United Ireland? - NOT amateur radio

It won't happen in my lifetime, but I can see Ireland and Ulster becoming united again at some point this century. 

Power sharing has been suspended for 2 years because the DUP is not happy with the BREXIT deal. They are already the minority party. Over time, they will be even smaller as a result of the birth rate.

There will be some political fudge that ensures the Protestants in Ulster are safeguarded.

I have no strong views on this. All I want is peace and fairness for all.

United Eire? - NOT amateur radio

In the end I can see Eire becoming one nation again. I doubt this will be in my lifetime however. 

The DUP (the Unionists) appear very much in the minority and this will go down further in the years ahead. No, Northern Ireland was a convenient political outcome in the last century and I can see a united Ireland this century. Clearly the DUP need appeasing, but this is the 21st century not a long time ago.

A united Ireland? - NOT amateur radio

Politics in Ireland has been complex for a very long time. 

Every person I have ever met from Northern Ireland or Eire has been delightful. I had no idea whether they were Protestant or Catholic! To me, it does not matter.

What may change shortly, following May elections, is the First Minister in Northern Ireland may be in favour of rejoining Eire. The unionists, who identify as British, would hate this. Whatever happens in the future is complicated. BREXIT made matter worse.

I do not have answers.

There is some logic in becoming part of Eire, but I can understand the fears of the Unionists. Hopefully a solution can eventually be found that keeps everyone happy.

Will this happen in my lifetime? I doubt it.

Irish low VHF allocations

Amateurs in Eire have been given generous allocations at low VHF and a bandplan has now been created. This aligns with allocations made in other countries for beacons. It would be great if small allocations at 40MHz could be made across Region 1. Even a small allocation would allow Es research. Will it happen? Yes, if more people press their national bodies. These allocations could be quite small and take-up is likely to be small as no commercial gear is available.

See https://www.irts.ie/cgi/st.cgi?downloads .

Abortion in Eire - NOT amateur radio

The people of Eire have voted overwhelmingly in a referendum to overturn the law so abortion in the early weeks of pregnancy will become legal. To me this seems sensible and returns the rights to the mother. The people voted almost 2 to 1 in favour of the change. It is likely to become law later this year.

See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-44256152.

Irish VHF spectrum - big allocations

From John's blog comes news of huge chunks of VHF spectrum being made available to EI amateurs. In my view, this is very enlightened.

I guess it would be too much to expect OFCOM to do similar, even with a very low ERP limit and stations operating on a "strictly no interference to primary users" basis. Of course, this would involve OFCOM staff thinking, so no, no, no.  Silly me for even suggesting this! Personally even 100mW at 40MHz would do me. With FT8 or WSPR we could do some serious radio science.

See https://ei7gl.blogspot.co.uk/2018/04/irish-radio-amateurs-gain-access-to.html

Northern Ireland - NOT amateur radio

One of the thorny Brexit issues will be Northern Ireland (Ulster). This has a land border with Eire which will remain in the EU. Currently, there is free movement north and south across this border. What happens when the UK leaves the EU?

Most unionists do not want a united island of Ireland. Most in Sin Fein would like to see the island reunited. I, for one, do not see how this will be resolved. Maybe a political "fudge" with the north somehow independent? No, I think Theresa May, the UK PM, has a really tricky issue here.

Eire and 5MHz

Thanks to Southgate News I have learnt that radio amateurs in Eire are gaining access to the WRC15 5MHz allocation right away.

See http://ei7gl.blogspot.co.uk/2016/12/irish-radio-amateurs-gain-secondary.html

"ComReg has just today published an amended version of the Amateur Station Guidelines in Document ComReg 09/45R2. The main revision is that the WRC-15 band of 5351.5 to 5366.5 kHz has been released with immediate effect on a secondary basis. No application or fee is necessary for this segment. The power is 15 watts PEP (12dBW) measured at the output of the transmitter or amplifier. All modes including digimodes may be used. The WRC-15 decision was for 15 watts EIRP and this will be taken up with ComReg. The Society recommends that USB be used for voice as has been the convention on this band and as used by the primary user and that the provisional IARU band plan be used: 5351.5 - 5354.0 kHz CW, Narrow band Modes
5354.0 - 5366.0 kHz All modes USB for voice
5366.0 - 5366.5 kHz weak signal narrow band modes."

I have said many times that the 5MHz (60m) band will become increasingly important as the solar activity declines.