A United Ireland. Opening up the discussion.

[armaghniac]

I note from statistics published yesterday that the median salary for full time employees in the 6  counties is £25,999 and that if you earn over £45,000 you are in the top 10%.
Meanwhile the average salary in the 26 counties in 2016 was  €45,611. Now I know perfectly well that the median is not the average, but a 50% difference is notable and sterling is likely to drift down in the coming months.

[screenexile]

I note from statistics published yesterday that the median salary for full time employees in the 6  counties is £25,999 and that if you earn over £45,000 you are in the top 10%.
Meanwhile the average salary in the 26 counties in 2016 was  €45,611. Now I know perfectly well that the median is not the average, but a 50% difference is notable and sterling is likely to drift down in the coming months.

Take Dublin out of that and it paints a much different picture!

[seafoid]

I note from statistics published yesterday that the median salary for full time employees in the 6  counties is £25,999 and that if you earn over £45,000 you are in the top 10%.
Meanwhile the average salary in the 26 counties in 2016 was  €45,611. Now I know perfectly well that the median is not the average, but a 50% difference is notable and sterling is likely to drift down in the coming months.

Bernadette Devlin made a famous speech in Westminster in the early 70's. 

She told parliament: "There is no place in society for us, the ordinary 'peasants' of Northern Ireland . . . because we are the have-nots and they are the haves . . . The situation with which we are faced in Northern Ireland is one in which I feel I can no longer say to the people, 'Don't worry. Westminster is looking after you.' "

I had a very moral view when I was younger. I thought everybody cared. I think it's part of a Catholic upbringing, that idea of universal solidarity. That was a journey for me . . . I didn't think the government was bad. I genuinely thought they just didn't know and if I just went to London to tell them, people would say, 'Do you hear that young woman there? We need to do something about that.' But then I realised: the bastards, they do know and not only do they know, they don't see anything wrong with it."

The NI stateen was built on bigotry and key industries run by Protestants for Protestants. Now that model has collapsed. They should have done the decent thing from day 1. Catholics are just as good as chosen people.Now the UK economy itself is banjaxed.
It is a cluster f**k.  The Scots Irish term is Gregory Campbell , I believe.

[Eamonnca1]

I note from statistics published yesterday that the median salary for full time employees in the 6  counties is £25,999 and that if you earn over £45,000 you are in the top 10%.
Meanwhile the average salary in the 26 counties in 2016 was  €45,611. Now I know perfectly well that the median is not the average, but a 50% difference is notable and sterling is likely to drift down in the coming months.

Take Dublin out of that and it paints a much different picture!

Why would you take Dublin out of it?

[vallankumous]

I note from statistics published yesterday that the median salary for full time employees in the 6  counties is £25,999 and that if you earn over £45,000 you are in the top 10%.
Meanwhile the average salary in the 26 counties in 2016 was  €45,611. Now I know perfectly well that the median is not the average, but a 50% difference is notable and sterling is likely to drift down in the coming months.

Bernadette Devlin made a famous speech in Westminster in the early 70's. 

She told parliament: "There is no place in society for us, the ordinary 'peasants' of Northern Ireland . . . because we are the have-nots and they are the haves . . . The situation with which we are faced in Northern Ireland is one in which I feel I can no longer say to the people, 'Don't worry. Westminster is looking after you.' "

I had a very moral view when I was younger. I thought everybody cared. I think it's part of a Catholic upbringing, that idea of universal solidarity. That was a journey for me . . . I didn't think the government was bad. I genuinely thought they just didn't know and if I just went to London to tell them, people would say, 'Do you hear that young woman there? We need to do something about that.' But then I realised: the b**tards, they do know and not only do they know, they don't see anything wrong with it."

The NI stateen was built on bigotry and key industries run by Protestants for Protestants. Now that model has collapsed. They should have done the decent thing from day 1. Catholics are just as good as chosen people.Now the UK economy itself is banjaxed.
It is a cluster f**k.  The Scots Irish term is Gregory Campbell , I believe.

She picked the wrong place to say it.

[seafoid]

What a scorcher.

   https://www.ft.com/content/8f12afca-bb26-11e7-8c12-5661783e5589

"London will hold back the £1bn promised by Theresa May to the Democratic Unionist Party (DUP) as it moves to impose a budget on Northern Ireland, with hopes fading for a deal to restore the region's government.

After months of fruitless talks at Stormont near Belfast, a deepening schism over the Irish language has dimmed the prospect of a breakthrough in talks between the DUP and Sinn Féin.

   Sinn Féin wants an Irish language act to protect the rights of Irish-speakers in region but the DUP will support only a lesser form of recognition in broader cultural legislation that would also recognise Ulster Scots. "


Unionists are nuts. Asking for recognition of Ulster Scots is like asking for a relationship with a blow up doll to be formalised.

[T Fearon]

Surely it is SF that is obstructing government here,not Unionists,All for electoral gain in the South,like as if people in Dublin 4 are ever going to vote SF😂😂.

The very real risk here is the Direct Rule will lead to improved governance (wouldn't be hard to achieve) to the extent that people won't want devolution to ever return.I know of one Tory Minister in a previous Direct Rule era who is absolutely revered round the nationalist Newry South Down era,for all he achieved.

Then things settle down,Dublin wipes its forehead with a huge sigh of relief,Gerry retires and the gap between Northern SF and Southern SF widens,and a United Ireland is not even mentioned any more.

[stew]

Surely it is SF that is obstructing government here,not Unionists,All for electoral gain in the South,like as if people in Dublin 4 are ever going to vote SF😂😂.

The very real risk here is the Direct Rule will lead to improved governance (wouldn't be hard to achieve) to the extent that people won't want devolution to ever return.I know of one Tory Minister in a previous Direct Rule era who is absolutely revered round the nationalist Newry South Down era,for all he achieved.

Then things settle down,Dublin wipes its forehead with a huge sigh of relief,Gerry retires and the gap between Northern SF and Southern SF widens,and a United Ireland is not even mentioned any more.

Tony you are more british than Finchley these days!

A United Ireland will be talked about until it comes about and nothing you nor you unionist buddies are able to do anything about that.

[seafoid]

There is no longer a Unionist majority . This is very hard for Unionists to accept.

[seafoid]

Apparently the talks are going nowhere because of Arlene refusing to step aside for the cash for ash investigation, gay marriage and Gaeilge.

[Rossfan]

Have they got around to discussing whether the earth is flat yet?

[Owen Brannigan]

Apparently the talks are going nowhere because of Arlene refusing to step aside for the cash for ash investigation, gay marriage and Gaeilge.

Talks failure is just a long running strategy by Adams to continue the chaos in N.Ireland to build up resentment by all sections of society towards the GFA and make people believe that NI is ungovernable by the locals. Add to this Brexit and a hard border demand by unionism and SF ensures that conflict continues on a different level.

The talks situation could be settled in hours if the focus by both sides was on one matter, the use of the PoC.  If it could be reformed or replaced by a weighted majority vote on contentious issues away from social and cultural matters then the current assembly would vote through gay marriage and ILA immediately.  By not dealing with the PoC which both sides have abused for their own political ends, the situation rotates around matters that cannot be resolved outside the Assembly, i.e. no Assembly means no devolved matters being dealt with and gay marriage and ILA cannot be implemented. 

[armaghniac]

The Poc is cleary the problem, but I presume at this point it is more the DUP who wish to keep it as the unionists do not have a majority and never will again.

[T Fearon]

Stew,the greatest opposition to a United Ireland is to be found in Dublin,matched by a dwindling Unionist community.No point in wasting energy on something that's not going to happen.There is no talk about it,other than  from a handful of deluded loons (Ireland's equivalent of UKIP),far less a policy or strategy about delivering it.

If a United Ireland does ever come about,and I won't live to see it,it will be a bit like the ultimate Brexit,watered down so much that no one will notice any difference,a federal state with Stormont still in operation with two blocs still able to veto everything and as result no agreement on anything,the Freestate back in the Commonwealth and every Unionist grievance pandered to,in orderto keep them unalienatec.

[Farrandeelin]

If McGuinness was still alive would powersharing be in place? I guess we'll never know, but I can't imagine this prolonged deadlock if he was still around.