THE WEEK THAT WAS….
‘Anything you can do we can do better’ – forget Isner and Mahut’s 6-4, 3-6, 6-7, 7-6 and 70-68 marathon at Wimbledon. That was only 11 hours and five minutes of play spread over three days. This week the Assembly managed to sit for 19 hours and three minutes in just two days. Sadly there was no rain to interrupt play.
It’s not that long ago everyone was bemoaning the absence of legislative activity, but like a panic-stricken fifteen year finishing off his course work before the final deadline the Assembly progressed 16 separate pieces of Executive Business. All important and necessary stuff, but did the Business Office collectively forget there was a Recess coming? Didn’t they notice the tell tale signs of summer – sun, long evenings, parades?
There were some interesting exchanges during the Budget debate. It was almost as if someone had picked up a compendium of ‘Yes Minster’; the scales fell from their eyes and they realised for the first time that the bureaucracy of Government is not always there to facilitate decisions by politicians.
The Finance Minister argued that the Budget process is “lengthy, convoluted and repetitive — very repetitive on some occasions”. He also confessed that the whole process lacks transparency and that financial publications produced for the Assembly “did not lend themselves to easy scrutiny and challenge”. Whether that is the fault of the Mandarins or the Ministers, keen to defend their budgets in the gloom of obfuscating double speak, is a matter for debate. Necessity is the mother of invention, however, and the small matter of having to find c.£1bn worth of savings has had the wonderful effect of concentrating minds on delivering value for the taxpayer.
As Dr. Farry (Alliance, North Down) pointed out during the incredibly lengthy Wildlife Bill debate, President Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, argued that a good crisis should never be allowed to go to waste. With an inevitable contraction of the public sector due, is this Northern Ireland’s chance to shed its Keynesian Republic image, trim its excessive Government layers and give the private sector room to grow? Alternatively, given a track record of indecision and dither, we may just stagger through unchanged.
QUESTIONS & ANSWERS
Oral Answers
The FM is hopeful the EU will help fund a Conflict Resolution Centre at the former Maze Prison and noted that he’s waiting for the Coalition Govt. to bring out a paper on the possibilities of devolving power to amend Corporation Tax.
Over at DRD the Minister revealed that the new road between Londonderry and Aughnacloy has cost £27m so far, expressed his unwillingness to transfer any powers to local councils in the absence of RPA and confirmed that he’s asked DFP for an extra £2.3m to cover the popularity of subsidized fares for the over 60s. The DSD Minister discussed regeneration of the Lower Falls and has a bid of £5m with the Executive to fund a Mortgage Relief scheme.
Written Answers
The new Parades Bill should be out for consultation within weeks according to OFMDFM, DCAL’s consultants are still working on the business case for new sports stadia for Football, Gaelic and Rugby while the DETI Minister confirmed that she’s made five official visits to West Belfast.
Environment confirmed that February was the first month on record without a fatality and that deaths this year are running at less than half of those last year. DFP revealed that no civil servants have been sent on anger management classes in the last five years and DoJ confirmed that Lithuanians top the list of foreign nationals who have served sentences of over one year locally (there are only nine of them though). DRD estimates that the average daily flow of traffic on Belfast’s Lisburn Rd is 19,954 vehicles.
COMMITTEES
Cockle fishing on Belfast Lough was tickling DARD’s fancy, DFP was considering how the Assembly scrutinises the Budget and DEL was contemplating redundancies at Quinn Group. Education was trying to work out what the secret is to running a good secondary school in a disadvantaged area while DETI was reviewing implementation of MATRIX’s proposals. DCAL was briefed on Derry / Londonderry’s Capital of Culture bid, Environment was back on the tee at Knock Golf Club, Health was back on Sunbeds and Justice was considering a draft Community Safety strategy.
AND FINALLY….
With the House sitting three days next week instead of the usual two, MLAs are beginning to despair if there ever will be a ‘finally’ this year.
Roll on the Recess!
