NOTHING continues to happen in Northern Ireland in the seemingly endless quest to restore devolution – so the focus has shifted to Westminster.
Secretary of State, Karen Bradley, has been busy in the House of Commons, issuing a raft of legislation going through under emergency procedures.
Reflecting the ennui of the populace at the lack of progress Ms Bradley introduced a bill that will enable her to slash MLAs salaries on the basis there has been no Assembly for more than a year. Her predecessor, James Brokenshire, initiated the discussion.
And, now the bill has passed Ms Bradley is “consulting” on cutting MLAs pay packets. Given that MLAs, the public and just about everybody else with a pulse has already said she should cut the salaries, it should be a short consultation.
However, the SoS wasn’t done there. A Budget Bill and a Regional Rates and Energy Bill were also brought before the Commons.
The Budget Bill was desperately needed. The Head of the Civil Service, David Sterling had warned earlier in the year that Northern Ireland would go ‘bankrupt’ otherwise.
The Rates and Energy Bill was also important. To manage our many budgetary shortfalls, domestic and business rates will be increased. They’re still lower than across other parts of the UK – but it’s unwelcome news regardless.
The second part of that bill has wider implications. It relates to the continuation of cost controls on the ill-starred Renewable Heat Initiative (RHI) scheme. This was, after all, the scheme that ostensibly brought down the Assembly.
There is currently an inquiry into how the budget for that scheme ran out-of-control. And, at least one local MP was not amused. Ian Paisley has accused the inquiry’s legal eagles of directing witnesses to the detriment of the DUP.
But that wasn’t the only thing emerging from the inquiry. As well as the Department of Economy being accused of being “serial offenders” in terms of blowing budgets, the aforementioned Mr Sterling revealed that meetings between DUP and Sinn Féin ministers and officials were not minuted lest it cause embarrassment for the parties.
Never let it be said that transparent government isn’t alive and well over here…
On a still more troubling note there has been an anti-semitic campaign against one of the most respected repositories of knowledge in Northern Ireland, Belfast’s Linen Hall Library.
Earlier this month the library launched an exhibition celebrating the Belfast born sixth president of Israel, Chaim Herzog as well as other Belfast born people who held important roles in Israel, including a Chief Rabbi and a Foreign Minister.
Israel’s Ambassador to the UK, His Excellency Mark Regev, launched the exhibition just over a week ago. Since then a series of vile and threatening messages have been directed to the Friends of Israel group and the library and its staff.