Monday, March 24, 2008
“failure to deliver will seriously damage their credibility..”
The Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, MP, may or may not actually believe that the NI Executive has become “one of the most successful governments anywhere”.. ANYhoo.. It’s part of the mood music for the 10th anniversary of the 1998 Agreement and, whilst Bill Clinton will be elsewhere, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has decided to hold a gala dinner for former UK Prime Minister, Tony Blair, at Dublin Castle. Maurice Hayes is less impressed with the “rush to memorialise” - “it is still a work in progress” - and he recalls a Brendan Behan tale about Corporation workers “celebrating the seventh birthday of the hole”. He also identifies why the Sinn Féin leadership continue to mis-represent the May ‘target date’ as an enforceable ‘deadline’ when talking up the devolution of policing and justice powers - despite it being clear for some time. From the article
Sinn Fein needs these powers to be devolved, not only because they represent the last piece of the Patten jigsaw, but because it was a main element in the bill of sale on which they persuaded republicans to buy into support for policing.
For Patten, it was a defining function of government, and a manifest of the commitment of parties to defend the institutions and the common good, that they should exercise these powers. For Sinn Fein and republicans, it is symbolically important that these powers should be exercised by local politicians responsible to the Northern Ireland Assembly. Without that, the Sinn Fein leadership would not have got agreement, and failure to deliver will seriously damage their credibility.
Which may be the reason for those predicted “major problems ahead..” Adds A further thought. With conditions on the ground being so important to building confidence ahead of devolving those powers.. does this help or hinder?
Pete Baker @ 08:23 PM
Roll up, roll up, get your dulse and yellowman here.
Extra special treat - SF homemade fudge. Coming soon to a location near you.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 08:43 PMAh come on Joe, don’t ya know that SF have calculated that they want to change the order of things…
But back to the point of devolving P&J;, just do it. Sit back and watch the DUP blow itself assunder because it hasn’t created the space or manoeuvrability within its own party political ideology to figure out how best deal with this one. So just blame no confidence even though SF are co-governing Northern Ireland.
Next the DUP will be telling us the Belfast Agreement doesn’t exist anymore and in fact they have conjured up voluntary coalition!
Patently obvious what is expected of the DUP to deliver on but once again despite all the bravado the DUP collapse in the face of heavy lifting.
Proof of the pud is in the eating and with Reg Empey and McGimpsey executing over 51% of the budget it’s clear to see who’s running scared from its electorate that is fit to bursting as it was fed up full on horse shit pie.
And here’s a clue, it’s not the UUP.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 09:13 PMIt will damage the credibility of the DUP something awful all for the benefit of SF
They tried to make me devolve P&J;But I said no, no, no
They tried to make me devolve P&J;I said I won’t go, go, goPosted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 09:21 PMAwww poor DUP having to lead on difficult issues as part of governing Northern Ireland. Uck diddums.
Big wardrobe Punt can’t do it because his party is still steeped in protest-politics. Cowering under no confidence. Pull the other one. It’s more to do with splitting the electorate because a rather large part of it has been filled full of scheisse over the last 30 years.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 09:40 PMDo the DUP think develving P&J;is a good idea or not? If so get on with - if not resist. The dickering about is the strange bit.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 09:42 PMDo the DUP think devolving P&J;is a good idea or not? If so get on with - if not resist. The dickering about is the strange bit.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 09:42 PM‘The dickering about is the strange bit.’
Nothing strange about NI politicians dickering about . They’ve been at it for the past 40 years and some would say even longer .
Dickering politicians in NI is just the natural fallout from the uneasy mix of SDS (Subvention Dependency Syndrome) and ECDD (Eternal Constitutional Divide Syndrome) . Not strange at all . Par for the NI course .
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 09:54 PMNIO making limited progress on accreditation [pdf file]
What will happen to schemes that continue to operate without accreditation?
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 10:47 PMDewi et al
The key point to note is that while Sinn Féin have been talking up May as a ‘deadline’, it was only ever a ‘target date’ - as stated in the detail of the St Andrews Agreement and further clarified by later statements from various interested parties.
Rather than work towards that target, SF chose to continue to mis-present May as a ‘deadline’ - because, it would appear, that they had already sold it to their own supporters as such.
Paying attention to that detail might help turn this into a worthwhile conversation.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 10:49 PMNevin
That question would probably be more relevant in the conversation relating to the previous post
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 10:52 PMPete, I presumed from your Adds that you were collating delivery failures in policing and justice.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 11:08 PMNevin
I appreciate that was what you thought. But your specific question is still more appropriate to the conversation at the earlier post.
Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 11:16 PMHere’s a weird thing; when most of us type P&J; it prints with a semi-colon when posted.
Why?Posted by on Mar 24, 2008 @ 11:57 PMEnough mun Pete - not having a go at you at all. (You are not paranoid - they are all out to get you!)
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:07 AM“not having a go at you at all.”
And the same to you, Dewi.
It was a pointer to the actual detail of the situation, and the benefits of examining that detail rather than repeating assumed generalities and/or party political lines.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:14 AMI’ve put my query on the other board - as suggested.
“does this help or hinder”
It hinders. It demonstrates the PRM’s reluctance to part with its ‘civic policing and justice volunteers’; its unwillingness to embrace democracy.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:15 AMOkay Pete very good. So are you saying: ‘here’s a post about a deadline that is in fact only a target date so saunter on the rest of you who happen to think public opinion isn’t persuasive enough to be factored in to meeting that target date.’
Perhaps you are keen to while away the years but both democracy and devolution are now running down the track together; whereas before such excuses could be invoked, now when in power it only resounds due to the hollowness coming from the no confidence claim. And this in an environment when already DUP-SF co-govern. Or at least seem to be wanting to be seen to be trying to.
What is your point? Apart from that it’s okay to saunter on past that target date and the rest can saunter off who happen to think otherwise.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:21 AMDC
I’m not sure how much more explicit I can be than my previous comment
“Rather than work towards that target, SF chose to continue to mis-present May as a ‘deadline’ - because, it would appear, that they had already sold it to their own supporters as such.”
That, in most polities, would be reason enough to delay acheiving that ‘target date’.
Pointing elsewhere is merely a distraction.
Any supporters of SF pointing elsewhere, or otherwise, should be the ones asking the most questions.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:30 AM“For Patten”
This reminds me of one of Bertie Ahern’s St Patrick jaunts to the USA. In a speech to students he sauntered on about the season of daffodils - and about the work of the Patten Permission :)
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:32 AMJoe, looks like the commenting software is trying to find HTML within people’s postings and is getting confused. It’s a bug.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:40 AMI’m not a SF supporter and I think May 08 is a reasonable enough target date nay deadline.
Reg Empey says quite arguably that it shouldn’t happen because the MLAs should be focusing on other economic matters. That’s a good argument if you’re not an MLA.
What I mean is that they are getting paid circa £40-50k to govern a devolved assembly. So if he’s really saying that the MLAs cant do their jobs because it is more than what is capably possible then I am concerned that our MLAs don’t want to do the work. Or are instead actually incapable of doing it. That is something that will certainly strike me due to the conditions now in place. And it’s up to the DUP to lead. Trimble lead and bled for it but he still led. It’s like the DUP haven’t got it in them to suffer unpleasantness from having to take tough decisions proving the fait accompli.
And that is what it looks like. But why should that be so Pete? I mean, it’s not like they haven’t had almost 6yrs to catch up on learning the role of devolutionary governance, for some, like Reg, it will be more than that because he harks back to the original birth of the new Stormont.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:43 AMMissing the point, again, DC.
May 08 might have been a “reasonable enough target date” at St Andrews.
But that ignores what’s happened since then.
Again, it’s the detail rather than the party political disagreements that I’m more interested in.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:49 AMThanks, Comrade.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 12:50 AMWell cue the next winning headline from Sinn Fein then:
SF wants to help build a new police force around the local community but the DUP wont let them.
And to be fair, it will ring home true given the rough and tumble cum murderous behaviour we have had here recently. [edited moderator] SF may want to examine pulling together tigher the multiple agencies around enforcement but the DUP wont let them because they have no confidence!
It’s a bad move that’s all I’m saying particularly when considering just what is being withheld.
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 01:07 AM“failure to deliver will seriously damage their (ie SF’s)credibility”
...so why will the DUPs ever agree to devolution on the May timetable?
Instead, act tough, secure their own right wing and simultaneously stiff Gerry....now let’s see Peter, what should we do on this one???????
Only thing that might induce them to move is the Government sweetie jar ....big dollop of ££££ for pet projects ...... etc etc etc but I think not ...they are a party of principle!
Posted by on Mar 25, 2008 @ 01:21 AM
