Families bereaved during the Covid-19 pandemic want “truth, answers and accountability” when decision-making in Northern Ireland is examined by the UK-wide inquiry, a solicitor has said.
Enda McGarrity, who represents the Covid Bereaved Families for Justice (CBFFJ), was commenting ahead of the inquiry’s hearings in Belfast, which begin next Tuesday and will run for three weeks.
The campaign group, which comprises 160 families who lost loved ones, has been designated as a core participant in the proceedings chaired by Baroness Heather Hallett.
Mr McGarrity reiterated the group’s concerns that three weeks will be insufficient to explore Stormont’s handling of the pandemic, and he said there may yet be a need for a Northern Ireland-specific inquiry.
Ahead of next week’s opening sitting, secretary to the inquiry Ben Connah was in Belfast on Tuesday as preparations for the Northern Ireland module intensify.
He insisted the experience of the devolved nations was being examined at every stage of the inquiry, but said the forthcoming module in Belfast – Module 2C – would provide the opportunity to look in “depth” at the decisions taken in Northern Ireland.
Former first minister Baroness Arlene Foster, current first minister Michelle O’Neill (who was deputy first minister during the pandemic), and Health Minister Robin Swann are expected to be among those witnesses to give evidence.
Key figures in Stormont’s Department of Health, including Chief Medical Officer Sir Michael McBride and Chief Scientific Adviser Professor Ian Young, are also expected to face questions at the inquiry.
Mr McGarrity said the hearings marked a “pivotal point” for the families touched by the pandemic.
“It’s a really significant moment for the bereaved families, notably because the inquiry came about as a result of their campaigning,” he said.
“Since 2020, they’ve been calling for an inquiry to investigate the handling of the pandemic. They’re seeking the truth, and answers and accountability for their loved ones. And, more importantly, as well, they’re looking to learn lessons for the future so that others don’t have to experience what they experienced.”
He said it was “vital” that the experiences of the families are central to the inquiry’s work.
“The impact on the bereaved is really instructive in that it really brings to bear how the decisions impacted the general public. And there were countless examples of really tragic stories where people have lost loved ones in care homes, in hospitals, and they really feel that those losses are the result of decisions that have been made from those in power at the time.”
He added: “They’ve been waiting for this for a long time. It’s the only time that the inquiry will sit in Belfast. So it’s a really pivotal point for them, they will have to relive the experience and that’s always difficult. But they see it as a very vital step. And that’s because they feel that it is the only way that change will happen.”
In regard to the three-week time allocation, Mr McGarrity said: “Time will tell but it’s a tight timeframe to cover a significant period of time with some very significant decisions. We appreciate that there are some legitimate reasons for why it will be short, but really we would prefer to have had more time to properly ventilate the issues in Northern Ireland.”
On the issue of whether Northern Ireland needed its own inquiry, Mr McGarrity said a lot would depend on what the UK-wide probe could achieve in the coming three weeks.
“We’ll know a lot more after module 2C – if they are able to comprehensively cover all Northern Ireland decision-making within three weeks, they’ll be doing very well,” he said.
“But we’ll reassess that after module 2C and there may well be a need for a devolved inquiry here in Northern Ireland.”
On his visit to Belfast, inquiry secretary Mr Connah highlighted the inquiry’s Every Story Matters online platform for people affected by the pandemic to share their stories.
He encouraged people in Northern Ireland to use the site to detail their experiences.
The inquiry has already held hearings in England, Scotland and Wales.
Mr Connah said it was crucial to examine the situation across all the UK nations.
“It’s incredibly important that we hear from people right across the UK, we know that Covid affected people differently in different parts of the country,” he said.
“And, of course, in a nation like ours with four different governments making different decisions, it’s really important that we hear about what decisions were being taken in those four capital cities.”
Asked if three weeks was sufficient to examine the pandemic in Northern Ireland, he said: “Every single one of the chair’s investigations during the life of this inquiry is going to look at Northern Ireland, just as it will look at Scotland, Wales and England.
“But we’re here in Belfast for three very intensive weeks of hearings, where we’re really going to get into depth about the core political decisions that were taken from March 2020 through the pandemic, about the restrictions that applied to all the people that live in Northern Ireland, the way that they were changed over time, and the other really important decisions that were taken there.”
At a preliminary hearing in December, it emerged that WhatsApp messages sent by former Stormont ministers during the pandemic have been lost after government-issued electronic devices were wiped.
Those included the devices of Lady Foster and Ms O’Neill.
Asked about the absence of those messages, Mr Connah said: “We’ve heard a lot of evidence already in Edinburgh, in Cardiff and in London, about different aspects of the way decisions were taken, including the use of WhatsApp.
“So I’m pretty confident that the hearings over the next three weeks will have access to a lot of the evidence that they need.”
The Covid-19 inquiry hearings will be held in the Clayton Hotel in central Belfast.