Parties – Page 59 – Slugger O'Toole

Open thread: your questions for FG economics frontbenchers

Pádraig Belton on January 4, 2011, 9:41 pm

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Fine Gael this morning announces launch of their 2011 election campaign (for Dáil elections likely the last Friday of March) with a new website. I’ll be at the Dáil tomorrow to interview two of their economic team, Deputies Brian Hayes and Richard Bruton. I’ll after be talking to Professors John O’Hagan and Brian Lucey, both economists at TCD. If readers might have questions for them, please share them in comments, and I’ll be sure to pose them and post …

NI water crisis: “why Sinn Féin and the DUP have reacted with a mix of denial and pulpit thumping”

Pete Baker on January 3, 2011, 2:37 pm

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Via Newshound, in the Sunday Times Liam Clarke adds his thoughts on the “pulpit thumping” intervention of the OFMDFM, the possibly misplaced ministerial confidence, and the ongoing cost of Executive crowd-pleasing as the NI water crisis continues. From the Sunday Times article Murphy and his colleagues are making the most of the inherited nature of their difficulties. Yet, knowing the risks, the DUP/Sinn Féin-led administration did little to improve the situation. There was some limited investment in the water system …

Bertie Ahern: “If you ask me, my view is you’re better doing it my way…”

Pete Baker on January 2, 2011, 4:48 pm

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Now that the notorious gambler, and former Taoiseach, Bertie ‘Lucky’ Ahern, has confirmed his decision not to contest the next Irish general election he obviously feels freer to be critical of his party colleagues in government. From the Belfast Telegraph report Mr Ahern, a columnist for the Irish News of The World, told the newspaper Mr Cowen’s administration failed to communicate properly with the public throughout the crisis. He said he carried out daily doorstep interviews with the media when he led …

Conor Murphy: “I do have confidence [in Laurence MacKenzie].”

Pete Baker on December 31, 2010, 4:27 pm

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Following the intervention of the First and deputy First Ministers in the Northern Ireland water crisis, a NI Executive statement was issued stating that “There was considerable anger across the Ministerial spectrum about the shambolic response of NI Water which had let down the whole community.” OFMDFM appear to be still singing from the same hymn sheet. “There has to be accountability” they both have said. Mr McGuinness said: “There has to be accountability and we are not going to under …

Beware hollow talk of a shared future in 2011

Brian Walker on December 31, 2010, 1:25 pm

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It’s progress of a kind that the Assembly leadership has survived the kind of sex and money scandals unimaginable a generation ago. Peter Robinson even looks stronger with one of his parliamentary legs cut off and Gerry Adams has departed with an air of confidence for fresh green pastures. Liam Clarke, never slow to offer constructive advice to government, offers cautious praise rare from a journalist. The Assembly is still more important for what it is than for what it does. …

OFMDFM: “NI Water’s response was clearly inadequate…”

Pete Baker on December 29, 2010, 4:14 pm

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Which “officials” were “summoned” to Stormont this morning by Martin McGuinness, and in what capacity the Northern Ireland deputy First Minister was acting, isn’t entirely clear – as we only have a Sinn Féin press release to go on. But the “stocktake meeting in the morning at NI Water” mentioned here by the relevant Minister, Sinn Féin’s Conor Murphy, seems to have been pushed back into the afternoon as a result. What we do have is a joint OFMDFM statment today In …

“Good news was hard to come by in the Northern Ireland education world of 2010…”

Pete Baker on December 27, 2010, 2:17 pm

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Much like most recent years, you could say… In a review of the year for the Northern Ireland education system, the BBC’s education correspondent Maggie Taggart notes an interesting fact February saw the delivery of the first results from unregulated transfer tests which had taken the place of the eleven-plus, scrapped by the Department of Education in an attempt to end academic selection. Widespread legal action was expected from dissatisfied parents, but time passed and only two court cases were …

“The first winner to totter down our stained red carpet…”

Pete Baker on December 26, 2010, 2:24 pm

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In The Observer, Andrew Rawnsley has some, admirably even-handed, fun distributing his alternative political awards of the year. Time now to unveil the Assassin Of The Year. There could only be one winner: Ed Miliband knifed not just his brother, but also Nick Brown, Gordon Brown, Ed Balls and Yvette Cooper. The panel were particularly impressed that the first killer panda ever to lead a major British political party could keep a straight face when he said: “I love you, …

Updated: Over £260m to be cut from policing spend over next four years – but £171m to be added

Pete Baker on December 23, 2010, 8:28 pm

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The headline figures in the draft Northern Ireland budget re-allocation indicated only relatively small changes to the current expenditure of the NI Department of Justice up to 2014/15. Three years of consecutive cuts – £10.6million in 2011/12, £24.1million in 2012/13 and £22 .3million in 213/14 – followed by a slight increase of £9.7million in 2014/15. But, as the BBC reports, the detail published today by the NI Department of Justice reveals that the police, in particular, are expected to find significant levels of “savings” in each of the …

“Clearly something has got to give…”

Pete Baker on December 23, 2010, 3:03 pm

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Unsurprising economic illiteracy aside, the political posturing in the draft Northern Ireland budget re-allocation comes at a cost. As Liam Clarke points out in the News Letter In October 2007 it was hoped, not unreasonably, that the shortfall could be met by selling government land and buildings into the booming property market. Stormont was like a family funding an extension by remortgaging its house, but unfortunately the bottom fell out of the property market almost as soon as the plan …

NI Auditor General: “a larger number of accounts than usual received qualifications on the grounds of truth and fairness and/or regularity grounds”

Pete Baker on December 22, 2010, 3:08 pm

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The BBC reports the Northern Ireland Comptroller and Auditor General’s report to the NI Assembly on the results of the financial audit on the accounts for 2009-10 of Executive departments and other public sector bodies. Full report here [pdf file] From the BBC report The report said several departments were guilty of making irregular payments without proper approval. [added emphasis] The largest amount identified was £64m pounds incurred by the Department of Agriculture for incorrectly administering EU farm subsidies. The Northern Ireland …

Politicians are not the only guilty ones

Brian Walker on December 22, 2010, 10:06 am

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Westminster has shut down for Christmas. Some things are still sacred. The Con Dem coalition is fortunate not to be facing a full-blown crisis this morning. But we can still pose the questions. Is there a legitimate distinction between public and private comment or is the difference always hypocrisy? The question lies at the heart of the WikiLeaks controversy and now in the spate of Lib Dem indiscretions. For political journalists the distinction is part of their stock in trade. …

The State versus Thomas Murphy – redux

Pete Baker on December 21, 2010, 10:45 pm

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Possibly relevant to Brian’s earlier post… and Mitchell Reiss’ admission… An iol report provides an update on the long-running saga of the State versus Thomas ‘Slab’ Murphy. First a re-cap from a previous post. In October 2008, the “culmination of intensive investigations by the Criminal Assets Bureau and the UK’s Serious and Organised Crime Agency” saw more than €625,000 in cash and cheques confiscated in Ireland as the proceeds of crime, while £445,000 (573,000 euro) and nine properties in the north-west …

‘no final decision made on Loreto Grammar School’s future…’

Pete Baker on December 21, 2010, 3:15 pm

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The judicial review of the Northern Ireland Education Minister Sinn Féin’s Caitriona Ruane’s refusal to grant funding for, Catholic grammar school, Loreto College‘ GS’s planned £14.6million new build on its existing site got underway today. As reported in September when leave for the review was granted Loreto Grammar was promised £14.6m investment through a public private partnership for a new build on its existing site in 2004 by the then direct-rule minister Barry Gardiner, as part of a major expansion …

Adams and Robinson: What a difference a year makes…

Mick Fealty on December 21, 2010, 11:19 am

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We’ll be launching the full set of categories for the Slugger Awards later this morning, but Chris Donnelly makes something of a pitch for two extraordinary come backs over the last year. Gerry Adams, who this time last year was plunged into a personal and political crisis over the allegation by his niece that he’d known of her accusations of abuse against his brother and had done nothing to help. This was followed in fairly short order by a Spotlight …

“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 …

“the gulf between the views held by supporters of the three main political parties and Sinn Féin”

Pete Baker on December 18, 2010, 6:50 pm

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Inside the Irish Times Stephen Collins drills down into the data from the survey Brian noted to pick up on an interesting point. From the Irish Times article When asked if it was better to be part of the European Union the same pattern emerged. Among Fianna Fáil voters 87 per cent said it was better to be in the EU with just 9 per cent saying it was not. Fine Gael and Labour voters gave identical responses, with 77 …

“Frankly I haven’t got to the bottom of this one yet…”

Pete Baker on December 17, 2010, 4:09 pm

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A snowbound Mark Devenport has been pondering the unsurprising economic illiteracy evident in some parties’ responses to the draft Northern Ireland budget distribution… From the Devenport Diaries When George Osborne announced his Spending Review in October there was some analysis indicating it equated to 75%/25% ratio between cuts and taxes. We couldn’t get a definite figure from the Stormont Finance department for the ratio in Sammy Wilson’s effort to plug the projected £4 bilion hole in the local budget over the next …

Hugo Swire: “This divergence of views was also reflected in the submissions made by political parties…”

Pete Baker on December 17, 2010, 1:55 pm

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For what it’s worth, Northern Ireland Minister of State, Hugo Swire, has published the responses to the consultation on ‘A Bill of Rights for Northern Ireland: Next Steps’. You can find those responses here. As the ministerial statement says “A total of approximately 36,492 responses were received. There were 232 substantive responses and approximately 36,260 email and mail/freepost mailshots that were sent as part of campaigns by various groups. Individual mailshot responses have not been published on the NIO website due …