sluggerotoole--2020-02-11--Now the counting is over, what does the Irish political landscape look like

Such a simple word , yet if we could sum up this election , it really was about change , not just for its own sake but ambitious change .
A sense that the country was heading in the wrong direction and despite record growth rates , a large section of the electorate opted to take a punt .
Fed up of paying high rents , having their children living with them and the cost of everything rising , they looked at who embodied that ambitious change and voted accordingly .
Unquestionably , that change was Sinn Fein .
Led @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a few months ago looked like a captain of a sinking ship across the island , has now been given a new lease of political life .
It ’ s not easy to pull the nose of an air plane up when it ’ s in free fall , only a select number of leaders have done so in the past .
I am thinking about people like Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny , who managed to turn a campaign around .
Aided by an able front bench , namely Pearse Doherty , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Reilly they dominated the debates around the three central issues of the election .
They also benefited in many respects from their team in the North , going back into government .
That ended the double abstentionist attack that proved so damaging in many areas in 2019 .
On his first day as leader of Fianna Fail , Charles Haughey was asked did he see any problems managing a big parliamentary party of 82 members , to which he replied “ I see 81 problems.
” More representatives can cause problems for a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and including the right people at the right time .
Don ’ t get me wrong , this is a problem the other party leaders wish they had today .
Sinn Fein ’ s rise took all of us by surprise .
This is a project that many have spent their entire adult lives working on .
The Sinn Fein I grew up with were a growing party in the North and marginal in the South .
Now they hold representatives in every single city on the island , except for Lisburn .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ There is a narrative that Sinn Fein are deeply ideological , but go back to their manifestos from the late 1990s and early 2000s .
This is a party that has moved and I predict will continue to do so .
The republican ideology mixed with centre left values will be the glue that keeps a broad church together .
Now they are truly a prime time party across the island .
This is the mandate moment for the party , now they have to deliver .
They need to show that Sinn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a dependable one .
In 1932 , Irish people did something similar by electing a Fianna Fail government .
Just 10 years before this , the founders of that party were opposing the foundation of the state , but fed up after 10 years of government from the pro-treaty side they wanted to take independence to a higher level and not have a business as usual government .
If I were a Sinn Fein TD , I would be looking back at that early Fianna Fail government to see how they used that @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the state for decades .
The former Sinn Fein president , Eamon deValera still has lessons to teach modern Irish leaders .
This leads me on to Dev ’ s creation , Fianna Fail .
After 9 years in opposition the party finds itself in retreat again .
Losing a number of high profile seats and missing out on key targets elsewhere .
There is little comfort for the party in this result .
The party and not just the leadership need to take stock about why it ’ s still failing @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , the party lacked any big ticket items to sell or any ambitious change for the electorate .
Fianna Fail essentially suffered the same fate as the Canadian NDP in 2015 .
The leader and party played it safe and was outflanked by a young Justin Trudeau who broke out of the political box and surged .
Sinn Fein also had people to rely on other than the leader .
Once upon a time , Fianna Fail had these people too .
In 2007 , the campaign was helped hugely by people like @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the dominant Charles Haughey had Ray MacSharry , Brian Lenihan and Albert Reynolds .
Lynch had George Colley and Des O ’ Malley .
Lemass had Frank Aiken , Patrick Hillery and Donogh O ’ Malley .
In this campaign , it was just Micheal Martin .
People will say plenty about Fianna Fail governments , but look around the country and most of the big nation building projects were signed off under Fianna Fail .
This narrative of a Big Ireland , with big ideas for the future , seemed to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ were taken by Sinn Fein .
There is no law that says legacy parties of the crash must be consigned to history .
I look at Iceland , Greece , Japan and Canada which saw their respective legacy parties suffer heavy defeats and now are back leading their respective governments .
Fianna Fail can not simply wait for Sinn Fein to screw up , this idea that they don ’ t know what they ’ re doing or how they can govern is something that the party needs to shake itself out of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ SDLP in the early 2000s and underestimating Sinn Fein is something that the party has done enough of .
Using old and worn out attacks on their past , yielded nothing for the party and again going back to history , there were lessons to be learned from Fianna Fail ’ s own experience of being on the receiving end of such attacks .
You can not demand they serve in government in Northern Ireland and say no to them in the South .
The party needs to stop isolating Sinn Fein and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ When you ’ re focusing on what another party is doing , you ’ re not focusing on what you ’ re doing .
For many voters a Rubicon has been crossed in this election and it will take a lot of time for any party to win them back from Sinn Fein .
I know there is chatter about a coalition with Sinn Fein .
For Fianna Fail right now , they need another period in opposition .
There are far reaching questions that need to be looked at and a re-positioning @ @ @ @ @ @ @ spectrum .
All of this talk about a potential coalition has all of the hallmarks of Reynolds and Spring 2.0 .
A coalition of little trust or coherence will never last the full term .
When it came into office all the talk was of “ partnership government ” and enhanced roles for Labour , but none of it amounted to anything .
Few will thank Fianna Fail for entering into it .
That ’ s before you even get to who serves as Taoiseach and in the key portfolios .
Sinn Fein @ @ @ @ @ @ @ status and with their support why should they .
There is no law that says Fianna Fail have to languish in the low 20s , equally there is no law that says Sinn Fein have to be one term wonders .
Equally this election showed that the past really is a foreign country and Sinn Fein did things differently there .
Yet for Fianna Fail , the past is like an albatross around the neck of the party as Martin spent precious debating minutes defending his record from 15 years ago .
I @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and have not mentioned Fine Gael .
Remember them ?
They ’ re still the government , but off the pitch and licking much bigger wounds than Fianna Fail .
However , seeing this surge coming they ’ ve taken a step back , watched Fianna Fail representatives contradict one another over coalition with Sinn Fein and rule out another confidence and supply agreement .
Such strategic brilliance leaves me wondering where all of this was during the campaign ?
There are no easy options for Fianna Fail here , but some are @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to drop its timidity about its past , recognise and claim its space in Irish politics and fight for its survival .
Like 1932 , how does this party plan to take independence to the next level .
Ireland is a viable economic entity now , which the party can claim huge amounts of credit for , but to borrow the 2007 election slogan what are the next steps forward ?
Sinn Fein have an end destination , a united Ireland with a more social democratic ethos .
You can take it or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end port of call to sail toward .
That will sustain their brand no matter what the swings to or from them are .
Fianna Fail needs to find its end destination , which putting my Northern bias in here , has to include a united Ireland , but with a different emphasis .
Being the bridge between the West and Dublin and a bridge between Unionism and Nationalism would be a good start .
The fact that a year into the partnership with the SDLP it is still going nowhere is a @ @ @ @ @ @ @ house approach .
Its immediate port is opposition .
Not because of Sinn Fein , but because if the party is to be of some service for the country , it has to deal with these major issues internally .
You can not do this in government and ultimately its approach was rejected by the electorate .
The party asked the electorate to keep the Fianna Fail recovery going and it got a decisive answer .

Change.
Such a simple word, yet if we could sum up this election, it really was about change, not just for its own sake but ambitious change.
A sense that the country was heading in the wrong direction and despite record growth rates, a large section of the electorate opted to take a punt. Fed up of paying high rents, having their children living with them and the cost of everything rising, they looked at who embodied that ambitious change and voted accordingly.
Unquestionably, that change was Sinn Fein. Led by Mary Lou McDonald, who just a few months ago looked like a captain of a sinking ship across the island, has now been given a new lease of political life. It’s not easy to pull the nose of an air plane up when it’s in free fall, only a select number of leaders have done so in the past. I am thinking about people like Bertie Ahern and Enda Kenny, who managed to turn a campaign around.
Aided by an able front bench, namely Pearse Doherty, Eoin Ó Broin & Louise O’Reilly they dominated the debates around the three central issues of the election. They also benefited in many respects from their team in the North, going back into government. That ended the double abstentionist attack that proved so damaging in many areas in 2019.
On his first day as leader of Fianna Fail, Charles Haughey was asked did he see any problems managing a big parliamentary party of 82 members, to which he replied “I see 81 problems.” More representatives can cause problems for a party, in terms of managing personalities and including the right people at the right time. Don’t get me wrong, this is a problem the other party leaders wish they had today.
Sinn Fein’s rise took all of us by surprise. This is a project that many have spent their entire adult lives working on. The Sinn Fein I grew up with were a growing party in the North and marginal in the South. Now they hold representatives in every single city on the island, except for Lisburn.
They are also a changing party. There is a narrative that Sinn Fein are deeply ideological, but go back to their manifestos from the late 1990s and early 2000s. This is a party that has moved and I predict will continue to do so. The republican ideology mixed with centre left values will be the glue that keeps a broad church together.
Now they are truly a prime time party across the island. This is the mandate moment for the party, now they have to deliver. They need to show that Sinn Fein are the change choice but also a dependable one. In 1932, Irish people did something similar by electing a Fianna Fail government. Just 10 years before this, the founders of that party were opposing the foundation of the state, but fed up after 10 years of government from the pro-treaty side they wanted to take independence to a higher level and not have a business as usual government.
If I were a Sinn Fein TD, I would be looking back at that early Fianna Fail government to see how they used that first start to become the leading party of the state for decades. The former Sinn Fein president, Eamon deValera still has lessons to teach modern Irish leaders.
Soldiers of Destiny
This leads me on to Dev’s creation, Fianna Fail. After 9 years in opposition the party finds itself in retreat again. Losing a number of high profile seats and missing out on key targets elsewhere. There is little comfort for the party in this result.
The party and not just the leadership need to take stock about why it’s still failing to connect with voters. For me, the party lacked any big ticket items to sell or any ambitious change for the electorate. Fianna Fail essentially suffered the same fate as the Canadian NDP in 2015. The leader and party played it safe and was outflanked by a young Justin Trudeau who broke out of the political box and surged.
Sinn Fein also had people to rely on other than the leader. Once upon a time, Fianna Fail had these people too. In 2007, the campaign was helped hugely by people like Brian Cowen and Dermot Ahern. Even the dominant Charles Haughey had Ray MacSharry, Brian Lenihan and Albert Reynolds. Lynch had George Colley and Des O’Malley. Lemass had Frank Aiken, Patrick Hillery and Donogh O’Malley. In this campaign, it was just Micheal Martin.
People will say plenty about Fianna Fail governments, but look around the country and most of the big nation building projects were signed off under Fianna Fail. This narrative of a Big Ireland, with big ideas for the future, seemed to be absent from this campaign. Those clothes were taken by Sinn Fein.
There is no law that says legacy parties of the crash must be consigned to history. I look at Iceland, Greece, Japan and Canada which saw their respective legacy parties suffer heavy defeats and now are back leading their respective governments.
Fianna Fail cannot simply wait for Sinn Fein to screw up, this idea that they don’t know what they’re doing or how they can govern is something that the party needs to shake itself out of very quickly. Such complacency dominated the SDLP in the early 2000s and underestimating Sinn Fein is something that the party has done enough of. Using old and worn out attacks on their past, yielded nothing for the party and again going back to history, there were lessons to be learned from Fianna Fail’s own experience of being on the receiving end of such attacks. You cannot demand they serve in government in Northern Ireland and say no to them in the South.
The party needs to stop isolating Sinn Fein and in some respects obsessing about them. When you’re focusing on what another party is doing, you’re not focusing on what you’re doing. For many voters a Rubicon has been crossed in this election and it will take a lot of time for any party to win them back from Sinn Fein.
I know there is chatter about a coalition with Sinn Fein. For Fianna Fail right now, they need another period in opposition. There are far reaching questions that need to be looked at and a re-positioning of the party in this new political spectrum. All of this talk about a potential coalition has all of the hallmarks of Reynolds and Spring 2.0. A coalition of little trust or coherence will never last the full term. When it came into office all the talk was of “partnership government” and enhanced roles for Labour, but none of it amounted to anything.
Few will thank Fianna Fail for entering into it. That’s before you even get to who serves as Taoiseach and in the key portfolios. Sinn Fein will not settle for a second place status and with their support why should they.
There is no law that says Fianna Fail have to languish in the low 20s, equally there is no law that says Sinn Fein have to be one term wonders. Equally this election showed that the past really is a foreign country and Sinn Fein did things differently there. Yet for Fianna Fail, the past is like an albatross around the neck of the party as Martin spent precious debating minutes defending his record from 15 years ago.
I am more than a 1,000 word in and have not mentioned Fine Gael. Remember them? They’re still the government, but off the pitch and licking much bigger wounds than Fianna Fail. However, seeing this surge coming they’ve taken a step back, watched Fianna Fail representatives contradict one another over coalition with Sinn Fein and rule out another confidence and supply agreement. Such strategic brilliance leaves me wondering where all of this was during the campaign?
There are no easy options for Fianna Fail here, but some are worse than others. The party needs to drop its timidity about its past, recognise and claim its space in Irish politics and fight for its survival. Like 1932, how does this party plan to take independence to the next level. Ireland is a viable economic entity now, which the party can claim huge amounts of credit for, but to borrow the 2007 election slogan what are the next steps forward?
Sinn Fein have an end destination, a united Ireland with a more social democratic ethos. You can take it or leave it, but they have an end port of call to sail toward. That will sustain their brand no matter what the swings to or from them are.
Fianna Fail needs to find its end destination, which putting my Northern bias in here, has to include a united Ireland, but with a different emphasis. Being the bridge between the West and Dublin and a bridge between Unionism and Nationalism would be a good start. The fact that a year into the partnership with the SDLP it is still going nowhere is a testament to the failure of this halfway house approach.
Its immediate port is opposition. Not because of Sinn Fein, but because if the party is to be of some service for the country, it has to deal with these major issues internally. You cannot do this in government and ultimately its approach was rejected by the electorate. The party asked the electorate to keep the Fianna Fail recovery going and it got a decisive answer.


sluggerotoole--2020-02-11--After #GE2020, is it time for reflection?

Well , who saw that coming ?
Certainly not me .
I have to say I thought Fianna Fail would show up with a decent campaign and so , evidently , did Sinn Fein .
That they didn ’ t is why some of the new SF TD intakes hasn ’ t ever even been public representatives any sort before such was the singular popularity of their campaign .
There is no Irish Election survey so we have to rely on the exit poll regarding getting a quick understanding of what happened and where the votes went .
In taking @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a fair few from Fianna Fail , Sinn Fein stole* the latter ’ s ambition to replace Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach .
But it ’ s not clear where any of this leaves us .
Not that the press aren ’ t trying to second guess the outcome .
Almost every avenue suits SF to one degree or another , and the Greens .
But most of it fails to take into account the fact that FF and FG will have to address the scale of their own failure .
On these numbers @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the Taoiseach ’ s office without some form of painful compromise .
Mick Clifford , lays out what that might mean for FF… .
Can he eat his own words , re-evaluate his opinion of Sinn Féin as unclean ?
The only other option open to him is to do a Trevor Sargent on it .
In 2007 , Sargent was leader of the Green Party during an election in which he pledged his party wouldn ’ t go into government with Fianna Fáil .
When the numbers fell in favour of such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ thing to do was resign the leadership .
That ’ s all very well for a party like the Greens whose raison d ’ etre is saving the planet .
In a party whose raison d ’ etre is power that might be considered the work of a nutter .
There is a third option for Fianna Fáil , as enunciated yesterday on RTÉ Radio by Bertie Ahern .
The party could go into opposition and hand Mary Lou the reins of power to do as she pleases .
Such a course might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , but it would most likely spell the end of Martin ’ s tenure as leader .
This is a tough time for Martin .
Clifford puts the dilemma he faces roughly , but accurately : is Martin his party ’ s Moses ie , “ delivering his party to the promised land but not making it home himself.
” For the party ( and even for Martin and his legacy ) the price of going into government with Sinn Fein with a leader that has so visibly failed his own ambitions in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the next ex paramilitary death in NI .
He could do what the SPD and CDU have done in Germany , and make peace with the old enemy , Fine Gael and enter and hope a grand coalition would deliver .
But that would leave Sinn Fein in the same position as the AfD and leaders of the opposition .
That would leave them trying to sell yet another impossible counterfactual ( like stability for Brexit ) , ie that however well or badly it goes it would have been worse had Sinn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Fein the reins might be the best way for them to recover their senses and their primary purpose .
Failure to ask that question beforehand may be why his fellow minister in the last FF led government is leading the biggest ever cohort into govt .
And it would give the party a chance crystalise the vision it got so many young Irish people to invest in .
They will have their work cut for them to deliver .
As for Martin , it reminds me of the time I got kicked out @ @ @ @ @ @ @ go home economics for riding my luck one last time with the Tech Drawing teacher .
His last word , “ away off to cookery , at least up there you can eat your own mistakes ” .
Adds : But that ’ s too harsh .
Martin has been the best and most honest politician amongst a very poor bunch .
He has tried to call Sinn Fein ’ s hypocrisy and been run off the road by a media intent on getting their last pound of FF flesh .
Eyes wide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ accusation that Sinn Fein politicians take their orders from members ( or former members ) of the Provisional IRA Army Council .
A Labour party source today is quoted as saying they are… Mary Lou called such speculation cynical the other day , but she knows very well that the gap between her inflated manifesto claims and what she can deliver in government is cavernous .
But it may be hers now to leap in the best way she can .
Not only did Mrs Quinn not get her retraction from Conor Murphy @ @ @ @ @ @ @ a Greek chorus telling her that her son ’ s tragic story and the deliberately blackening of her name was made no difference at all to the outcome of the election .
Worse , that SF ’ s handling of her case was perfectly proper .
Micheal Martin stood like a rock against a populist tide within the media and from his opponents in Fine Gael who invoked the ghost of Collins thinking that they and not SF would reap the rewards .
They have been sorely disabused of that illusion .
As @ @ @ @ @ @ @ this morning on Radio Wales ) , putting SF and its shadowy Army Council advisors in charge of the Irish government negotiations with their instincts for wrecking is quite mad .
Maybe they would resist the temptation just to block and wreck in order to procure the worst possible conditions for a post-Brexit trade deal .
But I ’ m sure the Irish people really sbould be taking such a risk with a party that only represents a 1/3 of them .
*I mean that in the positive sense of disruptive politics , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Twitter a backreference to SF ’ s own dodgy past .
“ Micheal Martin ” by stephen.spillane is licensed under CC BY-SA

Well, who saw that coming? Certainly not me. I have to say I thought Fianna Fail would show up with a decent campaign and so, evidently, did Sinn Fein.
That they didn’t is why some of the new SF TD intakes hasn’t ever even been public representatives any sort before such was the singular popularity of their campaign.
There is no Irish Election survey so we have to rely on the exit poll regarding getting a quick understanding of what happened and where the votes went.
So where did SF surge come from? Remarkable stat from Irish Times/RTÉ/IPSOS MRBI exit poll. 16% who gave SF a first preference voted FG the last time. More switched from FG to SF than FF to SF. pic.twitter.com/pkOCzBdB2J — Paddy (@PaddyMulroe) February 10, 2020
In taking more votes from Fine Gael, and a fair few from Fianna Fail, Sinn Fein stole* the latter’s ambition to replace Leo Varadkar as Taoiseach. But it’s not clear where any of this leaves us.
Not that the press aren’t trying to second guess the outcome. Almost every avenue suits SF to one degree or another, and the Greens. But most of it fails to take into account the fact that FF and FG will have to address the scale of their own failure.
On these numbers, there is no clear route to the Taoiseach’s office without some form of painful compromise. Mick Clifford, lays out what that might mean for FF….
Can he eat his own words, re-evaluate his opinion of Sinn Féin as unclean? The only other option open to him is to do a Trevor Sargent on it. In 2007, Sargent was leader of the Green Party during an election in which he pledged his party wouldn’t go into government with Fianna Fáil. When the numbers fell in favour of such an arrangement, Sargent felt the honourable thing to do was resign the leadership. That’s all very well for a party like the Greens whose raison d’etre is saving the planet. In a party whose raison d’etre is power that might be considered the work of a nutter. There is a third option for Fianna Fáil, as enunciated yesterday on RTÉ Radio by Bertie Ahern. The party could go into opposition and hand Mary Lou the reins of power to do as she pleases. Such a course might be preferable to many in Fianna Fáil, but it would most likely spell the end of Martin’s tenure as leader.
This is a tough time for Martin. Clifford puts the dilemma he faces roughly, but accurately: is Martin his party’s Moses ie, “delivering his party to the promised land but not making it home himself.”
For the party (and even for Martin and his legacy) the price of going into government with Sinn Fein with a leader that has so visibly failed his own ambitions in the election might only become apparent during the next ex paramilitary death in NI.
He could do what the SPD and CDU have done in Germany, and make peace with the old enemy, Fine Gael and enter and hope a grand coalition would deliver. But that would leave Sinn Fein in the same position as the AfD and leaders of the opposition.
That would leave them trying to sell yet another impossible counterfactual (like stability for Brexit), ie that however well or badly it goes it would have been worse had Sinn Fein been in power.
Handing Sinn Fein the reins might be the best way for them to recover their senses and their primary purpose. Failure to ask that question beforehand may be why his fellow minister in the last FF led government is leading the biggest ever cohort into govt.
And it would give the party a chance crystalise the vision it got so many young Irish people to invest in. They will have their work cut for them to deliver.
As for Martin, it reminds me of the time I got kicked out of TD and told to go and go home economics for riding my luck one last time with the Tech Drawing teacher. His last word, “away off to cookery, at least up there you can eat your own mistakes”.
Adds: But that’s too harsh. Martin has been the best and most honest politician amongst a very poor bunch. He has tried to call Sinn Fein’s hypocrisy and been run off the road by a media intent on getting their last pound of FF flesh.
Eyes wide shut they played with words over the accusation that Sinn Fein politicians take their orders from members (or former members) of the Provisional IRA Army Council. A Labour party source today is quoted as saying they are…
…unlikely to enter any government with Sinn Féin specifically with further doubts around whether it would enter any government at all.
Mary Lou called such speculation cynical the other day, but she knows very well that the gap between her inflated manifesto claims and what she can deliver in government is cavernous. But it may be hers now to leap in the best way she can.
Not only did Mrs Quinn not get her retraction from Conor Murphy, but she also had to endure a Greek chorus telling her that her son’s tragic story and the deliberately blackening of her name was made no difference at all to the outcome of the election.
Worse, that SF’s handling of her case was perfectly proper. Micheal Martin stood like a rock against a populist tide within the media and from his opponents in Fine Gael who invoked the ghost of Collins thinking that they and not SF would reap the rewards.
They have been sorely disabused of that illusion. As I noted yesterday on Sky (and this morning on Radio Wales), putting SF and its shadowy Army Council advisors in charge of the Irish government negotiations with their instincts for wrecking is quite mad.
Maybe they would resist the temptation just to block and wreck in order to procure the worst possible conditions for a post-Brexit trade deal. But I’m sure the Irish people really sbould be taking such a risk with a party that only represents a 1/3 of them.
*I mean that in the positive sense of disruptive politics, not as one SF MP implied on Twitter a backreference to SF’s own dodgy past.
“Micheal Martin” by stephen.spillane is licensed under CC BY-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-02-13--Boris Johnson sacks NI Secretary Julian Smith…

As predicted Boris Johnson has sacked Julian Smith in his reshuffle .
A very risky move from Boris Johnson in @ @ @ @ @ who was not only popular but more importantly seemed to be competent – unlike some @ @ @ @ @ did the job .
I also think it shows terrible leadership from Johnson who has @ @ @ @ @ above the needs of the people of Northern Ireland .
There is no word yet @ @ @ @ @ new Proconsul .
Will they go back to the previous strategy of palming us off @ @ @ @

As predicted Boris Johnson has sacked Julian Smith in his reshuffle.
Serving the people of Northern Ireland has been the biggest privilege. I am extremely grateful to @BorisJohnson for giving me the chance to serve this amazing part of our country. The warmth & support from people across NI has been incredible. Thank you so much. — Julian Smith MP (@JulianSmithUK) February 13, 2020
A very risky move from Boris Johnson in removing a Secretary of State who was not only popular but more importantly seemed to be competent – unlike some of the previous planks who did the job. I also think it shows terrible leadership from Johnson who has put his own petty differences above the needs of the people of Northern Ireland.
There is no word yet on who will be our new Proconsul. Will they go back to the previous strategy of palming us off with some non-entity?
If you never do anything else in your career giving back dignity and showing compassion to @SAVIA_NI and the victims of historic child abuse is a pretty amazing legacy for any politician to leave, good luck for the future — Allison Morris (@AllisonMorris1) February 13, 2020
Thank you @JulianSmithUK for your tireless commitment to devolution, for the work you've done for victims of historical institutional abuse & for securing much needed resource for Derry. Sacking the most successful SoS in a decade shows Johnson's dangerous indifference to us. — Colum Eastwood 🇺🇦 (@columeastwood) February 13, 2020
I was suddenly struck by the urge to rank all 21 Northern Ireland Secretaries of State from best to worst pic.twitter.com/kOTrHB4GLm — Peter Donaghy (@peterdonaghy) February 12, 2020


sluggerotoole--2020-02-13--The Northern Ireland Secretary of State league

As part of today ’ s cabinet reshuffle , the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dismissed Julian Smith from his post as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland after 204 days in the role .
Julian Smith has proved a popular Secretary of State with people from all areas of the community .
His efforts were crucial in getting power-sharing re-established at Stormont following the collapse of the Executive in 2017 .
Former Conservative party chair Brandon Lewis has since been announced as his successor .
It is too soon to assess how Brandon Lewis will get on as Secretary @ @ @ @ @ @ @ it might be interesting to review his 21 predecessors in the role .
This is always going to be an impossibly subjective task .
What follows is my completely unscientific league table of Secretaries of State , from worst to best .
Please don ’ t get mad .
The dubious honour of being the least competent Northern Ireland Secretary of State was always going to be a hotly contested one .
Reasonable arguments could be made about many on this list .
However , the incessant stream of nonsense and hand-waving dismissals @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have on Northern Ireland whilst in post as Northern Ireland Secretary marks Theresa Villiers as the worst of all .
Karen Bradley is a popular choice for worst Northern Ireland Secretary .
Her tenure certainly saw no shortage of comedy moments , including this Hall of Fame contender .
I gave Karen Bradley a bonus tenth of a mark on the grounds that , being completely out of her depth , she didn ’ t quite have the same level of malevolence as her predecessor-but-one .
It ’ s as if Mr Bean @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to take up the post of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002 .
If you ’ ve ever had a dream where you ’ ve had to land an Airbus A380 in a storm , teach a class in quantum mechanics , or dissect an elephant on stage , then you will have an insight into how Karen Bradley ’ s terrifying 18 month tenure as Northern Ireland Secretary must have felt like .
This is meant to be a not particularly serious post , but much of what happened in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ doesn ’ t lend itself well to light heartedness .
Under Roy Mason ’ s watch , Amnesty International condemned torture , including waterboarding , by the RUC at their holding centre at Castlereagh .
He also spent a substantial amount of public funds for the time ( £54m ) in what would prove to be the disastrous investment by John DeLorean .
As Lord Fitt would later remark , “ that wee fu**er… put things for us back ten years .
Fifteen.
” It is hard to disagree .
The obituary in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up Merlyn Rees : “ [ he ] may have been the perfect example of the British politician who imagines he brings superior understanding to Northern Ireland but makes things worse , not better.
” He is perhaps best known for his dithering response to the loyalist workers strike of 1974 , and for lifting the prescription against the UVF in 1974 before the Dublin and Monaghan bombings .
His “ constructive ambiguity ” about the prospect of a British military withdrawal encouraged both republican and loyalist paramilitaries to escalate their violence .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ Rees is a particularly striking example of a useless Secretary of State .
In office when the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed , Brokenshire was one of a series of bungling mediocrities to hold the Northern Ireland Secretary role in the 2010s .
His criticism of the PPS regarding cases involving former soldiers , and his failure to properly deal with donor secrecy drew much criticism .
Described by those close to him as “ not bright ” , King was shipped off to Belfast in the twilight of his political career .
He @ @ @ @ @ @ @ was signed , but was personally said to be opposed to it .
Owen Paterson had an unmemorable stint as Northern Ireland Secretary for two years from 2010 to 2012 .
We are now getting into the realm of mediocre rather than actively awful .
Humphrey Atkins was Northern Ireland Secretary for two years from 1979 .
His instincts towards political compromise were squashed by the hard line taken by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher .
Prior was another 80s-era Secretary of State whose attempts at a move towards a resolution of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Pym only held the job for a few weeks in the winter of 1973/74 , but his short tenure did lead him to conclude that the power-sharing approach espoused by predecessor Willie Whitelaw might work .
Shaun Woodward had the Northern Ireland gig for three years during a relatively quiet period following the St Andrew ’ s Agreement .
His stint was distinctly unmemorable .
Paul Murphy had the Northern Ireland job for three years from 2002 , and turned in a perfectly acceptable performance .
I ’ m not going to lie @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fact that Douglas Hurd was Northern Ireland Secretary .
It ’ s like the urban legend that Marilyn Manson used to be in The Wonder Years , except it ’ s actually true .
In any case , Hurd ’ s most memorable act as Secretary of State seems to be that he got hammered in Dublin when he met his Irish ministerial counterparts , and had to be walked around a park to help him shift his hangover .
This is not unrelateable .
Peter Brooke is largely credited with bringing Sinn @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that Britain had no “ selfish strategic or economic interest ” in Northern Ireland and would accept unification if the people wished it .
Peter Mandelson ’ s appointment in 1999 would have caused Northern Ireland Twitter to collapse under the weight of its own gifs had it existed at the time .
That he referred to his job as “ Secretary of State for Ireland ” in his very first speech notwithstanding , Mandelson actually did do a pretty decent job .
He oversaw the creation of the Assembly and the Executive @ @ @ @ @ @ @ police service .
Peter Hain was in post during the St Andrew ’ s Agreement , and is credited with negotiating the settlement which saw both the DUP and Sinn Féin join the Northern Ireland Executive in 2007 .
Reid held the job for nearly two years after Mandelson ’ s resignation .
He is known for confronting both republican and loyalist paramilitaries during disturbances in East Belfast , for paving the way towards decommissioning of IRA weapons , and overseeing the creation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland .
By some @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Secretary of State for over a decade , Julian Smith was instrumental in the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive in January 2020 .
He is also known for his work with victims of the Troubles and victims of historical institutional abuse .
The precise reasons for his dismissal remain opaque , but his removal as Secretary of State caused dismay across the political spectrum , and the expectations on his successor will be immense .
Whitelaw was the first Northern Ireland Secretary of State following the imposition of direct rule in 1972 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through the creation of a power-sharing executive with the Sunningdale Agreement would ultimately prove futile , he set the template for how the conflict would eventually be resolved decades later .
Mayhew ’ s tenure as Northern Ireland secretary helped pave the way towards the Good Friday Agreement of 1998 .
The Downing Street Declaration of December 1993 happened under his watch , and his patient approach towards talks was instrumental in the breakthrough that followed under his successor .
Mo Mowlam is indisputably the best Secretary of State .
Mowlam personified the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ value the most highly .
She was kind , empathetic , caring , hard as nails , and utterly fearless .
That the Good Friday Agreement was ever signed in the first place was in no small part due to the force of her personality , and she will forever be remembered as one of the giants of Irish politics .
When Mowlam was appointed Secretary of State in 1997 , my teenage self ’ s pre-occupation , other than trying to summon the courage to talk to the girl I sat across @ @ @ @ @ @ @ have been to “ get out of this godforsaken hellhole at the first opportunity ” .
But now , occasionally , as me and the girl from double award science watch our children play together in the Mo Mowlam Play Park at Stormont , I ’ m struck by the fact that sometimes things do actually get better .

As part of today’s cabinet reshuffle, the Prime Minister Boris Johnson has dismissed Julian Smith from his post as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland after 204 days in the role.
Julian Smith has proved a popular Secretary of State with people from all areas of the community. His efforts were crucial in getting power-sharing re-established at Stormont following the collapse of the Executive in 2017. Former Conservative party chair Brandon Lewis has since been announced as his successor.
It is too soon to assess how Brandon Lewis will get on as Secretary of State. However, I thought it might be interesting to review his 21 predecessors in the role. This is always going to be an impossibly subjective task. What follows is my completely unscientific league table of Secretaries of State, from worst to best. Please don’t get mad.
21) Theresa Villiers (Conservative: 2012-16) – 0.0 out of 10
The dubious honour of being the least competent Northern Ireland Secretary of State was always going to be a hotly contested one. Reasonable arguments could be made about many on this list. However, the incessant stream of nonsense and hand-waving dismissals of the impact a hard Brexit would have on Northern Ireland whilst in post as Northern Ireland Secretary marks Theresa Villiers as the worst of all.
20) Karen Bradley (Conservative: 2018-19) – 0.1
Karen Bradley is a popular choice for worst Northern Ireland Secretary. Her tenure certainly saw no shortage of comedy moments, including this Hall of Fame contender.
I gave Karen Bradley a bonus tenth of a mark on the grounds that, being completely out of her depth, she didn’t quite have the same level of malevolence as her predecessor-but-one. It’s as if Mr Bean had been sent instead of Paddy Ashdown to take up the post of High Representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in 2002. If you’ve ever had a dream where you’ve had to land an Airbus A380 in a storm, teach a class in quantum mechanics, or dissect an elephant on stage, then you will have an insight into how Karen Bradley’s terrifying 18 month tenure as Northern Ireland Secretary must have felt like.
19) Roy Mason (Labour: 1976-79) – 1.0
This is meant to be a not particularly serious post, but much of what happened in Northern Ireland over the last 50 years doesn’t lend itself well to light heartedness. Under Roy Mason’s watch, Amnesty International condemned torture, including waterboarding, by the RUC at their holding centre at Castlereagh. He also spent a substantial amount of public funds for the time (£54m) in what would prove to be the disastrous investment by John DeLorean.
As Lord Fitt would later remark, “that wee fu**er… put things for us back ten years. Fifteen.” It is hard to disagree.
18) Merlyn Rees (Labour: 1974-76) – 1.5
The obituary in the Irish Times of Merlyn Rees summed up Merlyn Rees: “[he] may have been the perfect example of the British politician who imagines he brings superior understanding to Northern Ireland but makes things worse, not better.”
He is perhaps best known for his dithering response to the loyalist workers strike of 1974, and for lifting the prescription against the UVF in 1974 before the Dublin and Monaghan bombings. His “constructive ambiguity” about the prospect of a British military withdrawal encouraged both republican and loyalist paramilitaries to escalate their violence.
Indecisive, incompetent, and inept, Rees is a particularly striking example of a useless Secretary of State.
17) James Brokenshire (Conservative: 2016-18) – 2.0
In office when the Northern Ireland Executive collapsed, Brokenshire was one of a series of bungling mediocrities to hold the Northern Ireland Secretary role in the 2010s. His criticism of the PPS regarding cases involving former soldiers, and his failure to properly deal with donor secrecy drew much criticism.
16) Tom King (Conservative: 1985-89) – 3.0
Described by those close to him as “not bright”, King was shipped off to Belfast in the twilight of his political career. He was in post when the Anglo-Irish Agreement was signed, but was personally said to be opposed to it.
15) Owen Paterson (Conservative: 2010-12) – 4.0
Owen Paterson had an unmemorable stint as Northern Ireland Secretary for two years from 2010 to 2012. We are now getting into the realm of mediocre rather than actively awful.
14) Humphrey Atkins (Conservative: 1979-81) – 4.5
Humphrey Atkins was Northern Ireland Secretary for two years from 1979. His instincts towards political compromise were squashed by the hard line taken by then Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.
13) Jim Prior (Conservative: 1981-84) – 4.5
Prior was another 80s-era Secretary of State whose attempts at a move towards a resolution of the conflict were stymied by his boss.
12) Francis Pym (Conservative: 1973-74) – 4.8
Pym only held the job for a few weeks in the winter of 1973/74, but his short tenure did lead him to conclude that the power-sharing approach espoused by predecessor Willie Whitelaw might work.
11) Shaun Woodward (Labour: 2007-10) – 5.1
Shaun Woodward had the Northern Ireland gig for three years during a relatively quiet period following the St Andrew’s Agreement. His stint was distinctly unmemorable.
10) Paul Murphy (Labour: 2002-05) – 5.2
Paul Murphy had the Northern Ireland job for three years from 2002, and turned in a perfectly acceptable performance.
9) Douglas Hurd (Conservative: 1984-85) – 5.3
I’m not going to lie, I had completely forgotten about the fact that Douglas Hurd was Northern Ireland Secretary. It’s like the urban legend that Marilyn Manson used to be in The Wonder Years, except it’s actually true. In any case, Hurd’s most memorable act as Secretary of State seems to be that he got hammered in Dublin when he met his Irish ministerial counterparts, and had to be walked around a park to help him shift his hangover. This is not unrelateable.
8) Peter Brooke (Conservative: 1989-92) – 5.9
Peter Brooke is largely credited with bringing Sinn Féin to the negotiating table, declaring that Britain had no “selfish strategic or economic interest” in Northern Ireland and would accept unification if the people wished it.
7) Peter Mandelson (Labour: 1999-2001) – 6.0
Peter Mandelson’s appointment in 1999 would have caused Northern Ireland Twitter to collapse under the weight of its own gifs had it existed at the time. That he referred to his job as “Secretary of State for Ireland” in his very first speech notwithstanding, Mandelson actually did do a pretty decent job. He oversaw the creation of the Assembly and the Executive, as well as reform of the police service.
6) Peter Hain (Labour: 2005-07) – 6.1
Peter Hain was in post during the St Andrew’s Agreement, and is credited with negotiating the settlement which saw both the DUP and Sinn Féin join the Northern Ireland Executive in 2007.
5) John Reid (Labour: 2001-02) – 6.5
Reid held the job for nearly two years after Mandelson’s resignation. He is known for confronting both republican and loyalist paramilitaries during disturbances in East Belfast, for paving the way towards decommissioning of IRA weapons, and overseeing the creation of the Police Service of Northern Ireland.
4) Julian Smith (Conservative: 2019-20) – 7.0
By some distance the most effective and locally popular Secretary of State for over a decade, Julian Smith was instrumental in the restoration of the Northern Ireland Executive in January 2020. He is also known for his work with victims of the Troubles and victims of historical institutional abuse.
The precise reasons for his dismissal remain opaque, but his removal as Secretary of State caused dismay across the political spectrum, and the expectations on his successor will be immense.
3) William Whitelaw (Conservative: 1972-73) – 7.1
Whitelaw was the first Northern Ireland Secretary of State following the imposition of direct rule in 1972. His efforts to resolve the conflict through the creation of a power-sharing executive with the Sunningdale Agreement would ultimately prove futile, he set the template for how the conflict would eventually be resolved decades later.
2) Sir Patrick Mayhew (Conservative: 1992-97) – 7.2
Mayhew’s tenure as Northern Ireland secretary helped pave the way towards the Good Friday Agreement of 1998. The Downing Street Declaration of December 1993 happened under his watch, and his patient approach towards talks was instrumental in the breakthrough that followed under his successor.
1) Mo Mowlam (Labour: 1997-99) – 10.0
Mo Mowlam is indisputably the best Secretary of State.
Mowlam personified the character traits that people in Northern Ireland value the most highly. She was kind, empathetic, caring, hard as nails, and utterly fearless. That the Good Friday Agreement was ever signed in the first place was in no small part due to the force of her personality, and she will forever be remembered as one of the giants of Irish politics.
When Mowlam was appointed Secretary of State in 1997, my teenage self’s pre-occupation, other than trying to summon the courage to talk to the girl I sat across from in double award science, would have been to “get out of this godforsaken hellhole at the first opportunity”.
But now, occasionally, as me and the girl from double award science watch our children play together in the Mo Mowlam Play Park at Stormont, I’m struck by the fact that sometimes things do actually get better.


sluggerotoole--2020-02-13--Brandon Lewis is the new NI Secretary…

Brandon Lewis is the new NI Secretary…

Brandon Lewis becomes the fourth Northern Ireland secretary in four years .
Who he I hear you ask ?
From his Wikipedia entry : Brandon Kenneth Lewis CBE PC ( born 20 June 1971 ) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle .
Lewis previously served as Minister for Security and Deputy for EU Exit from 2019 to 2020 , and Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 2018 to 2019 , and has served as Member of Parliament ( MP ) @ @ @ @ @ @ @ has been described by journalists as having an impressive understanding of the Conservative party , having worked his way from Councillor to Chairman .
Brandon ’ s father Terry Lewis was the inventor of the microwavable burger bun , he sold the patent to Birds Eye foods in 1989 and invested the money into Pirates Ahoy !
– A Crazy Golf course in Brighton .
Ok , the last bit I made up , had you going there didn ’ t I ?
This section of Brandon ’ s Wikipedia entry is interesting @ @ @ @ @ @ @ on a “ clean expenses pledge ” , pledging to be “ completely open about my expenses ” .
In August 2015 , it was revealed that Lewis , claimed £31,000 of hotel expenses following stays at the Park Plaza hotel in London .
Hopefully , the plush surrounding of Hillsborough Castle meet his high standards .
To be fair to him he seemed a sensible enough guy from his biography , we can but wish him the best of luck .

Brandon Lewis becomes the fourth Northern Ireland secretary in four years. Who he I hear you ask? From his Wikipedia entry:
Brandon Kenneth Lewis CBE PC (born 20 June 1971) is a British Conservative Party politician who has served as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland since the February 2020 cabinet reshuffle. Lewis previously served as Minister for Security and Deputy for EU Exit from 2019 to 2020, and Chairman of the Conservative Party and Minister without Portfolio from 2018 to 2019, and has served as Member of Parliament (MP) for Great Yarmouth since 2010. Lewis has been described by journalists as having an impressive understanding of the Conservative party, having worked his way from Councillor to Chairman. Brandon’s father Terry Lewis was the inventor of the microwavable burger bun, he sold the patent to Birds Eye foods in 1989 and invested the money into Pirates Ahoy! – A Crazy Golf course in Brighton.
Ok, the last bit I made up, had you going there didn’t I?
This section of Brandon’s Wikipedia entry is interesting:
Lewis stood for Parliament in 2010 on a “clean expenses pledge”, pledging to be “completely open about my expenses”. In August 2015, it was revealed that Lewis, claimed £31,000 of hotel expenses following stays at the Park Plaza hotel in London.
Hopefully, the plush surrounding of Hillsborough Castle meet his high standards.
To be fair to him he seemed a sensible enough guy from his biography, we can but wish him the best of luck.


sluggerotoole--2020-02-14--List of Special Advisers and Salaries released by DoF

It ’ s taken a lot longer than anticipated for the list of names and salaries to be released , but late this afternoon the Department of Finance issued the list and numbers .
When the updated Code of Conduct was released , the maximum pay ceiling was also capped at less than a ministerial salary in the recently announced review and the Department undertook to assess the CV of the names brought to them by each Minister in order work out an appropriate salary based on the level of expertise rather than just matching or exceeding their previous conditions @ @ @ @ @ @ @ structured : Four of the six special advisers in The Executive Office ( which used to have eight advisers ) have been placed in the middle of band 3 , while all other SPADs are in pay-bands 1 or 2 .
Pay-band 1 salaries can be calculated as averaging around £52,000 , close to the maximum of that scale .
The average salary is £62,607 ( down 13.8 % from £72,681 in the last Executive ) and the total pay-bill has decreased from £1,162,894 to £876,498 .
• Economy – Mr Alastair Ross @ @ @ @ @ @ @ up appointment in near future when notice period for current role ends )

It’s taken a lot longer than anticipated for the list of names and salaries to be released, but late this afternoon the Department of Finance issued the list and numbers.
When the updated Code of Conduct was released, the maximum pay ceiling was also capped at less than a ministerial salary in the recently announced review and the Department undertook to assess the CV of the names brought to them by each Minister in order work out an appropriate salary based on the level of expertise rather than just matching or exceeding their previous conditions of employment.
The three pay-bands are structured:
up to £54,999 £55,000 – 69,999 £70,000 – 85,000
Four of the six special advisers in The Executive Office (which used to have eight advisers) have been placed in the middle of band 3, while all other SPADs are in pay-bands 1 or 2.
Pay-band 1 salaries can be calculated as averaging around £52,000, close to the maximum of that scale.
The average salary is £62,607 (down 13.8% from £72,681 in the last Executive) and the total pay-bill has decreased from £1,162,894 to £876,498.
Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs – Mr Mark Beattie – Pay-band 1
Communities – Mr Ronan McGinley – Pay-band 1
Economy – Mr Alastair Ross – Pay-band 2 £65,000 (will take up appointment in near future when notice period for current role ends)
Education – Mr Peter Martin – Pay-band 2 £60,000
Finance – Mr Eoin Rooney – Pay-band 1
Health – Mr Mark Ovens – Pay-band 2 £60,000
Infrastructure – Ms Tanya McCamphill – Pay-band 1
Justice – Ms Claire Johnson – Pay-band 1
Executive Office – Mr Stephen McGlade – Pay-band 3 £78,000
Executive Office – Dr Dara O’Hagan – Pay-band 3 £78,000
Executive Office – Mr John Loughran – Pay-band 2 £67,000
Executive Office – Dr Philip Weir – Pay-band 3 £78,000
Executive Office – Ms Emma Little-Pengelly – Pay-band 3 £78,000
Executive Office – Mrs Kim Ashton – Pay-band 1


sluggerotoole--2020-02-14--If we want a better future we shouldn’t treat our history as a “swamp”

One of the fascinating things about the provenance of the Quinn story was that because it broke in a southern newspaper , it became news in Northern Ireland .
We ’ ve been here before .
Up that point , the two main parties in the south had either failed or were not prepared to make a big fuss of Sinn Fein ’ s ongoing attachment to the IRA murder campaign in Northern Ireland .
Afterward , The View conducted a fascinating and I think an important debate which aired two sides of an argument about how we should handle @ @ @ @ @ @ @ started with an argument that we need a comprehensive process with which to handle these issues and later called the long tail of misery for victims ’ families a swamp .
No legacy process can adequately deal with the underlying problem here , which is that with the serial denial of justice for anyone attacked by paramilitaries , no one is safe .
The election may be over in the south , but the fact remains the Quinn family is up against a thick criminal conspiracy that the state either can not or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of his initial remarks , Bradley states that whether or not the Quinn murder “ falls into the past or not , I don ’ t have the evidence for that and I don ’ t think that ’ s relevant ” .
The most relevant evidence is the date , 20th October 2007 .
His name is not in Lost Lives , nor should it be .
He was murdered in the wake of St Andrews and not the Belfast Agreement .
Now , if there is any political cover deriving from @ @ @ @ @ @ @ than a year after Sinn Fein ( though not the IRA ) had supposedly signed up to policing earlier in that year .
As Newton Emerson pointed out , this ambiguity makes it difficult to call any of these matters to a proper account .
At the edges , the conflation gives cover to ongoing criminality .
It unwittingly gives cover to what Eoghan Harris calls the Recurring IRA regarding murder , punishment , shootings , and coercive control over working-class communities .
Media silence on the problematic relationship between the IRA Army @ @ @ @ @ @ @ seen in the destabilising effect of the murder of Kevin McGuigan in 2016 .
It ’ s a form of self-censorship that has worked unremittingly in the favour of one party and in detriment of all of the others , nationalist , unionist and others even swallowing Stormont .
The framing narrative of Sinn Fein ’ s relationship with the Army Council is the preferred MSM convention , even though the PSNI has continued to state otherwise .
This pact of forgetting appears to have moved south .
Even to the point where @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to point out the obvious reasons they don ’ t want to share power with SF .
It is a glaring omission that has led some southern commentators to develop this sort of skin-deep analysis from Victoria White : If the PSNI is wrong in its ongoing assessment then Sinn Fein is in a position to make them accountable through the justice committee at Stormont , the Policing Board , or Ombudsman .
That they haven ’ t , suggests that the party fully accepts that assessment .
Herein lies the biggest reason @ @ @ @ @ @ @ partners to both FG and FF .
Yet the refusal of the press to call a spade a spade on this relationship to the army council has left them both open to ridicule and derision .
For all his shortcomings , no one told Dev what to do .
But yesterday a supposedly retired Adams bounced like Tigger back into the SF parliamentary party at Buswells yesterday .
After this election , Ireland sits on the edge of what Steven Johnson calls an “ adjacent possible… ” That is , I suspect , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ driving at when they through this seemingly insoluble problem back in the faces of their political class .
In a digital age of “ endless forgetting ” , I recall one of Ireland ’ s most enduring philosophers on the practice of democracy : “ Those who don ’ t know history are doomed to repeat it.
” That ’ s not an adjacent possibility any of us need .

One of the fascinating things about the provenance of the Quinn story was that because it broke in a southern newspaper, it became news in Northern Ireland. We’ve been here before.
Up that point, the two main parties in the south had either failed or were not prepared to make a big fuss of Sinn Fein’s ongoing attachment to the IRA murder campaign in Northern Ireland.
Afterward, The View conducted a fascinating and I think an important debate which aired two sides of an argument about how we should handle our highly compromising past.
Denis Bradley started with an argument that we need a comprehensive process with which to handle these issues and later called the long tail of misery for victims’ families a swamp.
No legacy process can adequately deal with the underlying problem here, which is that with the serial denial of justice for anyone attacked by paramilitaries, no one is safe.
The election may be over in the south, but the fact remains the Quinn family is up against a thick criminal conspiracy that the state either cannot or will not touch.
In the middle of his initial remarks, Bradley states that whether or not the Quinn murder “falls into the past or not, I don’t have the evidence for that and I don’t think that’s relevant”.
The most relevant evidence is the date, 20th October 2007. His name is not in Lost Lives, nor should it be. He was murdered in the wake of St Andrews and not the Belfast Agreement.
Now, if there is any political cover deriving from the peace process, this was less than a year after Sinn Fein (though not the IRA) had supposedly signed up to policing earlier in that year.
As Newton Emerson pointed out, this ambiguity makes it difficult to call any of these matters to a proper account. At the edges, the conflation gives cover to ongoing criminality.
It unwittingly gives cover to what Eoghan Harris calls the Recurring IRA regarding murder, punishment, shootings, and coercive control over working-class communities.
Media silence on the problematic relationship between the IRA Army Council and Sinn Fein was probably best seen in the destabilising effect of the murder of Kevin McGuigan in 2016.
It’s a form of self-censorship that has worked unremittingly in the favour of one party and in detriment of all of the others, nationalist, unionist and others even swallowing Stormont.
The framing narrative of Sinn Fein’s relationship with the Army Council is the preferred MSM convention, even though the PSNI has continued to state otherwise.
This pact of forgetting appears to have moved south. Even to the point where Fine Gael and Fianna Fail have failed to point out the obvious reasons they don’t want to share power with SF.
It is a glaring omission that has led some southern commentators to develop this sort of skin-deep analysis from Victoria White:
The difference between Fianna Fáil and Sinn Féin may run even deeper than that between Northern nationalists and unionists, because it is one of class.
If the PSNI is wrong in its ongoing assessment then Sinn Fein is in a position to make them accountable through the justice committee at Stormont, the Policing Board, or Ombudsman.
That they haven’t, suggests that the party fully accepts that assessment. Herein lies the biggest reason why Sinn Fein might be unacceptable government partners to both FG and FF.
Yet the refusal of the press to call a spade a spade on this relationship to the army council has left them both open to ridicule and derision.
For all his shortcomings, no one told Dev what to do. But yesterday a supposedly retired Adams bounced like Tigger back into the SF parliamentary party at Buswells yesterday.
After this election, Ireland sits on the edge of what Steven Johnson calls an “adjacent possible…”
…a kind of shadow future, hovering on the edges of the present state of things, a map of all the ways in which the present can reinvent itself.
That is, I suspect, what the people of the republic were driving at when they through this seemingly insoluble problem back in the faces of their political class.
In a digital age of “endless forgetting”, I recall one of Ireland’s most enduring philosophers on the practice of democracy: “Those who don’t know history are doomed to repeat it.”
That’s not an adjacent possibility any of us need.
Photo by Elvis Bekmanis on Unsplash


sluggerotoole--2020-02-14--The rise and rise (and fall?) of CBD oil…

Over the thirty-five years of my career it has been a cherished wish that the public generally , and pharmacy colleagues specifically , would eventually become enlightened to , if not dependent on , the validity and superiority of science in decision making particularly in the choice of medicinal treatments we use .
Sadly , that cherished wish remains unfulfilled and was painfully dashed when I attended the UK Pharmacy Show at the NEC Birmingham at the end of last year .
Twenty-three stands featured CBD oil products and it seems pharmacists are being ; educated , coarsed , bullied @ @ @ @ @ @ @ into the ideological belief that CBD is , must be , has to be , the panacea mankind has been seeking since we climbed down from the trees onto the Savannahs of Africa .
The commitment to this ideology from venture capitalists is , to say the least , impressive .
Not since the infancy of e-cigarettes has venture capital splashed out so much on glitzy stands at the UK Pharmacy Show .
This year there was only one vaping stand .
I picked a CDB stand at random and when I asked @ @ @ @ @ @ @ innocuous question , I was assigned to Joe as he , I was told , was the most knowledgeable and would be better qualified to deal with me .
He was currently writing a book for the company on CBD and was an enthusiastic thirty something with a first-class degree in English .
Firstly , he assured me his company was an ethical company – unlike some competitors he intimated – an assurance I found naïve .
He referred me to studies listed online on a website “ NCBI project cannabis ” and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ me , to advise government as he felt government really had failed to keep up , or even catch up , with all the exciting scientific findings about CBD .
The National Institute for Healthcare and Clinical Excellence ( NICE ) assessment NG144 adopted by DoH in January 2020 would suggest government is well informed about these “ exciting scientific findings ” .
My questions , I told him , were on three issues ; the quality , safety and efficacy of CDB products and he wanted first to talk about safety as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ safety and quoted a paper published by the UK government that he claimed confirmed CDB products are completely safe , absolutely .
I knew this very study , I told him , and he was perhaps exaggerating the study claims .
It was designed to confirm that by manipulating CDB oil either in vivo or in vitro consumers could not easily convert some CBD ( the safe molecule ) into some THC ( delta 9 tetra-hydrocannabinoid ) ( the psychoactive molecule ) no matter how they tried .
He didn ’ t seem @ @ @ @ @ @ @ oil is safe .
We agreed that on the whole it was probably not a dangerous product .
Efficacy was a difficult issue to discuss , he told me , as his company can not make medical claims for their CBD products , yet .
He could quote scores of papers that show efficacy across a range of conditions .
The products he sold were licensed as foods which restricted what he could say but CBD works .
Such as ?
Well , Dravet syndrome ( rare form of epilepsy ) he offered @ @ @ @ @ @ @ soon get a marketing licence ( Epidyolex ) .
I told him I didn ’ t see many of these patients in my pharmacy and if I did , I might be reluctant to treat .
Had he nothing more common ?
Eczema is a good example where CDB oil is very effective as it has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects .
CBD oil is infused into a cream and I could recommend this to my customers so long as I don ’ t claim it works .
I asked about the cream @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the active agent but he dismissed this out of hand .
We then talked about quality .
How did I know that the CBD oil he was selling contained the stated percentage of CBD ( 1 % , 5 % or 10 % ) and he told me all product quality was verified by an independent laboratory for his company so no worries here .
I noted that on the CBD oil he sold which was 15 ml contained 10,000 mg and according to the bottle label there was a direction to use @ @ @ @ @ @ @ but the label also stated a warning not to use more than 200 mg per day .
If a drop –a drop is 0.6 ml – one drop contains a massive 400mg .
He didn ’ t want to comment on that and would come back to me .
I enquired what oil the CBD was contains in and he told me it was coconut oil He seemed unaware that coconut oil would be solid at room temperature and when I pointed this out , again he told me he would come back @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of us should have known , that CBD oil is hemp oil as that ’ s where it comes from- the hemp plant .
Joe ’ s boss was now hanging over us too much and it was clear he was uncomfortable given the type of questions I was asking .
He mentioned to Joe that he had an “ appointment ” and his appointment had arrived .
Joe thanked me for the challenging conversation and he promised he would come back .
Unsurprisingly he never did .
I was unlikely to be @ @ @ @ @ @ @ CBD oils , creams , facial washes and , oh yes , suppositories .
Editor Update .
Since Terry wrote this post there is a report that Cannabis oil products ‘ could be off the shelves in a year ’ .
From the BBC article : Oils , snacks and drinks containing the cannabis extract cannabidiol ( CBD ) will be “ taken off the shelves ” next year if they do not gain regulatory approval .
The Food Standards Agency ( FSA ) said products had to be registered by March 2021 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rising sales of CBD goods , not one product has been approved in the UK yet , raising safety concerns .
The FSA has also issued new advice on CBD use , saying it should not be used alongside other medication .
Cannabidiol is derived from cannabis but does not have any psychoactive properties .
It is sold in some pharmacies and health food shops as a supplement and used to treat conditions such as pain or insomnia .
Trials have found CBD products on sale that contain unlisted and potentially hazardous ingredients @ @ @ @ @ @ @ THC ) , the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis .
Many may contain little or none of the extract itself , contrary to their marketing claims and despite their high prices .
Photo by CBD-Infos-com is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA

Over the thirty-five years of my career it has been a cherished wish that the public generally, and pharmacy colleagues specifically, would eventually become enlightened to, if not dependent on, the validity and superiority of science in decision making particularly in the choice of medicinal treatments we use. Sadly, that cherished wish remains unfulfilled and was painfully dashed when I attended the UK Pharmacy Show at the NEC Birmingham at the end of last year.
Twenty-three stands featured CBD oil products and it seems pharmacists are being; educated, coarsed, bullied or brainwashed (not sure which) into the ideological belief that CBD is, must be, has to be, the panacea mankind has been seeking since we climbed down from the trees onto the Savannahs of Africa. The commitment to this ideology from venture capitalists is, to say the least, impressive. Not since the infancy of e-cigarettes has venture capital splashed out so much on glitzy stands at the UK Pharmacy Show. This year there was only one vaping stand.
I picked a CDB stand at random and when I asked, what I thought to be fairly innocuous question, I was assigned to Joe as he, I was told, was the most knowledgeable and would be better qualified to deal with me. He was currently writing a book for the company on CBD and was an enthusiastic thirty something with a first-class degree in English. Firstly, he assured me his company was an ethical company – unlike some competitors he intimated – an assurance I found naïve. He referred me to studies listed online on a website “NCBI project cannabis” and this was set up, he informed me, to advise government as he felt government really had failed to keep up, or even catch up, with all the exciting scientific findings about CBD. The National Institute for Healthcare and Clinical Excellence (NICE) assessment NG144 adopted by DoH in January 2020 would suggest government is well informed about these “exciting scientific findings”.
My questions, I told him, were on three issues; the quality, safety and efficacy of CDB products and he wanted first to talk about safety as it seemed he knew something about CDB safety and quoted a paper published by the UK government that he claimed confirmed CDB products are completely safe, absolutely. I knew this very study, I told him, and he was perhaps exaggerating the study claims. It was designed to confirm that by manipulating CDB oil either in vivo or in vitro consumers could not easily convert some CBD (the safe molecule) into some THC (delta 9 tetra-hydrocannabinoid) (the psychoactive molecule) no matter how they tried. He didn’t seem to understand that from this point CDB oil is safe. We agreed that on the whole it was probably not a dangerous product.
Efficacy was a difficult issue to discuss, he told me, as his company cannot make medical claims for their CBD products, yet. He could quote scores of papers that show efficacy across a range of conditions. The products he sold were licensed as foods which restricted what he could say but CBD works. Such as? Well, Dravet syndrome (rare form of epilepsy) he offered and confirmed that a medical product will soon get a marketing licence (Epidyolex). I told him I didn’t see many of these patients in my pharmacy and if I did, I might be reluctant to treat. Had he nothing more common? Eczema is a good example where CDB oil is very effective as it has both antibacterial and anti-inflammatory effects. CBD oil is infused into a cream and I could recommend this to my customers so long as I don’t claim it works. I asked about the cream formulation and if the cream might be the active agent but he dismissed this out of hand.
We then talked about quality. How did I know that the CBD oil he was selling contained the stated percentage of CBD (1%, 5% or 10%) and he told me all product quality was verified by an independent laboratory for his company so no worries here. I noted that on the CBD oil he sold which was 15 ml contained 10,000 mg and according to the bottle label there was a direction to use two drops up to three times daily but the label also stated a warning not to use more than 200 mg per day. If a drop –a drop is 0.6 ml – one drop contains a massive 400mg. He didn’t want to comment on that and would come back to me. I enquired what oil the CBD was contains in and he told me it was coconut oil He seemed unaware that coconut oil would be solid at room temperature and when I pointed this out, again he told me he would come back. It turns out, and both of us should have known, that CBD oil is hemp oil as that’s where it comes from- the hemp plant.
Joe’s boss was now hanging over us too much and it was clear he was uncomfortable given the type of questions I was asking. He mentioned to Joe that he had an “appointment” and his appointment had arrived. Joe thanked me for the challenging conversation and he promised he would come back. Unsurprisingly he never did. I was unlikely to be the kind of pharmacist who would stock CBD oils, creams, facial washes and, oh yes, suppositories.
Editor Update. Since Terry wrote this post there is a report that Cannabis oil products ‘could be off the shelves in a year’. From the BBC article:
Oils, snacks and drinks containing the cannabis extract cannabidiol (CBD) will be “taken off the shelves” next year if they do not gain regulatory approval. The Food Standards Agency (FSA) said products had to be registered by March 2021 or they would be pulled. Despite rising sales of CBD goods, not one product has been approved in the UK yet, raising safety concerns. The FSA has also issued new advice on CBD use, saying it should not be used alongside other medication. Cannabidiol is derived from cannabis but does not have any psychoactive properties. It is sold in some pharmacies and health food shops as a supplement and used to treat conditions such as pain or insomnia. Trials have found CBD products on sale that contain unlisted and potentially hazardous ingredients, or illegal levels of tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), the psychoactive ingredient in cannabis. Many may contain little or none of the extract itself, contrary to their marketing claims and despite their high prices.
Photo by CBD-Infos-com is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA


sluggerotoole--2020-02-17--Fergus on Monday: The Bridge to Scotland

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sluggerotoole--2020-02-16--The cost of living either side of the border

The issue of the cost of living either side of the Irish border received renewed interest today , following Senator Ian Marshall ’ s comments on the Sunday Politics that a single person in Northern Ireland is left with about £16,000 [ at the end of a year ] , whereas the same person in the Republic would be left with €1,900 in their pocket .
The Senator ’ s logic was that the cost of living is higher south of the border , and to an extent this is true .
Comparisons of the cost of living are always @ @ @ @ @ @ @ that everyone is going to have unique personal circumstances .
However , I thought it might be interesting to look at average incomes and housing costs across different areas of Ireland both north and south of the border to evaluate how households in either jurisdiction might perceive the cost of living .
The table below shows how average household disposable income ( i.e .
income net of tax but after transfers such as benefits ) compares with the average cost of renting a 3 bed semi-detached house in each area ; counties in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Northern Ireland .
The income figures are from 2016 , and the housing costs from 2018 ; currently rental costs in the Republic are rising by around 10 % per year .
I have used the exchange rate of £1 = €1.17 ( from the end of 2016 ) , and used an average household size of 2.5 in Northern Ireland and 2.7 in the Republic .
I have assumed average monthly healthcare costs of €155 in the south and nil in the north .
Even after the high cost of rent in @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the city put it top of the table for income after rent and healthcare .
However , given that rent has increased so rapidly in the city , it is likely that it will have been overtaken by Limerick in the overall affordability stakes .
Of course , some people will pay a mortgage rather than rent , so housing costs can vary dramatically .
What this analysis has not taken into account is the additional cost of living south of the border on items such as groceries and utilities , which is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ 20 % higher .
This means that the typical cost of living will likely feel higher in County Donegal compared with across the border in Derry , even though incomes and housing costs will be roughly similar .
In both the north and the south , the poorest areas are to be found in the immediate vicinity of the border .
In the Republic , the wealthiest areas are found in and around the larger cities , but the same is not true of the larger cities in the north .
Sharp rises @ @ @ @ @ @ @ last ten years will have had a corrosive effect on many people ’ s personal finances in the Republic , as the chart of increases in rental prices in Ireland compared with Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 2012 shows .
Housing and healthcare were given as the two biggest issues at the recent general election , and given the massive increase in the cost of housing , it is not hard to see why .
The question of whether the cost of living is cheaper north or south of the border is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ commuter belt could feel that living is more affordable than almost anywhere else in Ireland , and border areas in the Republic could perceive that the cost of living to be more expensive than areas on the other side of the border .
However , cities such as Belfast and Derry are clearly lagging behind cities of equivalent size in the south such as Cork and Waterford , even once the cost of living is taken into account .
Whilst there isn ’ t a simple answer to the question of which side @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of living , the two most pressing issues ( other than healthcare ) either side of the border are expensive housing in the south , and comparatively lower incomes in the north .

The issue of the cost of living either side of the Irish border received renewed interest today, following Senator Ian Marshall’s comments on the Sunday Politics that a single person in Northern Ireland is left with about £16,000 [at the end of a year], whereas the same person in the Republic would be left with €1,900 in their pocket.
The Senator’s logic was that the cost of living is higher south of the border, and to an extent this is true. Comparisons of the cost of living are always going to be fraught with over-simplifications given that everyone is going to have unique personal circumstances. However, I thought it might be interesting to look at average incomes and housing costs across different areas of Ireland both north and south of the border to evaluate how households in either jurisdiction might perceive the cost of living.
The table below shows how average household disposable income (i.e. income net of tax but after transfers such as benefits) compares with the average cost of renting a 3 bed semi-detached house in each area; counties in the Republic and local government districts in Northern Ireland.
The income figures are from 2016, and the housing costs from 2018; currently rental costs in the Republic are rising by around 10% per year. I have used the exchange rate of £1 = €1.17 (from the end of 2016), and used an average household size of 2.5 in Northern Ireland and 2.7 in the Republic. I have assumed average monthly healthcare costs of €155 in the south and nil in the north.
Even after the high cost of rent in Dublin, the very high incomes in the city put it top of the table for income after rent and healthcare. However, given that rent has increased so rapidly in the city, it is likely that it will have been overtaken by Limerick in the overall affordability stakes. Of course, some people will pay a mortgage rather than rent, so housing costs can vary dramatically.
What this analysis has not taken into account is the additional cost of living south of the border on items such as groceries and utilities, which is estimated to be in the region of 20% higher. This means that the typical cost of living will likely feel higher in County Donegal compared with across the border in Derry, even though incomes and housing costs will be roughly similar.
In both the north and the south, the poorest areas are to be found in the immediate vicinity of the border. In the Republic, the wealthiest areas are found in and around the larger cities, but the same is not true of the larger cities in the north.
Sharp rises in the cost of housing over the last ten years will have had a corrosive effect on many people’s personal finances in the Republic, as the chart of increases in rental prices in Ireland compared with Great Britain and Northern Ireland since 2012 shows. Housing and healthcare were given as the two biggest issues at the recent general election, and given the massive increase in the cost of housing, it is not hard to see why.
The question of whether the cost of living is cheaper north or south of the border is complex. Affluent areas in the Belfast commuter belt could feel that living is more affordable than almost anywhere else in Ireland, and border areas in the Republic could perceive that the cost of living to be more expensive than areas on the other side of the border. However, cities such as Belfast and Derry are clearly lagging behind cities of equivalent size in the south such as Cork and Waterford, even once the cost of living is taken into account.
Whilst there isn’t a simple answer to the question of which side of the border has the highest cost of living, the two most pressing issues (other than healthcare) either side of the border are expensive housing in the south, and comparatively lower incomes in the north.


Citizen Can

The renewal of democratic accountability , in both Dublin and Belfast , is to be welcomed .
This renewal offers new opportunities for people to tackle a range of issues , from housing to health , mental health and economic inactivity that have been afflicting the Irish polity living on both sides of the border .
With this resurgence in local politics , it is important people recognise a representative democracy requires its citizens/subjects to keep working with their elected representatives , long after the election , to ensure those promises made in the heat of electoral battle are not @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for maintaining such engagement are many but in the case of Northern Ireland the stark figures on hospital waiting lists , published in the Belfast Telegraph on 16 January 2020 , reveal that 22,000 have died waiting on treatment since 2015 , with 5000 deaths in last year alone .
If such figures arose from political violence people would be ‘ up in arms ’ but because these deaths arise from structural violence most just shrug their shoulders and go back to whatever they are doing .
Given the high number of peacebuilding @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Border Regions such stark figures of structural violence come as a shameful fact , and help underline why the concept of peacebuilding is in ‘ crisis ’ .
Of course , this being Ireland , such structural violence will be quickly forgotten as debate turns more readily to the ‘ Boris Bridge ’ or the ‘ Boris Border ’ : but just think about it , in the past 5 years 22,000 people have died from structural violence , and that ’ s just the ones on the waiting list .
Therefore , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ through this renewal of democratic accountability , the electorate might now begin to focus the minds of our elected representatives , and their attendant bureaucrats , on this structural violence , and by opposing , end it .
However , given its sectarian make up , the Northern Ireland polity appears unable to address such violence and , like the myth foretold , the people of Ulster appear to be under a spell and fast asleep .
And , while the place has been redolent of peacebuilding since the 1990s , such structural @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to ‘ peace washing ’ ( using the name of peace to get funding while not transforming the governance frameworks and ordering systems that sustain the structural violence ) rather than delivering the new dawn that hope and history rhymed for in 1998 .
Therefore , given such high levels of premature deaths , it is now incumbent upon all of us to take advantages of a new democratic account and finally end the direct violence and structural violence that has afflicted the island for centuries .
This objective will not be easily @ @ @ @ @ @ @ end our violence , and promote social transformation , has fallen on the Plebeian poor , who have been tasked with engaging in community relations programmes , to build positive relations , even though they were never responsible for causing the sectarian violence .
Nor have they the means to end hospital waiting lists , deal with the rise in suicides or build the homes needed to end homelessness .
And , while it might be a bit beyond the pale to request our peacebuilding professionals focus more on the political and civil @ @ @ @ @ @ @ of sectarian violence , and ongoing levels of structural violence , if we do not address such structural faults now we will continue to see rising levels of suicides , homelessness , drug addiction ( prescription/illegal ) and hospital waiting lists in our post-ceasefire era .
Of course , any attempt to shift the blame for this structural violence away from the poor towards those who promoted and profited from it may meet fierce resistance .
Nevertheless , if we are to take opportunities arising from this new political dispensation , now might @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to become active and publicly challenge those with direct responsibility for the structural violence .
One way to begin this long walk to peace might be found in the ‘ New Decade , New Approach ’ Agreement .
Here , we can find the means to establish ‘ Citizen Assemblies ’ and begin the conversation on how we might instruct our political and civil society elites to end the structural violence .
These assemblies can draw on the wealth of fiscal , social , intellectual and cultural capital resident in our people , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ better quality of life for all .
Of course , such a campaign will require major media exposure , to shift the paradigm from the usual discourses .
Whether there is a media personality of the worth to lead such a campaign remains to be seen .
However , coupled with the political energy arising from recent plebiscites , we might just encourage more people to take to the streams of social media and demand our commentators begin a serious debate on how to end the structural violence that has seen 22,000 dead @ @ @ @ @ @ @ for marriage equality has demonstrated , despite our faults , social transformation is possible .
The task now at hand is how do we tap into this social yearning for more of the same , to tackle our structural violence ?
As David Ervine once noted , peace is too important to be left to the politicians .
Likewise , structural violence is too important to be left to the bureaucrats and elected representatives .
So , if people can be motivated to deliver marriage equality , let ’ s start a campaign @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to motivate a new generation to help show our political and civil society elites how to deliver an end to structural violence .
If you don ’ t want your loved ones to be part of the next 5,000 structurally violent deaths , the time may be nigh to hold our elected representatives , and their bureaucratic attendants , to account .
The question is who will lead this quest to end our structural violence and deliver a life of peace and prosperity , for the many , not the few .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @

The renewal of democratic accountability, in both Dublin and Belfast, is to be welcomed. This renewal offers new opportunities for people to tackle a range of issues, from housing to health, mental health and economic inactivity that have been afflicting the Irish polity living on both sides of the border.
With this resurgence in local politics, it is important people recognise a representative democracy requires its citizens/subjects to keep working with their elected representatives, long after the election, to ensure those promises made in the heat of electoral battle are not only kept but built upon.
Reasons for maintaining such engagement are many but in the case of Northern Ireland the stark figures on hospital waiting lists, published in the Belfast Telegraph on 16 January 2020, reveal that 22,000 have died waiting on treatment since 2015, with 5000 deaths in last year alone.
If such figures arose from political violence people would be ‘up in arms’ but because these deaths arise from structural violence most just shrug their shoulders and go back to whatever they are doing.
Given the high number of peacebuilding professionals practicing in Northern Ireland and the Border Regions such stark figures of structural violence come as a shameful fact, and help underline why the concept of peacebuilding is in ‘crisis’.
Of course, this being Ireland, such structural violence will be quickly forgotten as debate turns more readily to the ‘Boris Bridge’ or the ‘Boris Border’: but just think about it, in the past 5 years 22,000 people have died from structural violence, and that’s just the ones on the waiting list.
Therefore, by keeping the political pressure on, through this renewal of democratic accountability, the electorate might now begin to focus the minds of our elected representatives, and their attendant bureaucrats, on this structural violence, and by opposing, end it.
However, given its sectarian make up, the Northern Ireland polity appears unable to address such violence and, like the myth foretold, the people of Ulster appear to be under a spell and fast asleep.
And, while the place has been redolent of peacebuilding since the 1990s, such structural violence suggests these activities are more akin to ‘peace washing’ (using the name of peace to get funding while not transforming the governance frameworks and ordering systems that sustain the structural violence) rather than delivering the new dawn that hope and history rhymed for in 1998.
Therefore, given such high levels of premature deaths, it is now incumbent upon all of us to take advantages of a new democratic account and finally end the direct violence and structural violence that has afflicted the island for centuries.
This objective will not be easily realised. Previously, the demand to end our violence, and promote social transformation, has fallen on the Plebeian poor, who have been tasked with engaging in community relations programmes, to build positive relations, even though they were never responsible for causing the sectarian violence. Nor have they the means to end hospital waiting lists, deal with the rise in suicides or build the homes needed to end homelessness.
And, while it might be a bit beyond the pale to request our peacebuilding professionals focus more on the political and civil society elites, who caused the outbreak of sectarian violence, and ongoing levels of structural violence, if we do not address such structural faults now we will continue to see rising levels of suicides, homelessness, drug addiction (prescription/illegal) and hospital waiting lists in our post-ceasefire era.
Of course, any attempt to shift the blame for this structural violence away from the poor towards those who promoted and profited from it may meet fierce resistance.
Nevertheless, if we are to take opportunities arising from this new political dispensation, now might be the time to encourage more people to become active and publicly challenge those with direct responsibility for the structural violence.
One way to begin this long walk to peace might be found in the ‘New Decade, New Approach’ Agreement.
Here, we can find the means to establish ‘Citizen Assemblies’ and begin the conversation on how we might instruct our political and civil society elites to end the structural violence.
These assemblies can draw on the wealth of fiscal, social, intellectual and cultural capital resident in our people, to design new ways to deliver a better quality of life for all.
Of course, such a campaign will require major media exposure, to shift the paradigm from the usual discourses. Whether there is a media personality of the worth to lead such a campaign remains to be seen.
However, coupled with the political energy arising from recent plebiscites, we might just encourage more people to take to the streams of social media and demand our commentators begin a serious debate on how to end the structural violence that has seen 22,000 dead in five years.
As the campaign for marriage equality has demonstrated, despite our faults, social transformation is possible. The task now at hand is how do we tap into this social yearning for more of the same, to tackle our structural violence?
As David Ervine once noted, peace is too important to be left to the politicians. Likewise, structural violence is too important to be left to the bureaucrats and elected representatives.
So, if people can be motivated to deliver marriage equality, let’s start a campaign to host a range of Citizen Assemblies, to motivate a new generation to help show our political and civil society elites how to deliver an end to structural violence.
If you don’t want your loved ones to be part of the next 5,000 structurally violent deaths, the time may be nigh to hold our elected representatives, and their bureaucratic attendants, to account. The question is who will lead this quest to end our structural violence and deliver a life of peace and prosperity, for the many, not the few.
Photo by Pixabay is licensed under CC0