Parties – Page 60 – Slugger O'Toole

Robert Whalley: “The police know that the numbers of residual terrorists are growing…”

Pete Baker on December 16, 2010, 6:38 pm

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The Northern Ireland Secretary of State, Owen Paterson, has published the third annual report by the independent reviewer [pdf file], Robert Whalley, of the Justice and Security (Northern Ireland) Act 2007. The report covers the period 1 August 2009 to 31 July 2010. The second annual report was noted here. As the NI Secretary of State says The report highlights the security situation in the past year and the activities of residual terrorist groups who have been dangerous and disruptive and remain heavily involved …

UK Chancellor: “Making the loan has enabled us to set that condition and to be part of the discussion…”

Pete Baker on December 16, 2010, 2:35 pm

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As the UK’s Loans to Ireland Bill passes on to the House of Lords for a second reading – debate here – the BBC’s Robert Peston notes that The interest rate on the £3.25bn being made available in eight lumps over the next three years will be 2.29% above the cost for the British government of borrowing for seven and a half years. Which means that a profit is more or less guaranteed for Britain. George Osborne today estimated that …

Mitchell Reiss: “Governments often have information about illegal activities that they decide not to prosecute…”

Pete Baker on December 16, 2010, 11:03 am

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The Irish Echo reports comments from then-US Special Envoy to Northern Ireland, Mitchell Reiss, on the Wikileaked US Embassy cables from 2005. From the Irish Echo report “I believe the taoiseach believed what he told me,” recalled Reiss in the interview. “This was the taoiseach speaking. The cable doesn’t give you my opinion. I certainly had no evidence whether these men were complicit or not. “Governments often have information about illegal activities that they decide not to prosecute for a …

“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 …

Sinn Féin: “There is not a shred of evidence linking republicans to the Northern Bank robbery…”

Pete Baker on December 14, 2010, 3:10 pm

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While Taoiseach Brian Cowen refused to answer any questions on the issue, former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern, Justice Minister, Dermot Ahern and Health Minister Mary Harney have all re-stated the Irish government’s 2005 assessment that the Sinn Féin leadership of Gerry Adams and Martin McGuinness had prior knowledge of the Northern Bank robbery. And a report in The Irish News today notes that Sinn Féin’s view that there is “not a shred of evidence” to link the IRA to the robbery of …

Wikileaks: “Another idea sporadically under consideration…”

Pete Baker on December 13, 2010, 4:56 pm

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It’s an idea that has, probably, been overtaken by events… for now… But there is one more section from the US Embassy cables released by Wikileaks worth highlighting. A short note on the possibility of Fianna Fáil contesting elections in Northern Ireland from a cable dated 04 February 2005 8. (C) Another idea sporadically under consideration is that Fianna Fail could start competing in elections in Northern Ireland. The argument is that Fianna Fail’s best way of confronting Sinn Fein in …

Wikileaks: “What [Sinn Féin] cannot stand, he said, is skepticism.”

Pete Baker on December 13, 2010, 3:48 pm

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The Guardian has a good round-up of most of the significant Process™ related sections of the US Embassy cables released by Wikileaks. But there are a few sections worth highlighting in that they corroborate elements of other accounts that have been published previously. In particular the account by Mary-Alice Clancy. From a US Embassy cable dated 04 February 2005 5. (C) XXXXXXXXXXXX said that the GOI’s approach to the peace process was to “sit tight” and let Sinn Fein find its way back. Equally, …

“And now it’s too late…”

Pete Baker on December 12, 2010, 2:21 pm

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In the Belfast Telegraph, Kevin Myers welcomes, sort of, a belated recognition of the value of grown-up politics. Although, I’d like to see more evidence of that recognition… Ireland is a pioneer in a new form of IAA governance: after incurring financial losses unprecedented in world history, it is a state no one wants. And these losses were only made possible by a compulsive infantilism that infuses and informs so much in Irish life. No matter: the fiction of an independent …

“in an open, transparent and independent manner…”

Pete Baker on December 11, 2010, 3:47 pm

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As the BBC reported on Thursday, the Northern Ireland Department for Regional Development has advertised for applications to a new permament board of directors at the troubled NI Water to replace the interim appointments made earlier this year. According to the advert in the Irish News It is expected that a Chair will be appointed in early 2011, with the remaining Non-Executive Directors being appointed in the Spring. Although, if the DRD statement in the BBC report is anything to go by, …

Gerry Adams: “I just wanted to vote for myself”

Pete Baker on December 10, 2010, 3:46 pm

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The Sinn Féin spokesman in the Irish Times report plays down Gerry Adams’ failed attempt to be included on the live register for the Louth constituency yesterday, due to a lack of evidence of residency on September 1 – which Mark had previously flagged up as a potential problem – despite a late personal appearance at the revision court by the Sinn Féin president. The report notes Mr Adams was not present in the Louth County Council offices in Dundalk yesterday …

Irish Labour Party: “giving Northern Ireland £400million towards its roads is not a priority”

Pete Baker on December 9, 2010, 3:16 pm

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The Irish News today reports comments from the Irish Labour Party’s transport spokesman, Joe Costello, TD, which cast doubt on the proposed £850million upgrade of the A5 between Londonderry and Aughnacloy. From the Irish News report …Mr Costello claimed that while it was “fine to make commitments in the middle of the Celtic Tiger years”, the southern state could no longer afford “grandiose schemes”. “At the present time, we are experiencing savage cutbacks in education, health and social welfare. Giving Northern …

“Hollow nationalist rhetoric will not do.”

Pete Baker on December 8, 2010, 4:13 pm

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In the Belfast Telegraph Sinn Féin MLA Mitchel McLaughlin responds to Ed Curran’s question on the cost of a united Ireland with some hollow nationalist rhetoric, and indulges in some fantasy economics. An analysis of the expenditure by ‘regions’ along with a series of estimates of the revenues from the regions by Oxford Economics shines some light on the actual subvention by the British Exchequer. The main findings demonstrate that total ‘identifiable expenditure’ for the North was £14.1bn in 2004/05. This is …

“No party should be playing politics [with the NI budget].”

Pete Baker on December 7, 2010, 1:36 pm

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With anonymous “republican sources” briefing anyone who will listen about tensions between the DUP and Sinn Féin over the still-to-be-agreed draft Northern Ireland budget, and while noting the DUP’s response reported here “The DUP has one approach to the budget,” [a DUP spokesman] said. “We are confident a budget will be put in place. “We are not playing politics with the budget. This is too important. “Families are struggling to pay mortgages. People are wondering if they are going to …

Máirtín Ó’Muilleoir to be Sinn Féin candidate in Balmoral

Pete Baker on December 6, 2010, 4:43 pm

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He neglected to mention it in his farewell to the blog, as he neglected to mention his interim position as a non-executive director on the NI Water Board, but the BBC reports that, the now former publisher of the Belfast Media Group titles, Máirtín Ó’Muilleoir is to stand as the Sinn Féin candidate in the Balmoral district area of Belfast City Council. And I thought he was going “to concentrate on the job of group managing director”? Btw, the BBC report – “Former Sinn Fein …

“A spate of retirements would actually suit Fianna Fáil at the moment.”

Pete Baker on December 4, 2010, 9:14 pm

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In the Irish Times Noel Whelan provides a useful corrective to any rumours of a stampede of retiring Fianna Fáil TDs ahead of next year’s anticipated Irish general election. TOO MUCH has been made of the retirements already announced in the 30th Dáil. When set in context, the pattern of retirements for the forthcoming election is unlikely to differ from previous elections. Between 15 and 25 sitting TDs always retire at each election. If it seems like there has been …

SDLP MI5 and taking the fight to Sinn Fein…

ItwasSammyMcNally on December 4, 2010, 5:32 pm

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The SDLP are still alive – and they give the distinct impression that they see this as something of an achievement. As continuing (relative) peace brings with it political consensus to both sides of the constitutional fence, the SDLP like the UUP are armed with new and rather uninspiring leaders as they continue to struggle to find a gap in the green and orange political markets. For the UUP, with Tom (Elliott) the Orangeman in charge and with the Tory …

Phil Woolas: “This is the end, I’m out”

Pete Baker on December 3, 2010, 3:57 pm

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Former Labour Party MP, Phil Woolas, has lost his bid for a judicial review of an election court’s ruling that stripped him of his Commons seat and barred him from politics public office for 3 years. The election court ruling was in relation to Woolas’ campaign team’s plot to “get the white vote angry” against his electoral rival, the Lib Dem candidate, Elwyn Watkins, in the 2010 General Election. Woolas won the seat by just 103 votes. Now the Speaker, John Bercow, …

Fine Gael and Labour publish alternative Budgets

Pete Baker on December 3, 2010, 2:36 pm

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That’s alternative budgets, plural. As in published separately. RTÉ has the details. But the iol report notes the differences between the two parties’ proposals and adds, for the benefit of more excitable commenters, [Labour Party leader] Eamon Gilmore ruled out a new Government of the left, saying he wouldn’t go into coalition with Sinn Féin. This would mean a deal with Fine Gael and major compromises on both sides is the only way. Adds The Irish Economy blog points to Labour’s alternative budget …

“The board has failed the police in relation to this.”

Pete Baker on December 2, 2010, 6:27 pm

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After rejecting the PSNI Chief Constable’s preferred option of employing private security firms, by a “majority view”, members of the Northern Ireland Policing Board can’t have been too surprised by his announced intention to re-deploy 150 frontline officers to guard police stations in the face of the increased threat of attack by republican paramilitaries. And in related news, four men are being questioned after gardai intercepted a car containing a primed improvised mortar device near Dundalk, county Louth, on Tuesday evening. Gardai said they were …

“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 …