Northern Ireland’s singular, in the UK, response to the swine flu [H1N1] pandemic has evolved over time. The NI Health Minister, speaking on Stormont Live today, warned of potential “extreme consequences” based on his prediction that the current strategy will cost the NI Department of Health £75 million. And “there’s no slack in the system”. Pete Baker
Elaine Byrne telling like it really is in today’s Irish Times, when she fingers Alan Dukes (damned!) Tallaght strategy which released Fianna Fail from any sense of responsibility for the political consequences of their actions since that time. So that now, more major tribunals than you can shake a stick at later, the consequences are (bleedin’) obvious: Ireland is at an extraordinary, critical juncture but we have been here before. And on each occasion our innate Irish conservatism kicks in …
Now that we are a long way past May [2008], Sinn Féin’s Alex Maskey can call for “the setting of the date for transfer” of policing and justice powers. His party has its reasons.. And the British Government know that.. [Or else what? – Ed] Below the fold the UUP’s Michael McGimpsey points out that “if things fall you get an election”, not that he foresees any collapse, and he confirms that the UUP will oppose devolving those powers “right …
Given their undoubted interest in the subject I wonder what the NIO made of the Politics Show today. Some of the clips below the fold could justify a post on their own but.. as they are all related.. There’s Chris Patten on what he would do differently if he was doing his report on policing again, along with his comments on “the omnipotent peer of the realm” Peter Mandelson – “people aren’t always as clever as they think they are”. …
A short discussion on the Politics Show with Mark Devenport focusing on the detail of Peter Robinson’s contentious speech, and what it could mean for the devolution of justice powers. Pete Baker
On BBC NI Politics Show, Alliance Party leader David Ford comments on the defection of his party’s European candidate, Cllr Ian J Parsley, to the Conservative Party. Pete Baker
Tomorrow’s Red C poll for the Sunday Business Post looks interesting. Although, how much so may depend on who you believe. On Lisbon II, IOL reports [PA report? – Ed] “23% say they will vote against the EU reform measures, while 15% are still undecided ahead of the ballot on October 2” – leaving 62% saying ‘Yes’. But RTÉ gives different figures The results show support for Lisbon holding up, with 52% of adults saying they will vote for the …
Over at thestory.ie for the ten years between 1998 and 2008, Gavin has the latest on unearthing TDs expenses. If you are a genuinely patriotic citizen of the Irish Republic, it may be your duty to help see these records make the light of day and onto the public archives of the Kildare Street website… Find the paypal button over there and give what you can… It’s the kind of cheque book journalism worth paying for. And the money goes …
Just picking up on Kensei’s discovery of buried treasure in Slugger’s comment zone, I’m tempted to ask the obvious question arising: what is Unionism? For a lot of Slugger’s nationalist commenters it is something akin to an insult or personal slur. In fact, as a political phenomenon in Ireland it’s about 130 years old. Before that the more common split in Ulster was largely in House of Commons terms of Liberal versus Tory. These divisions collapsed in the general election …
In the comments zone here ‘Driftwood’ points to Paul Bew’s article in the Spectator. And at the centre of it is his take on the proposed devolution of policing and justice powers. From the Spectator article This is the nub of the matter. The British government believes that as long as Adams and McGuinness’s position is bolstered, the dissident’s radical Republican ideology will have limited appeal. This is why the Northern Ireland Office is so desperate to see the devolution …
Defections are never easy. Sinn Fein get stick every time for asking for their seat back every time they get hit by one, but it is a double blow to party colleagues. You lose the asset and your opponents gain what you lose. In the case of Christy Burke, there was at least a sense that his Dublin seat was his more than the party’s… With Louise Minihan – who was co-opted, elected and then defected in pretty short order …
Another pretender to Lady Sylvia’s North Down Westminster seat is DUP MLA Peter Weir, who quickly leaps on an obvious question (and one that, no doubt, he hopes will distract from his own party’s hokey cokeying views on whether to consult or not consult their Executive colleagues): “This is an intriguing development. Since the European election, Ian has managed to travel quite a distance. At the time of the European election, he was describing himself as the most pro-European candidate. …
For those, like me, who were wondering: Ian Parsley has completed his impromptu swim across the Rio Grande (adds: rather earlier than planned if the added photo is anything to go by), and has been picked out of the water on the other side by none other than the Conservatives (ie, the party that’s not quite yet the UUs…) Coming after the councillor defections in the run up to the Euro elections, it’s not quite a full floor up (Ian’s …
After meeting with his old party leader this morning it looks like Mr Parsley may on his way back to the Conservatives. Both Ian and the Alliance Party will issue statements at three o’clock. It’s a bit of a coup for the New Tories to peel off the Alliance party’s rising star from the European elections but it remains to be seen just what that adds up to in next year’s election steeplechase stakes. It may steel the hand of …
Mick mentioned NI Finance Minister Sammy Wilson’s contribution, but Julia Paul’s report from Hearts and Minds on the economic climate ahead covers wider ground. Pete Baker
Ian Parsley, one of those being touted as an Up and Coming politician in the current nominations (which are still open by the way) for the Slugger Awards, is reported today as joining the Ulster Unionists, something the man himself appears to be denying on his blog this morning… It’s thought the speculation was stirred when it was revealed that the think tank he’s joining an outreach of Ian Duncan Smith’s Centre for Social Justice, which is opening in Belfast …
With that three year long budget now stretching to breaking point, there’s a full scale row going on between the First Minister and his one SDLP minister, Margaret Ritchie over the latter’s refusal to fund the rehousing of a police officer and his family. Noel McAdam has the latest: “I am outraged that this matter has not been dealt with expeditiously. Margaret knows very well that colleagues have never failed to deal with emergency situations. The people faced with these …
The most memorable line from tonight’s Hearts and Minds came from Arlene Foster, when she suggested that the public did not want to hear that first Mr Robinson pulled out of a planned interview for the programme, and then a few hours later Mr McGuinness followed suit; when that was precisely the most informative thing to come out of the scramble between Five Politicians in Search of a Plot that constituted the first segment of the programme. If they were …
A NI Bill of Rights is still lost in the long grass, but in the Irish Times David Adams returns to the subject. It’s in response to the riposte from still Chief Commissioner Monica McWilliams, noted by Brian previously, who was partly responsible for the NI Human Rights Commission’s statutory advice. This time David Adams is quoting former Chief Commissioner Brice Dickson’s evidence to the UK Parliament’s Joint Committee on Human Rights. [Can we declare this a fiasco now? – …
It’s worth sticking with the Johann Hari interview of Gerry Adams in the Independent. Despite an apparent over-reliance on Adams’ autobiography, amidst the story-telling and the myths, Hari, to his credit, leaves in the “smirks at his press officer”, “the feel of being in a smoky bar in the paranoid world of 1970s paramilitarism”, the mis-rememberances, and the awkward silences. I don’t want to get into a sterile round of defensive denial, so I try asking a different question. If …
