You Learn Something New Every Day

When leafing through Hansard, the official transctript of the Assembly's proceedings, for last Monday I stumbled across a smattering of Ulster-Scots.
It was spoken by Jim Shannon who is a Strangford based DUP MLA, during a discussion of development of the rail network. It opened my eyes to the fact that, although my pronunciation may be a little askew, I could understand his speech perfectly well. This surprised me because in a 1999 survey only two per cent claimed to have a grasp of it - maybe people are underestimating their linguistic abilities.

See how you get on:

"Ivery yeer Translink Bus an Rael tak heer an ther 75 million trevellers, they hae £100 million turniver an provide tae the Province iver 3,500 joabs.
"We hae no sae lang ago haud improvements tae tha Benger line alang wi Bilfast- Antrim Bleach Green line which is bein re-apened tae provide journeys intae oor capitol.
"Thees figures speek weel o' tha system but they dinnae paint aa richt pictur o- whut we hae richt noo. Hense tha ammendment an they daenae pit fort what shud be ther an what cud be in place."

War of Words

The battle lines for the months ahead may have been lightly traced out today at the committee for Culture Arts and Leisure as the members became vocal over languages.
Today was the first meeting of the committee chaired by Sinn Féin's Barry McElduff, and the occasion was given an extra sense of importance as the DCAL Minister, Edwin Poots came along.
Top of the list of topics raised was the Irish Language Act as David McNarry (UUP) called for an inquiry into it.
This was something which gaeilgeoir Dominic Bradley (SDLP) could not get his head around. Why would an inquiry be required when a recent survey showed that 93 per cent of people were in favour of an Act? And furthermore, the Act is currently undergoing a second period of consultation.
The tight-rope walking Minister was aware of public perceptions, saying if he were to stop the consultation then it would look as if he was ensuring that it was not going to be enacted, so he was determined to see the consultation through to its conclusion.
Speaking to Belfast Media Group after the meeting David McNarry refused to outline the reasons why he was seeking an inquiry, claiming that it was important that he outline them first to the DCAL committee in the future.
Meanwhile Nelson McCausland was keen to see progress on a proposed Ulster Scots Academy, boasting a cultural as well as linguistics element. He further stressed the importance of having his native tongue on the same level of recognition as Irish.
All this points towards DCAL becoming the battleground where a war of words, both figuratively and literally speaking, will be fought out.

Back To School

Stormont was frantic today. Having been constrained for so long by suspension of the Assembly, many of the members of the various committees were desperate to make clear their intentions for the coming months.
Stormont's main hall was reminiscent of the first day back in school after the summer break, when the students are enthusiastic and determined to do well in the semester.
"What you got today?" "Double Regional Development with Murphy in class 144!"
The Committee for Regional Development considered drawing up a list of priorities for the coming months, but there is one giant issue which dominates the list - water rates.
With the media's unquenchable thirst for all things water rates, there weren't enough seats for all the journalists at the meeting.
After half an hour or so, the Minister for Regional Development, Sinn Féin's Conor Murphy, waltzed into the room and told all present that the terms for the water rates review, announced by Ian Paisley at last week, would be drawn up within a few weeks and the review would be concluded by the autumn.
Much to the annoyance of Fred Cobain, chair of the meeting, Gordon Brown's pot of gold is crucial to the workings of that review. Fred is afraid that if the well of cash from Brown runs dry after financing the first year of water services, the consumer will be left with a bitter taste in their mouth - for he insists they will be the ones left to foot the bill.
Meanwhile the eager beavers of the Committee of the Centre, (the OFMDFM's committee) were exploding with ideas on what they wanted to tackle - but no-one was entirely sure what was within their remit.
Could they dump the defunct Civic Forum? Why are public sector jobs not located in towns west of the Bann? What was the deal with 20 month backlog at the Planning Appeals Commission, oh and what about the report of the interim Victim's Commissioner? Oh, and when will we see the Single Equality Bill? They may as well have been asking what was pi's final digit for all the answers they got.
Another issue was whether they will become embroiled in any dispute over the national stadium debate, as they have some form of oversight power for the regeneration of the Maze-Long Kesh area.
Probably thinking he had tread carefully by not calling the former prison 'the Maze', the committee chair Danny Kennedy was surprised, or maybe more amused, by Barry McElduff's contribution to the discussion.
The Sinn Féin MLA insisted that the Maze-Long Kesh project should be referred to as a multi-sports stadium, and not the national stadium, as Croke Park is in fact the national stadium.
Whatever its status, the committee are going on a field trip to see the Maze-Long Kesh in the coming weeks, permitting Kennedy (who McElduff earlier reminded was in a position of neutrality)the opportunity to display his ascerbic wit - remarking that some of the committee might already be familiar with it.

Find It Fix It

Assembly Ministers Peter Robinson and Michael McGimpsey must have felt like a pair of Jim’ll Fix Its today.
Mr Robinson sauntered into the Assembly and said “Now then, now then, what can I do for you today?”
Okay so it may not have been picked up by the diligent Assembly reporters (who I see from a recent interview published in a local daily, work in five minute shifts – high-fives to whoever negotiated those terms) who keep a note of the proceedings for Hansard, but all the parties did hear it and they fell over each other to tell him exactly what they wanted.
Basically each of the MLAs who took to their feet requested a review of the widely detested rates system, but it first took an hour of chatting about minutely detailed amendments before the matter was resolved and their collective wish was granted. Deprived of his trademark cigar, presumably due to the smoking ban, Peter’ll ‘Fix It’ Robinson then rose to his feet, and promptly said “No bother, and what’s more, all your amendments are welcome for consideration in my review too.”
This all took less than an hour and a half of debate. Given the timetable he set himself of presenting his plans to the Executive within a couple of weeks, and for the new system to have an impact before next April, it seems like it will not take long before the system is overhauled, and everyone is invited back to receive their Peter’ll Fix It medals.
Just a matter of hours later it was the turn of the Health Minister, the UUP’s Michael McGimpsey’s – A Sinn Féin motion calling for an investigation into the possible scrapping of prescription charges was granted, with Mr McGimpsey directing a team of Health Department officials to make a review their priority.
Then in probably the most significant motion of the day, the UUP MLA promptly agreed to implement the Bamford review into mental health and learning disability in full.
With "Fix It" medals being handed out left right and centre it would be pertinent for the MLAs to remember to be careful what they wish for, particularly in an issue such as rates where the bill has to be paid for by someone.

Killing Time

Today the Assembly entered the grind of so-called normal politics, and having been constrained for so long by suspension and dissolution, the renewed Assembly burst into life with no less than four motions on, applying to rejoin the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, gender equality, trains and Irish Americans.
If you had drawn up a wish list of topics to be tackled on the first day of Assembly debate, how many people’s list would have matched this eclectic mix?
In reality the majority of today was a time-killing exercise which gave a number of the Assembly’s new-comers the chance to exercise their vocal cords. It will not be until the Executive starts to generate legislation (and they are not scheduled to meet again until Thursday week) that the wheels of governance finally get up to speed.
Regardless, this time-killing day had its moments to break up the tedium, and here are some of the, well, maybe not memorable, but less forgettable ones:
Nationalists stepped aside and let their unionist counterparts have a free run in applying to rejoin the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. The SDLP supported the move, and Sinn Féin kept quiet, neither technically supporting it nor forcing a vote on the matter.
Seeing the motion's obstruction-free passage through the House, the DUP’s Jeffrey Donaldson chanced his arm by calling on nationalists to urge the South to join the Commonwealth, but tongue biting was the order of the day for the SDLP and Sinn Féin.
Next up was a Sinn Féin motion to establish an all-party working group to discuss concerns on the under representation of women in the Assembly.
This was countered by an amendment by the DUPs Michelle McIlveen who insisted that the shortfall was already being addressed by the OFMDFM’s Gender Equality Strategy and that the investigations of any such party would amount to duplication of work.
The issue was settled by a vote with the DUP ammendment scraping through by the narrowest of margins, leaving the nationalists to rue the bum-free seats on the Speaker’s left.
The final debate of the day concerned Irish immigrants in the States, who have either outstayed their welcome, or were never welcomed in the first place, known as the ‘undocumented Irish’.
The parties expressed their sympathy towards the plight suffered by some in the States who were unable to return home without jeopordising all they had across the Atlantic, but they differed on expressing support for the US based, Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform.
The SDLP tabled a motion calling on the Assembly to support the campaign by the lobby group but after a protracted debate divided down traditional nationalist-unionist lines, a DUP amendment, basically rendering the original motion defunct was carried - again by a single vote.
It is a little early to say if it will be a regular feature of this blog, but the "put-down of the day" goes to the Alliance Party’s Naomi Long. Following the newly elected UUP Lagan Valley MLA, Basil McRea's, first speech in the House on the under-representation of women debate, the East Belfast representative quipped, “It is a rather sad state of affairs when the only maidens on the Ulster Unionist benches are their maiden speakers.”

Calm Before the Stormont?

After the Walt Disney inspired fairytale of Tuesday, it was interesting to see that the remainder of this week in Stormont has passed without a resumption of traditional hostilities. But despite today's mitigated success by the Executive in, at least temporarily, removing the scorge of water rates, as easily as turning off a tap, are the brooding clouds of ancient divisions again beginning to gather?
Realistically there were too many cameras and people of importance around on Tuesday for the masks of cooperation to slide and spoil the big day, and there was minimal scope for insults to ricochet around the chamber on Wednesday as the MLAs divvied out the chairs and vice chairs of the Assembly’s 11 committees under the D’hondt principles. In fact,the niceties of procedure dictated that those MLAs who showed up could be in and out of the chamber in less than 20 minutes, with an inflated pay cheque to match their new role.
The unionists continued to respectfully bite their tongue as each Sinn Féin MLA used every available opportunity to throw in a smattering of their native tongue. To a hardened veteran of Lisburn City Council, such as myself, this stood apart from the usual reaction of unionist politicians who normally greet the use of Irish with a, ‘here we go again with the Leprechaun language’ groan, but in Stormont, each time an Irish phrase was spoken there followed an impeccably observed moment’s silence from the unionist benches.
The week’s feel good factor was further enhanced as the odd couple of Ian and Martin hosted their first official reception in Stormont's main hall. It was a party to celebrate the growing wealth of ethnic diversity in the North, whose presence is surely a measure of our slowly maturing society.
Not content with enjoying his week’s great love-in in the confines of Stormont, a number of its ministers took up the mantle of roving ambassadors for the power-sharing government on Wednesday - most notably Edwin Poots.
Poor Edwin was left wishing he had picked any ministry other than Arts and Leisure as he showed why he won’t ever threaten Keith Gillespie’s place on the wing for Lawrie Sanchez’ team of world beaters at a photocall event with a local football team. Fair play to him, for unwilling to come across as a spoilsport he gamely tried in vain to juggle a football - hopefully he can juggle the finances of a department which is traditionally the first to endure cutbacks, better than he can a size five.
This week witnessed another notable event with the inaugural meeting of the government’s Executive in Stormont Castle, just a stone’s throw away from Parliament Buildings. As the Ministers shook hands and took their places at the round table beside King Arthur Paisley and his beloved Guinevere McGuinness, the now expected banter continued unabated between the various MLAs, before the cameras and reporters were banished for the closed session.
By the time the meeting came to a close the elctorate’s favourite gripe of water rates had been put on the long finger as Ian Paisley waved away the issue for another year.
Apparently another key issue, that of the peace dividend, was also broached by the mnisters. The round table Executive is keen to wrestle more funds to help bed in the new Assembly, but the magical money from Gordon Brown could prove more difficult to obtain than removing the legendary Excalibur from its stone.
It is not worth speculating whether behind closed doors the Ministers continued to get along as well as they did in public, but since they were approaching the various issues on the table from a unified position, it is feasible that they may have.
The constitutional issue however remains the destabilizing point. Whether Gerry Adams was just being mischievous when, in the course of paying tribute to the out going British prime Minister Tony Blair, he threw in the comment that his successor would be the last PM to have an input into the North, is unclear. However his sentiments were met by a sharp rebuttal by Ian Paisley that Adams would not see a united Ireland in his lifetime.
Okay, so this was hardly an all-out war of words, but it could be the warning shots which signal a cooling of newly forged relationships. Another perennial stumbling block which could further test Stormont’s now legendary love-in is the old flags issue. Those more observant than I spotted a Union flag (I only noticed the EU's flag) on top of Parliament Buildings on Wednesday, probably to mark some momentous royal event such as an anniversary of the death of one of Princess Anne’s horses. Whatever the reason for the flag, temples began to throb accordingly in republican quarters.
The symbolicsignificance of flags and emblems to representatives across the political spectrum cannot be over esstimated, but hopefully through the impending storm clouds, all sides will recall the recent successes and good will generated by consensus politics.
Long live the Stormont love-in.

Stormont's Beauty's Only Skin Deep

Whatever your view on the aesthetic merits of the parts of Stormont's Parliament Buildings which are open to public view, its underbelly, where I have the pleasure of spending the majority of my working week, is like a penitentiary.
Befitting the mood of its lenghty expanse of solemn corridiors, the press officer showing this fresh fish to the imitation cell door of the pressroom, insisted on walking, in prison guard style, five metres ahead of me.
I comforted myself with the thought that the pressroom couldn't possibly be as dissappointing as the humble surrounds of the route to it - I was wrong. Inside the pressroom is worse, scrap prison cell and think Hitler's bunker.
I wouldn't fancy the chances of whoever designed this room passing GSCE architecture. Probably the most astonishing feature of the pressroom, is its solitary window which is hidden above the ceiling.
Theoretically speaking you would think that if it is above the ceiling, that would actually place it in an upstairs room, rendering the pressroom windowless. Well, if you crane your neck at a certain angle you can locate a significant gap between the lowered ceiling and wall in which there is a window pane - I wouldn't have noticed it but for a ration of sunlight spilling onto a square metre of floor.
The grim atmosphere created by the window oversight is compounded by the rooms exposed brick walls painted a gastric bile green - I was starting to consider the possibility that maybe Stormont's officers didn't care too much for hacks and wanted us to frequent the building as infrequently as possible.
Thankfully, having met a number of the press office's staff, I am delighted to report that they couldn't be any more friendly or helpful, but the fact remains that this place is not fit for purpose. My main complaint in this regard is not an aesthetic, but a practical concern - they do not have broadband internet access, unbelieveble. Apparently they offered it freely to everyone the day before when the the world's media descended on East Belfast, but when all the excitement had subsided just 24 hours later leaving only the common indigenous journalists to report on committee meetings, they expect us to use carrier pigieons, or worse, dial-up internet, to send stories back to our offices.
My five inmates, two from the Irish Times, one from the Tele, and the other from the telly, all politiely shared in my horror at this, even though not one of them appeared to have a computer.
Well, I suppose when a political beast like Stormont awakens from its slumber after over four years of hibernation, it takes a while for it to find its feet. Speaking of which, it is about to find 180 pairs of new feet as they enter into a major recruitment drive to supplement the 200 or so already employed at Parliament Buildings. Hopefully one of them will be charged with the task of freeing up internet access and maybe even giving the dungeons downstairs a lick of paint.

Marriage of Convenience

The word ‘historic’ is often inappropriately used to describe every minute step along the creeping road of progress of politics in the North, but the love-in witnessed at Stormont today must surely warrant such grand terms.
Never has the disparate strands of political thought in the North, South and Britain been so united on anything, let alone how much they love power-sharing.
It would almost make you wonder what the hold-up was, as almost 10-years have passed since the vast majority of people both North and South willed the two sides to ‘get it on’ through the Good Friday Agreement.
The atmosphere at Stormont this morning was one of a celebrity wedding with journalists, uncharacteristically well turned out in suits, peering out from a white marquee remarking, “I hope they get the weather for it.”
Like newly weds, Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness were almost inseparable from their arrival at Stormont, the happy couple even gleefully posing for the wall of photographers who came from every corner of the globe to join in the celebrations.
With the newly appointed Assembly Speaker, William Hay, conducting proceedings both Ian and Martin tied the knot of power sharing, saying ‘I do’, by taking their respective pledges of office.
The only dissenting voice to be heard of why republicanism and unionism shouldn’t be joined together, was that of a lone protester guldering, “No terrorists in government”. Other so-called dissident republicans didn’t even show up to express their dismay at events.
Minutes later Ian and Martin were politely hosting the two prime ministers for a morning reception. Under the unnatural gaze of the world’s media the nervous couple gabbled and floundered as if in front of disapproving parents. They should have relaxed as Bertie and Tony were two of the main matchmakers who ensured that they got together in the first place.
By 5pm the majority of the well fed guest dignatories and press were happily making their own way home, leaving the parties to their own devices.
Over the coming days and weeks the main parties will have to forge a working relationship which yields results for the people of the North, on issues such as affordable housing and water rates, which may not set the pulse racing but which affect every day life.
All the indications point towards a genuine willingness amongst the leadership of the DUP and Sinn Féin, and indeed the UUP and SDLP, to make headway on these issues, possibly even more successfully than they do at Council level, which is still prone to becoming bogged down in the age-old bickerings.
How long the honeymoon period last is anybody's guess, but at least for now no one is talking about a separation.

New era at Stormont

As a new era opens at Stormont on Tuesday with the arrival of partnership government led by Sinn Féin and the DUP, the Belfast Media Group is ramping up its coverage of the Executive and Assembly.
From next week, we'll be keeping you up to date with the big political picture as Dr Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness usher in a new dispensation but we'll also be bringing readers unrivalled coverage of the local issues which really matter.
Jobs, planning, water rates, roads, education and health will all come under the microscope in the Assembly chamber and in the committee rooms and we will be there to quiz Belfast politicians on their policies and plans on issues which affect local communities.
Heading up our coverage from Stormont will be journalist Damian McCarney who has reported extensively for the Andersonstown News, South Belfast News and North Belfast News in the past and who has recently returned from a special mission to report on the work of Trócaire in Honduras. Damian will be going behind the scenes to get the local angle on the Stormont story for our readers across the city.
And, in an era when Stormont debates can be read on the internet within hours, Damian will also be writing a regular blog from Stormont — newstormont.blogspot.com —and filing a weekly podcast which can be downloaded from the web onto your computer or ipod. Damian will be supported by our full team of journalists and photographers who have made the Belfast Media Group the city's leading news forum.
Said Belfast Media Group Chief Editor Robin Livingstone: "Damian will be at the fulcrum of a fast-changing political scene in Stormont to give all our readers a ringside seat on all the action. We're the only regional newspaper group making this commitment to full coverage from Stormont but we feel that this exciting new era deserves the type of first-class coverage we have already brought not only to community issues but also to the four councils we cover."