“Ministers will revisit the matter again..”
I suspect that the implications of the DUP and SF ministers voting to accept those disputed minutes, and possibly some legal advice, will have featured heavily in the Northern Ireland Executive meeting, noted by the BBC, to discuss the legal case around the ending of the funding of the UDA linked Conflict Transformation Initiative. From the BBC report
Stormont sources said the executive examined whether or not it could give retrospective approval to her actions. It is understood no decision was taken at the meeting. Ministers will revisit the matter again.
give retrospective approval to her actions
I wonder who’s running scared. DUP or SF?
The enthusiasm of Mr. Robinson to give Ms. Ritchie’s department money and his recent niceness to her personally might have been not entirely unrelated to his need to say nice things to and about her with the court case on the UDA funding coming up soon.
As I said before it is a no lose for Ritchie. If she loses the case people think she was brave and tried to stop the funding but was let down by the courts. If she wins she was brave and the DUP and SF at best look like cowards. The legal and political anoraks may protest but that is how it will be seen. As such Robinson very publicly mending fences with Ritchie is politically astute. However, his error in going after her is still there and will not have been forgotten. Robinson has looked a little politically accident prone of late though he has had a good budget which may cover a multitude of problems.
“Ministers will revisit the matter again..”
Have they revisited it before?
Turgon:
>As such Robinson very publicly mending fences with Ritchie is politically astute.
If I drop a glass and then get down on my knees to pick the pieces up, I wouldn’t consider myself ‘astute’ for doing so. He dropped a clanger and will have learned a lesson. He’s not stupid, but he’s not quite as clever as I had thought. Nothing damaging to him in the long term though and he certainly has shown he has patience.
Why are DSD officials running round trying to strike deals (on behalf of the Minister?) before this comes to court? Why has the court case been put back at the request of the DSD till sometime in May? and why do they not only continue to fund CTI but have increased the funding to include additional staff and running costs?
Something is not right here.