Everything Ulster - Latest comments on Where To Now for Northern Ireland?

beano [Member] in response to: Where To Now for Northern Ireland?

beano [Member] — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 14:52:06 +0000

I think the problem with Sinn Fein is it doesn't matter if they f**k things up, because at the end of the day they'll claim it just proves their argument that Northern Ireland is a "failed (sectarian) statelet" or some such.

You might be on to something with the talk of Peter Robinson and others who differ slightly from Big Ian's vision of the DUP, but even once the Paisley is no longer running the party, there's still the likes of Donaldson, IP Jr and who knows how many more that are currently still more or less in the shadow of Paisley and friends? I don't know what the DUP members outside the leadership are like but from what I've seen there's no shortage of successors to Paisley - although they might at least use less of the fire and brimstone rhetoric.

Levee - until this ballocks with the national stadium I was all for direct rule too! Later I found out that not only had the direct rule ministers ballsed it up (basically by changing it from a sports issue into a cross-community, bring everyone together, make a name for ourselves and hope for a real government post, hash the way they did), but the NI Executive had previously touted plans for a 20,000 seater stadium for football - which is exactly what's needed! Anyway, I digress...

The main problem with direct rule is that it isn't really direct. I actually favoured Bob McCartney's old line of full integration - no more SoS for NI, just treat NI like Wales or any region of England. Every day on the news, nearly, you hear about Acts of Parliament creating new laws for England and Wales - it would be easy to extend them to Northern Ireland too, instead of creating seperate laws through the current process*. If it's good enough for England and Wales, it's good enough for us.

* I forget what the name is, but I think it's Orders in Council - they aren't debated on the main floor of the commons

Paul [Visitor] in response to: Where To Now for Northern Ireland?

Paul [Visitor] — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 13:42:09 +0000

Good post.
A bit depressing but an accurate appraisal of where we're at.

I wonder though if we judge the DUP too much on what their leader says and does. He's not going to be around forever and there other pretty capable and pragmatic people in the party (Robinson, campbell etc) who MAY see that the kind of perpetual opposition you speak about will ultimately get their party (and their own political ambitions nowhere).

Sinn Fein, in N.Ireland at least, seems to be a more worrying prospect. Despite the large amount of young intelligent people who're in and joining the party, there appears to be no challenging of the "sacred cows" of their own peculiar version of Irish Republicanism. They too seem stuck in an intellectual rut.

levee [Visitor] in response to: Where To Now for Northern Ireland?

levee [Visitor] — Tue, 25 Oct 2005 11:45:23 +0000

A few weeks ago on the radio - not sure if it was TalkBack - I heard someone say that they had no confidence in politics here, that we should be looking toward direct rule again because our politicians have absolutely nothing to offer.

Now, I don't necessarily agree with that line of action, but it ties in nicely with what you're saying here. Particularly your second paragraph.

Our local politicians have manipulated the public they claim to represent for decades. Emotive struggles, violence, biggotry and defending tribal territories have been the central themes the likes of Paisley and Adams have pushed upon the people. The frightening thing is that the people seem stupid enough to buy into it!

All this leaves people like ourselves frustrated and demoralized. I said on TLB a few weeks ago that we (reasonable people) needed to take some kind of action. Hopefully by publishing common sense articles like this one, people can waken up to the lies they've been told and start pressuring for better political representation.

Great post!