Having returned from over a fortnight's holiday away from the Assembly, I have been reliably informed that, save for David McNarry walking out of a debate on the Irish Language Act, and a somewhat controversial remark by Ian Paisley Jnr, not a whole pile has happened since.
It's not surprising really since the Assembly is still biding its time until meaningful legislation is drafted over the coming weeks and months (although the first significant action was seen on Monday as the Assembly passed a motion tabled by the Minister for Social Development, Margaret Ritchie to accelerate through the passage of the Welfare Reform Bill).
Meanwhile Ian Jnr's now infamous remarks about being "repulsed" by gay and lesbian relationships were seemingly cautiously approached by his father on Monday when during his 'I have a dream speech' he said that the OFMDFM was "totally committed to promoting equality and human rights."
The DUP are keen for this to be seen as a conciliatory gesture but it's unlikely that Paisley Jnr's critics on the issue, such as Dolores Kelly who described his comments as "a disgrace and a shame to the Assembly", will be pacified.
Regarding Paisley Snr's reference to Martin Luther King it's still surprising to see the octogenarian continue to redefine himself in the eyes of many by talking about a shared future - was this good natured speech made with one eye on Tony Blair's experience of having left it too late to sway many on what his legacy was? Was it made with an eye on future films? Was it just lip service?
On a totally unrelated issue, one way for MLAs to arm themselves for future battles, is to draft a formal question for a relevant Minister. The Minister is then required to answer within a specified period. Surely the quirkiest question posed so far goes to Sinn Féin's Paul Butler who asked the Minister for the Environment to provide a timescale for the introduction of legislation in relation to left hand drive limousines - maybe more has happened in the last fortnight than I thought and left hand limos are now one of the major political issues of the day.
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2 comments:
Clearly there aren't enough right hand drive stretch limos in circulation to meet the demand during First Communion season.
Enjoying the blogs, by the way!
Heard about the McNarry walkout. Not good. But have to say that my fav walkout of all time was the one he did on Sunday Sequence re 'the creep' Brian Kennaway.
Still, there's nothing like a staged walkout to get the opposition worried. Barry writes of his fears in the publication of record - http://www.anphoblacht.com/news/detail/19373
Consistency is important to McNarry. He's not the kind of guy who would call for Unionist unity re the Irish Language Act [http://www.newsletter.co.uk/letters-to-the-editor?articleid=2926329] and then u-turn a week later by unexpectedly getting tore into the DUPs [http://u.tv/newsroom/indepth.asp?id=82893&pt=n].
Note the mixed metaphor marathon which sees the USS Enterprise and rollercoasters competing for space. (Boy, is that a sentence i never thought i'd write...)
That metaphor went on throughout the speech. Eeuuch. I genuinely feel for the Hansard people who will have to transcribe it. All of it. Eeuuch.
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