Court date set for legal challenge to outdoor sports ban

Local solicitor Stephen Atherton of JJ McNally & Co Solicitors, acting on behalf of a Magherafelt boy, lodged a judicial review of the ban and was granted leave for the hearing on Tuesday.

Mr Atheron said: “Thankfully the senior judicial review judge has recognised that this challenge must be expedited to prevent it from becoming academic.

“This impetus comes against a backdrop of the mental health champion for Northern Ireland, Professor Siobhan O’Neill and other child health experts declaring publicly on Sunday that the pandemic is having a ‘devastating effect’ on children and that child welfare is now ‘a national emergency’.

“The child that I represent is currently at home, with no access to physical exercise at school, and prohibited by the NI Executive from playing the sport that he loves.

“His life is reduced to the size of a screen”.

Mr Atherton said ccess to sport is being restricted at a time when it has never been more important.

He continued: “There is a stark choice before Executive Ministers when they meet this week to conduct a statutory review of the current restrictions.

“Do they intend to continue inflicting further harm on children or will they ‘follow the science’ of those such as Professor Gabriel Scally and Sir Patrick Vallance and permit children to return to outdoor sport in covid secure environments and in so doing immediately relieve their suffering. The ball is very firmly in their court.”

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