Society – Page 6 – Slugger O'Toole

NI Executive’s £80m Social Investment Fund projected to cost extra £13.1m

Pete Baker on December 14, 2016, 4:44 pm

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Another day, another leaked Northern Ireland Executive memo… That’s quite a budget over-run, btw. And the Fund is to run for 4/5 years longer than anticipated. The leak was to BBC NI Spotlight. As the BBC report notes The Stormont executive’s controversial Social Investment Fund (SIF) requires an extra £13m of taxpayer money, according to a leaked document. A memo, in the name of the first and deputy first ministers, and sent to government departments last week, was passed to the BBC Spotlight …

“It is not just Stormont that has a Social Investment Fund.”

Pete Baker on December 11, 2016, 4:50 pm

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Newton Emerson in yesterday’s Irish News with some details on the other, less talked about, ‘social investment’ funds out there. From the Irish News IT is not just Stormont that has a Social Investment Fund. Belfast City Council runs the Belfast Investment Fund and associated Local Investment Fund, with a combined pot of £31 million over three years for ‘community projects’. Alliance has claimed the council funds “aren’t advertised properly in any meaningful way”, leaving “those in the know in prime position to …

“by the manipulation of the committee in order that Jamie Bryson’s evidence be received in open session.”

Pete Baker on December 9, 2016, 5:09 pm

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The BBC reports that former Sinn Féin MLA, Daithí McKay [now a Slugger contributor… – Ed], is being sued for damages by Belfast property developer, Paddy Kearney. According to the report the writ lodged at Belfast High Court alleges Mr McKay “unlawfully conspired” with Loyalist blogger Jamie Bryson to damage Mr Kearney’s reputation. From the BBC report The writ claims Mr McKay, with others, conspired to damage Mr Kearney “by the manipulation of the committee in order that Jamie Bryson’s evidence be received …

“What you should not do is expose Joe Bloggs who might have been buried as a hero but was in fact an informant for the Brits.”

Pete Baker on December 9, 2016, 4:38 pm

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With this attempted distraction in mind, the latest comments by Denis Bradley make even more interesting reading. Bradley also expressed concern about the fate of thousands of one-time informers if there was “full disclosure” of all sensitive Troubles-related security files. “What Robin Eames and I found out in our investigations leading to the Consultative Group on the Past report was that at any given time there were at least 800 informers working within the ranks not only of the loyalist …

NI Attorney General: “Article 50 trigger – will ‘amend not a comma or a full stop of the 1998 Act’.”

Pete Baker on December 6, 2016, 3:24 pm

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As with the Belfast High Court, so with the UK Supreme Court… NI Attorney General John Larkin has been repeating the argument. From the BBC text coverage from the Supreme Court Northern Ireland’s attorney general, John Larkin, is continuing to make his case that none of the legislative or constitutional arrangements underpinning devolution should stand in the way of the UK government triggering Article 50. The 1998 Northern Ireland Act, which set up the NI Assembly and NI executive, made …

“Return to your cumanns and prepare for Irish unification.”

Pete Baker on December 5, 2016, 3:49 pm

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In the Belfast Telegraph, Eilis O’Hanlon comments on the recent flurry of “displacement activity” from Sinn Féin. From the Belfast Telegraph article So, what better way to distract the republican home crowd than with some conjurer’s cheap tricks? Don’t look at that hand, look at this one. Don’t mention my ineffectiveness on a range of issues that actually matter, look at all these things I’m saying and doing about something that doesn’t matter in the slightest. It’s not as if …

EU Special Status, and ignoring the Northern Ireland Assembly…

Pete Baker on November 28, 2016, 5:13 pm

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As Mick noted this morning, Micheal Martin has joined the list of party leaders calling on the Irish and British Governments to negotiate for EU special status for Northern Ireland post-Brexit. At the recent All-Island Civic Dialogue on Brexit, there was the Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said in his speech that the Government needed to uphold the wishes of the Northern Ireland people and secure a special status for the region. “The overriding and principle …

Dublin High Court orders extradition of suspect in 1996 PIRA mortar attack in Germany

Pete Baker on November 14, 2016, 10:06 pm

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Not much coverage of this so far, but the Irish Times reports that the High Court in Dublin has ordered the extradition of a suspect in the Provisional IRA mortar attack on a British army barracks near Osnabrück, Germany, in June 1996. In October last year, James Anthony Oliver Albert Corry (46) was arrested in Killorglin, Co Kerry, on foot of a European Arrest Warrant issued by German authorities. Later that month, Mr Corry, who is from north Belfast, spoke to a reporter …

“Maybe it’s time to consider whether there’s something about shrill self-righteousness…”

Pete Baker on November 9, 2016, 3:05 pm

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At the Guardian, Thomas Frank offers some home truths to a self-styled liberal media [including bloggers! – Ed] in the aftermath of Donald Trump’s victory. From the Guardian Comment is Free article How did the journalists’ crusade fail? The fourth estate came together in an unprecedented professional consensus. They chose insulting the other side over trying to understand what motivated them. They transformed opinion writing into a vehicle for high moral boasting. What could possibly have gone wrong with such …

EU Standardised Driving Licence, mostly, Trumps Political Psychosis

Pete Baker on November 1, 2016, 2:57 pm

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Sinn Féin TD, Dessie Ellis, has taken umbrage with the Irish National Driver Licence Service for refusing to indulge some nationalists’ political psychosis on the recently standardised EU driving licence. From the Irish News report Sinn Féin’s Dessie Ellis spoke out after a renewed licence issued to Co Tipperary resident Thomas Murray stated ‘Northern Ireland’ as his place of birth. The 79-year-old Belfast-born driver, who has lived in Co Tipperary since 1973, previously owned a licence that simply had ‘Ireland’ …

Battle lines re-drawn over new Casement Park stadium plan

Pete Baker on October 29, 2016, 5:23 pm

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The BBC reports that the Mooreland and Owenvarragh Residents Association (MORA) has said it opposes the recently unveiled revised GAA plan for a new stadium at Casement Park. MORA campaigned successfully against the original proposal. From the BBC report In a statement, the residents group said it supported a “suitable-sized redevelopment” that was safe, did not host concerts and was “part of the natural fabric of the community”. “The revised proposals for the redevelopment of Casement Park do not meet those requirements,” it said. …

Tackling Paramilitary Activity: “government funding will not be released until the Executive agrees a more detailed action plan”

Pete Baker on October 25, 2016, 6:23 pm

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As I noted in a post in September In July, the NI First and deputy First Ministers and Justice Minister, Claire Sugden announced the publication of the NI Executive’s Action Plan for Tackling Paramilitary Activity, Criminality and Organised Crime – 147kb pdf file here. Costing £50 million over 5 years, it’s jointly funded, £25 million each, by the NI Executive and the Brits the British Government. At the launch of that action plan The [Northern Ireland First Minister, Arlene Foster, deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness and Justice Minister, …

“It may seem that writing in icing on a cake is a trivial form of expression…”

Pete Baker on October 25, 2016, 4:46 pm

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As Alan mentioned in his post on the Court of Appeal ruling against Ashers Baking Company yesterday, noted legal commentator Joshua Rozenberg, describing the ruling as “surprisingly straightforward”, outlined the judges reasoning …if a business does supply a service, it must not discriminate on grounds of sexual orientation — which means it must not refuse to provide a gay person with goods that it would provide to others. In this case, said the courts, the correct comparison was not with …

Vote Nobody 2016!

Pete Baker on October 19, 2016, 3:43 pm

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Ahead of the third, and final [thankfully! – Ed], televised debate between the Republican and Democratic parties candidates for US President, BBC Trending reports on the campaigns for the best person for the job – none of the above! Survey show that dissatisfaction with the two major party candidates is particularly acute amongst young people. According to one survey released Tuesday, nearly a quarter of voters under 35 would prefer to see a giant meteor hit Earth rather than have either …

Wolfgang Münchau :”those in Ireland in favour of EU membership should give some thought to what could go wrong”

Pete Baker on October 10, 2016, 4:48 pm

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Possibly related to my previous post… The Irish Times republishes an interesting article by Wolfgang Münchau in the FT. He starts with Brexit, and a necessary new direction of travel for the UK economy… There is a risk that Brexit and the associated change in model business will go wrong. Brexit is not necessarily a bad decision. But it requires the right kind of policies to work. The British prime minister is right to balance a hard Brexit with a shift …

“Government will seek to pursue any appropriate opportunities for Ireland arising from the UK’s departure”

Pete Baker on October 10, 2016, 3:05 pm

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As mentioned in a couple of recent written answers in the Dáil, here and here, the Irish “Government will seek to pursue any appropriate opportunities for Ireland arising from the UK’s departure” from the EU. Here are those written answers Brexit Issues Deputy Niall Collins asked the Minister for Transport, Tourism and Sport if he has set up a departmental taskforce to acquire EU agencies and research projects from the UK that may have to relocate from Britain after Brexit negotiations are completed; and …

NI Attorney General on post-brexit future: “not one word or phrase in the Belfast Agreement” would be affected

Pete Baker on October 6, 2016, 4:35 pm

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There might be another, somewhat related, reason why Sinn Féin delegated their now-backbench MLA, John O’Dowd, to front the party’s support for the High Court legal action against Brexit – as a party of the NI Executive they may have seen legal advice from the Attorney General for Northern Ireland, John Larkin, QC. Earlier reports seemed to suggest that, having “written to the parties indicating his belief the cases raise a devolution issue around constitutional arrangements“, and the applicants subsequent agreement to a notice …

Don’t forget your passport if you’re crossing the border…

Pete Baker on October 4, 2016, 3:18 pm

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Given the level of hand-wringing concern being publicly expressed about the possibility of border controls post-Brexit, disingenuous or otherwise, here’s a topical and relevant story courtesy of the BBC. A County Armagh vegetable grower says businesses need more clarity about border controls, after eight of his workers were detained by Irish police on their way to work. The men, all EU nationals, were stopped at Dundalk on Monday morning as they crossed the border in a work van. They were …

Declan Kearney: “an attempt to destabilise nationalist areas in the North.”

Pete Baker on September 11, 2016, 6:40 pm

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As mentioned by Newton Emerson in Saturday’s Irish News, in an under-reported article in An Phoblacht this week, the Sinn Féin national chairperson, and MLA for South Antrim, Declan Kearney, doubled down on Roy Greenslade’s ‘policy of criminalisation‘ for dissident republicans to explain away the evident discontent the party is experiencing – adding further layers of conspiracy in the process. Yep. It’s the Brits the securocrats the ‘Dark Side’, again! In the article Declan Kearney claims that “republicans hostile to …

“rather than trying to pretend that essentially, testing does not exist”

Pete Baker on September 7, 2016, 4:00 pm

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As the BBC notes, the Northern Ireland Education Minister, the DUP’s Peter Weir, has reversed the department’s previous position prohibiting the use of academic selection to decide what post-primary school pupils transfer to. That position was set out in 2008 by then NI Education Minister, Sinn Féin’s Caitríona Ruane, and upheld by the subsequent Minister, Sinn Féin’s John O’Dowd. From the BBC report A circular sent to school principals on Wednesday removes any prohibition on using academic selection to decide what post-primary school pupils …