Eugene Reid

Some of the more interesting reactions to this week’s Programme for Government progress update from the Northern Ireland Executive came not from the politicians themselves, but from analysts and commentators pointing out something that I, and it would seem, many other people instinctively felt while reading it. John Manley in The Irish News spoke of a report “…..heavy on numbers but light on accomplishments” One of the key points  that Pivotal highlighted in its analysis of the document was this: …

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Newton Emerson posed an important question this week, in his Irish News opinion piece. when he asked which political party in Northern Ireland truly represents the self-employed, entrepreneurs and what he described as the “makers and strivers” of society. He used the term petite bourgeoisie, I am sure my old history teacher would have loved that! It is a timely piece, and as I read it, I felt, this is something I have been thinking about exploring more recently. I …

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For years, I’ve argued that appointments to public boards in Northern Ireland are perceived to be a closed shop. No less than two weeks ago, I found myself in another meeting with another group of mature, experienced directors and when I suggested similar, I was largely closed down and my opinions were disregarded. I don’t say this lightly, nor as someone looking in from the outside. I’ve worked across public policy, local government, business, and engagement for decades, and I’ve …

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Recently, in my role as a business mentor on a start-up programme, I had a conversation that has played over and over again in my mind ever since. The gentleman I was speaking to was in his early thirties and exploring the possibility of opening a coffee shop and café in Belfast. As we talked about his background, his career path turned out to be anything but straightforward. He had first studied pharmacy at Queen’s University Belfast and qualified as …

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One of my political mentors used to say to me “We will have to go round the countryside shaking the hedges, trying to find some candidates” I had a fair idea what he meant, but more recently I have been thinking, his approach might struggle to get anyone willing to stick their heads above the parapet! During my brief time in frontline politics, even at the relatively modest level of local government, I encountered something that has stayed with me …

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In recent weeks, health and social care workers in Northern Ireland have again been warned by union leaders that they will soon be voting on whether to take industrial action. After years of pay stagnation, delayed settlements, and broken promises on parity with colleagues elsewhere in the UK, their patience is wearing thin. The negotiations over pay increases, have become an annual event. In fact it could be argued that the first, unprecedented industrial action by nurses and other health …

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When I served as a councillor, I was often contacted by families in rural areas desperate for help securing domiciliary care for elderly relatives. These were not people seeking special treatment — just the basic support needed to help their loved ones stay at home safely. Again and again, I saw the same pattern: no available staff, missed visits, constant turnover, and exhausted family carers trying to fill the gaps. When I contacted social workers, I was met with the …

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During his radio show on Monday 6th October, Stephen Nolan was in familiar territory — challenging SDLP leader Claire Hanna about her speech at the party’s weekend conference. When talk turned to the SDLP’s vision of a New Ireland, Nolan reached for one of the oldest clichés in the book: the idea that healthcare in the Republic of Ireland is “extortionate” and unaffordable. Then, in the same breath, he admitted that he didn’t really have a clue how the health …

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Not so long ago, I wrote on Slugger about the uncomfortable truth that in Northern Ireland, many graduates don’t actually earn more than their non-graduate peers. The assertion came about after a random conversation with a business associate over a pint! It jars with the mantra that “education is the passport to prosperity,” but it seems to be the lived reality. UCAS numbers keep rising. Parents boast about children “getting away” to study. Politicians still count success by how many …

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The Alliance Party’s claim to offer competent, non-tribal leadership is collapsing under the weight of its own contradictions. The performance of its two ministers — Andrew Muir at Agriculture and Naomi Long at Justice — illustrates the cost of power without conviction. Both remain in post, drawing ministerial salaries while presiding over portfolios defined by policy drift, strategic evasion, and public frustration. True, it’s an Executive dominated by the DUP and Sinn Féin. Yet Alliance is now the third largest …

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Northern Ireland’s economic system is undergoing reform — again. The Lyons Review into Invest NI made headlines just two years ago, with its blunt assessment: the agency was underperforming and overly reactive. A complete overhaul was required. That critique wasn’t buried in jargon; it was a direct challenge to how we catalyse growth across the region. The Minister for the Economy, in response, didn’t hold back. He called the reforms “radical,” pledged cross-departmental collaboration, and positioned the overhaul as a …

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Back in 2006, the case for devolving corporation tax powers to Northern Ireland was championed as an economic game-changer. Nearly 20 years later, the idea remains strong—but it’s been quietly shelved, avoided, or kicked into the long grass. I admit that in the intervening years there have been a lot of political  developments locally and internationally. Not all of them have been conducive to the implementation of such a policy, so that  hesitation may be understandable. This, combined with the pressures on …

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I served as an elected representative — the sole SDLP councillor in a chamber dominated by Unionism. I stood firm in my beliefs: social democracy, a reconciled Ireland, and a Northern Ireland where peace and prosperity belong to everyone. I believed in politics rooted in values, dignity, and inclusion. Many times I had arguments with diametrically opposed politicians, ultimately we found a way to progress the issue for the benefit of my local area! But now, like many others, I …

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Matthew Syed’s writes in The Sunday Times this week and it got me thinking. He argues that the problem facing many Western democracies isn’t that politicians have stopped delivering—it’s that voters have stopped wanting reality. We demand high-quality public services but revolt at the suggestion of paying for them. We rage against deficits, but punish anyone who dares to propose a cut. In this environment, leaders survive not by solving problems, but by dressing them up in ever shinier illusions. It’s a …

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We are living through a golden age of nonsense. Not in our music, or our fashion, or even our politics (though it tries). No, the real masterclass in modern gibberish comes from the language of government and public administration. Our civil service and political class now speak in a dialect so dense, so abstract, so utterly disconnected from reality that it requires a translator—and possibly a medium. This isn’t communication. It’s performance. And like all good theatre, it suspends disbelief …

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In 2023, satellite imagery confirmed what communities around Lough Neagh had long feared: the largest freshwater lake in these islands was being slowly choked by blue-green algae blooms. The cause? Nutrient pollution—mainly phosphorus and nitrogen—flowing into the lough from surrounding agricultural land and, to a lesser extent, from underfunded wastewater systems. It’s not just drones or satellites that can detect the deterioration in the water quality of the Lough, a walk along the shoreline in summer  and a deep breath will …

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A business confidant recently put it to me bluntly over a pint in South Belfast: academic qualifications, he said, are now inversely proportional to earning potential. It was a sweeping statement, but as someone who has hired, mentored, and occasionally counselled young professionals — I couldn’t shake the sense that he might be onto something. In Northern Ireland today, thousands of graduates leave Queen’s University Belfast and Ulster University each year with high hopes, only to find themselves facing a job market …

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There’s a new play park in a Ballymena housing estate. It’s a modest but meaningful development for local families — the kind of infrastructure that, though small in the grand scheme of government, can make a real difference in people’s everyday lives. But what should have been a simple moment of celebration quickly descended into something all too familiar in Northern Irish politics: a race for credit. Various councillors turned up for photo ops — that’s nothing new — but …

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At a recent meeting – one of those now commonplace “hybrid” affairs where half the participants were in the room and the other half dialled in from home – I was reminded of something that many people seem to have forgotten: nothing beats face-to-face interaction. The meeting itself was productive enough – decisions were made, actions were agreed, and everyone ticked the box that said they’d “attended.” But the most significant outcome for me didn’t happen during the meeting at …

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In the halls of Stormont and across local government, words like “reform,” “transformation,” and “efficiency” are tossed about with alarming frequency when it comes to the future of our Health Service. But do our politicians, policy makers, and civil servants actually understand what these terms mean, let alone what it takes to achieve them? David McCann’s recent Irish News article struck a chord when he called for Stormont to show that reform is possible. But that’s easier said than done. …

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