Christians on The Left take food poverty debate beyond the foodbank

This is a report by Jonny Currie, a Community Development Worker in East Belfast and a member of Christians on the left, who held their inaugural event this week. Over forty activists gathered in a lecture theatre at QUB on Thursday evening for Christians on the Left’s (COTL) inaugural Northern Ireland event. Titled “Beyond the Foodbank: Pushing the Food Poverty Debate Forward,” the event challenged those in attendance to move beyond the charitable act of food bank provision to change …

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Adams: The Taoiseach should now show the courage of his convictions by resigning, calling a General Election and letting the people decide.

Following the Irish Water saga there is mounting speculation that Ireland might be heading to the polls in 2015. Writing for Slugger, Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams TD argues that it’s time for the Taoiseach to go the country and let the people decide the future economic direction of the country. The Fine Gael/Labour coalition Government is in deep crisis. As each day passes it is clearer that it will struggle to stay in office for its full term. The …

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Is it time to reduce our number of MLAs?

So our MLAs are currently still engaging in yet another talks process and according to the BBC earlier in November, the DUP circulated a paper which again highlighted their support for the deflation of Stormont departments and a reduction in the number of MLAs. While the DUP support a reduction in MLAs from the current number of 108 to something between 70 and 80, the Deputy First Minister wouldn’t cut back Stormont just as much as the DUP but does …

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Hamilton calls time on Speaking Clock at Stormont

If you don’t follow Sinn Fein’s Phil Flanagan on Twitter you should and for no other reason than he asks the most under the radar assembly questions you can think of. Today he got a response to a question he posed to the Finance Minister, Simon Hamilton a few weeks ago on the cost of Stormont’s talking clock. Yes, this is a clock that you ring up and it tells you the time. Courtesy of Phil, this is how much …

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Roisin McDonough: The Arts: Small size, big value

The debate over cuts to arts funding have been in the headlines in recent days, writing for Slugger, the Arts Council’s Chief Executive, Roisin McDonough argues against cutting arts funding Supporting the campaign for ‘No more cuts to the arts’, actor James Nesbitt observed wryly that “without the arts we’re just left with politics, and we don’t want that”. His tongue may have been planted firmly in his cheek, but that may be the path we’re heading down if the …

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Making stand against one set of cuts only for it to be replaced with something worse

  Nicely put by Newton Emerson in Saturday’s Irish News. If kids from Northern Ireland are leaving, it isn’t because of public sector austerity. Compared to other places Northern Ireland has been feather-bedded in this regard. In the Republic the Haddington Road agreement has overseen agreed cuts in public wages in an effort to save jobs, and a recruitment freeze has helped preserve the jobs of those already in public sector employment, whilst casting huge shadow over the employment prospects of …

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McCann meets… Phil Flanagan MLA

Many of you know that I put out a call on twitter for suggestions on which politicians they would like to see interviewed for Slugger. Today I bring you the first interview with Stormont’s No.1 tweeter, Sinn Fein MLA, Phil Flanagan. This was aired earlier on Lisburns 98FM. I met Phil on Tuesday in Stormont and we conducted this 40 minute interview. We covered a broad range of subjects from his background to his recent twitter war with Tom Elliott. …

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Iceland election result: two parties blamed for economic meltdown returned to power

Back to Iceland to look at the election result. The BBC report that: Centre-right opposition parties in Iceland are set for a return to power with nearly all votes counted after Saturday’s parliamentary election. The Independence party has 26% and the Progressive party 24%, putting them on track to win nearly 40 of the 63 seats. The ruling Social Democrats are trailing with around 13%. It is a dramatic comeback for the parties widely blamed for Iceland’s economic meltdown in …

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A well performing adjustment programme?

As Mick has noted, the news coming from the latest in a long line of EU economic crisis summits appears to be good for the Irish government. The rather terse statement issued at 4 am this morning is being pored over by economists as if it were some Joycean text, but it is pretty light on detail. Despite the limited information available, RTE are taking the throaty enthusiasm of An Taoiseach at face value and are fairly happy that the state …

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Ireland’s impending experience of its own ‘Total Perspective Vortex’?

It’s probably true that there is no such thing as a hard way and an easy way out of Ireland’s dilemma, but there’s no shortage of denial to go around… Expect there to be some good for the No camp in the Red C poll coming up this weekend… But in his business column in the Irish Times today, Dan O’Brien characterises some of what’s driving the No campaign as something akin to the denial over the housing bubble in …

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Austerity is a dish Ireland will almost certainly have to eat, hot or cold…

Markets are itching again… The Greek indecision over forming the next government is such that the Euro has slid to just under $1.30, and yields on Spanish debt are rising to $6.06… [Ms Lagarde, got yer umbrella handy? – Ed] Scary stuff… What’s even more scary is that those economists who cast a darkening glance over the fiscal treaty as a means of getting out from under a recession that may already be hardening into a depression are not wrong …

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Two Paddy’s Day Pieces

…in the Independent and Atlantic, and mostly on social change in austerity Ireland, and a bit on the Euro referendum, too. I’d be awfully grateful for all your thoughts and comments. I’ll probably scribble more on both, in Dublin in a fortnight, and again during the referendum. Pádraig Belton30 year old journalist thing. Buys loo roll on eBay. scribd.com/padraigbelton

David Cameron boardroom pay and putdowns

The coverage of David Cameron’s views on any Scottish independence referendum have been analysed in detail. Those comments did rather eclipse the coverage of his interview with the Sunday Telegraph. The Telegraph is obviously the most pro Tory of the broadsheets but they do seem to be even more sympathetic than usual in their coverage of the interview: not only the article by Patrick Hennessy above but also Matthew d’Ancona who bordered a little too close to sycophancy</a. and a …

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Austerity in two halves: #Budget2012

Early next week will finally see the introduction of #Budget2012 to the Dáil, in a novel format with two speeches, one by Brendan Howlin on Monday and one by Michael Noonan on Tuesday. The budget has been heavily trailed, with endless kite-flying over the last few weeks. A brief guide to (some) of the proposed changes was given by Caroline Madden in the Irish Times last Monday. For ease of reference, most of the main suggested budgetary changes are given below. It will be interesting to compare the …

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Austerity? What austerity? The MTV EMA goodie bag, I mean goodie suitcase

MTV EMA European Music Awards goodie bag/suitcase

It’s good to see that as debt and austerity envelopes the European Union, the presents thrust upon the artists and ‘VIPs’ attending the MTV European Music Awards in Belfast this weekend are reflecting the pressures felt by those who listen to their music … I hope they’ve all booked an extra piece of hold luggage on their return flights, otherwise Ryanair are going to fleece them for an extra suitcase! MTV today revealed the contents of the 2011 MTV EMA …

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Greek budget deficit halves in 2010

Almost. The Budget Deficit fell for the first six months of this year, and is running at €11,450 million. This is almost half the €19,685 million deficit for the equivalent period last year. Finfacts report that the economy is expected to (only) contract 4% this year (despite massive austerity measures). Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou said the country had “met its goal” for the first six months of 2010 after the 41.8% dip in the budget deficit – – to 4.9% …

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Ireland and Austerity : Is Paul Krugman wrong?

In a recent article in the New York Times Paul Krugman took the US deficit hawks to task, he argues that Ireland’s approach to austerity has not been rewarded by the markets. Consider, if you will, the comparative cases of Ireland and Spain. Both countries appeared, on the surface, to be fiscally responsible until the crisis hit, with balanced budgets and relatively low debt. Both discovered that this was an illusion: revenues were buoyed by immense real estate bubbles, and …

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ECB : There are no alternatives

European Central Bank executive member Lorenzo Bini Smaghi outlined the fiscal and monetary constraints facing EU states at the Group of 30 conference in Rabat. In it he warns of a US of future crisis, and perhaps controversially denounces Keynesianism as inappropriate. European states can’t rely on inflation to reduce their debts, fiscal austerity is the only course available to them, but Americans may be deluding themselves that they will be able to impose an ‘inflation tax’ on investors in …

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