Government – Page 4 – Slugger O'Toole

Bounced cheques. People want their investment back…

Stephen McNally on June 20, 2025, 7:30 am

| Readers 1176

The Department for Infrastructure produced their Bicycle Strategy 10 years ago. It promised a revolution in transport. It’s delivered nothing. It now feels like a rather large bounced cheque – some people are angry and want their investment back. Government policy and strategy documents are like cheques – promissory notes given to the public, promising to deliver something of value at specified point in the near future. A minister signs-off the document giving it credibility and pledges to honour it …

“A European Future for Northern Ireland” – another SDLP stunt

Brendan Heading on June 1, 2025, 11:00 pm

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Late last week, we heard that the SDLP were putting a motion before the Assembly to call for a border poll. Looking at the order paper for Monday, I see the following motion tabled by the Leader of the Opposition : That this Assembly welcomes the positive step forward represented by the UK-EU deal of 19 May 2025; affirms that any arrangement which reduces friction for businesses is welcomed; supports further alignment between the UK and EU including via a …

The future of public service media in Northern Ireland and beyond

Allan LEONARD (Mr Ulster) on May 14, 2025, 9:50 am

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Ulster University (UU) held an important discussion on the role and future of public service media. Key speakers included Phil Ramsey (lecturer in media studies (UU), Siobhan Walsh (director of content policy (Ofcom)), and Catherine Johnson (professor of media and communication (University of Leeds)). They were joined by various other industry professionals, academics, and political representatives. The event covered multiple facets of public service media, including funding, regulation, and its cultural significance in Northern Ireland and beyond. Professor Duncan Morrow …

Farage isn’t your friend

Sarah Creighton on May 3, 2025, 9:04 am

| Readers 6195

Every time I do a panel; there’s always a smart alec in the crowd. A man, usually. Without doubt he will say, “Yeah, but the British don’t care about you.” He thinks he’s the first person in the world to have this original thought. Yes, I always say, yes we know. I don’t know a single protestant in Northern Ireland that doesn’t. My grandparents knew. My great grandparents knew before them. It’s not my fault you’ve never spoken to a …

WATCH: How To Lose A Referendum #imaginebelfast

Alan Meban (Alan in Belfast) on April 7, 2025, 9:10 am

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Panel sitting in front of an audience - from left to right, Mark Devenport, Aaron Callan, Emma DeSouza, and Quintin Oliver

The Referendum is an attractive democratic tool – ‘let the people decide!’ – however, the practice can often differ from the theory, as the world has witnessed in recent years – the 1973 Border Poll, the Good Friday/Belfast Agreement vote in 1998, the Alternative Vote outing in 2011, Scottish independence referendum in 2014, the EU poll in 2016 and the Brexit aftermath, and many in the Republic of Ireland (Lisbon, Nice, families and care, divorce, abortion, equal marriage et al) …

How will the NI Executive handle its response Trump’s opening gambit in tariff negotiations?

Mick Fealty on April 4, 2025, 2:44 pm

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a close up of a dandelion with a blurry background

The old Chinese curse that runs ‘may you live in interesting times’ holds today much as it ever did. Two days after Donald Trump announced his new tariff rates (and the international stock market when into meltdown), the air has yet to clear. Since the Second World War, the average US tariff has sat at around 4%, so what we are seeing is a remarkable shift in post war norms. World wide it is thought likely to affect around $700b …

Abuse of our MLAs

David McCann on March 28, 2025, 8:06 am

| Readers 1842

The View had an excellent report last night highlighting some of the threats and abuse faced by our MLAs. An Electoral Commission survey on the 2024 UK general election found that many candidates continue to experience unacceptable levels of intimidation and harassment. A group of leaders from the Centre for Democracy and Peace’s Fellowship Programme have called for action to tackle the abuse. Backed by the Electoral Commission, they have called for legislative change to strengthen protection for candidates and …

Cambridge Union Debate: Songs of “unity” must find a new tune and switch from dissonance to resonance

Mick Fealty on March 14, 2025, 6:18 pm

| Readers 3158

a stack of books

“When I am working on a problem I never think about beauty. I only think about how to solve the problem. But when I have finished, if the solution is not beautiful, I know it is wrong.” — Buckminster Fuller As a norm I steer clear of united Ireland conversations, not because I’m not interested in the subject (it’s not going away any time soon), but because it is a discourse that quickly slips into the assumption there’s just one …

There’s still something not quite right about the ARINS survey: Part Two (Surveys & Elections)

Soapbox on March 12, 2025, 9:24 am

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blue yellow and green parrot on brown tree branch

Colin Coulter is Professor of Sociology in Maynooth University. Today he continues to ask questions about the recent ARINS survey, and argues the case for making source data public and allowing legitimate criticisms into the public square. In the first part of this essay, we suggested that most of the shift in constitutional aspirations recorded in the latest ARINS/Irish Times survey may, in fact, originate in the inappropriate weightings applied to ‘community background’ in its two previous editions. But what …

We need to talk about the ARINS survey on Ireland’s constitutional futures (Part One)…

Soapbox on March 11, 2025, 3:19 pm

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white and brown cake on white ceramic saucer beside pink ceramic teacup

Colin Coulter is Professor of Sociology in Maynooth University. Here he asks further searching questions about the “gold standard” ARINS survey, and what happens to the outcome if you adjust for weighting issues in the original sample. The latest instalment of the ARINS/Irish Times survey points to a sharp increase in support among the Northern Irish public for the project of reunification. In the space of just two years, there has, apparently, been a net shift toward the nationalist cause …

Ahead of the first annual British Irish Summit Shared Island remains the only viable game in town…

Mick Fealty on March 6, 2025, 7:27 am

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a person standing in the middle of a street

“…planning must precede a crisis rather than follow it, ensuring that shocks lead to constructive reform, rather than losses in resilience.” –Confronting the long crisis, Alex Evans • Bruce Jones • David Steven Today sees the first annual summit in London between the Irish and British governments. Although there are multiple crises facing both the UK and the EU bloc of which Ireland remains a part, for once there’s presently none in Northern Ireland. That doesn’t mean there won’t be …

Monitoring peace progress in Northern Ireland: a wellbeing framework

Allan LEONARD (Mr Ulster) on March 5, 2025, 2:12 pm

| Readers 1280

While much of the media coverage of the launch of the Northern Ireland Executive’s latest Programme for Government (PfG) rightly focused on the specific, quantifiable targets (or lack thereof), a complementary “wellbeing framework”, with dozens of regularly updated metrics, has received little comment. The PfG Wellbeing Framework has the potential for journalists and others to regularly monitor and scrutinise the executive’s progress on ten named “strategic domains” across three “missions”. First Minister Michelle O’Neill explained to fellow MLAs at the tabling of …

Three cheers for NI’s first government programme since 2011, but next time can we ditch the bloody consultation?

Mick Fealty on March 3, 2025, 3:57 pm

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green leaf tree

So finally, after at least one false start last Monday when the Alliance Agriculture minister noted that none of the Executive ministers with portfolios had seen any of the thousands of consultation contributions the Executive has published a PfG. I’ve not seen a copy but we have some ideas of what might be in it from Nolan this morning. It has nine cross cutting themes which include childcare, health, housing and the economy. There are social housing targets for 2027 …

Look North Festival is back with a Slugger Event

David McCann on February 24, 2025, 7:31 pm

| Readers 371

The Look North Festival is back this Friday and will run throughout the weekend, promoting the best of North Belfast. We are back with our event, which will examine some of the challenges and opportunities facing North Belfast with some former politicians in the area. Political Commentator, Lecturer and Election Nerd David McCann will host a panel of former politicians to look at the challenges facing North Belfast and some future opportunities. This will be a chance to hear about …

Should MLAs be paid more?

Brian O'Neill on February 6, 2025, 8:41 am

| Readers 1047

From the BBC: For five years, the Independent Financial Review Panel (IFRP) set wages and expenses for politicians in the assembly. But the terms of the three panel members ended in 2016 and they were never replaced. The Assembly Members (Remuneration Board) Bill proposes setting up a new independent board. It is backed by the Assembly Commission, which includes representatives of the main parties. MLAs are already set to receive a small increase in their salaries this April. An assembly …

Stormont could do worse than develop a Sláintecare approach to health service reforms.

Mick Fealty on February 5, 2025, 12:16 pm

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person holding jigsaw puzzle piece

I was on Nolan this morning discussing how the Secretary of State Hilary Benn had hit a few nerves yesterday on the first anniversary of the restart of Stormont when he laid out the abysmal Health record in Northern Ireland… 53% of people waiting for a first appointment with a consultant are waiting for more than a year in Northern Ireland. In England, that figure is 4%. That’s right, 53% compared to just 4%. Mr Benn said he agreed with …

Jim Allister: Irish Parliamentarian of the year?

ItwasSammyMcNally on December 23, 2024, 10:44 am

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a broken umbrella sitting on top of a sandy beach

Jim Allister is a formidable and controversial political figure. An uncompromising Unionist with a political career which has also seen him resign not once, but twice, from the DUP. Jim doesn’t do compromise on his Unionist principles and that is perhaps best reflected in his decision to set up and lead his own Political Party – the Traditional Unionist Voice (TUV). On one of those occasions he resigned because the DUP had decided to get into bed with Sinn Fein, but in more …

After #GE2024 even in the south Sinn Féin remains haunted by its own largely secret northern legacy

Mick Fealty on December 16, 2024, 4:47 pm

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I’ve put off writing an analysis of Sinn Féin’s fate in the southern general election on Feynman’s principle that “if you can’t explain something in simple terms, you don’t understand it.” I’m still not sure I do, so only time will tell if what follows is right. The party made two seat gains, but largely because of the addition of 14 extra seats in the 34th Dáil. All three of the larger parties lost vote share but Sinn Féin lost …

Irish Language: An bhfuil sé in am tús úr a dhéanamh?

Terry Wright on December 13, 2024, 3:41 pm

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people sitting on chair in front of table while holding pens during daytime

It would be churlish not to welcome the latest- maybe not meant to sound as condescending as they did – remarks of DUP Education Minister, Paul Given, MLA regarding the Irish Language and his tentative assertion that: “My Northern Ireland is big enough to accommodate everyone.” Any truth in the rumours Santa is bringing a hurley and sliotar for Christmas? Do they indicate a ‘Damascus experience on the way to the Gaeltacht’ for the Minister and his party; akin to …

If Election 2024 is anything to go by Fianna Fáil’s slow growth approach seems to be working just fine

Mick Fealty on December 2, 2024, 9:29 pm

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aerial view of people walking on cross pedestrian lane

To be honest about the election it felt more like a dour mid winter scoring draw than any victory. Yet, after all the shouting’s done, the two main parties of the outgoing coalition still have the ball. This was a secure consolidation in tough conditions. Let’s look at some of the key numbers in order to distinguish what actually happened from of the weird party spin that conjured alternative realities from the RTÉ Exit Poll which rated Fianna Fáil at …