Updated on 13 March 2011 – thanks to Conor Prendergast
Last night, whilst most of Northern Ireland’s political bloggers were finding out about the stars of the Slugger Awards in the Cathedral Quarter of the city, some 50 or 60 people were observing UFOs (Unidentified Flying Objects), aliens, planets, and stars in the Queen’s Quarter.
There was, however, some connexion between what was happening in Hill Street and in Elmwood Avenue. Three of the four of us that had been involved with the Hammering Out of the Slugger Awards were actually in one location and not the other. Guess which three and in which location we were to be found. Continue reading “UFOs observed in Queen’s Quarter”
freedom, fairness and responsibility The three words that we are told by the Liberal Democrat Federal Party website sum up the Coalition Government’s Programme. However, I don’t see how it is promoting any of those when you consider what has just happened to the devolved countries’ finances. HM Treasury changed the rules Formerly, departments were allowed to carry over money from one year to another. In this way, Northern Ireland’s Department for Education had built up a reserve of £87m (2008 figures). Usually, making savings, is considered a good financial practice: building up reserves in case of need in the … Continue reading freedom, fairness, and responsibility: but not to NI!
The proposal that we should have the possibility of bilingual traffic signs in Northern Ireland is seen as divisive. However, I think it could have a much more positive benefit to our country in general.
Until many, mostly political unionists and cultural Protestants, stop seeing any language use other that of English as an attack on being British, we will have a hard job in using any such language. However, as I have said before, and has been said by many, if these self same people would look back in their heritage they would find that they are likely to have ancestors who used Irish, and if not Irish, then Scots Gaelic. Scots Gaelic of course like Welsh is in use on roadsigns in other parts of their so-beloved United Kingdom. In other words, they need to relearn the history of this island and come to the understanding that diversity is often a way of unifying a whole country. Continue reading linguistic diversity should be a positive benefit to all
It seems that BBC Northern ireland has been noticing the Northern Irish blogosphere. Well done. We’ve been around for some time… Gareth Gordon writes… I think it only attracts a certain type of people. I don’t necessarily think its a broad representative cross-section of opinion or even punditry and it can at times attract extremist views on the blogosphere. It is a pity, however, that [due to BBC editorial policy] Mr Gordon does not follow the usual courtesy of bloggers – that of linking to the various sites named. Therefore, in a spirit of helpfulness. Here are the links… 1690 … Continue reading BBC NI notices the NI blogosphere – corrected
The latest news from the Coalition Government in Westminster is a scheme whereby customers using bank cards could give money to charity. As a trustee of The HIV Support Centre, a local charity, this sounds like it could be a source of welcome money. But I have quite a number of questions. How would such money be distributed? How would the charity/charities be chosen? Is this to eliminate charity boxes in corner shops/bars etc.? I cannot see how this could be done in a fair way to help those charities that are reasonably small – yet are vital to local … Continue reading the big society: does it apply to Northern Ireland?
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?”
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.
Dáil Éireann sits in this chamber in Leinster House.
For all that we have been reading about the vote in the House of Commons last night which has produced many column inches in the print media, and many many images and verbal pictures on websites around the world, we must remember that it is not just in the United Kingdom that politicians say one thing and do another. Continue reading “In Éirinn mar atá i Londain”
Gyronny Herald 