Everything Ulster - Election 2005

OK, strictly speaking, the existence of roughly one million unionists in Northern Ireland is the biggest obstacle, but according to the SDLP leader Mark Durkan, the key to a United Ireland is persuasion, not coercion. He goes on to say "The existence of the IRA is only making the task of persuasion more difficult."

At the same time, Newry-Armagh MLA Dominic Bradley has backed up the Irish government's claims that the provisionals are to blame for the current impasse in the peace process. He said "The core problems are the failure of the DUP to work the Agreement, failure of Sinn Fein to sign up to policing and the failure of all paramilitaries to go away now and for good.

In an attempt to switch the focus back onto the Irish government, Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams has said "What about policing? Demilitarisation? Human rights and equality? The political institutions?"

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Perhaps if Gerry could stop mope-ing for a second he'd find the answers.

What about policing?
Well, Gerry, Sinn Fein were offered positions on the policing board, which they have yet to take up. Stop acting like the man who doesn't vote and then complains about the government.

What about Demilitarisation?
Demilitarisation has been moving along quite steadily, at least on the side of the British government, and I'm not aware of too many people being killed by the British army in Northern Ireland lately. While we're on demilitarisation though, how far along are the IRA on hanging up their guns for good?

What about human rights and equality?
Are we not, now, one of the most over-regulated countries in the world when it comes to equality legislation? Has the government not set up a Human Rights Commission which is making recommendations for a Northern Ireland Bill of Rights. Have they also not set up a police ombudsman? On human rights, where do you stand on the human rights of the retired police officers, now under threat for their lives from republican 'volunteers'?

The Political Institutions?
The whole reason they were suspended was because the provisionals proved unwilling to give up intelligence gathering, arms purchasing and other criminal activities. You can have your part in the political institutions or a private army but you can't have both.

Gerry went on to question the Irish government's record on education and other issues. Yes, you read that correctly.

The party that wants to single-handedly destroy Northern Ireland's grammar schools, against the wishes of 62% of parents in Northern Ireland, expressed in a populist "referendum" where the questions loaded in an attempt to get them to answer the way Sinn Fein wanted - and they still didn't. The (then) Sinn Fein run Ministry of Education didn't like the results though, so they pretended they didn't happen.

The same party that was in charge of the department of education when rural schools closed and Irish medium schools with intakes lower than 12 children were awarded grants.

Now they're challenging the Irish governments record on education.