With all the snow about, Northern Ireland’s public transport provider Translink has issued notices about its services. The one concerning what was formerly known as Citybus, and now know as Metro is particularly intriquing… Translink wishes to advise passengers that all Metro services will be operating via main corriders only. Surely that is corridors? The following areas will not be served due to poor road conditions: Tullycarnett, Ligoniel, Lauralgrove, Belvoir, Carrs Glen, Silverstream, Ballybeen, Mossley, Connsbrook, Braniel, Gilnahork, Lagmore and Poleglass. I’m not sure where Lauralgrove or Gilnahork are. Anyone any ideas? Continue reading It helps when the buses know where not to go to
First there was one, then there were two, followed by three, and finally… four brave souls braved the icy and snow to the Lagan Room of Jury’s Inn, Fisherwick Place, Belfast for the session on Hammering Out the Slugger Awards. Sadly, the eight or nine signed up yesterday were much reduced in number. It seems that Mother Nature was ganging up with Jack Frost to ensure that our great leader was unable to be there. Mr Slugger O’Toole himself was unable to be there, but Quintin Oliver stepped in and led the session. A certain Crumlin man was snowed in, … Continue reading Where two or three or four are gathered…
In Northern Ireland the price of housing one prisoner for one year is £95,000, according to a recent report*: the similar rate in England & Wales is on average £45,000.
The Cost Per Prisoner Place (costs relative to the number of available places for prisoners) is high – at £77,831 – significantly in excess of the comparable position in England and Wales (£45,000) and Scotland (£41,724). The current occupancy level across the three Northern Ireland prisons was 82% compared with 106% in Scotland and 113% in England and Wales. Given the occupancy level of 82% the actual cost per prisoner is significantly higher at £94,804.§
As the report states there are reasons why it should be much more here,
… much of the prison estate is inadequate and according to a number of inspection reports, is not fit-for-purpose. The high security focus of Maghaberry Prison for example – Northern Ireland’s committal prison – means that a wide range of prisoners (remand, fine defaulters, short sentence, life sentence prisoners) are held in maximum security conditions. The decision to separate paramilitary prisoners incurs additional costs. Furthermore, the small scale of the Prison Service and its estate in Northern Ireland means that it does not benefit from economies of scale enjoyed by larger organisations. In addition, the ratio of staff to prisoners in Northern Ireland is almost two and a half times that of England and Wales and prison officers here are paid on average a third more.†
David Ford MLA, Northern Ireland's Minister for Justice
A programme for the reform of the whole system is what is wanted. State built and State equipped school buildings in every district; management by a State department of Education… When a thorough system of secular education is advocated it is by many thought that religion is thereby endangered. This is not so. Religious instruction in schools is apt to be a mere routine which does not touch the finer feelings. Religious instruction in the schools has done much to destroy religious teaching in the home. The indifferent parent has satisfied his conscience by delegating some of his most important duties to the schoolmaster. In a country which has no State Church there is no State religion to be taught in the State Schools and it is the duty of the various religious denominations to see that their children get proper religious instruction without unnecessarily sacrificing their secular education and thereby providing third-rate education and routine religious instruction… Continue reading “We’re in a time warp: 1910, 2010, 2110?”
Over the last few weeks many people have accused students of stupidity, idiocy, and even that they are spongers from the coffers of the public purse. This morning, I witnessed an incident that re-emphasized to me that actually the students in our society are the future professionals and future leaders of our land. Sitting on the upper deck of a Translink Metro double decker listening to some music from my iPhone, I became aware of some commotion on the lower deck whilst we were waiting at a bus stop. The lad sitting on the other side of the aisle from … Continue reading a student to be proud of
A Pint of Unionist Lite has commented about a post of mine* about the reaction of Anna Lo MLA to the story from Fermanagh about Social Democratic and Labour Party Councillor John O’Kane’s comments on creating a centre ground grouping, I would like to confirm that I made my statements full in the knowledge that some could try to twist my words into saying what they do not.
This can happen to anyone who makes any public comment on any issue.
That the draft Higher Education (Basic Amount) (England) Regulations 2010, which were laid before this House on 29 November, be approved.
was inextricably linked to that on
That, for the purpose of section 24 of the Higher Education Act 2004, the higher amount should be increased to £9,000, and to £4,500 in the cases described in regulation 5 of the draft regulations in Command Paper Cm 7986, and that the increase should take effect from 1 September 2012.
However, whilst I do not agree with the trebling of fees for full-time undergraduates, as has been made clear in recent posts. As one who has been a part-time undergraduate the provisions on the inclusion of part-time students within the student loan system for the first time is one part of the Bill with which I can agree. Continue reading “Amongst the shouting – there were good things in that vote too”
Today is Ulster Unionist Party conference – so Stephen Glenn, Regional Organiser for Yes to Fairer Votes and Michael Carchrie Campbell, one of the Volunteer Coordinators are heading up the team to go and canvas UUP opinion. Ulster Unionists believe in Standing up for Northern Ireland securing devolved government for this part of the United Kingdom – and that devolution will secure Northern Ireland’s place within a modern United Kingdom. Yes to Fairer Votes campaigners believe in a modern United Kingdom securing a modern working Parliamentary democracy where elections are fought and won fairly. There should be common ground between … Continue reading posted elsewhere: it’s off to conference again with us.
Gyronny Herald 