September 2024
Hallelujah! A PfG at long last
It’s a hallelujah moment!
More than seven months on from restoration, we have a draft Programme for Government. The Executive has signed off on the course it plans to chart to deliver on services and projects.
It’s claimed the 88-page draft described as a ‘roadmap’ shows ‘bold ambition.’ Detractors – and there are many – don’t view it in quite the same light.
A lot hangs on this, but it will remain a draft or, put another way, the desired direction of travel. Only when a consultation is concluded will we be able to hang our hat on actual content, action plans and delivery timeframes.
Meanwhile, MLAs were back in the Stormont ‘playpen’ after their summer break, busying themselves with scrutiny committees and procedural matters. They will labour under the weight of a workload that some cynics might say involves a lot of paper shifting, grand-standing and side-stepping.
They will all be painfully aware of criticism levelled by the public policy think tank, Pivotal. It lambasted local political parties for not being willing to take tough decisions on raising new revenue streams. Pointing the finger of blame at the Treasury for short-changing us, it says, is ‘not appropriate.’
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New-ish and new
Exit Doug and welcome back Mike. Exit Colum and enter Claire.
When it should have been quiet and uneventful, August turned out to be a busy time for political correspondents with the ins and outs in the UUP and the SDLP.
The two parties gave the lie to the ‘silly season.’ Doug Beattie threw in the towel. There were, he said, ‘irreconcilable differences’ with party officers. A few names were mentioned as possible successors, but in the end it was a former leader, Mike Nesbitt, who answered the call.
I wish both well as they set a course to avoid political ‘icebergs.’
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Hostages and war
The barbarism, pain and great suffering continue unabated in Israel and Gaza. The most despicable act of taking hostages has seen six more murdered by Hamas.
Dismay and heartbreak have given way to wholesale opposition on the streets. Relatives of the other hostages held in deep tunnels fear for their safety.
More than 40,000 have been killed and countless thousands injured in Gaza. Disease, starvation and a breakdown in the infrastructure have created a hellhole. Hope is in short supply.
False dawn has followed false dawn to the obvious frustration of what appears to be an impotent United States. The brutality will continue until the protagonists accept they have to find a way to turn swords into ploughshares.
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It cost a shed-load
The big question is: how much should a bike shed cost. Would it set us back £2,000 or £5,000 or even £10,000?
Well, none of the forementioned. Prepare to be shocked. A shed capable of accommodating eighteen bikes at Leinster house in Dublin actually came in at a staggering €335,000.
In a grand under-statement, the Minister for Transport, Eamon Ryan, said the cost seemed ‘incredibly expensive .’ He told journalists that the Office of Public Works had questions to answer.
By way of explanation, the OPW said a well-designed structure with high-quality materials and finish had to respect the character of the historic Leinster House setting.
Steel, glass and Irish granite were used in the construction.
It may look the business but for all of that, it’s still a bike shed.
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Hang heads in shame
For too many days, dreadful scenes of racism, burnings, violence and hate filled news bulletins.
Anti-migrant demonstrators made history by bringing together a strange coalition of protestors. In a show of unity, we had protestors in an illegal parade walking behind Union flags and the Tricolour. A first! A first for intolerance. Lawlessness. Frightening intimidation.
When we should have been celebrating the outstanding achievements of our athletes at the Paris Olympics, we saw the ugly face of brutal racism on the streets of Belfast.
Targeting businesses run by good people rendered powerless in the face of the baying mob was deplorable. Our politicians united to rightly condemn the wreckers.
The far-right, the shockingly ill-informed and misguided have done Belfast a great disservice. They should hang their heads in shame.
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Back to Lough Neagh
If mere words could sort out blue-green algae pollution in Lough Neagh, we’d have sorted the problem out ages ago.
We’re no further on from last year’s appearance of the horrible sight on the surface of the Lough and River Bann system. Hundreds of thousands of words, great aspirations, huge ambition, but no sign of one solitary action to deal with the crisis.
A study by Queen’s University Belfast summed up the extent of what we face. It confirmed the Lough as hypertrophic – the worst category of waterway nutrient pollution, ‘indicative of decades of agricultural, industrial and domestic runoff.’
The study went on: ‘Our results are consistent with claims of faecal contamination of Lough Neagh and its tributaries, most likely from farm livestock and human-effluent wastewater treatment plants.’
Then, we had the announcement of a £450,000 initiative by the Agriculture, Environment and rural Affairs Minister Andrew Muir to explore solutions to the blue-green algae.
On top of that, there was a damning report from the Office for Environmental Protection which found that laws to protect water quality were not being implemented.
It’s a bit odd that the authoritative QUB study was already available, presumably at zero cost, and yet the Department decided to forge ahead with its own costly ‘initiative’ when must of what they need to ‘explore potential solutions’ was already on the shelf.
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And finally….
We couldn’t close without marking the success of Northern Ireland Olympians in Paris.
We acknowledge and happily toast rower Hannah Scott from Coleraine, swimmers Daniel Wiffen from Magheralin and Jack McMillan from Belfast and pommel horse specialist Rhys McClenaghan.
Other athletes in Team GB and Team Ireland scaled the dizzying heights and did us proud.
As a footnote, some Gold medallists get more than the thrill of standing on a podium. According to the US business magazine, Forbes, thirty-three countries and territories confirmed they made cash prizes.
For example, a Gold medal winner from Hong Kong receives £597,300 and £295,500 for a silver. After Hong Kong on the league table comes Israel where a gold medallist gets £213,900. In all, fifteen said they pay more than £77,750 to stars who grade the top spot on the podium. Other countries give pensions, allowances and paintings.
On top of that, World Athletics, the international athletics federation, is paying gold medallists around £39,400.
All of it richly deserved.
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