Belfast Gonzo

DESPITE all the talk about not enough funding for the devolved government, its scrutiny committees have warned the Executive over an underspend of between £113m and £115m over the past three years. While the previous direct rulers can be blamed, maybe the money could be put towards something ‘useful’, like funding the adminstration costs for Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness’s office, which have more than doubled. Next year’s underspend might include the £8 million that the First Ministers’ office allocated …

Read more…

FURTHER to the two posts on the Prime Minister’s answer to Nigel Dodds regarding an amnesty for terrorists, Downing Street subsequently issued a statement clarifying that Gordon Brown had, in fact, not ruled one out. It reads: “”On this issue the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland has said that nothing is ruled out and nothing is ruled in. The Prime Minister paid tribute to the gallant service of the security forces in Northern Ireland and his comments in no …

Read more…

THE Prime Minister appeared to categorically rule out any amnesty for terrorists or attempt to get the Troubles classified as a ‘war’ after questioning in the Commons from the DUP’s Nigel Dodds. I say ‘appeared to’, because it seems there’s a bit of a panic going on in Downing Street over Brown’s rather definitive statement, and ‘clarification’ (ie, the PM will back-track) is expected later. If it appears, the clarification will tell unionists everything they need to know – that …

Read more…

WHILE I doubt too many people (including the Prime Minister) will be saddened by the potential departure of the current Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, it looks like his predecessor’s political career could end in tatters even sooner. Yes, Peter Hain is – at last – well and truly on the ropes, after the Guardian revealed tonight that the Work and Pensions Secretary “will be forced to admit that he failed to declare tens of thousands of pounds worth of …

Read more…

NORTHERN Ireland Water can’t have much confidence in its own product, but if it does, then it has wasted £12,000 of your money on bottled water for its meetings. A tad embarrassing – and surely bottled water has to be one of the biggest rip-offs ever concocted by marketing men? Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

THOSE who doubt that there’s some kind of campaign of sectarian destruction against Orange halls might like to consider that, according to the Order, one in four Orange halls in the Portadown district have been attacked in the last six months. Over the new year, a number of attacks provoked a flurry of headlines. Understandably, feelings seem to be running high in the Order, particularly when the police have zero interest in the problem – which exactly mirrors their conviction …

Read more…

BAD news for Hillary Clinton, coming third in the Democratic caucus in Iowa. Just watched a pretty passionate victor’s speech from Barack Obama – it’s only 4am here – emphasising American unity, healthcare reform and an end to the war in Iraq. Over on the Republican side of the fence, Mike Huckabee has defeated Mormon Mitch Romney in Iowa. On a tangent, while Mick has already alluded to Romney’s problems with the Bible belt, one of our local Free Presbyterian …

Read more…

FORMER prime minister Tony Blair has finally, but not unexpectedly, converted to his Donegal mother’s Catholicism. Blair, whose faith in God once found him exhanging religious literature with Ian Paisley, famously downplayed it publicly while in office, despite there having never been a Catholic PM in the UK. Many of the stories reporting the news claim the sensitive nature of the peace talks here may have played a role in delaying what many saw as inevitable. Fellow convert Anne Widdecombe …

Read more…

VETERAN Irish language broadcaster, Sean Ban Breathnach, has decided not to quit his position as Cultural and Irish Officer of the Galway County Board in a last minute U-turn. Breathnach had been annoyed over what he perceived as a growing intolerance to the Irish language in Galway GAA circles, but changed his mind about resigning after support he got from various clubs came in. He had previously expressed his disillusionment after increasing hostility to the use of Irish by players, …

Read more…

CATHOLIC workers from outside Northern Ireland should not be counted as Catholics, according to Sinn Fein’s Martina Anderson, since it apparently gives a false impression of the number of nationalists in employment. Whether this counts as racism, xenophobia or sectarianism I’ll leave it to the debate below, but it’s certainly clear that for this MLA, immigrants are not the right type of Catholics, since they are not (she assumes) Irish nationalists. I think this is pretty insulting to immigrant workers …

Read more…

IF you’re fed up with all this lecturing we’re getting about tightening the purse-strings, you’ll hardly be impressed with the news that the NIO has spending on Christmas parties by nearly 9,000% over the last five years. Shaun Woodward revealed to the Commons yesterday that spending went from £426 in 2002-03 to £37,578 in 2006-07. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

CONGRATULATIONS to Northern Ireland’s transport company, Translink, which has picked up a Golden Bull award for this gobbledygook: ‘Every Autumn a combination of leaves on the line, atmospheric conditions and prevailing damp conditions lead to a low adhesion between the rail head and the wheel which causes services to be delayed or even cancelled. NI Railways are committed to minimising service delays, where we can, by implementing a comprehensive low adhesion action programme.’ Who should be nominated for next year’s …

Read more…

THREE hundred years after the Act of Union, the UUP’s David Burnside tried to put Ian Paisley on the spot over his relationship with the SNP premier of Scotland. Paisley’s much more practical about his relations with separatists these days, and brushed of the broadside with a comment amounting to ‘Salmond’s got his views, I’ve got mine, and we don’t let that get in the way of working together for our mutual benefit’ – although there is perhaps more ambiguity …

Read more…

A NEW survey suggests people in Northern Ireland are less religious than those in the Republic. David Quinn of the Iona Institute said it was “likely that many people will find the Northern Ireland results surprising in that the general impression is that the north is more religious than the south”. Some key findings included: Only 42% know that there are four Gospels and just over half (54%) could name the Holy Trinity. Protestant churches might be concerned that only …

Read more…

THE Finance Minister’s budget plans will lead to deaths, according to the Chief Medical Officer, while Northern Ireland’s most senior firefighter, Colin Lammey has said: “If our resources are more thinly spread those response times are going to increase and there’s going to be more deaths and serious injuries.” Last Thursday, Dr Michael McBride warned the Stormont Health Committee that “up to 45,000 women aged over 65 will not benefit from the extension of breast screening until 2010” and that …

Read more…

ALL this talk of a new Union Flag (cos the Welsh feel left out, and God forbid that anyone feels left out) has led to some weird and wonderful ideas for a re-design. Now some ker-azy Japanese flag fans have put forward their own proposals (see vid), and some others can be seen in a slideshow here. A campaign for a new flag is already online. Sure it’s just a bit of fun… Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

SOMETIMES I wonder why Seymour Sweeney (centre) doesn’t just give Ian Paisley Minor (left) a job and be done with it – but then a colleague pointed out that you couldn’t buy representation like the junior minister offers for, if you believe him, nothing but the good of his constituents and the country. By sheer coincidence, in the latest Paisley squirmathon, the junior minister’s representations seem to work out in an incredibly positive way for his old mate, property developer …

Read more…

THIS year has seen a steep rise in the number of attacks on Orange halls, according to police statistics. And the News Letter reports only two cases of criminal damage have been cleared by means of a charge or summons over the last six years. Hardly ethnic cleansing, but maybe more than just a succession of isolated incidents – especially around Magherafelt. Belfast Gonzosluggerotoole.com

BORE that I am, I’ve just been re-listening to Mark Devenport’s interview with Environment Minister Arlene Foster on Inside Politics at the weekend. Mark was questioning Foster on Finance Minister Peter Robinson’s statement that “without an agreed programme for government, there cannot be government.” Devenport suggested that since there is no threat to the existence of the government if the UUP and SDLP vote against the Programme for Government in the new year, the only way Stormont could collapse would …

Read more…