Economy – Page 69 – Slugger O'Toole

“moving the airport into a position where it will be fit to go commercial..”

Pete Baker on January 17, 2008, 5:19 pm

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The Irish News reported today that the manager of the City of Derry Airport has been redeployed as a air-traffic controller in the aftermath of last year’s difficulties, the BBC picked up the story here, but there have been other interesting comments about the airport’s future. Yesterday UTV reported that the Chairman of the Assembly’s Regional Development Committee, Fred Cobain, was linking a British and Irish government offer of joint funding of £14.2m to improve safety at the airport to …

“on terms confidential to both parties..”

Pete Baker on January 16, 2008, 6:18 pm

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Northern Ireland’s Finance minister, the DUP’s Peter Robinson, might have claimed that the Executive has a policy of openness but it doesn’t seem to apply to the Department of Finance. A key element of future funding is the private finance initiative plan, Workplace 2010, to sell a range of publicly owned government buildings before leasing them back from the private sector. That had been facing a legal challenge from one of the bidding consortia – one which had been dropped …

Further detail on those lands at Ballee…

Mick Fealty on January 16, 2008, 3:41 pm

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The following is an opinion piece written by Councillor Stephen Nicoll, which mulls over some of the intricate issues are the Ballee land, perhaps the most controversial item mentioned in the memo released Jim Allister by Freedom of Information request by the NIO. It’s particularly interesting since it was written the day before the release, without, so far as we can tell, any foreknowledge of the release of that document. It’s a useful foil to some of the feverish speculation …

The Executive.. and civil society..

Pete Baker on January 15, 2008, 2:34 am

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At the weekend the Alliance Party’s David Ford criticised the Executive’s Draft Programme as ‘meaningless’ and today a collection of north Belfast Protestant clergy penned a critical article in the News Letter “Yet in pursuing this highly desirable goal [economic success], the Executive seems to have been afflicted with collective amnesia. There is much emphasis on building a peaceful, fair and prosperous society, yet a flagship policy of recent years – A Shared Future – has disappeared without comment or …

Ulster circa 1961…

Mick Fealty on January 14, 2008, 8:02 pm

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A real blast from the past in this piece about Northern Ireland from 1961 and aimed at the US investors. What’s most striking about it is the centrality of agriculture (though that appears to be the whole point of the pitch). That, and the apparent ubiquity of the Morris Minor. You can pick up part two here. Thanks for the heads up Steven! Mick FealtyMick is founding editor of Slugger. He has written papers on the impacts of the Internet …

“It’s clear that some big political questions remain..”

Pete Baker on January 12, 2008, 3:04 am

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The BBC’s Jim Fitzpatrick, ahead of Sunday’s Politics Show, provides a quick summary of the contrast between the image presented by the Businessmen of God On Tour in the US and in Europe.. and the reality on the ground here.. From Jim Fitzpatrick But on the ground, the opinions are more diverse and the picture is definitely more complicated. It’s clear that some big political questions remain – not least the issue of resolving the past as we have seen …

Nuclear NIMBYism – redux

Pete Baker on January 10, 2008, 9:04 pm

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I’ve mentioned the hypocrisy of Nuclear NIMBYism in an archipelagic-wide energy grid previously [and it’s as alive and well as ever – Ed], so it’s good to see the Republic of Ireland’s Energy Minister, Eamon Ryan, calling for a reasoned debate on the issue, “so that the real science and the energy policy issues can be debated in detail”, at the same time that the UK government published a white paper on proposals to support the building of new nuclear …

“Of course if I got €6 million a day for five years..”

Pete Baker on January 10, 2008, 4:29 pm

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Following on from the short tour of US financial centres the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers [The businessmen of God? – Ed], along with both Junior ministers and the Agriculture minister, are in Brussels for a two-day junket trip – BBC report here. The Irish Times has an eye-witness account [subs req] At a reception at the Northern Ireland executive office, the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness charmed senior EU officials and ambassadors with their humorous “Chuckle …

“should make every thinking person in Northern Ireland reflect..”

Pete Baker on January 1, 2008, 8:23 pm

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When Mick mentioned some University of Ulster figures on the migration of the Protestant population of Londonderry away from the west bank of the Foyle – a decline of 83.4% between 1971 and 1991 – it generated a heated, as in more heat than light, discussion of the reasons why.. although, some time later, Mick also noted the renewed optimism of some churches. So the report in the Belfast Telegraph of an Open Reel Productions documentary – the company responsible …

“but 50 files remain closed..”

Pete Baker on December 29, 2007, 1:11 am

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Of particular interest among the official documents released under the 30 year rule – now under review in the UK – are those discussing the 1977 strike by the United Unionist Action Council (UUAC), led by Rev Ian Paisley and supported by the UDA and Ulster Workers Council. As historian Eamon Phoenix writes here, those discussions include a minuted reference to the now First Minister, who it was noted “was associated with and had the support of the Protestant paramilitaries …

Breaking out of our Soviet economy…

Mick Fealty on December 18, 2007, 7:59 pm

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I was a guest of NIGAG on Friday evening at their Christmas soirée. Guest of honour however was Owen Paterson, Tory shadow Secretary of State. There was, let’s say, a robust exchange of views. Patterson’s response to complaints that Northern Ireland had missed out on several public sector initiatives was to contrast the situation north of the border. He noted that “34% of GDP accounts for by public sector in the Republic against 71% in Northern Ireland. That’s at Soviet …

“many of the important levers are in Northern Ireland’s hands..”

Pete Baker on December 18, 2007, 12:37 am

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As the BBC reports here – and as their NI political editor Mark Devenport notes here – as well as in the Belfast Telegraph here, Sir David Varney’s Review of taxation in Northern Ireland, as promised by then-Chancellor Gordon Brown, has been published, to the “disappointment” of the NI Finance minister, the DUP’s Peter Robinson. It’s almost as if he thought corporation tax would be reduced.. He’d probably be the only one who did.. ANYhoo, the full report [pdf file] …

An Gaeilge, imigh libh!

Mick Fealty on December 14, 2007, 4:54 am

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I have to say that I have been flying in and out of Ireland, north and south, as the market dictated, for about twenty five years. On too few occasions have I been greeted in Irish. But it seems that the one carrier that could be relied upon to use the cúpla focail on landing, Aer Lingus, will no longer do sonot do so on their new Belfast service. Republican Sinn Fein are not happy, “Aer Lingus have long claimed …

Välkomnande till Ikea i Belfast

Mick Fealty on December 13, 2007, 6:08 pm

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I have some sympathy with those who argue that the visit of three PSNI officers to Malaga to witness first hand the impacts of an Ikea superstore on the local environment. Although the response to the opening of the store at the Holywood Exchange was less than overwhelming. |I would give it time, and a weekend or two. The last time I visited one was in Nottingham during our exceedingly wet summer. The car park was full of a lot …

Hitchcock, Scorsese and the selling of Spanish wine…

Mick Fealty on December 12, 2007, 4:09 pm

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If you’ve got ten minutes to watch this with the sound on… It’s a Martin Scorsese spoof of ‘lost Hitchcock movie’ for a certain make of Cava. Product placement par excellence… 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

“investment in the arts is a sound investment for Northern Ireland..”

Pete Baker on December 12, 2007, 1:33 am

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The Minister for Culture, Arts and Leisure, the DUP’s Edwin Poots, isn’t a fan of rational thinking when it comes to science.. but what does he think of the arts? And, in particular, public funding of the arts? The recently reconstituted Arts Council have joined the unofficial opposition to the draft budget and claim that they face the equivalent of a £250,000 cut in funding, threatening around 200 jobs and thousands of programmes. Interestingly, the Legislative Assembly in October passed …

Belfast: slow growth and low cost labour…

Mick Fealty on December 11, 2007, 4:01 pm

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Cheap labour is something of an advantage when touting for foreign inward investment. There’s an interesting study out from the Centre for Cities a policy development unit within IPPR. Interestingly Belfast barely features in the news story, but if you dig there is plenty of note. For instance, of 60 cities, Belfast has the slowest growth (-0.8% over ten years). It also has the lowest employment rate at 63.4%. It also has the lowest wages. £395.7 is the average wage …

“Well, Mr. President, our first words on that — (inaudible)..”

Pete Baker on December 8, 2007, 4:14 am

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As I suggested previously, the meeting between the Northern Ireland Executive’s First and deputy First Ministers and President Bush seems to have been as much to do with certain parties thanking him for the US’s active role here as pleading for financial assistance. The BBC report mentions in passing the meeting with head of the National Security Council, Stephen Hadley.. but we don’t have the transcript of what might have been discussed. UTV, however, just screened the media appearance of …

Ian, Martin and their big city love-in

Mick Fealty on December 6, 2007, 2:06 pm

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Now is not the best time to go any exchange in New York and ask for money. The Credit Squeeze is tightening, and the market is switching from the bulls to the bears. The two characters featured on the front page of the Irish Times the other day with the Stock Exchange gavel put one in mind of that Mortimer and Randolph Duke in the 1983 film Trading Places. Given the filibustering of one, the procrastination of the other, this …

“businessman of God” opens Nasdaq market..

Pete Baker on December 6, 2007, 12:25 am

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They were only pretending on Monday at the NYSE, but today the First and deputy First Ministers did open the Nasdaq market.. really. The official statement has the expected pleas for investment.. but the photo in this BBC report captures what seems to have been an unscripted moment, via the Times Square subtitles, as the First Minister of the NI Executive appears to have told the assembled businessmen, “I am a businessman of God..” And speaking of The Donald [*ahem* …