NI Secretary of State – Page 3 – Slugger O'Toole

“it is necessary to extend the Non-Jury Trial system at this time…”

Pete Baker on April 5, 2011, 12:29 pm

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In March 2010 the then-Criminal Justice Minister Paul Goggins announced a “comprehensive review [], including a full public consultation” of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007 provisions for non-jury trials “before it next falls to be renewed in July 2011” – those provisions had previously been extended in 2009. Today the NI Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, announced that he is “laying before Parliament an Order to extend the Non-Jury trial provisions for a further period of two years”. From the NI Secretary of State’s …

“it’s something that certainly never happened under the stewardship of Tony Blair or Gordon Brown.”

Pete Baker on March 7, 2011, 8:14 pm

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The visit by the British Labour Party leader, Ed Miliband, to Stormont today may have come as a surprise to the press [and the NI Labour Party… – Ed], but the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers were ready with their latest whinge. Apparently the UK Prime Minister, David Cameron, isn’t prepared to meet them just to listen to their special little pleading. From the breakingnews.ie report Also accusing the coalition British government of backtracking on financial commitments made during the peace …

“they have bought into the system and there is no going back for them”

Pete Baker on February 11, 2011, 11:56 am

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In the Belfast Telegraph Liam Clarke provides a useful corrective to the more excitable commenters’ response to Secretary of State Owen Paterson’s recent remarks about a potential future Northern Ireland First Minister. From the Belfast Telegraph article If you forgot the context, the soundbite could almost be taken as a call to vote Sinn Fein in order to copperfasten progress, but everyone knows that isn’t what Mr Paterson meant. He was making two other points. The first was that, if Sinn Fein …

US Economic Envoy to NI: “It’s no longer somebody else’s problem.”

Pete Baker on January 25, 2011, 3:53 pm

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The US Economic Envoy to Northern Ireland, Declan Kelly, was here on a one-day visit yesterday. According to a statement from the NI Secretary of State, Owen Paterson The Secretary of State discussed with him how the Government could, in partnership with the Executive, help develop the private sector and attract new foreign investment. He outlined his thinking of the possibility of permitting the Northern Ireland Executive to reduce the rate of Corporation Tax, on which a consultation paper is in …

“Until such time as locally owned arrangements can be found…”

Pete Baker on December 20, 2010, 2:08 pm

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Following the shelving of the Sinn Féin/DUP drafted Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill, Northern Ireland Minister of State, Hugo Swire, announced “the launch of an open competition for appointment to the posts of chairman and members of the Parades Commission.” Today, as the BBC reports, Owen Paterson revealed the outcome of that competition. From the NI Secretary of State’s statement Secretary of State Owen Paterson MP today announced the appointment of Peter Osborne as Chair of the Parades Commission …

“this sort of thing is not helpful…”

Pete Baker on December 19, 2010, 2:19 pm

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In his political review of the year, focusing on the new interventionist Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, the News Letter‘s Sam McBride includes this intriging cameo from the corridors of power Stormont. Three weeks ago, when this newspaper reported Owen Paterson’s strongly pro-Union Steinberg Lecture, Martin McGuinness caught up with the secretary of state in a corridor, held up a copy of the News Letter front page, and chided him that “this sort of thing is not helpful”. Given Mr Paterson’s …

“making tough choices for the good of the country…”

Pete Baker on December 15, 2010, 12:32 pm

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And so it came to pass… After weeks of political posturing the Northern Ireland Executive stayed up late last night to discuss DUP/Sinn Féin proposals for the draft NI Budget. And with those two parties having enough votes in the Executive – the UUP and SDLP abstained with the Alliance Party’s minister agreeing the proposals – today the Assembly is being immediately bumped into passing agreeing the draft ahead of a public consultation… The title quote is Jim Fitzpatrick’s prediction of the spin from …

“Devolution, though, is the theme.”

Pete Baker on December 2, 2010, 2:41 pm

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The Daily Telegraph‘s Benedict Brogan has some interesting thoughts on the Scotland Act, and he opens with an observation of something we’ve noted here before. From the Telegraph blog Is there anything more unnerving than a prime minister who believes in devolution? The political leaders of Northern Ireland must be beginning to doubt it. They keep writing to David Cameron demanding a meeting, but their letters are passed on to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, who replies and …

Owen Paterson: “It is difficult for the Government to make further progress on a Bill of Rights in the absence of this consensus”

Pete Baker on November 23, 2010, 11:53 am

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I linked in passing last night to the speech by the Northern Ireland Secretary of State at the British Irish Parliamentary Association meeting in the Isle of Man. And as Mark Hennessy notes in the Irish Times, he had some important points to make on the troubled NI Bill of Rights. From Owen Paterson’s speech The Government remains committed to maintaining human rights protections in Northern Ireland The previous Government’s consultation on Next Steps on a Bill of Rights revealed deep divisions …

Owen Paterson: “in facing the challenges and exploiting every opportunity offered we function best when we are a team”

Pete Baker on November 22, 2010, 10:24 pm

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While the Irish Government struggles to cope with the game of geo-political hardball they are engaged in, the BBC reports that our own special little pleaders – the Northern Ireland First and deputy First Ministers – have issued a statement following a meeting of the UK Joint Ministerial Committee. In case you didn’t know The Joint Ministerial Committee is established by the Memorandum of Understanding between the UK Government and the devolved administrations in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. Its purpose …

Owen Paterson: “This is absolutely pathetic…”

Pete Baker on November 20, 2010, 4:44 pm

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The Northern Ireland Executive met on Thursday, although you’d be forgiven for not noticing. Not that there aren’t plenty of items which are, or which should be, on their agenda. Most pressingly the still-to-be-agreed draft NI budget. And as economist Neil Gibson told the Assembly this week “I want to be clear that what’s in front of us is challenging,” [Mr Gibson] told members of the Finance and Personnel Committee. “I don’t want to underplay how hard it’s going to be to make savings, but …

Owen Paterson: “it is appropriate that the First Minister and Deputy First Minister first discuss that with me”

Pete Baker on November 10, 2010, 7:05 pm

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Just in case there was any doubt, during Northern Ireland Questions in the House of Commons today, the NI Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, took the opportunity to set out the new ground rules for the NI First and deputy First Ministers. Interestingly, it was in response to what appears to have been an attempt by former NI Secretary of State, Shaun Woodward, to provide a false pretext for a meeting between OFMDFM and the Prime Minister – where budgetary concerns could then be raised. Here are the …

“it’s up to the Executive whether to sell assets like Belfast harbour”

Pete Baker on October 22, 2010, 10:41 pm

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The Northern Ireland Executive met today [To decide what planet they’re living on? – Ed] to discuss the outcome of the 2010 Spending Review. Apparently, they now want to meet with either the “Coalition Government” or the “London Government”. In their statement they can’t decide which. Perhaps the UK Government would do? How about the Northern Ireland Secretary of State? He is a member of that government, after all. And as the NI Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, told the BBC “This is …

Owen Paterson: “I don’t know what planet they’re living on.”

Pete Baker on October 20, 2010, 8:04 pm

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That was Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson’s reported response to the reaction of our special little pleaders to the outcome of the UK Government’s 2010 Spending Review. And he has a point. The NI First Minister, the DUP’s Peter Robinson, claimed the cuts were ‘worse than feared’ . But his party colleague, and NI Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, has stated that “Whilst the level of budget reductions we are facing is unwelcome, and will present a serious challenge, it comes as …

“However we can’t invite ourselves…”

Pete Baker on October 15, 2010, 12:00 pm

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Northern Ireland deputy First Minister, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness, was quick to claim a victory for OFMDFM’s “united case” after NI Secretary of State Owen Paterson said “Having had discussions with the treasury, we are confident that having spent £9.8bn since 2005, that by 2017-18, we will be on track for Northern Ireland to have spent £18bn.” But economist John Simpson was already looking at the potential small print Economist John Simpson told the BBC that he believed a total of £14bn will …

“It is irresponsible to make ill-informed comments about areas which are not your responsibility.”

Pete Baker on October 5, 2010, 9:26 pm

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As DC noted in the comments zone of Brian’s post on our special little pleaders, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State Owen Paterson made an interesting pitch during the Conservative Conference fringe event on NI today. With a number of NI Executive ministers present, Owen Paterson argued that the “British taxpayer should not continue to subsidise segregation” in NI, and he highlighted segregated education here as a particular example of “a criminal waste of public money”. Speaking to UTV in Birmingham after the event NI …

Owen Paterson: “the momentum is increasing further…”

Pete Baker on September 23, 2010, 1:33 pm

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That would be the ‘momentum’ of the Ministerial Working Group on the troubled Presbyterian Mutual Society which met, again, yesterday. From the Northern Ireland Secretary of State’s statement Financial Secretary to the Treasury Mark Hoban came to Belfast for the first time in his ministerial role to attend the meeting. Secretary of State for Northern Ireland Owen Paterson MP chaired it. First Minister Peter Robinson, deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness, NI Minister for Enterprise Trade and Investment Arlene Foster and Minister of State …

NI Secretary of State Orders Road Closure at Army Base

Pete Baker on July 26, 2010, 5:09 pm

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The BBC reports that the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, has used “his executive power” to order the closure of a section of the Shore Road at the Ballykinler Army Base following a security review by the PSNI. From the BBC report About 200m of the road has been closed off, following what was described as a “security review” carried out by the PSNI. Local residents were consulted before the plan was implemented, including two households that were …

Owen Paterson new NI Secretary of State

Pete Baker on May 12, 2010, 4:54 pm

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Eamonn’s tweeting that the Conservative Party’s Owen Paterson has been appointed as the new Northern Ireland Secretary of State. Bye, Shaun… Adds BBC report. And The News Letter. Pete Baker