Northern Irish Blogs.com

One of the main roles of Stormont Ministers is to act together as a collective in the form of the Executive. The whole point of this is to agree on the best way to do the job they were elected to do and to justify the rather large sums of money they get as Ministers.However, with the DUP and Sinn Féin refusing to meet, the process of government has ground to a standstill.As SDLP Social Development Minister Margaret Ritchie has said: The cancellation of Thursday’s Executive meeting is totally unacceptable.“I am outraged that amongst the many other important issues which are being held up in this logjam I am not able to progress my own housing agenda.“The people who elected us have the right to expect much better from the Ministers they entrusted with power.“This year I have set...

I thought I'd heard it all, but Iris Robinson's suggestion that people who engage in the "abomination" of being part of the LGBT community could be 'turned' from their ways by a visit to a psychiatrist will really take some beating.Despite the fact that her husband is supposed to promote equality in his role as First Minister, Iris Robinson's comments are a slap in the face of those who actually believe that people have the right to be treated equally, not to mention the victims of hate attacks such as 27-year old Stephen Scott who two days previously was assaulted by a gang of youths, suffering head and leg injuries. What kind of message does this send out?The suggestion that living an 'alternative' lifestyle is an illness which needs fixed by a shrink would be hilarious if was coming...

The latest stunt by the DUP and Sinn Féin threatening to pull down the Assembly is a damning indictment of both parties and an insult to the people of the north, yet will conveniently suit both parties' self-serving agendas.With the new regime installed at the helm of the DUP, the party will want to move out of Chuckle Zone given the criticism from the TUV and others of Paisley's jovial relationship with Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin over the past year. Of course, the DUP couldn't just manage this transformation back to the old-school style overnight without good reason- this 'crisis' gives them that good reason. It has created the perfect excuse to create the impression that there has been a chilling of the relationship. They even went so far as to appoint Jeffrey Donaldson as...

Bertie Ahern has handed in his notice to the President. And so comes to an end an era. Apart from Gerry Adams, who has effectively departed anyway, Bertie Ahern was the last of the Good Friday Agreement leaders to leave. He follows in the footsteps of Hume, Trimble and Blair.Of course, now begins a new era in Irish politics, north and south. Peter Robinson is to take over at the helm of the DUP and we already have Gordon Brown installed as British Prime Minister. The recent problems for the latter will undoubtedly raise questions about whether his two counterparts in Ireland will have similar problems following in the footsteps of such high-profile predecessors. It will be a while yet before we know, with no elections on either side of the border scheduled until next year. In the...

Rumours have been circulating for some time that the end of Ian Paisley's political career was nigh, and today we got confirmation from the horse's mouth that indeed the DUP leader is to resign from the office of First Minister and from the position of head of his party.It's not really any surprise that the comments from some quarters have practically ignored the decades of frustration that Paisley caused for democrats in the north of this country. Indeed, Martin McGuinness led tributes to the North Antrim MP, offering such glowing references that one would almost think that Sinn Féin are to write to the Pope asking that Paisley be considered for beatification. Perhaps it suits all concerned to airbrush out the full horrors of the past.There are also those who are congratulating Paisley...

DUP leader Ian Paisley has announced that he is to resign his position at the head of his party and as First Minister in May.He is to remain on as an MLA and MP for North Antrim.More to...

The SDLP, having weighed up what was on offer in the budget against its serious shortcomings, voted against it- fair play to them. Margaret Ritchie stood firm in the face of the DUP/ SF axis bullying tactics and managed to squeeze extra money from them for much-needed social housing. However, it remains an essentially right-wing, anti-community budget. There is of course the lack of detail on water reform and education, and by the recent performance of Nigel Dodds with regard to the abolition of relief for the installation of energy efficient measures, the two big parties cannot be trusted to deliver unless they spell out exactly what they are intending to do.Some people don't seem to be able to get their heads around the concept that the SDLP are in the Executive as a right, not because...

I must apologise for my irregular appearances on the blog of late- a new computer is winging its way to Áras an Bhlogador so with any luck my contributions will resume a somewhat more orderly rate of publication. As it transpires, Pól has been keeping a steady hand at the helm, guiding El Blogador safely away from being dashed on the iceberg of irrelevance.Today saw the current Assembly's first budget. After all the wrangling of recent months over who was getting what from the proverbial purse, Margaret Ritchie's department emerged as the 'victor', which in effect means that the people in our society who need help to get a headstart in life are the victors.Despite being bullied and harrangued by the DUP/ Sinn Féin axis, Margaret has stood firm on a range of issues such as the...

You've got to hand it to Martin McGuinness- for someone without RADA training it must have taken some skill to keep a straight face yesterday when he described the SDLP and UUP as the "problem parties". Clap, clap, clap. Bravo.Perhaps Mr McGuinness suffers from amnesia (probably useful given his past), but if he casts his mind back just a decade, then he will see what real problem parties were, including his own- on one side we had Sinn Féin advocating the resurrected campaign of terror being waged by the IRA and refusing to condemn provo killings, and on the other we saw the DUP refusing to entertain the idea of sharing power with nationalists and displaying just about every sectarian cliché in the book. The only problem with the SDLP and UUP for Sinn Féin and the DUP in the current...

El Blogador has posted a very interesting biography of the DUP’s Deputy Leader, Peter Robinson. What an eye-opener! I’ll be the first to admit I don’t have an encyclopedic knowledge of Northern Irish politics, or its ‘personalities’, but seeing a man who refuses to talk to terrorists and criminals dressed up in his beret and toting a rifle is frightening. What’s much more frightening is that the electorate are so blinded by their own biggotry that they can’t see this blatant hypocrisy staring them straight in the face. Yes, that goes for Loyalists and Republicans! It has been famously said that Sinn Fein aren’t fit for government in the Republic of Ireland. Well, neither Sinn Fein or the DUP are they fit for government in the North. Both...