It’s all too easy to call on the British Government and Invest NI to intervene and to “provide investment to sustain the plant and support the employees until a new owner can be found”, as the MP for West Belfast, SF’s Gerry Adams, has done in the case of US company Trivirix, after the court-appointed administrator – Deloitte and Touche as the BBC reported previously – announced that 76 jobs would be lost following a review of the company’s books, …
Immanuel Kant proposed a number of diplomatic tests that if passed might herald a state of perpetual peace between two or more nations. Dan O’Brien, in the latest edition of Britain and Ireland, argues that a range of external pressures have transformed the economic relationship between the Republic and the UK sufficiently believe we may be entering a new long term era of substantive peace: …while it is true that power will remain crucial in international relations, the 20th century …
Nope, it’s not to do with learning from the ever shortening circles of our turgid peace process. The Tories’ shadow Chancellor George Osborne reckons there is much to be learned from the Republic’s economic miracle. Ireland is no longer, he says, “Britain’s poor and troubled country cousin”. Irish average incomes are now 20 per cent higher than in the UK. After being held back for decades, the productivity of Irish companies — the yardstick of economic performance — has grown …
You wouldn’t know it if you relied on the NIO statement by Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland, Peter Hain, announcing the £35million Skills and Science Fund today, neither would you be aware of it from the BBC online report [perhaps they’ll update that? – Ed].. although the broadcast version of the report did mention it.. but that £35million is coming from the increase in regional rates of 19%, which Hain announced back in October 2005 – and, …
An interesting article in the Washington Post, on the numbers of illegal Irish immigrants in the US who are returning, or have already returned to Ireland as the US tightens its immigration procedures post-September 11. Estimates mostly, including a figure attributed to the Irish Government of 14,000 returning to Ireland since 2001, while the US government census figures quoted in the article indicate the official Irish population in the US dropping by 28,500 between 2000 and 2004.From the Washington Post …
The Belfast Telegraph welcomes the SDLP’s major policy document, Making Sense of North and South. It argues that common sense and practicalities should guide Unionist responses to its detailed proposals. What is striking is the comprehensive nature of the proposals for co-operation, from policing to waste disposal. Among the new institutions would be an all-Ireland intelligence agency to tackle terrorism and crime, an all-Ireland Law Commission, an all-Ireland Criminal Assets Bureau and an all-Ireland sex offenders register. Does a North-South …
Economic unification of the island is the fond ambition of individuals as diverse as Peter Hain, David McWilliams, Cecilia Keaveney and Gerry Adams. Yet there has been little evidence of a practical any proposals to help bring it about. The SDLP document released yesterday found favour with the Irish Times (subs needed)at least: though it points to the risk for the UK in allowing separate corporate tax rates in order to level the local gap between north and south. Update: …
Newton Emerson picked up a story line that many others missed last week: “An Audit Office report has slammed Invest NI and its small-business predecessor Ledu for failing to address significant conflicts of interest. All involved deny any wrongdoing, but the following facts are beyond dispute. The same person – businesswoman Teresa Townsley – was able to chair the board of Ledu, join the board of a trust it funded, run a private firm that was awarded the trust’s accounts …
Wulfbeorn has a few snippets on why the Republic’s relatively open borders are bringing enormous benefit to the country. If you want to get an account of the reverse of this problem, here’s Craig Barrett, Chair of Intel in the FT a few weeks back on the parlous state of US engineering in the aftermath of the post 9/11 clampdown on immigration. The real crisis is that the US is closing its doors to immigrants with degrees in science, maths …
An awful lot of column inches is given to how much the Assembly costs the taxpayer. But there’s another cost to its not actually sitting. This report from the NI Audit Office reveals some shocking mismanagement in the old LEDU organisation the UK’s official Enterprise Agency aimed at promoting small business. In particular there are serious concerns arising from the Emerging Business Trust, run at a cost of £1.9 million, and £1.1 defaulted loans: a large part of the original …
Interesting intervention by Ian Paisley in Westminster yesterday: …for every man, woman and child in Ulster, £80 from the economy is stolen by paramilitaries. Some £140 million a year goes into the pockets of the paramilitaries, and £245 million is lost each year as a result of fuel-laundering rackets. The latter problem is so great that one of the leading fuel companies, Shell, has pulled out of Northern Ireland. Moreover, 6 per cent. of all cigarettes sold in Northern Ireland …
Damien has some news. O2 it seems has dropped roaming charges! That’s good news for anyone living in the border areas (my T-Mobile phone slipped into Meteor just above Eglantine!) and those of who do frequent business or have family and friends on both sides. And as Damien suggests it’s especially good for Donegal! If I know the Mobile industry, then the others won’t be long behind! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the …
It seems Ireland is losing its other worldliness and the tourists don’t like it. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Peter Hain points to the huge public expenditure in Northern Ireland and suggests his government mantra in relation to Northern Ireland is ‘Bureacracy, bureacracy, bureacracy!”: “Reform is vital. “By the 2007/08 financial year, we will be spending in excess of £16bn (€23.4bn) in regional public services in Northern Ireland. “That is 50% greater in real terms than when our Government came to power in May 1997, with health spending up by around 80 per cent and education by more than …
Fuel laundering is so rife in Northern Ireland that three of the big fuel companies have pulled out. That’s the remarkable claim made by Ray Holloway of the Petrol Retailers’ Association. “Government figures in 1998 showed that around 50 per cent of expected fuel tax revenues were missing and it has still not recovered today,” he said. “That is why the fuel companies pulled out. The reason is smuggled and laundered fuel and it is a major problem, with no …
Not good news for the ferry companies. Ikea the popular Swedish furniture store is set up shop just outside Belfast. Their Glasgow Store is currently the most popular Ikea for Northern Irish homemakers. It has a reputation for keeping the customer happy, though it’s so popular, and they keep so few stores, that the experience is too much like getting caught in amongst a herd of elephants for me. It should provide a private sector boost to jobs. Mick FealtyMick …
Uncommon praise for politicians from a reader of the Newsletter, or indeed any of Northern Ireland’s newspaper. Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
Given the recent comments by Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Ireland Peter Hain, regarding the economic prospects for NI, when he stated “The Northern Ireland economy, though it is doing better than ever in its history, is not sustainable in the long-term.”, there has been a lot of attention on what could be proposed.. and Peter Hain indicated the direction he intends to take. All of which, perhaps, makes the response from Peter Hain and Irish Minister Dermot …
Some people still don’t get the opportunities provided by the net. One family business in Irvinestown has grown its internet business and its turnover from £60,000 to £1.5 million. Check out the site! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet on politics and the wider media and is a regular guest and speaking events across Ireland, the UK and Europe. Twitter: @MickFealty
It seems that BT pulled off the contract in time, and the government now classifies Northern Ireland as 100% broadband, which keeps it well ahead of the Republic and indeed most of the EU in terms of broadband access. Certainly it is good news for the economic infrastructure, but it’s the other softer political factors that are missing. Not least the ongoing democratic deficit. No sign either of the latest government economic plan, three months after it was promised. Adds: …
