‘A haemorrhaging of public servants out of Northern Ireland’: The impact of years without a govt

Published

1 year ago

February 5, 2024

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Without political input, many important decisions on budgets and public sector pay have been impossible to pass.

Successive suspensions at Stormont over the years have contributed to long-term issues in the public sector, with impacts seen across all areas of public services.

But perhaps nowhere more so than in the health and social care sector.

There are over 420,000 people currently waiting for their first consultant-led outpatient appointment following referral, an increase of more than fivefold since 2008.

While some individuals may appear on the list more than once awaiting separate treatments, this is still a huge figure in a population of 1.9 million.

In the latest available figures to the end of September, half of these had been waiting for more than a year to see a consultant, up from 5% in June 2015.

And nearly one in three patients had been waiting for more than two years for their initial consultation, up from 0.1% in September 2015.

Health and Social Care Northern Ireland’s figures are not directly comparable with NHS England, which uses a different measure (from referral to treatment rather than to first appointment).

However, as a broad comparison, while waiting times have also been poor in England in November, only 4.7% had been waiting more than a year to complete their entire treatment journey following initial referral and less than 0.01% for more than two years.

Meadbhba Monaghan, chief executive of the Patient and Client Council (PCC), told Sky News: “The issues facing Health and Social Care (HSC) services in Northern Ireland are significant and varied; they have been building over a long period of time, and will not be fixed overnight.

“Through our work in supporting the public, we can clearly see many people are concerned about how they are communicated with, and how they experience services. This includes the quality of care they are receiving and how long they have to wait to access that care.

“Our physical and mental health is fundamental to our wellbeing, the current pressures on the HSC system and staff will be having a negative impact on individuals and their families.”

What has happened in the political vacuum

The devolved government has been suspended on five other occasions since it first sat in 1999 following the Good Friday peace agreement, with the longest suspension lasting for four-and-a-half years between October 2002 and May 2007.

However, in the context of post-pandemic recovery and an unprecedented cost of living crisis, the recent suspension has been “vastly more difficult”, according to recently retired senior civil servant Andrew McCormick.

The former director general of international relations in the Executive Office and ex-permanent secretary at the Department for the Economy told Sky News: “Civil servants can make some routine decisions to keep things going as best they can, but it’s very limited.

“I know that my former colleagues have found it incredibly, incredibly difficult this last couple of years, with the cost of living and inflation making the situation much more fraught [than the last suspension of 2017-2020].

“It’s been a ridiculous position to be in and a complete abdication of responsibility.”

In the absence of ministers in Stormont, the Westminster parliament can still pass legislation and have taken responsibility for budgets and other ad hoc areas of legislation.

In the past two years, departmental budgets have plateaued despite exceptionally high levels of inflation.

And there has been a vacuum in which civil servants cannot take day-to-day decisions which are political in nature.

This includes coming to public sector pay deals because any commitments would take departments over current budgets.

Public sector pay

Last month saw one of the biggest strikes in Northern Ireland’s history, with an estimated 150,000 public sector workers joining marches and picket lines across the country to demand a resolution to pay disputes.

Median pay for public sector workers in the UK as a whole increased by 20% from £30,540 to £36,708 between 2016 and 2023. In Northern Ireland, pay has increased at a slower rate of 16.1% over the same period from £31,570 to £36,651 and is now below the UK average.

In its latest employee earnings report, the Department for the Economy noted real earnings in the public sector fell by 7.2% in the year to 2023, compared with an increase of 1.4% in the private sector.

Carmel Gates, general secretary of Northern Ireland’s largest public sector union NIPSA, which has around 45,000 members, told Sky News: “Quite frankly, what we are witnessing is haemorrhaging of public servants out of Northern Ireland, either to different parts of these islands where they’re better paid or to further abroad.

“It isn’t just in the last two years that the problems emerge, Northern Ireland has been underfunded for quite a period of time.

“The strikes on 18 September is the most galvanised and unified the trade union movement here has been probably ever and involved almost all public service unions.”

After many years of disruption over Brexit, COVID, the cost of living crisis, and prolonged periods without governance, many are hoping for swift and decisive action from the newly resumed executive in the coming days to stabilise the situation in Northern Ireland.

“When they get back they will need to set a budget very quickly, and that will help a lot in the short term,” says Andrew McCormick.

“They then have to face up to the longer-term issues. Much more needs to be done on stabilising public services.”

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

Politics

Crypto industry is not experiencing regulatory capture — Attorney

Published

1 hour ago

April 19, 2025

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Crypto industry is not experiencing regulatory capture — Attorney

Brandon Ferrick, general counsel at Douro Labs, said that the Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) openness to public input on crypto policy and their roundtable discussions are positive signs that the crypto industry is not currently experiencing regulatory capture.

In an interview with Cointelegraph, Ferrick identified signs of regulatory capture including, a public-to-private sector revolving door of employees, the same roster of attendees at regulatory events, and special treatment given to certain crypto projects. However, Ferrick added:

“The reason why I am not worried today is that a lot of what you’re seeing from the regulatory side, like the SEC, for example, is totally open, public, and there are available opportunities to have conversations with the regulators about changing or thinking about the regulatory structures.”

“[The SEC] has a public portal where you can just submit written commentary on your thoughts for the crypto regulatory environment, and you can schedule meetings with them,” the attorney continued.

As the crypto industry becomes more integrated with the traditional financial system and engages state regulators more, some analysts and executives are worried that the industry is experiencing regulatory capture that will skew incentives and politicize the burgeoning crypto sector.

SEC hosts several roundtable discussions on crypto policy

The SEC has hosted several crypto roundtable discussions and panels, with more slated in the coming months — a sharp contrast from the agency’s regulation-by-enforcement approach under former SEC chairman Gary Gensler.

On March 21, the regulatory agency hosted its first crypto roundtable, which featured crypto industry executives, SEC officials, and even opponents of the crypto industry.

Former SEC official John Reed Stark was highly critical of the industry and opposed comprehensive regulatory reform, arguing that digital assets must comply with existing securities laws.

The SEC’s April 11 roundtable focused on trading rules and included a different set of panelists, including representatives from Uniswap and Coinbase.

The next SEC panel will occur on April 25 and focus on establishing guidelines for crypto custodians and other firms holding crypto on behalf of customers.

Magazine: SEC’s U-turn on crypto leaves key questions unanswered

Politics

UK firm buys $250M Bitcoin as analysts eye quiet Easter weekend

Published

5 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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UK firm buys 0M Bitcoin as analysts eye quiet Easter weekend

Whales and institutions are increasing their Bitcoin holdings ahead of Easter, as market analysts predict a weekend with less volatility after two weeks of heightened volatility driven by escalating global trade tensions.

London-based investment firm Abraxas Capital acquired 2,949 Bitcoin (BTC) worth more than $250 million during the four days leading up to April 19.

In the latest transaction, the firm bought over $45 million worth of Bitcoin from Binance on April 18, according to crypto intelligence firm Lookonchain, citing Arkham Intelligence data.

UK firm buys $250M Bitcoin as analysts eye quiet Easter weekend — *Source: Arkham Intelligence,* *Lookonchain*

The investment came days after Michael Saylor’s Strategy bought $285 million worth of Bitcoin at an average price of $82,618 per BTC, as the world’s largest corporate Bitcoin holders signal continued confidence in Bitcoin, amid global tariff uncertainty.

Large Bitcoin investors, or whales, continue accumulating, absorbing over 300% of Bitcoin’s yearly issuance as exchanges continue losing coins at a historic pace, Cointelegraph reported on April 18.

Crypto analysts eye quiet Easter weekend after weeks of turmoil

Despite continued accumulation from whales and institutions, volatility concerns were raised by significant movements from the medium-term Bitcoin cohort, which holds coins for an average of three to six months.

Over 170,000 Bitcoin entered circulation from the medium-term cohort, a development that may signal “imminent” crypto market volatility, according to pseudonymous CryptoQuant analyst Mignolet.

“The effect of this metric on LTF moves is overstated as large onchain movement of coins hardly ever affects weekend price action since it’s not on liquid markets or CEX markets,” analysts at Bitfinex exchange told Cointelegraph, adding:

“It is important to note that funding rates remain relatively flat currently. Moreover, US markets are closed as we have a long weekend for Easter, so volatility could be suppressed barring headlines from the White House.”

Marcin Kazmierczak, chief operating officer of RedStone Oracles, added that the recent movements may be operational transfers, not necessarily signs of imminent selling pressure.

Still, concerns over weekend volatility have been amplified over the past two weeks after the Mantra (OM) token’s price collapsed by over 90% on Sunday, April 13, from roughly $6.30 to below $0.50, triggering market manipulation allegations and highlighting “critical” liquidity issues in the industry.

Two weeks ago, on April 6, Bitcoin fell below $75,000 on Sunday, as investor concerns spread from a record-breaking $5 trillion sell-off from the S&P 500, its largest on record.

The correction was caused by Bitcoin’s 24/7 trading availability, which made it the only large liquid asset available for de-risking on Sunday, Blockstream CEO Adam Back told Cointelegraph.

“On a weekend, there’s not much volume. So you have a worse risk of rapid sort of flash crashes or flash dips that get filled in again,” he said.

Magazine: Bitcoin ATH sooner than expected? XRP may drop 40%, and more: Hodler’s Digest, March 23 – 29

Politics

Crypto, DeFi may widen wealth gap, destabilize finance: BIS report

Published

7 hours ago

April 19, 2025

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Crypto, DeFi may widen wealth gap, destabilize finance: BIS report

The growing adoption of cryptocurrencies may pose risks to the traditional financial system and exacerbate wealth inequality, according to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS).

In an April 15 report, the BIS warned that the number of investors and amount of capital in crypto and decentralized finance (DeFi) have “reached a critical mass,” with investor protection becoming a “significant concern for regulators.”

The size of the crypto market signals that authorities should be worried about the “stability of crypto over and above the role it may have for TradFi and the real economy,” the report states, highlighting the role of stablecoins, which the BIS said have “become the means through which participants transfer value within crypto.”

The report calls for targeted stablecoin regulation on stability and reserve asset requirements that will guarantee the redemption of stablecoins for US dollars during “stressed market conditions.”

The report comes two weeks after the US House Financial Services Committee passed the Stablecoin Transparency and Accountability for a Better Ledger Economy, or STABLE Act, with a 32–17 vote on April 2.

Cryptocurrencies, Banking, Banks, Central Bank, Bitcoin Price, Investments, Bitcoin Regulation, United States, BIS, Stablecoin, Cryptocurrency Investment, Bitcoin Adoption — *Source:* *Financial Services GOP*

The STABLE Act aims to create a clear regulatory framework for dollar-denominated payment stablecoins, emphasizing transparency and consumer protection.

On March 13, the GENIUS Act, short for Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for US Stablecoins, passed the Senate Banking Committee by a vote of 18–6. The act aims to establish collateralization guidelines and require full compliance with Anti-Money Laundering laws from stablecoin issuers.

Crypto may exacerbate wealth gap

The BIS also raised concerns about how crypto markets may worsen income inequality by enabling larger investors to capitalize on the emotions of less sophisticated retail participants, as seen during the FTX collapse in 2022.

“As prices tumbled in 2022, users actually traded more,” the BIS report noted. “Most disturbingly, large bitcoin holders (“whales”) were selling as ordinary retail investors (“krill”) were buying.” It added:

“This implies that the crypto market, which is often presented as an opportunity for inclusive growth and financial stability, can be a means for redistributing wealth from the poorer to the wealthier.”

The report concludes that DeFi and TradFi have similar underlying economic drivers, but DeFi’s “distinctive features,” like “smart contract and composability,” present new challenges that need proactive regulatory interventions to “safeguard financial stability, while fostering innovation.”