdf). In the second half of the show we talk to Allie Renison who is the head of Europe and Trade Policy for the Institute of Directors. You can follow her on Twitter @AllieRenison.  We've provided an annotated version of the interview below for those of you hungry to know more! 13:28 Allie talks about what a trusted trader is. For more info read this article from the [Irish Exporter Association](http://www.irishexporters.ie/blog/what-is-trusted-trader-status/). 19:30 Find out what rules of origin means [here](https://www.wto.org/english/tratop_e/roi_e/roi_info_e.htm). 20:10 Read the Labour Party Customs Union position here and compare it to the IoD position [here](www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43189878). 23:22 Why is agri food regulations a particular concern? This [link](https://www.teagasc.ie/news--events/news/2016/brexit-concerns-for-irish.php) is helpful.  25:59 We talk about customs officers and the scale of investment necessary to patrol the border in a political non contentious fashion here. Some of the issues discussed can be read in the smart border report 2.0 [here](http://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2017/596828/IPOL_STU(2017)596828_EN.pdf).  33:39 We talk about the opportunities that Brexit presents.  39:49: Are the UK actually cunning in negotiations or simply unprepared?  Big props to @BigDirtyFry for allowing us to use his Derry/Londonderry tune to play us out this week!

This week's podcast sees the guys look at Theresa May's speech on Brexit. Did it move the dial enough to provide a breakthrough in negotiations? In the first half they also review the legal text of phase one of the negotiations, focusing in on the border and the UK and Brussels reaction to it. The interview this week is with Ursula Ní Shabhaois, an Irish language activist. We hear why the Irish Language Act is holding up the restoration of the Northern Irish Assembly, whether a united Ireland is now on the agenda since Brexit, and whether or not the Common Travel Area will actually be retained post Brexit. See an annotated version of Theresa May's speech in the Financial Times here: https://ig.ft.com/may-brexit-speech-annotated/ And a draft of the EU legal text that we discussed in phase one here: http://europa.eu/rapid/press-release_IP-18-1243_en.htm

**Paddy Wants To Know Brexit** is a podcast that seeks to explain Brexit to an Irish audience. Each episode will address what's being happening in the preceding few weeks in the messy world of Brexit negotiations and explain how it will affect Ireland. The hosts, Brian Mahon, Jack Good and Niamh Mahon will then interview an someone who has something to say on Brexit, it could be anyone from an academic to a farmer, or even someone who thinks Brexit is a good idea. This week's podcast looks back on phase one of negotiations and asks 'did Ireland get a good deal from the first round of negotiations?' Some of use are not convinced it will hold. The gang also discuss the internal politics of the Tory party and their attitude to Brexit overall. Later in the podcast the guys interview Paddy Brussels, our EU source, who seems a bit confused by what a Norway plus deal would actually look like for the UK and whether it's even feasible in the first place.' Further reading on what a Norway Plus may well mean here: [Business Insider -- Explained: EFTA, the EEA, and why even some Brexiteers are now embracing the Norway model](http://uk.businessinsider.com/efta-eea-why-hard-brexiteers-are-now-embracing-the-norway-brexit-model-2017-8) Have a look at Barnier's much loved graph our source in Brussels mentioned here: [European Commission -- Slide presented by Michel Barnier, European Commission Chief Negotiator, to the Heads of State and Government at the European Council (Article 50) on 15 December 2017](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/sites/beta-political/files/slide_presented_by_barnier_at_euco_15-12-2017.pdf)