Sinn Fein? They have gone away, you know.

[Jell 0 Biafra]

I remember when I used to understand this thread.

[MoChara]

Adams just said on Claire Byrne that he believed that the state was involved in the murders in the north, what a comment to drop

Yeah peculiar comment indeed, back in the day "State agents"  were a grand go to answer but now his party are leading members of the state supporting the state forces it seems a bit like political acrobatics.

[johnneycool]

Adams just said on Claire Byrne that he believed that the state was involved in the murders in the north, what a comment to drop

Wonder how the man's family feel about that, and if they believe him. I assume that he will be giving his evidence to the Police Ombudsman.

Sure you don't need evidence to arrest people, then you'll hardly need evidence to throw out flippant comments like the PSNI chief constable was making about the murders or indeed Gerrys comments on 'State Agents'.
Its just muddying the waters to suit a political need, both sides are at it, even though the PSNI are supposed to be politically impartial...

[Applesisapples]

I thought George Hamilton could have said a lot more, there is no doubt that the RA still exists, there are those who are still involved in criminality and those who are devoted to the political cause. The lines have been blurred in the cases of these murders. SF are trying to put clear blue water in between, but the Unionists jumped on a small part of Hamilton's remarks ignoring the crux. Typically hypocritical.

[Maguire01]

DUP and Sinn Fein vote down Jim Allister's SPAD bill

Jim Allister is back with a SPAD bill (not that one) this piece of legislation would have placed a cap on pay and the number of SPADs that can be employed. Northern Ireland currently spends over £2 million per year on SPADs which is double the cost of Scotland and three times that of Wales.

A few months ago Jim Allister wrote for Slugger setting out his case for reform of the system.

Alas it appears that business as usual returned to the chamber today to defeat the bill. The DUP and Sinn Fein voted down Jim Allister's bill 52-33. The SDLP, Alliance and UUP backed the bill.


http://sluggerotoole.com/2015/10/13/dup-and-sinn-fein-vote-down-jim-allisters-spad-bill/


That's essentially party workers being paid up to 92k from public funds, and the 2 main parties vote against reducing their numbers - which are way above Scotland and Wales, despite NI being considerably smaller - and putting in place a salary cap of 78k (still pretty decent).

[Rossfan]

Pigs/snouts/trough.
Fianna Fail in the ha'penny place compared to those pair.
Has Mary Lou condemned it yet?

[ashman]

Do the appointees to these posts have experience in the relevant sector that qualifies them to give "special advice"

If yes then hard argue with the pay rates.

[Rossfan]

Do the appointees to these posts have experience in the relevant sector that qualifies them to give "special advice"

Loyalty to Party would appear to be a very important qualification 

[Maguire01]

Do the appointees to these posts have experience in the relevant sector that qualifies them to give "special advice"

If yes then hard argue with the pay rates.

They're party workers, appointed by the parties.

[Ulick]

Do the appointees to these posts have experience in the relevant sector that qualifies them to give "special advice"

If yes then hard argue with the pay rates.

They're party workers, appointed by the parties.

In the case of SF, they're appointed by the Party after a recruitment process, where the post is advertised and the applicant applies laying out their relevant experience and qualifications.

[johnneycool]

Do the appointees to these posts have experience in the relevant sector that qualifies them to give "special advice"

If yes then hard argue with the pay rates.

They're party workers, appointed by the parties.

In the case of SF, they're appointed by the Party after a recruitment process, where the post is advertised and the applicant applies laying out their relevant experience and qualifications.

Ulick,
    That's good to know, where do they advertise?

[Ulick]

http://www.sinnfein.ie/vacancies

[Minder]

I would say the niece of Alex & Paul Maskey, who is a SPAD to John O'Dowd, didn't have too taxing a recruitment process.

[Ulick]

I would say the niece of Alex & Paul Maskey, who is a SPAD to John O'Dowd, didn't have too taxing a recruitment process.

I thought O'Dowd's SPAD was yer man from Derry who used to write for the Daily Ireland? The average industrial wage doesn't tend to attract high flyers. I'm on the SF mailing list and it's not uncommon for posts to be advertised repeatedly. There was one in Brussels recently which I think was being advertised for about 6 months. Those in SF who well educated, experienced and could do well elsewhere such as Grainne Maskey (MSc from UU) and Dara O'Hagan (PhD from QUB) tend to be from republican families see it more as a vocation. As such and given the lack of talent attracted by the AIW, SF can't afford to lose people like Maskey. IMO the AIW will probably have to go as it's close to proving more of an impediment than advantage.

[give her dixie]

If there is one thing the DUP and Sinn Fein agree on is the protection of their wages, expenses, and wage increases.

Money always comes 1st