Parties – Page 42 – Slugger O'Toole

“As we stated at the election, however, any changes will require the agreement of parties in the Assembly.”

Pete Baker on August 14, 2012, 4:18 pm

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As UTV reports, the Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, has launched a public consultation on measures which “could improve the operation of the Northern Ireland Assembly.” Including how the institutions could “evolve over time into a more normal system that incorporates a government and opposition”. From the introduction to the consultation document [pdf file] This consultation therefore highlights four key areas about which there has been debate in recent years in Northern Ireland. The current Parliamentary Boundary Review is …

Welcome to Northern Ireland!

Pete Baker on August 6, 2012, 6:46 pm

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With a little local difficulty exposing something of a north/south divide within his own party, Sinn Féin MLA Phil Flanagan has decided to have an argument about road signs. “Welcome to Northern Ireland” road signs… Apparently, he’s concerned about the cost. The Fermanagh & South Tyrone MLA said: “The erection of these signs has angered many living in border communities who suffer the negative impact of partition on a daily basis and a large proportion of are completely opposed to the unnatural division …

“Sean Quinn didn’t invest in Anglo Irish Bank, he bet on it”

Pete Baker on August 1, 2012, 2:09 pm

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As the cost of the adminstration of Quinn Insurance mounts, and to the sound of u-turns from ill-advised supporters of the bankrupt Sean Quinn, BBC NI business editor, Jim Fitzpatrick, sets out the facts in the case of the former billionaire. Here are a few key points Sean Quinn didn’t invest in Anglo Irish Bank, he bet on it If all he’d done was buy shares, his losses would have been limited. But Sean Quinn chose a dangerous financial instrument …

Sean Quinn: “We felt it was the right thing to do and we still feel it was the right thing to have done…”

Pete Baker on July 29, 2012, 5:24 pm

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The jailing of his son and nephew was supposed to be “a practical way” of procuring compliance with the court orders to reverse the contempt of court in putting assets beyond the reach of the former Anglo-Irish Bank, now the state-owned Irish Bank Resolution Corporation (IBRC). Instead, the bankrupt Sean “I am not dishonest” Quinn snr has embarked on an unapologetic PR campaign. Whilst his still ‘on the run’ nephew, Peter Darragh Quinn, has been reportedly photographed with his father at a GAA match in …

“…almost half of the electorate are choosing not to vote”

Mick Fealty on July 25, 2012, 1:01 pm

| Readers 48

Catching up somewhat from Monday, here’s Alex Kane on OFMdFM’s mini Queen’s speech (erm, presser about what they plan to do from September onwards), and the walkout from the UUP it provoked: So dull and uninteresting was it that the only aspect the media focused on the following day was the withdrawal of the UUP from the cohesion sharing and integration (CSI) committee. Now then, I know what most of you are thinking: goodness gracious, the UUP actually made a …

“The PSNI said it was the council who had removed the debris, “after consultation with the local community”.”

Pete Baker on July 23, 2012, 4:59 pm

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Three nights of disturbances in the Galliagh area of Londonderry, including an arson attack on a electricity sub-station, during which police have been attacked with petrol bombs and other items, have been blamed on a “hardcore” element by the PSNI. A “youth worker” in the same BBC report concurs Mr Connolly said: “It’s clearly been totally anti-social vandalism – no motive behind it all all – and people can use the excuse of a bonfire but it’s got nothing to do with a …

Andy Burnham says ‘let’s organise in Northern Ireland…”

Mick Fealty on July 23, 2012, 11:43 am

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Hmmm… Haven’t we seen this before? It seems that after meeting Mark Durkan the UK Labour MP and former Minister has said: “The NEC are currently speaking to the Northern Ireland Labour organisation and to our sister party the SDLP. They agreed a process of discussion and they will bring back a recommendation later this year. A decision is coming in the near future and I think it will be linked to the 2014 council elections.” Liam Clarke notes that …

“they demonstrate clearly their disdain for the democratic process”

Pete Baker on July 19, 2012, 5:06 pm

| Readers 61

The semi-detached polit-bureau are at it again. Whatever ‘it’ is… [Headline-grabbing? – Ed] Possibly… There’s certainly a lack of detail. In the absence of a sitting Northern Ireland Assembly to question them, and with no NI Executive meeting for them to jointly chair until September, the NI First and deputy First Ministers issued a statement last night. [It’s a Queens’ Speech! – Ed] Indeed. From the OFMDFM statement Commenting, Ministers said: “We are pleased to be able to give some detail on …

National Trust: “To ensure that no further misunderstanding or misrepresentation of this exhibit can occur, we have decided to review the interpretive materials in this section.”

Pete Baker on July 18, 2012, 2:05 pm

| Readers 96

As the BBC report, after a fortnight of stonewalling and denials, and temporarily closing comments at their press blog, the National Trust has announced that they intend “to review the interpretive materials” in the controversial section of their Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre. [Have the Geological Society had a word in their shell-like? – Ed] They’re still blaming everyone else. However, one small part of the visitor centre’s interpretive display has caused mixed reactions, mainly from people reacting to media coverage and …

“it is in the public interest to know the type of information that the Ministers were taking into account”

Pete Baker on July 14, 2012, 8:29 pm

| Readers 40

Here’s a little referendum related snippet from Scotland. The Scottish government is reportedly “surprised” at a recent ruling by the country’s Freedom of Information Commissioner. In response to a request by Labour MEP Catherine Stihler on 30 May last year, the Scottish government had refused to confirm or deny whether it had received legal advice on the status of an independent Scotland within the EU. They had cited section 18(1) of the FOI Act. As the Information Commissioner’s press statement notes This allows …

“There was contact with senior PSNI personnel explaining whose home it was…”

Pete Baker on July 13, 2012, 1:35 pm

| Readers 68

More difficulties with “due process” for Sinn Féin. This time it’s in Londonderry, where the mayor of the city, Sinn Féin councillor Kevin Campbell, has had his home searched by police and laptops and mobile phones taken away. The BBC report quotes SF MLA Raymond McCartney. Sinn Fein have described the raid as “inexplicable” and said the party will be demanding answers. “There was contact with senior PSNI personnel explaining whose home it was,” said Raymond McCartney. “They were in …

Memo to the National Trust…

Pete Baker on July 10, 2012, 5:26 pm

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The “intellectual baboons” behind young-Earth creationism at the National Trust’s Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre are singing your praises in letters to the editor and op-eds in the News Letter ‘Caleb’ had engaged over many months with elected representatives and the National Trust on this. The step taken by the Trust is a small, but welcome, move towards greater inclusivity. [added emphasis] It is though, of itself, significant. For the first time a younger earth interpretation has now been included as part …

Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre: “The National Trust fully supports the scientific explanation for the creation of the stones 60 million years ago”

Pete Baker on July 6, 2012, 4:07 pm

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Which is fine, but misses the point. The National Trust continues to try to defend its decision to give in to the lobbying of the Caleb Foundation and include young-Earth creationist beliefs in the Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre. [Are they after the crank pound? – Ed] Maybe… and maybe not. Yesterday’s NT press office blog carried this quote A National Trust spokesperson said: “The interpretation in the visitor centre showcases the science of how the stones were formed, the history of …

Giants’ Causeway Interpretive Centre: “This is, as far as we are aware, a first for the National Trust anywhere in the UK, and it sets a precedent for others to follow…”

Pete Baker on July 5, 2012, 2:27 pm

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John’s professed concern is misplaced. As the National Trust press release on the “new state-of-the-art visitor centre” at the Unesco World Heritage Site Giants’ Causeway noted New interactive displays and activities inside the visitor centre include an animation of the legend of Finn McCool and an innovative hand-held audio guide. Such distractions aside, and without access to the material at issue, the quotes in the UTV report from the National Trust raise serious questions. The trust said that the exhibit gives …

McGeough’s Royal Prerogative of Mercy bid dismissed

Pete Baker on July 3, 2012, 3:10 pm

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Gerry McGeough may have had “formidable references from the very highest echelons of our society“, but they weren’t formidable enough. The BBC report that the Court of Appeal has dismissed his bid to be granted a Royal Prerogative of Mercy (RPM). [Gerry McGeough] claimed it was unlawful to treat him differently to others because he previously served jail terms in Germany and the United States. His lawyers advanced a number of comparison cases involving others who received the RPM. These included: …

Irish Government Minister Attends Belfast Somme Commemoration

Pete Baker on July 1, 2012, 10:22 pm

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Having been invited to attend, almost unanimously, by Belfast City Council, an Irish Government Minister has taken part in the Battle of the Somme commemorations at Belfast City Hall for the first time. From the BBC report Soldiers from across Ireland fought side by side in the World War I. As with previous years, Sinn Fein councillors did not attend the main commemoration. [Alan Kelly TD, the Minister of State at the Department of Transport, Tourism and Sport], who laid …

The Handshake-fest: “Ho, hum.”

Pete Baker on June 30, 2012, 12:37 pm

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In the Irish Times, Patrick Smyth rains on “this national parade, The Handshake-fest”. Don’t get me wrong. This is not to say that The Handshake was not a “good thing”. It was. Belatedly, 14 years after the genuinely “historic” Belfast Agreement was signed, marking not only Sinn Féin’s renunciation of coercion as a means of uniting Ireland but also, crucially, a new set of relationships on and between these islands, the party takes another incremental step down that road. Masters …

“If the party was serious about fairness and equality…”

Pete Baker on June 27, 2012, 6:23 pm

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In today’s Irish News Brian Feeney addresses the Fair Employment Tribunal’s finding that, as Northern Ireland Regional Development Minister, Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy, MP, MLA, discriminated against a candidate for the post of chairman of NI Water on religious grounds. That he had appointed Sean Hogan to the post “because he was not from a Protestant background and because he was known to the Minister and his ministerial colleagues”. That he had added three factors to the job specification criteria …

“I respect those who believe that he should shake hands with the Queen as part of his role, but it does not mean that I personally have to support this.”

Pete Baker on June 25, 2012, 10:33 pm

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There’s been a bit of a political kerfuffle in Wales over the forthcoming ‘historic’ meeting between the Northern Ireland deputy First Minister, Sinn Féin’s Martin McGuinness, and the Queen as she tours the UK to mark her Diamond Jubilee. [Mark Devenport is on tour?! – Ed] No, he’s not the Queen. As the BBC reports A Plaid Cymru Assembly Member is taking a break from Twitter after describing Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness as “naive” for agreeing to meet the Queen. Apparently, …

“Those at the heart of the Sinn Fein machine know all of this to be true.”

Pete Baker on June 25, 2012, 3:12 pm

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Where Mick treads softly [always stepping on someone’s dreams! – Ed], Alex Kane rips the PR plaster off. [Mixed metaphors much? – Ed] ANYhoo… from the News Letter article Let’s be blunt about this: Martin McGuinness didn’t join the IRA and become the de facto commander-in-chief of the army council just to end up at a function in which he will be ‘presented’ to Her Majesty during a tour of her United Kingdom! But the meeting between McGuinness and the Queen …