sluggerotoole--2020-01-02--If Julian Smith’s 12th deadline is non negotiable, who really fancies their chances with another ele

If Julian Smith’s 12th deadline is non negotiable, who really fancies their chances with another election?

So today , the Stormont talks return .
In last Saturday ’ s Irish News , Newton Emerson made the observation that the two government ’ s putting the blame on a single party ( the DUP in this case ) was not new… The British and Irish governments did exactly the same to Sinn Féin during talks at Hillsborough Castle in 2004 , also aimed at restoring devolution .
That led to the St Andrews process , which both governments finally got over the line by focusing blame on the DUP .
A lesson often overlooked from the past @ @ @ @ @ @ @ foot down with Sinn Féin and the DUP works .
There is an argument it is the only thing that ever works .
The truth is though , that in each case both major parties got significant pay offs even whilst taking the public blame .
Sinn Féin lost ground after the 2004 breakdown of the comprehensive agreement in the wake of the Robert McCartney killing and the Northern Bank robbery .
With St Andrews , the formal talks process in Scotland was followed by a tough legislative tussle in Westminster in which @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Labour government attempt ’ s to sneak through a covert amnesty process .
All that remained was the letters of comfort .
Unlike the Belfast Agreement , St Andrews took months of post hoc negotiations in which Paisley ( aided by the US envoy ) dug his heels in to make recognition of the police essential before Sinn Féin ministers would be allowed to take part in the powersharing executive .
If that seems extraordinary now , you only have to look at the way support for the police has been allowed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Sinn Féin and the DUP choosing to criticise the police ( or at least just go missing ) at times of huge tensions in public order .
Right now , the blame is being squarely landed on the DUP for not agreeing to what every other party now wants .
This feels very much like February 2018 territory , except that the Johnson administration is in a much stronger position to set the overall pace and the agenda .
But , just as importantly , the local context in which the negotiations are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least in the election results from the 12th December which unambiguously told the parties to get back to work as quickly as possible .
Thus far , no one is demurring .
Arlene Foster on Good Morning Ulster announced she would table her party ’ s proposals with the Secretary of State this morning .
In holding out the promise of movement on the ‘ petition of concern ’ , she was echoing Naomi Long ’ s view that return needs to be sustainable .
The irony is that having already removed 18 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ reaching the required 30 seats needed to trigger a petition of concern has already begun to fade , so that a fair moderation of the rule is already running with the development of politics .
So what to do about an Irish Language Act ?
It was just one of a basket of issues Sinn Féin flicked in from nowhere when it was clear the RHI ( the original trigger for their three-year boycott of powersharing at Stormont ) would not yield any politically useful concessions .
Expect the familiar in-kick of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ hallmark of so much timewasting and burned opportunities in the last twenty years of the so-called Peace Process .
Is it really worth invoking Smith ’ s legally binding deadline of Monday week ?
His boss Boris Johnson has already shown how working to a hard deadline can break the toughest of oppositional resolves .
I think we can safely assume that if there is no deal before then , we ’ ll all be heading back to the polls pretty damned sharpish .
In which case , before we get there , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ can least afford such an outcome , in order to divine where the compromise is likely to come from ?
If it were the DUP , I doubt very much if they would dragging their heels right now .
Any gambit that ends in an election that : one , you can not actually materially afford ; and two , is likely to do your standing with your own voters irreparable harm would be deeply unwise .
On the other hand , holding out can allow you to shape if not control the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the biggest and most perplexing electoral conundrums lie on Michelle O ’ Neill ’ s side of the negotiating table .
Leave alone that 2017 was a great year for Sinn Féin , losing a seat that you held in Derry by 17,000 plus votes [ is that a record of some sort ?
– Ed ] just before Christmas is not the sort of pretext you want to have before you go pulling the I ’ m feeling lucky lever .
In the early days of 2020 , the big incentives @ @ @ @ @

So today, the Stormont talks return. In last Saturday’s Irish News, Newton Emerson made the observation that the two government’s putting the blame on a single party (the DUP in this case) was not new…
The British and Irish governments did exactly the same to Sinn Féin during talks at Hillsborough Castle in 2004, also aimed at restoring devolution. That led to the St Andrews process, which both governments finally got over the line by focusing blame on the DUP. A lesson often overlooked from the past quarter-century of talking is that putting the foot down with Sinn Féin and the DUP works. There is an argument it is the only thing that ever works.
The truth is though, that in each case both major parties got significant pay offs even whilst taking the public blame. Sinn Féin lost ground after the 2004 breakdown of the comprehensive agreement in the wake of the Robert McCartney killing and the Northern Bank robbery.
With St Andrews, the formal talks process in Scotland was followed by a tough legislative tussle in Westminster in which the SDLP’s three MPs stymied the Labour government attempt’s to sneak through a covert amnesty process. All that remained was the letters of comfort.
Unlike the Belfast Agreement, St Andrews took months of post hoc negotiations in which Paisley (aided by the US envoy) dug his heels in to make recognition of the police essential before Sinn Féin ministers would be allowed to take part in the powersharing executive.
If that seems extraordinary now, you only have to look at the way support for the police has been allowed to drift ever since, with both Sinn Féin and the DUP choosing to criticise the police (or at least just go missing) at times of huge tensions in public order.
Right now, the blame is being squarely landed on the DUP for not agreeing to what every other party now wants. This feels very much like February 2018 territory, except that the Johnson administration is in a much stronger position to set the overall pace and the agenda.
But, just as importantly, the local context in which the negotiations are taking place has changed too. Not least in the election results from the 12th December which unambiguously told the parties to get back to work as quickly as possible. Thus far, no one is demurring.
Arlene Foster on Good Morning Ulster announced she would table her party’s proposals with the Secretary of State this morning. In holding out the promise of movement on the ‘petition of concern’, she was echoing Naomi Long’s view that return needs to be sustainable.
The irony is that having already removed 18 seats the prospect of any single party reaching the required 30 seats needed to trigger a petition of concern has already begun to fade, so that a fair moderation of the rule is already running with the development of politics.
So what to do about an Irish Language Act? It was just one of a basket of issues Sinn Féin flicked in from nowhere when it was clear the RHI (the original trigger for their three-year boycott of powersharing at Stormont) would not yield any politically useful concessions.
Expect the familiar in-kick of the plausible deniability rule that has been the hallmark of so much timewasting and burned opportunities in the last twenty years of the so-called Peace Process. Is it really worth invoking Smith’s legally binding deadline of Monday week?
His boss Boris Johnson has already shown how working to a hard deadline can break the toughest of oppositional resolves. I think we can safely assume that if there is no deal before then, we’ll all be heading back to the polls pretty damned sharpish.
In which case, before we get there, the key question to ask is who can least afford such an outcome, in order to divine where the compromise is likely to come from? If it were the DUP, I doubt very much if they would dragging their heels right now.
Any gambit that ends in an election that: one, you cannot actually materially afford; and two, is likely to do your standing with your own voters irreparable harm would be deeply unwise. On the other hand, holding out can allow you to shape if not control the outcome.
However, post #GE2019, the biggest and most perplexing electoral conundrums lie on Michelle O’Neill’s side of the negotiating table.
Leave alone that 2017 was a great year for Sinn Féin, losing a seat that you held in Derry by 17,000 plus votes [is that a record of some sort? – Ed] just before Christmas is not the sort of pretext you want to have before you go pulling the I’m feeling lucky lever.
In the early days of 2020, the big incentives have reversed, somewhat.


sluggerotoole--2020-01-01--A Short History of the “L” Word

A Short History of the “L” Word

The American poet Robert Frost was only partly joking when he said a Liberal was definable as ‘ a man too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel.
’ Liberals of both ( or more ) genders have of course historically taken a side : their own .
Now that a new decade has begun , and another important anniversary is being marked today , and there are question marks over how much longer liberalism is likely to last , now seems as good a time as any to have a quick look at what has arguably been @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ideology over the past two centuries .
In the English language the word “ liberal ” makes an appearance in the King James Bible – specifically in Isaiah , in which ‘ The vile person shall be no more called liberal , nor the churl said to be bountiful.
’ – by which the word means generous , open-handed and magnanimous .
Political liberalism in the English-speaking world evolved amid the ongoing struggles between an over-powerful Crown and increasingly assertive Parliaments in Scotland , Ireland and England in the 17th Century .
The @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the American Revolutionary War .
There was similar conflict in France after the Revolution of 1789 .
In all three cases those who rebelled against royal government were concerned with protecting personal freedom , which they feared was under threat by a tyrannical and/or incompetent monarch .
The very first time the word “ liberal ” was used specifically to describe this political movement was , though , not in Britain , Ireland or America , but actually in Spain in the early 19th Century .
In 1812 , while Spanish guerrilla @ @ @ @ @ @ @ French soldiers occupying most of the country , four years after their invasion , most of the Cortes ( parliament ) deputies who could assemble met at Cadiz – then outside French control – and drew up one of Europe ’ s first modern constitutions , in which rights like absolute male suffrage , freedom of the press , and free enterprise were guaranteed .
The monarchy was to be retained , but King Fernando VII would henceforth be a constitutional monarch and be expected to share power with his ministers .
Fernando @ @ @ @ @ @ @ France , and in 1814 , after the French had finally been kicked out of Spain , he immediately abolished the Cadiz Constitution .
At the same time as the drafting of the original Constitution came the first attempts by Spain ’ s South American colonies to break free of Crown control , partly inspired by the Spanish liberals .
Fernando ’ s ill-advised attempt to crush a political movement that had the support of many army officers who had been trying to restore him to the throne that he had been forced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ more than five years of tension and argument between liberals and conservatives , and which culminated in the Cadiz Mutiny of 1 January 1820 .
Initially sparked off by rows over pay and conditions , the mutiny was led by three generals , including Rafael del Riego , who demanded the restoration of the Cadiz Constitution .
Initially meeting with indifference among the general population , the uprising turned bloody in Galicia , and eventually soldiers in Madrid surrounded the royal palace , after which Fernando agreed to restore the Constitution .
This @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , as Riego ’ s government ( known as the the Trienio Liberal – the Liberal Triennium ) was crushed three years later after a French invasion , with Riego himself being publicly hanged , but it proved far more consequential to Spain ’ s empire – and the wider world in general – than the home country itself .
The historian Edwin Williamson explains : [ T ] he Cortes of Cadiz had provided in the 1812 constitution an alternative source of political legitimacy which opponents of the royal will could invoke @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in ideology .
In earlier times this alternative had simply not been available to rebels against the Crown .
The truth was that after Napoleon ’ s intervention in the Peninsula it had become impossible for the Spanish Crown to reconstruct its monopoly of legitimacy ; the Catholic monarchy itself had been set adrift on the sea of politics , and this latest storm in Cadiz would lead to the end of its authority in America .
The Cadiz mutiny undermined the position of Spanish viceroys and field commanders in the Indies .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ the colonial authorities to seek a truce with the insurgents as a preliminary to the negotiation of a settlement of the protracted colonial crisis .
As the Spanish American revolutionaries realized , this amounted to capitulation by Spain , for it showed that the Catholic monarchy could not hope fully to regain its authority either in Spain or in America , and , with royal legitimacy so contested and curtailed , what benefits could Spanish liberals offer the colonies that the creoles could not achieve for themselves ?
There was certainly no reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a political administration run by liberal imperialists in the Peninsula .
In effect , the Cadiz revolt put paid to the one outstanding benefit for which the creoles had been willing to accept colonial restrictions , namely , the unifying , stabilizing authority of the absolute monarchy .
Once that had gone , the colonial pact was a dead letter .
While not all of Spain ’ s neighbours shared her particular political problems , the word that Spanish constitutional rebels used for their movement ( Liberales ) spread , eventually being used @ @ @ @ @ @ @ first politician in the English-speaking world to call himself a Liberal was the two-time British Whig prime minister Lord John Russell ( serving as head of government in 1846-52 and again in 1865-6 ) , while the word first appeared in a British election campaign in 1847 .
The Whig-dominated coalition that had formed three separate governments between 1852 and 1865 formally adopted the term Liberal Party in 1868 .
The polarizing experiences of a more volatile world economy , sharply changing working and living conditions , and the First World War led @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Zealand , Germany , Italy and other countries being squeezed between conservative and socialist parties .
Working-class liberals increasingly migrated to socialist movements while middle- and upper-class liberals tended more and more to vote for conservative organizations – while conservative and socialist parties in their turn took further advantage of this ideological squeeze by freely helping themselves to some liberal ideas in their election manifestos .
Only in Canada and Australia have parties calling themselves Liberal consistently been able to survive as governing parties – though often by governing in a way that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ they are .
Less important than the success or failure of liberal political organizations , arguably , are the questions of liberalism ’ s reputation and future .
There are some parts of the UK and United States where , if you say ‘ I am a Liberal ‘ , you might just as well say ‘ I believe terrorists , child-abusers and drug-dealers should be treated leniently.
’ Put simply , the “ L ” word has acquired something of an image problem in recent years , and for all sorts of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by liberals of all kinds , while proving to be better than most systems at lifting people out of poverty , has also proved to be disastrous to millions on the occasions when it has failed .
The free market is not always a fair market , after all , and Liberals have arguably been too slow to chop and change their values to deal with people in distress .
This slowness was arguably a factor behind such events as the Brexit referendum and the rise of politicians like Donald Trump , Jair @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Orban .
Liberals of the late Victorian period , like Joseph Chamberlain , David Lloyd George and Theodore Roosevelt , seemed to get the message about the effects of a volatile economy , and so called for the state not to be too shy about stepping in every now and then to stop too many people getting too raw a deal out of capitalism .
After the First World War , their successors , in the forms of such figures like J M Keynes , William Beveridge , and Teddy Roosevelt ’ s @ @ @ @ @ @ @ further heights , and it seemed a serene future for liberalism was assured .
With the Oil Crisis and general downturn of the 1970s , however , liberals increasingly turned back to first principles , replacing their Keynes and Beveridge with the works of Hayek and Friedman , and returned to holding a fundamental distrust of the state and its potential – though obviously not in the realms of defence and security while the Cold War was still unthawed .
Francis Fukuyama ’ s bald claim straight after the Berlin Wall came down @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of History and that liberalism was the only political ideology with a viable future , has obviously been debunked several times over .
As we enter the 2020s , with Trump and Boris Johnson as the leading Western leaders , though , does that mean It ’ s the End of Liberalism As We Know It ?
In an age where nationalism is increasingly the go-to political creed around the world ( and there is some truth in Fintan O ’ Toole ’ s view that Brexit is fundamentally an English nationalist movement @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for liberals everywhere to remember George Orwell ’ s reminder of how patriotism will always claim the strongest and tightest allegiance among the biggest number of people .
The vast majority of us do care , after all , about liberty and the freedoms of speech , assembly , and the vote and so on .
The original nationalists making the running in the 1848 Revolutions in Italy , Germany and Hungary were , after all , liberals rather than conservatives .
Somehow , with the failure of these Revolutions , and as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ became co-opted by conservatives who saw for themselves how useful it was at the ballot box .
It isn ’ t just Robert Frost who has had a pop or two at liberalism .
An old joke , frequently repeated , has it that a Liberal is a Conservative who has been arrested , while a Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged .
If their ideology is to survive in the new decade , Liberals need to re-learn the importance of national pride , and also to remember that law and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ education are every bit as important to human happiness as human and civil rights .

The American poet Robert Frost was only partly joking when he said a Liberal was definable as ‘a man too broad-minded to take his own side in a quarrel.’ Liberals of both (or more) genders have of course historically taken a side: their own. Now that a new decade has begun, and another important anniversary is being marked today, and there are question marks over how much longer liberalism is likely to last, now seems as good a time as any to have a quick look at what has arguably been the world’s most influential political ideology over the past two centuries.
In the English language the word “liberal” makes an appearance in the King James Bible – specifically in Isaiah, in which ‘The vile person shall be no more called liberal, nor the churl said to be bountiful.’ – by which the word means generous, open-handed and magnanimous. Political liberalism in the English-speaking world evolved amid the ongoing struggles between an over-powerful Crown and increasingly assertive Parliaments in Scotland, Ireland and England in the 17th Century. The ideological struggle continued overseas in the form of the American Revolutionary War. There was similar conflict in France after the Revolution of 1789. In all three cases those who rebelled against royal government were concerned with protecting personal freedom, which they feared was under threat by a tyrannical and/or incompetent monarch. The very first time the word “liberal” was used specifically to describe this political movement was, though, not in Britain, Ireland or America, but actually in Spain in the early 19th Century.
In 1812, while Spanish guerrilla forces were fighting against Bonaparte’s French soldiers occupying most of the country, four years after their invasion, most of the Cortes (parliament) deputies who could assemble met at Cadiz – then outside French control – and drew up one of Europe’s first modern constitutions, in which rights like absolute male suffrage, freedom of the press, and free enterprise were guaranteed. The monarchy was to be retained, but King Fernando VII would henceforth be a constitutional monarch and be expected to share power with his ministers. Fernando was at the time a captive in France, and in 1814, after the French had finally been kicked out of Spain, he immediately abolished the Cadiz Constitution.
At the same time as the drafting of the original Constitution came the first attempts by Spain’s South American colonies to break free of Crown control, partly inspired by the Spanish liberals. Fernando’s ill-advised attempt to crush a political movement that had the support of many army officers who had been trying to restore him to the throne that he had been forced off by the Bonaparte family led to more than five years of tension and argument between liberals and conservatives, and which culminated in the Cadiz Mutiny of 1 January 1820. Initially sparked off by rows over pay and conditions, the mutiny was led by three generals, including Rafael del Riego, who demanded the restoration of the Cadiz Constitution. Initially meeting with indifference among the general population, the uprising turned bloody in Galicia, and eventually soldiers in Madrid surrounded the royal palace, after which Fernando agreed to restore the Constitution.
This somewhat underrated European revolution would ultimately fail, as Riego’s government (known as the the Trienio Liberal – the Liberal Triennium) was crushed three years later after a French invasion, with Riego himself being publicly hanged, but it proved far more consequential to Spain’s empire – and the wider world in general – than the home country itself. The historian Edwin Williamson explains:
[T]he Cortes of Cadiz had provided in the 1812 constitution an alternative source of political legitimacy which opponents of the royal will could invoke regardless of whether they were actually liberal in ideology. In earlier times this alternative had simply not been available to rebels against the Crown. The truth was that after Napoleon’s intervention in the Peninsula it had become impossible for the Spanish Crown to reconstruct its monopoly of legitimacy; the Catholic monarchy itself had been set adrift on the sea of politics, and this latest storm in Cadiz would lead to the end of its authority in America. The Cadiz mutiny undermined the position of Spanish viceroys and field commanders in the Indies. The new liberal government in Spain ordered the colonial authorities to seek a truce with the insurgents as a preliminary to the negotiation of a settlement of the protracted colonial crisis. As the Spanish American revolutionaries realized, this amounted to capitulation by Spain, for it showed that the Catholic monarchy could not hope fully to regain its authority either in Spain or in America, and, with royal legitimacy so contested and curtailed, what benefits could Spanish liberals offer the colonies that the creoles could not achieve for themselves? There was certainly no reason to submit to a trade monopoly and a political administration run by liberal imperialists in the Peninsula. In effect, the Cadiz revolt put paid to the one outstanding benefit for which the creoles had been willing to accept colonial restrictions, namely, the unifying, stabilizing authority of the absolute monarchy. Once that had gone, the colonial pact was a dead letter.
While not all of Spain’s neighbours shared her particular political problems, the word that Spanish constitutional rebels used for their movement (Liberales) spread, eventually being used to describe entire political parties. The first politician in the English-speaking world to call himself a Liberal was the two-time British Whig prime minister Lord John Russell (serving as head of government in 1846-52 and again in 1865-6), while the word first appeared in a British election campaign in 1847. The Whig-dominated coalition that had formed three separate governments between 1852 and 1865 formally adopted the term Liberal Party in 1868. The polarizing experiences of a more volatile world economy, sharply changing working and living conditions, and the First World War led to Liberal parties in Britain, New Zealand, Germany, Italy and other countries being squeezed between conservative and socialist parties. Working-class liberals increasingly migrated to socialist movements while middle- and upper-class liberals tended more and more to vote for conservative organizations – while conservative and socialist parties in their turn took further advantage of this ideological squeeze by freely helping themselves to some liberal ideas in their election manifestos. Only in Canada and Australia have parties calling themselves Liberal consistently been able to survive as governing parties – though often by governing in a way that calls into question just how truly liberal they are.
Less important than the success or failure of liberal political organizations, arguably, are the questions of liberalism’s reputation and future. There are some parts of the UK and United States where, if you say ‘I am a Liberal‘, you might just as well say ‘I believe terrorists, child-abusers and drug-dealers should be treated leniently.’ Put simply, the “L” word has acquired something of an image problem in recent years, and for all sorts of reasons. The free-enterprise economy, beloved by liberals of all kinds, while proving to be better than most systems at lifting people out of poverty, has also proved to be disastrous to millions on the occasions when it has failed. The free market is not always a fair market, after all, and Liberals have arguably been too slow to chop and change their values to deal with people in distress. This slowness was arguably a factor behind such events as the Brexit referendum and the rise of politicians like Donald Trump, Jair Bolsonaro, Narendra Modi, and Viktor Orban.
Liberals of the late Victorian period, like Joseph Chamberlain, David Lloyd George and Theodore Roosevelt, seemed to get the message about the effects of a volatile economy, and so called for the state not to be too shy about stepping in every now and then to stop too many people getting too raw a deal out of capitalism. After the First World War, their successors, in the forms of such figures like J M Keynes, William Beveridge, and Teddy Roosevelt’s cousin Franklin, took the interventionism to further heights, and it seemed a serene future for liberalism was assured. With the Oil Crisis and general downturn of the 1970s, however, liberals increasingly turned back to first principles, replacing their Keynes and Beveridge with the works of Hayek and Friedman, and returned to holding a fundamental distrust of the state and its potential – though obviously not in the realms of defence and security while the Cold War was still unthawed.
Francis Fukuyama’s bald claim straight after the Berlin Wall came down, that we were witnessing the End of History and that liberalism was the only political ideology with a viable future, has obviously been debunked several times over. As we enter the 2020s, with Trump and Boris Johnson as the leading Western leaders, though, does that mean It’s the End of Liberalism As We Know It? In an age where nationalism is increasingly the go-to political creed around the world (and there is some truth in Fintan O’Toole’s view that Brexit is fundamentally an English nationalist movement), maybe it’s time for liberals everywhere to remember George Orwell’s reminder of how patriotism will always claim the strongest and tightest allegiance among the biggest number of people. The vast majority of us do care, after all, about liberty and the freedoms of speech, assembly, and the vote and so on. The original nationalists making the running in the 1848 Revolutions in Italy, Germany and Hungary were, after all, liberals rather than conservatives. Somehow, with the failure of these Revolutions, and as the 19th Century wore on, nationalism became co-opted by conservatives who saw for themselves how useful it was at the ballot box.
It isn’t just Robert Frost who has had a pop or two at liberalism. An old joke, frequently repeated, has it that a Liberal is a Conservative who has been arrested, while a Conservative is a Liberal who has been mugged. If their ideology is to survive in the new decade, Liberals need to re-learn the importance of national pride, and also to remember that law and order, national security, health and education are every bit as important to human happiness as human and civil rights.


sluggerotoole--2020-01-07--The RIC commemoration is off.  Was it a bridge too far to unionists?

If you ’ re going to do a U turn , getting it over quick limits the damage ( even to bloggers like me ) .
It ’ s remarkable how long politicians usually take to face up to the inevitable .
Wisely not this time .
With only 10 days to go , it had to be quick , with only a weasel word “ “ deferred ” substituted for “ cancelled.
” Was holding a commemoration in Dublin Castle for the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police a revisionism of history too far , as the mayor of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the Irish Times : The public and political reaction to the proposed State commemoration shows that men who were in the RIC or DMP are not regarded in the same way as the Irishmen who fought in the first World War .
Neither can the legacy of the two police forces be disentangled easily from the Black and Tans or the Auxiliaries – a problem not helped by the fact that the Government failed to explain that the latter groups were not being commemorated .
The decade of centenaries to date has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or party political point-scoring .
That has ended with the rumpus over this commemoration .
I ’ m not sure he ’ s right about that .
Rather than revisionism of the record it was a matter of tone and context , a ceremony that inevitably would look like celebration .
Damage at the beginning of the Decade of Commemoration has been limited ; the Republic has avoided dividing politically over its past , if only just .
The retraction happened too swiftly for even Sinn Fein to capitalise .
Fianna Fail leader @ @ @ @ @ @ @ therefore scored points by keeping away from his party ’ s traditional comfort zone .
Historian Diarmaid Ferrier was not so gentle .
He scathingly dismissed the alibi that Justice minister Charlie Flanagan had built around him as a mudguard ” Professor Ferriter said the advisory group , which comprises of himself and other professional historians under the chairmanship of Dr Maurice Manning , did not recommend that a service for the RIC and the DMP be included in the list of State commemorations .
“ What we stated was that ‘ consideration @ @ @ @ @ @ @ specific initiatives to commemorate the RIC and the DMP and to acknowledge their place in history ’ .
“ What we had in mind was an academic event – a conference or seminar – that would look at the issue of policing in Ireland during the revolutionary period , including the role of and disbandment of the RIC and the foundation of the Civic Guard , which became An Garda Siochana.
” He said the advisory group “ should not be used by the Government as a mudguard to provide cover for itself @ @ @ @ @ @ @ solo runs in relation to commemoration.
” Prof Ferriter clarified that the expert advisory group only recommended a small number of State ceremonies over the coming years ; one to remember the War of Independence , two to mark the coming into being of the State , one for the Civil War and one to remember Ireland ’ s entry into the League of Nations in 2023 which will end the Decade of Centenaries .
This is playing it relatively safe .
The North doesn ’ t figure explicitly .
A dispassionate examination @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than ever , keeping the militant rhetoric in check and reminding those willing to listen that most RIC were Irish just like themselves and carrying out the law of the state at the time .
While cancelling the service of commemoration is a minor political fiasco , it nonetheless shows that the Dublin establishment are prepared to make more of the Decade of Centenaries than laying on a pageant of Irish freedom .
Respect for other times and others customs will still be upheld ; self criticism will continue .
If only the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ took similar risks with their dearest myths .
Suppose now is not the time to say my grandfather was an RIC officer .
Based on sheer numbers alone there must be tens of thousands of us out there .
Our country/history is complicated , yet we are all proud Irish citizens .
Surely that ’ s reconciliation enough ?
Surrender by Dublin Govt over RIC is a telling signal to Unionists as to how they & their history would be treated in an all-Ireland .
If this is the respect for a mostly @ @ @ @ @ @ @ culture and traditions would fare in such a republican utopia He would say that wouldn ’ t he ?
Not so long to go until the centenary of partition , the founding of the Northern state and being nice to unionists .
Will respect be asserted and can it be mutual ?
I can hardly wait .

Newstalk
If you’re going to do a U turn, getting it over quick limits the damage (even to bloggers like me). It’s remarkable how long politicians usually take to face up to the inevitable. Wisely not this time. With only 10 days to go, it had to be quick, with only a weasel word “ “deferred” substituted for “ cancelled.” Was holding a commemoration in Dublin Castle for the RIC and the Dublin Metropolitan Police a revisionism of history too far, as the mayor of Clare declared? As Ronan MCreevy writes in the Irish Times:
The public and political reaction to the proposed State commemoration shows that men who were in the RIC or DMP are not regarded in the same way as the Irishmen who fought in the first World War.
Neither can the legacy of the two police forces be disentangled easily from the Black and Tans or the Auxiliaries – a problem not helped by the fact that the Government failed to explain that the latter groups were not being commemorated.
McCreevy adds
The decade of centenaries to date has been remarkable in the absence of rancour or party political point-scoring. That has ended with the rumpus over this commemoration.
I’m not sure he’s right about that. Rather than revisionism of the record it was a matter of tone and context, a ceremony that inevitably would look like celebration. Damage at the beginning of the Decade of Commemoration has been limited; the Republic has avoided dividing politically over its past, if only just. The retraction happened too swiftly for even Sinn Fein to capitalise. Fianna Fail leader Micheal Martin avoided overt point scoring and therefore scored points by keeping away from his party’s traditional comfort zone. Historian Diarmaid Ferrier was not so gentle. He scathingly dismissed the alibi that Justice minister Charlie Flanagan had built around him as a mudguard”
Professor Ferriter said the advisory group, which comprises of himself and other professional historians under the chairmanship of Dr Maurice Manning, did not recommend that a service for the RIC and the DMP be included in the list of State commemorations. “What we stated was that ‘consideration should be given to the organisation of specific initiatives to commemorate the RIC and the DMP and to acknowledge their place in history’.
“What we had in mind was an academic event – a conference or seminar – that would look at the issue of policing in Ireland during the revolutionary period, including the role of and disbandment of the RIC and the foundation of the Civic Guard, which became An Garda Siochana.”He said the advisory group “should not be used by the Government as a mudguard to provide cover for itself when it receives negative reaction to its solo runs in relation to commemoration.”
Prof Ferriter clarified that the expert advisory group only recommended a small number of State ceremonies over the coming years; one to remember the War of Independence, two to mark the coming into being of the State, one for the Civil War and one to remember Ireland’s entry into the League of Nations in 2023 which will end the Decade of Centenaries.
This is playing it relatively safe. The North doesn’t figure explicitly.
A dispassionate examination of the RIC is now more important than ever, keeping the militant rhetoric in check and reminding those willing to listen that most RIC were Irish just like themselves and carrying out the law of the state at the time. While cancelling the service of commemoration is a minor political fiasco, it nonetheless shows that the Dublin establishment are prepared to make more of the Decade of Centenaries than laying on a pageant of Irish freedom. Respect for other times and others customs will still be upheld; self criticism will continue. If only the North, republicans as well as unionists took similar risks with their dearest myths.
Try two contrasting tweets
David McWilliams, economist and columnist
Suppose now is not the time to say my grandfather was an RIC officer. Based on sheer numbers alone there must be tens of thousands of us out there. Our country/history is complicated, yet we are all proud Irish citizens. Surely that’s reconciliation enough?
Jim Allister
@JimAllister
Surrender by Dublin Govt over RIC is a telling signal to Unionists as to how they & their history would be treated in an all-Ireland. If this is the respect for a mostly RC police force, imagine how Unionist culture and traditions would fare in such a republican utopia
He would say that wouldn’t he?
Not so long to go until the centenary of partition, the founding of the Northern state and being nice to unionists. Will respect be asserted and can it be mutual? I can hardly wait.


sluggerotoole--2020-01-08--Medical school plan for Derry Campus now “oven ready” if only an Executive minister signs it off, sa

Medical school plan for Derry Campus now “oven ready” if only an Executive minister signs it off, says NIO minister. Will it happen?

Andrew Adonis , the former Labour cabinet minister and senior adviser to Tony Blair is that rare creature , a British politician who having been introduced to Northern Ireland doesn ’ t turn away wearily after a short while .
He has decided to champion our interests .
He ’ s been mocked recently as a fanatical anti-Brexiteer who has had to face defeat .
Undaunted , he has turned to other causes .
His speech during a debate in the Lords about the Stormont standoff yesterday triggered an important statement from a government minister , that plans for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ” if only a local minister was in place to sign them off .
Will this news along with the prospect of a list of other goodies to improve real life tempt the local politicians away from their sterile power struggle ?
For shame and a real indictment of them , if not .
The case for a university for Derry goes back to my youth and was updated recently here in Slugger .
Only last September the outlook for a medical school on the Magee campus that would be the core of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ when David Sterling the head of the civil service and NI ’ s de facto governor criticised the handling of UU finances .
“ Ulster University is not proposing to finance the Magee medical school from within its own resources and significant ongoing finances will be required from Government if this is to proceed .
As you are aware all public services are under severe budgetary pressure and we simply can not spend money we do not have… ” Sterling also drew comparisons with this UU project and one it had for the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ £71m which failed to materialise .
But funding from somewhere has at last been found after an on- off- on roller coaster of statements over the past six months .
The case seems to have been won with pressure from the UK government to create an incentive for the return of Stormont .
Adonis ’ speech provides a wider context than Derry itself .
The speech and the minister Lord Duncan ’ s reply is worth carrying at some length .
Adonis lays into the management of Ulster University whose vice chancellor Paddy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up appointment as vice chancellor of the University of Canberra , after just under five years at UU , Allaying the suspicion that he got out when the going was good , Foyle MP and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood praised Nixon as “ an engaged and passionate advocate for university education and for Derry over the last five years ” .
Andrew Adonis clearly didn ’ t share that assessment in his speech … We had debates last year on higher education provision in Northern Ireland , with which there is a general @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of it at the moment .
There is a big outflow of students from Northern Ireland simply because there are insufficient higher education places in the Province .
In the last year , 17,440 Northern Ireland students—28 % of all students there—studied in England , Wales and Scotland .
As I know from my conversations in Belfast and Derry , many of those students study outside Northern Ireland not by choice but simply because they can not access the places that they want in Northern Ireland .
This is doing huge damage to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Two-thirds of students who study elsewhere in the United Kingdom do not return after graduation , so this situation is leading to a systemic outflow of some of the most talented people in Northern Ireland .
They never come back simply because the politicians there have not been able to agree on a satisfactory level of higher education provision .
The situation in Derry is particularly serious because there is no dedicated university for the second city in Northern Ireland .
As your Lordships know , the big debate about higher education @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
However , far from getting better , the situation is getting worse .
Commitments given in the last 10 years have not been met .
The number of places The number of places available to students in Derry at the Magee campus of Ulster University is pitifully small .
There are only 3,429—barely more than were available 10 years ago .
The medical school , which we have debated in the House several times , is not proceeding .
What now needs to be done to give it the consent required to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ medical training in Derry , which does not happen at present ?
The finances of the University of Ulster are clearly in a shambolic state .
The proposed new campus in Belfast , which is almost certainly located in the wrong place anyway , is more than £100 million over budget and more than three years late in delivery .
To cap it all , the vice-chancellor of the University of Ulster has just announced that he is departing for Canberra after only four years , so the university is now without a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ massive deficit , and not providing places in the second city of Northern Ireland , which desperately needs them .
Given the enormous damage being done to the life chances of young people in Northern Ireland , particularly in the city of Derry , I consider this situation as big an infringement of human rights as the issues relating to abortion and same-sex marriage about which we legislated last year .
I do not believe it is satisfactory for Parliament , which is responsible for safeguarding the human rights of the people of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ continue .
I seek a commitment from the Minister that , if devolution is not restored in the immediate future , as we all hope it will be , the Government will come forward with concrete proposals for boosting higher education provision in Northern Ireland in general and , in particular , for an action plan to ensure medical places this year in the Magee campus of the University of Ulster in Derry , and proposals for a dedicated university for that city .
.
I will start with the noble Lord , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ higher education provision in Derry/Londonderry .
The issue at the heart of this is a decision taken by the Executive to cap the number of students .
By doing so , they created a problem for provision in Northern Ireland , which is one of the principal reasons why so many students from Northern Ireland end up being educated in the rest of the United Kingdom .
That decision needs to be addressed .
I have looked with some care at Ulster University ’ s proposal for the Magee campus for the graduate @ @ @ @ @ @ @ phrase , I believe that it is oven-ready , and I believe that it could be moved forward in short order .
However , it needs an Executive , or other powers , to move it forward .
Again , I believe in endorsing the view that that is the only way to ensure the indigenous retention of medical practitioners ; indeed , I will look at other academic disciplines as well .

Andrew Adonis, the former Labour cabinet minister and senior adviser to Tony Blair is that rare creature, a British politician who having been introduced to Northern Ireland doesn’t turn away wearily after a short while. He has decided to champion our interests. He’s been mocked recently as a fanatical anti-Brexiteer who has had to face defeat. Undaunted, he has turned to other causes. His speech during a debate in the Lords about the Stormont standoff yesterday triggered an important statement from a government minister, that plans for a university for Derry were “ oven ready” if only a local minister was in place to sign them off. Will this news along with the prospect of a list of other goodies to improve real life tempt the local politicians away from their sterile power struggle? For shame and a real indictment of them, if not.
The case for a university for Derry goes back to my youth and was updated recently here in Slugger .
Only last September the outlook for a medical school on the Magee campus that would be the core of a whole new uni looked bleak, when David Sterling the head of the civil service and NI’s de facto governor criticised the handling of UU finances.
“Ulster University is not proposing to finance the Magee medical school from within its own resources and significant ongoing finances will be required from Government if this is to proceed. As you are aware all public services are under severe budgetary pressure and we simply cannot spend money we do not have…”
Sterling also drew comparisons with this UU project and one it had for the Springvale campus at a proposed cost of £71m which failed to materialise.
But funding from somewhere has at last been found after an on- off- on roller coaster of statements over the past six months. The case seems to have been won with pressure from the UK government to create an incentive for the return of Stormont.
Adonis’ speech provides a wider context than Derry itself. The speech and the minister Lord Duncan’s reply is worth carrying at some length. Adonis lays into the management of Ulster University whose vice chancellor Paddy Nixon is about to leave to take up appointment as vice chancellor of the University of Canberra, after just under five years at UU, Allaying the suspicion that he got out when the going was good, Foyle MP and SDLP leader Colum Eastwood praised Nixon as “an engaged and passionate advocate for university education and for Derry over the last five years”. Andrew Adonis clearly didn’t share that assessment in his speech
Lord Adonis
… We had debates last year on higher education provision in Northern Ireland, with which there is a general problem. There is far too little of it at the moment. There is a big outflow of students from Northern Ireland simply because there are insufficient higher education places in the Province. In the last year, 17,440 Northern Ireland students—28% of all students there—studied in England, Wales and Scotland. As I know from my conversations in Belfast and Derry, many of those students study outside Northern Ireland not by choice but simply because they cannot access the places that they want in Northern Ireland. This is doing huge damage to the society and economy of the Province. Two-thirds of students who study elsewhere in the United Kingdom do not return after graduation, so this situation is leading to a systemic outflow of some of the most talented people in Northern Ireland. They never come back simply because the politicians there have not been able to agree on a satisfactory level of higher education provision.
The situation in Derry is particularly serious because there is no dedicated university for the second city in Northern Ireland. As your Lordships know, the big debate about higher education provision in Derry goes back 60 years. However, far from getting better, the situation is getting worse. Commitments given in the last 10 years have not been met. The number of places The number of places available to students in Derry at the Magee campus of Ulster University is pitifully small. There are only 3,429—barely more than were available 10 years ago. The medical school, which we have debated in the House several times, is not proceeding. What now needs to be done to give it the consent required to make it possible for people to undergo medical training in Derry, which does not happen at present?
The finances of the University of Ulster are clearly in a shambolic state. The proposed new campus in Belfast, which is almost certainly located in the wrong place anyway, is more than £100 million over budget and more than three years late in delivery. To cap it all, the vice-chancellor of the University of Ulster has just announced that he is departing for Canberra after only four years, so the university is now without a strategy, without leadership, with a massive deficit, and not providing places in the second city of Northern Ireland, which desperately needs them.
Given the enormous damage being done to the life chances of young people in Northern Ireland, particularly in the city of Derry, I consider this situation as big an infringement of human rights as the issues relating to abortion and same-sex marriage about which we legislated last year. I do not believe it is satisfactory for Parliament, which is responsible for safeguarding the human rights of the people of Northern Ireland, to allow it to continue. I seek a commitment from the Minister that, if devolution is not restored in the immediate future, as we all hope it will be, the Government will come forward with concrete proposals for boosting higher education provision in Northern Ireland in general and, in particular, for an action plan to ensure medical places this year in the Magee campus of the University of Ulster in Derry, and proposals for a dedicated university for that city.
Lord Duncan of Springbank, NIO minister.
. I will start with the noble Lord, Lord Adonis, and the question of higher education provision in Derry/Londonderry. The issue at the heart of this is a decision taken by the Executive to cap the number of students. By doing so, they created a problem for provision in Northern Ireland, which is one of the principal reasons why so many students from Northern Ireland end up being educated in the rest of the United Kingdom. That decision needs to be addressed. I have looked with some care at Ulster University’s proposal for the Magee campus for the graduate school of medicine. To coin a phrase, I believe that it is oven-ready, and I believe that it could be moved forward in short order. However, it needs an Executive, or other powers, to move it forward. Again, I believe in endorsing the view that that is the only way to ensure the indigenous retention of medical practitioners; indeed, I will look at other academic disciplines as well.
.


sluggerotoole--2020-01-08--Northern Ireland’s Mental Health Crisis

Northern Ireland’s Mental Health Crisis

We ’ re in a mental health crisis .
It certainly feels like that when five people died by suicide during the Christmas period and mental illness continues to claim the lives of people we love in 2020 .
There is much to struggle with in these recent deaths .
An 11 year old child .
Parents of young children .
For anyone who hasn ’ t experienced mental and emotional pain so deep and chronic that it disorders your thinking and twists your reality , such events are utterly confounding .
Journalist Allison Morris quoted a Twitter follower she @ @ @ @ @ @ @ death of someone known to her , reflecting that “ Depression lies to you and it is a lie .
The people that you love and who love you are not better off without you.
” It ’ s a crucial message and while it might appear more confrontational than the usual offers of comfort , “ It gets better ” or “ You are loved ” , perhaps it ’ s time to be unafraid in offering people a more robust language as they confront the sophisticated demons in their heads .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ have someone in my life who suffers from clinical depression and uses a mixture of medication and talking therapies to manage it .
Every time suicide is in the spotlight with media reports of shocked friends and colleagues , heartbroken spouses and parents , I sit them down and have ‘ the talk ’ .
Just checking in .
You know I ’ m here .
Reassure me that you ’ re OK. And I look at my kids with a renewed anxiety about what the future might hold for them .
They @ @ @ @ @ @ @ year olds ?
That ’ s terrifying .
It dawned on me today that with over 300 people dying by suicide every year in Northern Ireland , more than 5000 since the Agreement was signed in 1998 and much higher than the rate in GB and Ireland , we are dutifully recreating the psychological conditions we lived under during 30 years of conflict .
Where once our collective anxiety and slow burning complex PTSD was sustained by the sporadic nature of bombs and shootings that could take anyone at any time , now @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that suicide can have the same devastating impact .
Your son ’ s been spending a lot of time in his room .
Why didn ’ t your boyfriend come home from his night out ?
You should ring round all his friends .
That new girl didn ’ t come back to parent and toddler group this week – has anyone seen her ?
Maybe I ’ m projecting – my own mental health struggle is with anxiety so I have a tendency to worry – but I reckon that as a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recovering from the trauma of conflict now than we were in 1998 as the ripple effect of suicide spreads further and further .
In 2008 when I worked for a children ’ s charity , I supported a teenaged girl whose mum had taken her own life .
A few years later I attended her funeral .
Work on the intergenerational impact of trauma by local experts like Prof Siobhan O ’ Neill is finally gaining attention from policy makers but without any real commitment to act on it .
Siobhan argues that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and support needs to be ‘ trauma informed ’ because of the way traumatic events shape mental health through relationships , families and communities for years to come .
This is common sense , given our post-conflict circumstances .
But any trace of this thinking in our clinical or community services is hard to find .
And as the political agenda remains obsessed with the legal implications of ‘ legacy issues ’ while side-lining conversations about trauma and recovery almost out of existence , we are creating an incredibly unstable peace .
In @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ t feel like peace at all .
As public anger at the Stormont stalemate begins to grow , the health service and in particular mental health , has become a focal point in recent weeks .
I ’ m not one for trying to sidestep the complexity of balancing political power in this place , and there are rights issues on the negotiating table that have to be fully appreciated .
But come on .
Our loved ones are dying because they can ’ t get to see a counsellor , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the signs , or midwives can ’ t get a day off for training so they aren ’ t up to speed on perinatal mental illness , or no one will release the money to roll out the things that do work like crisis intervention centres , peer support groups , mother and baby inpatient mental health beds , drug and alcohol harm reduction services .
It ’ s great to see young people taking to the streets to challenge the political parties under the banner of Pure Mental NI , and bereaved @ @ @ @ @ @ @ counselling services in every GP practice , something that the budget already exists for yet isn ’ t happening .
But we need action now .
We can ’ t wait for the negotiations deadline , or another election .
As grassroots human rights organisation Participation and the Practice of Rights urges the Department of Health to understand , this is an emergency .
In my own work helping with the campaign for perinatal mental health services , I have been frustrated to watch the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Health fail @ @ @ @ @ @ @ despite resounding agreement from the Chief Medical Officer and departmental officials that the lack of services in unacceptable .
Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death , with over half of these cases attributed to a severe form of perinatal mental illness called post-partum psychosis .
If the leading cause of death was a physical condition such as post-partum haemorrhage , believe me , the Department of Health would have done something about it by now .
We are told that Permanent Secretaries can ’ t act if the decision wasn ’ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
But bereaved families , campaigners and even the medical professionals delivering services on the front line have all been critical of the Department ’ s inaction .
The health inspection body the RQIA published a damning report into perinatal mental health services in Northern Ireland , or lack thereof , in the last weeks of the outgoing assembly at the end of 2016 .
They made two urgent recommendations ; an inpatient mother and baby unit and specialist perinatal mental health teams in each trust .
Despite the PHA establishing an implementation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ experienced healthcare professionals , three years later those urgent services still do not exist .
A prominent campaigner on perinatal mental health , Lindsay Robinson , worked hard to secure a political consensus statement signed by the leaders of every party in the Assembly .
There might not be a Minister in place , but no one will challenge the Permanent Secretary on this spending decision .
Keeping vulnerable mums alive and well to care for their babies is probably the most uncontentious item on his to-do list .
I sat down to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ recent losses .
We need both our political leaders and our high ranking public servants to feel this grief and understand that they hold the power to do something about it .
That ‘ something ’ might not be enough for everyone who suffers , but it would be ridiculous to pretend that we aren ’ t failing people .
The Department of Health ’ s own reporting states that 72 % of people who died by suicide last year weren ’ t engaged with any mental health services in the last 12 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least some of them could still be alive if policy makers listened better to what people are telling them about the barriers to accessing services and took meaningful action to address these .
Protect Life 2 , our suicide prevention strategy that was 5 years overdue , sets the frankly offensive target of reducing the suicide rate by 10 % by 2024 which would save only 6 lives a year according to the Mental Health Rights campaign group supported by Participation and the Practice of Rights .
That ’ s not good enough @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
It ’ s not good enough for all of us who desperately need to move forward as a society coming out of trauma , fear and loss .
For all the grieving families , especially those bereaved in recent days and weeks – your pain must be immeasurable .
While it won ’ t lessen it , please know that thousands of us in this wee place are carrying fragments of it within ourselves and we want to walk with you and do whatever we can to make things better .
Photo @ @ @ @ @ @ @

We’re in a mental health crisis. It certainly feels like that when five people died by suicide during the Christmas period and mental illness continues to claim the lives of people we love in 2020. There is much to struggle with in these recent deaths. An 11 year old child. Parents of young children. For anyone who hasn’t experienced mental and emotional pain so deep and chronic that it disorders your thinking and twists your reality, such events are utterly confounding.
Journalist Allison Morris quoted a Twitter follower she had engaged with after posting about the death of someone known to her, reflecting that “Depression lies to you and it is a lie. The people that you love and who love you are not better off without you.” It’s a crucial message and while it might appear more confrontational than the usual offers of comfort, “It gets better” or “You are loved”, perhaps it’s time to be unafraid in offering people a more robust language as they confront the sophisticated demons in their heads.
Like many people reading this, I have someone in my life who suffers from clinical depression and uses a mixture of medication and talking therapies to manage it. Every time suicide is in the spotlight with media reports of shocked friends and colleagues, heartbroken spouses and parents, I sit them down and have ‘the talk’. Just checking in. You know I’m here. Reassure me that you’re OK. And I look at my kids with a renewed anxiety about what the future might hold for them. They’re young still, but 11 year olds? That’s terrifying.
It dawned on me today that with over 300 people dying by suicide every year in Northern Ireland, more than 5000 since the Agreement was signed in 1998 and much higher than the rate in GB and Ireland, we are dutifully recreating the psychological conditions we lived under during 30 years of conflict. Where once our collective anxiety and slow burning complex PTSD was sustained by the sporadic nature of bombs and shootings that could take anyone at any time, now it is fuelled by the creeping reality that suicide can have the same devastating impact. Your son’s been spending a lot of time in his room. Why didn’t your boyfriend come home from his night out? You should ring round all his friends. That new girl didn’t come back to parent and toddler group this week – has anyone seen her?
Maybe I’m projecting – my own mental health struggle is with anxiety so I have a tendency to worry – but I reckon that as a society we’re further away from recovering from the trauma of conflict now than we were in 1998 as the ripple effect of suicide spreads further and further.
In 2008 when I worked for a children’s charity, I supported a teenaged girl whose mum had taken her own life. A few years later I attended her funeral.
Work on the intergenerational impact of trauma by local experts like Prof Siobhan O’Neill is finally gaining attention from policy makers but without any real commitment to act on it. Siobhan argues that our entire approach to mental health treatment and support needs to be ‘trauma informed’ because of the way traumatic events shape mental health through relationships, families and communities for years to come.
This is common sense, given our post-conflict circumstances. But any trace of this thinking in our clinical or community services is hard to find. And as the political agenda remains obsessed with the legal implications of ‘legacy issues’ while side-lining conversations about trauma and recovery almost out of existence, we are creating an incredibly unstable peace. In fact for many of us it doesn’t feel like peace at all.
As public anger at the Stormont stalemate begins to grow, the health service and in particular mental health, has become a focal point in recent weeks. I’m not one for trying to sidestep the complexity of balancing political power in this place, and there are rights issues on the negotiating table that have to be fully appreciated. But come on. Our loved ones are dying because they can’t get to see a counsellor, or their GP is so overworked they missed the signs, or midwives can’t get a day off for training so they aren’t up to speed on perinatal mental illness, or no one will release the money to roll out the things that do work like crisis intervention centres, peer support groups, mother and baby inpatient mental health beds, drug and alcohol harm reduction services.
It’s great to see young people taking to the streets to challenge the political parties under the banner of Pure Mental NI, and bereaved families leading the 123GP Campaign to have counselling services in every GP practice, something that the budget already exists for yet isn’t happening.
But we need action now. We can’t wait for the negotiations deadline, or another election. As grassroots human rights organisation Participation and the Practice of Rights urges the Department of Health to understand, this is an emergency.
In my own work helping with the campaign for perinatal mental health services, I have been frustrated to watch the Permanent Secretary of the Department for Health fail to secure vital specialist services for mums despite resounding agreement from the Chief Medical Officer and departmental officials that the lack of services in unacceptable. Suicide is the leading cause of maternal death, with over half of these cases attributed to a severe form of perinatal mental illness called post-partum psychosis.
If the leading cause of death was a physical condition such as post-partum haemorrhage, believe me, the Department of Health would have done something about it by now. We are told that Permanent Secretaries can’t act if the decision wasn’t signed off by the outgoing Minister. But bereaved families, campaigners and even the medical professionals delivering services on the front line have all been critical of the Department’s inaction.
The health inspection body the RQIA published a damning report into perinatal mental health services in Northern Ireland, or lack thereof, in the last weeks of the outgoing assembly at the end of 2016. They made two urgent recommendations; an inpatient mother and baby unit and specialist perinatal mental health teams in each trust. Despite the PHA establishing an implementation group made up of incredibly skilled and experienced healthcare professionals, three years later those urgent services still do not exist.
A prominent campaigner on perinatal mental health, Lindsay Robinson, worked hard to secure a political consensus statement signed by the leaders of every party in the Assembly. There might not be a Minister in place, but no one will challenge the Permanent Secretary on this spending decision. Keeping vulnerable mums alive and well to care for their babies is probably the most uncontentious item on his to-do list.
I sat down to write this post through tears over our recent losses. We need both our political leaders and our high ranking public servants to feel this grief and understand that they hold the power to do something about it. That ‘something’ might not be enough for everyone who suffers, but it would be ridiculous to pretend that we aren’t failing people. The Department of Health’s own reporting states that 72% of people who died by suicide last year weren’t engaged with any mental health services in the last 12 months. This tells me that at least some of them could still be alive if policy makers listened better to what people are telling them about the barriers to accessing services and took meaningful action to address these.
Protect Life 2, our suicide prevention strategy that was 5 years overdue, sets the frankly offensive target of reducing the suicide rate by 10% by 2024 which would save only 6 lives a year according to the Mental Health Rights campaign group supported by Participation and the Practice of Rights.
That’s not good enough for any family who has lost someone. It’s not good enough for all of us who desperately need to move forward as a society coming out of trauma, fear and loss.
For all the grieving families, especially those bereaved in recent days and weeks – your pain must be immeasurable. While it won’t lessen it, please know that thousands of us in this wee place are carrying fragments of it within ourselves and we want to walk with you and do whatever we can to make things better.
Photo by Arantxa Treva is licensed under CC0


sluggerotoole--2020-01-08--Boris Johnson comes to power just as free market economics is going out of favour…

Dan O ’ Brien wrote earlier in the week that free-market economics is out of favour at the moment… Centre-right parties , like Angela Merkel ’ s Christian Democrats in Germany , are increasingly shying away from opening up protected markets , and privatisation has all but disappeared as an option for consideration and support .
Hard-right parties – from Sweden to Italy – view business with suspicion , and blame globalisation for every ill .
Strange though it might seem to say it after a big Conservative win in last week ’ s UK election , but British politics @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Tories won on policies that repudiated many of their professed beliefs : a higher minimum wage ; increased public spending ; and the manpower planning that is a points-based immigration policy .
And the manifesto ( pdf ) promise to “ ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals , our vital national security and effective government ” should also alarm libertarians .
John Harris quotes an anonymous minister as saying that the libertarianism of Britannia Unchained is “ all off the agenda ” and that “ some of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ led us astray.
” He goes on to quote another of Slugger ’ s digital buddies , Flip Chart Rick ( I kid you not ) : British voters don ’ t share the free-marketers ’ vision…The important thing to understand about right-wing libertarianism is that it is a very eccentric viewpoint .
It looks mainstream because it has a number of well-funded think-tanks pushing its agenda and its adherents are over-represented in politics and the media .
The public , though , have never swallowed it .
He then goes on to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ constituency .
It once appealed to people by offering tax cuts .
Today , however , many of the sort of businessmen who in the 80s wanted lower taxes now want other things , such as better infrastructure .
Against the backdrop of a shift away from small-state Conservativism , it is hard to see Britain out-competing Ireland and continental countries by under-cutting them on standards and taxes .
“ Singapore on Thames ” is what some in Europe , and Ireland too , fear once Britain leaves the EU .
The tiny @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and business-friendly laws which have made it a magnet for investment in the region .
But any suggestion that Britain could emulate Singapore is deserving of even more scepticism than the belief that Boris Johnson will turn around his country ’ s depressed regions .
Photo by Pixabay is licensed under CC0

Dan O’Brien wrote earlier in the week that free-market economics is out of favour at the moment…
Centre-right parties, like Angela Merkel’s Christian Democrats in Germany, are increasingly shying away from opening up protected markets, and privatisation has all but disappeared as an option for consideration and support. Hard-right parties – from Sweden to Italy – view business with suspicion, and blame globalisation for every ill. Strange though it might seem to say it after a big Conservative win in last week’s UK election, but British politics is following the wider fashion.
Over in England, Chris Dillow remarks…
The Tories won on policies that repudiated many of their professed beliefs: a higher minimum wage; increased public spending; and the manpower planning that is a points-based immigration policy. And the manifesto (pdf) promise to “ensure that there is a proper balance between the rights of individuals, our vital national security and effective government” should also alarm libertarians. John Harris quotes an anonymous minister as saying that the libertarianism of Britannia Unchained is “all off the agenda” and that “some of the things we’ve celebrated have led us astray.”
He goes on to quote another of Slugger’s digital buddies, Flip Chart Rick (I kid you not):
British voters don’t share the free-marketers’ vision…The important thing to understand about right-wing libertarianism is that it is a very eccentric viewpoint. It looks mainstream because it has a number of well-funded think-tanks pushing its agenda and its adherents are over-represented in politics and the media. The public, though, have never swallowed it.
He then goes on to posit that…
…right-libertarianism has lost its material constituency. It once appealed to people by offering tax cuts. Today, however, many of the sort of businessmen who in the 80s wanted lower taxes now want other things, such as better infrastructure.
Last word to Dan…
Against the backdrop of a shift away from small-state Conservativism, it is hard to see Britain out-competing Ireland and continental countries by under-cutting them on standards and taxes. “Singapore on Thames” is what some in Europe, and Ireland too, fear once Britain leaves the EU. The tiny, south-east Asian island has low taxes and business-friendly laws which have made it a magnet for investment in the region. But any suggestion that Britain could emulate Singapore is deserving of even more scepticism than the belief that Boris Johnson will turn around his country’s depressed regions.
Photo by Pixabay is licensed under CC0


sluggerotoole--2020-01-09--Uncertainty reigns as the (latest) Stormont talks enter final phase

So today should be the day .
Much of yesterday the Secretary of State briefed the ‘ problem ’ parties , the DUP and Sinn Féin on the nature of the governments ’ text without revealing it .
The smaller parties receive their briefings today , so whilst Good Morning Ulster is broadcasting from Stormont this morning , the next development is not expected before this evening .
Will there be a deal ?
Gareth Gordon speaking on BBC NI ’ s Newsline last night pointed out that it will only take one party to object to the provisions and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the chances of success are about 50/50 .
Reports of a shouting match ( or indeed , several ) last week suggest more than one party is not getting its way in the negotiations .
But despite not being the source of the shouting inside the talks , the DUP is the party most likely to reserve its position on the thorny issue of statutory Irish language provisions .
There ’ s a subjective sense within the party that the southern government has targeted them as the problem from the get-go and have @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to lump it .
It would not be the first time they ’ ve been targeted by both governments as blockers .
In February 2018 , the draft of a negotiating document was presented with fanfare as a draft deal .
Back then the perception was that the DUP was still reeling from an Assembly election in which Sinn Féin had got to within one seat of them in the previous March .
Perhaps Mrs May was trying too hard to prove to the Irish that despite her dependence upon the DUP for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ be tough with them .
But political fortunes have since changed .
Despite great tensions between themselves and the Alliance Party , on December ’ s form , the latter ’ s surge is least likely to hit them in new elections .
The great consolidation of unionism that we saw in the 2017 Westminster election may be over but it has only dropped to 30 % putting them where they were in that year ’ s Assembly election .
That may reduce the likelihood that Smith and Coveney pulling off a similar @ @ @ @ @ @ @ least because whatever happens today , there is still time to run before Monday ’ s deadline .
Despite the implication of loyalist paramilitaries in two murders at the weekend ( years after their ceasefire ) , Julian Smith took the unusual step of pulling in loyalists for consultations .
Unlike the Provisionals , loyalists have never been under the direct command of any senior party and as such , they retain the potential to wreck any nascent deal that emerges from the talks .
None of which indicates what the outcome will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Ireland is to get the institutions back up and running as soon as possible .
Not even the DUP wants an election .
It would be the sixth democratic ballot in five years .
Money is low , activists are tired and more importantly , so are the voters .
After three years ’ time out , it ’ s time to get back to work .
And to stay there , whatever the provocation .
We ’ ve had an object lesson in what happens when tactical politics wilfully crashes democracy .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ not even the crashers .
“ Stormont ” by stevelavo is licensed under CC BY-ND

So today should be the day. Much of yesterday the Secretary of State briefed the ‘problem’ parties, the DUP and Sinn Féin on the nature of the governments’ text without revealing it.
The smaller parties receive their briefings today, so whilst Good Morning Ulster is broadcasting from Stormont this morning, the next development is not expected before this evening.
Will there be a deal? Gareth Gordon speaking on BBC NI’s Newsline last night pointed out that it will only take one party to object to the provisions and it will fall.
What are the chances of a political agreement among the Stormont parties? Here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon. pic.twitter.com/KCzne0igUB — BBC Newsline (@bbcnewsline) January 8, 2020
He reports that the chances of success are about 50/50. Reports of a shouting match (or indeed, several) last week suggest more than one party is not getting its way in the negotiations.
But despite not being the source of the shouting inside the talks, the DUP is the party most likely to reserve its position on the thorny issue of statutory Irish language provisions.
There’s a subjective sense within the party that the southern government has targeted them as the problem from the get-go and have taken the attitude that they will have to lump it.
It would not be the first time they’ve been targeted by both governments as blockers. In February 2018, the draft of a negotiating document was presented with fanfare as a draft deal.
Back then the perception was that the DUP was still reeling from an Assembly election in which Sinn Féin had got to within one seat of them in the previous March.
Perhaps Mrs May was trying too hard to prove to the Irish that despite her dependence upon the DUP for her governmental mandate she was prepared to be tough with them.
But political fortunes have since changed. Despite great tensions between themselves and the Alliance Party, on December’s form, the latter’s surge is least likely to hit them in new elections.
The great consolidation of unionism that we saw in the 2017 Westminster election may be over but it has only dropped to 30% putting them where they were in that year’s Assembly election.
That may reduce the likelihood that Smith and Coveney pulling off a similar ‘outing’ to 2018, not least because whatever happens today, there is still time to run before Monday’s deadline.
Despite the implication of loyalist paramilitaries in two murders at the weekend (years after their ceasefire), Julian Smith took the unusual step of pulling in loyalists for consultations.
Unlike the Provisionals, loyalists have never been under the direct command of any senior party and as such, they retain the potential to wreck any nascent deal that emerges from the talks.
None of which indicates what the outcome will be. The best one for Northern Ireland is to get the institutions back up and running as soon as possible. Not even the DUP wants an election.
It would be the sixth democratic ballot in five years. Money is low, activists are tired and more importantly, so are the voters. After three years’ time out, it’s time to get back to work.
And to stay there, whatever the provocation. We’ve had an object lesson in what happens when tactical politics wilfully crashes democracy. It brings no one any good, not even the crashers.
“Stormont” by stevelavo is licensed under CC BY-ND


sluggerotoole--2020-01-09--And the Republic shuffles a little closer to the next General Election…

Whilst we ’ re waiting for an outcome ( if not an actual result ) , there ’ s been some speculation about the lifetime of the present Dáil in the Republic .
The Health Minister Simon Harris is the present lightening rod de jour and has survived a number of attempts to try to unseat him from the cabinet through a motion of no confidence .
Thus far he ’ s been saved by Micheál Martin ’ s Fianna Fáil sticking to their pledge to get the country through Brexit before ending their confidence and supply arrangement .
But @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the gap gets closer .
On the last occasion Fianna Fáil ’ s Kilkenny Carlow TD and chair of the PAC , John McGuinness threatened to break ranks .
This morning , there have been rumblings that the Rural Independent group , will put a no-confidence motion back on the table when they return to the Dáil next week .
It follows record numbers of patients on trollies in the last week .
After an appeal from the Taoiseach on Tuesday for Martin to agree on an election date in April the FF @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ’ s “ no possibility at all ” of FF voting with the Government .
That could mean that we see a process begin next week that leads inexorably to a General Election in the south .
However , as Pat Leahy reported at the weekend : …there is fierce pressure within Fine Gael to go sooner rather than later , to call the election in January and have it in February .
That is now the expectation in Government .
…many in the party believe an election held as soon as possible @ @ @ @ @ @ @ from the EU on January 31st gives Varadkar the best chance of capitalising on the Government ’ s widely-praised ( not least by itself ) handling of the Brexit hand grenade .
According to Leahy , Brexit and the economy are the government ’ s greatest allies .
The fact is that the recovery is now reaching parts of the country that it hadn ’ t got to by 2016 .
Against that , the gap between themselves and Fianna Fáil is now just two seats .
Although the polls occasionally have FG @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the two parties to be roughly neck and neck .
Also in the Irish Times , Harry Magee notes that Fine Gael is not only fighting Fianna Fáil in Dublin it also has to battle the surging Greens for the urban middle-class vote .
In contrast , there is evidence that Fianna Fáil is making a sustained recovery in the sort of working-class urban areas that were previously its stronghold areas .
With a few exceptions Sinn Féin , the smaller left-wing parties and the urban independents had a poor outing in the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the fall guys when it comes to the count .
With less than 2/3 of the 158 seats between them , neither party is now entirely in control of when the next election triggered .
For me , Brexit is what it is in Britain , a relief it ’ s ( almost ) over .
It ’ s over , but it ’ s not quite yet .
Whilst the government seems to be getting a quiet grip on housing , there ’ s a long way to go before it gets @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is likely to come down to is which party leader is the better campaigner .
Going into the 2016 election , no one predicted Martin would more than double his party ’ s seat total .
But whatever else his internal and external critics say about him he has proven to be a gifted campaigner both on the streets and in the tv and radio studios .
However good he is , his party is a long way off the old single-party majority days .
Whether it ’ s him or Leo will @ @ @ @ @ @ @ ‘ coalition of the willing ’ .
It could be a very interesting political spring…

Whilst we’re waiting for an outcome (if not an actual result), there’s been some speculation about the lifetime of the present Dáil in the Republic.
The Health Minister Simon Harris is the present lightening rod de jour and has survived a number of attempts to try to unseat him from the cabinet through a motion of no confidence.
Thus far he’s been saved by Micheál Martin’s Fianna Fáil sticking to their pledge to get the country through Brexit before ending their confidence and supply arrangement.
But each time there’s a division the gap gets closer. On the last occasion Fianna Fáil’s Kilkenny Carlow TD and chair of the PAC, John McGuinness threatened to break ranks.
This morning, there have been rumblings that the Rural Independent group, will put a no-confidence motion back on the table when they return to the Dáil next week.
It follows record numbers of patients on trollies in the last week.
After an appeal from the Taoiseach on Tuesday for Martin to agree on an election date in April the FF leader’s response was that there’s “no possibility at all” of FF voting with the Government.
That could mean that we see a process begin next week that leads inexorably to a General Election in the south. However, as Pat Leahy reported at the weekend:
…there is fierce pressure within Fine Gael to go sooner rather than later, to call the election in January and have it in February. That is now the expectation in Government. …many in the party believe an election held as soon as possible after the UK’s planned departure from the EU on January 31st gives Varadkar the best chance of capitalising on the Government’s widely-praised (not least by itself) handling of the Brexit hand grenade.
According to Leahy, Brexit and the economy are the government’s greatest allies. The fact is that the recovery is now reaching parts of the country that it hadn’t got to by 2016.
Against that, the gap between themselves and Fianna Fáil is now just two seats. Although the polls occasionally have FG in front, the trend is for the two parties to be roughly neck and neck.
Also in the Irish Times, Harry Magee notes that Fine Gael is not only fighting Fianna Fáil in Dublin it also has to battle the surging Greens for the urban middle-class vote.
In contrast, there is evidence that Fianna Fáil is making a sustained recovery in the sort of working-class urban areas that were previously its stronghold areas.
With a few exceptions Sinn Féin, the smaller left-wing parties and the urban independents had a poor outing in the local elections May. They may be the fall guys when it comes to the count.
With less than 2/3 of the 158 seats between them, neither party is now entirely in control of when the next election triggered. For me, Brexit is what it is in Britain, a relief it’s (almost) over.
It’s over, but it’s not quite yet. Whilst the government seems to be getting a quiet grip on housing, there’s a long way to go before it gets to an equitable outcome.
What it is likely to come down to is which party leader is the better campaigner. Going into the 2016 election, no one predicted Martin would more than double his party’s seat total.
But whatever else his internal and external critics say about him he has proven to be a gifted campaigner both on the streets and in the tv and radio studios.
However good he is, his party is a long way off the old single-party majority days. Whether it’s him or Leo will depend on their ability to broker a ‘coalition of the willing’.
It could be a very interesting political spring…


sluggerotoole--2020-01-09--Harry and Meghan resign to spend less time with their family…

Quite the shock as Prince Harry has decided to quit the family firm .
From their statement : After many months of reflection and internal discussions , we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution .
We intend to step back as ‘ senior ’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent , while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen .
It is with your encouragement , particularly over the last few years , that we feel prepared to make this @ @ @ @ @ @ @ our time between the United Kingdom and North America , continuing to honour our duty to The Queen , the Commonwealth , and our patronages .
This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born , while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter , including the launch of our new charitable entity .
We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course , as we continue @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , The Prince of Wales , The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties .
Until then , please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.
” – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex I am not a Royalist but I quite like Prince Harry – he has a bit of personality about him .
Being a royal seems to entail being some kind of Aunt Sally doll to be continually plummeted by the tabloids while you grin and bear it .
The press literally hounded his mother to death and recently @ @ @ @ @ @ @ onto his new wife .
So who can blame him for saying ‘ feck this , I am out of here… ’ They will likely set up a rival court in America where they can be a showbiz couple without all that deary business of having to open hospital wings or meet with fawning local dignitaries .
Best of luck to them , I say .
“ Prince Harry & Meghan ’ s Wedding ” by Tone ’ o is licensed under CC BY

Quite the shock as Prince Harry has decided to quit the family firm. From their statement:
After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution. We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen. It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity. We look forward to sharing the full details of this exciting next step in due course, as we continue to collaborate with Her Majesty The Queen, The Prince of Wales, The Duke of Cambridge and all relevant parties. Until then, please accept our deepest thanks for your continued support.” – The Duke and Duchess of Sussex
I am not a Royalist but I quite like Prince Harry – he has a bit of personality about him. Being a royal seems to entail being some kind of Aunt Sally doll to be continually plummeted by the tabloids while you grin and bear it. The press literally hounded his mother to death and recently they have turned their barrage of hate onto his new wife. So who can blame him for saying ‘feck this, I am out of here…’
They will likely set up a rival court in America where they can be a showbiz couple without all that deary business of having to open hospital wings or meet with fawning local dignitaries.
Best of luck to them, I say.
“Prince Harry & Meghan’s Wedding” by Tone’o is licensed under CC BY