Messages

Undoubtedly, his greatest error as Taoiseach was to give Boris Johnson a compromise deal on Brexit when they met in the Wirral that time. Tories were sinking fast without it and it allowed Johnson put through an agreement he subsequently tried to renege on and never had any intention of upholding.

Are you saying you'd rather he had ignored the opportunity to lock down no hard border so that he could sink the Tories?

Tbh there should be phds in this. There was shorts etc etc and walking into jobs with no education while catholics etc had to get educated. That has more or less now stopped so families who would have assumed to basically be on a gravy train without the effort to educate etc now will be no more.

One of the biggest enemies of the "PUL" community is the DUP. It does nothing to lift up people in poor areas etc.

Basically that's what happened to the Shankill.  Generations of families were guaranteed a job in the local factories, and across town in the shipyard.  They didn't need to worry about education and over several generations the idea of educational attainment died out.  When fair employment eventually kicked in they were left floundering.

To a point but this deal (~13% and no workload agreement) is going to fly over the finishing line without a bother.
I don't think, say, 4% and an agreed workload solution would.
Money talks.

I think they see the money as a given but don't want to return to the previous levels of bureaucracy.

Had pints with a few teachers over the weekend. Seems they are more interested in a workload solution which is not on the table, and the Union's are mis-reading their membership because they think getting them a few more quid is the answer to teachers woes.

SF got a review in the Financial times :
A referendum in 10 years but  only the Brits can  call one and they will only do so if there is big shift in public opinion

SF is gaslighting voters on unity. It will happen but not when SF want it to happen.

It's not completely outlandish for SF to aspire to unity in a decade. Less than a decade ago it would have seemed unlikely that Brexit would happen or Trump would get to the White House, but circumstances conspired and they did happen.

It is not under SF's control . That is the point.
They can promise all they want but they cannot deliver

That's right, it's not directly under their control, obviously, but somebody has to talk about it as a serious proposition, because it is plausible.

It will happen when the UK economy collapses, unionist pensions vaporise and house prices in Ballymena go tits up. Not before

None of those things will happen. It will happen when the majority of people are in favour of what's on offer on the island, rather than having things done to them from London. Every year that the pendulum swings a little more.

The UK economy is going to collapse. The UK is borrowing money to pay the bills.

I've been hearing this for a long time...and no word of it yet.

There is a thing called the current account deficit
It happens when a country cannot pay all of its bills.
The UK has had a current account deficit for the last decade.
Truss wanted to issue debt that wasn't backed by taxes and the markets refused to lend it to her.

https://tradingeconomics.com/united-kingdom/current-account-to-gdp

https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/10/04/uk-governments-u-turn-on-tax-cut-wont-placate-markets-says-analyst.html
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/10/06/the-reality-is-the-uk-is-a-low-growth-ecobonmy-fund-manager.html
https://www.cnbc.com/video/2022/10/20/uks-political-instability-related-to-brexit-luxembourg-pm-says.html

What was ROI's current account deficit in 2010 Seafoid? And what is the UK's current deficit? Just to give a little perspective to things?

Ireland went through a very bad period and came out of it. The UK left the EU and has gone backwards.
The assessment is not based on one thing. Sterling is trading like the currency of a poor country. The UK is low growth economy. There is way too much debt.

People in Ireland were Unionist until something really shocking happened. That was 1916.
Unionists in the North will be loyal to the UK until something really shocking happens.

Did you get the figures? I can help you if you'd like.
Public dept in ROI was 100% of GDP in 2010.
Don't get me wrong things aren't rosey in the forecast for the UK. But they're still a strong market and talk of a collapse is bollix.

You don't have to agree with me but if you want to me to believe that it's bollocks you have to prove it. What data are basing your assessment on ?

The thing about the people who are calling the shots in the UK is that they don't care about anyone, not English people, not middle class people and not anyone living in the North. Unionists don't understand that yet but they will.  Brexit was not about freedom. It was about giving a small group of people the right to pump sewage into rivers.

The second verse of the UK national anthem is a warning

https://www.mylondon.news/news/uk-world-news/national-anthem-full-lyrics-including-25051609
 O Lord our God arise,
 scatter our* enemies, and make them fall!
Confound their politics, frustrate their knavish tricks,
on Thee our hopes we fix, God save us all.

lol you make a hyperbole claim. I disagreed and it's down to me to prove it?? Really?

By the way the figures you wouldn't quote earlier, ROI deficit was over 13% in 2010. Current deficit in Uk is around 3%. And reduced towards the end of 2023.

The UK is a 2.2 trillion pounds economy.  It would be some banger of a collapse.

SF got a review in the Financial times :
A referendum in 10 years but  only the Brits can  call one and they will only do so if there is big shift in public opinion

SF is gaslighting voters on unity. It will happen but not when SF want it to happen.

It's not completely outlandish for SF to aspire to unity in a decade. Less than a decade ago it would have seemed unlikely that Brexit would happen or Trump would get to the White House, but circumstances conspired and they did happen.

It is not under SF's control . That is the point.
They can promise all they want but they cannot deliver

That's right, it's not directly under their control, obviously, but somebody has to talk about it as a serious proposition, because it is plausible.

It will happen when the UK economy collapses, unionist pensions vaporise and house prices in Ballymena go tits up. Not before

None of those things will happen. It will happen when the majority of people are in favour of what's on offer on the island, rather than having things done to them from London. Every year that the pendulum swings a little more.

SF got a review in the Financial times :
A referendum in 10 years but  only the Brits can  call one and they will only do so if there is big shift in public opinion

SF is gaslighting voters on unity. It will happen but not when SF want it to happen.

It's not completely outlandish for SF to aspire to unity in a decade. Less than a decade ago it would have seemed unlikely that Brexit would happen or Trump would get to the White House, but circumstances conspired and they did happen.

It is not under SF's control . That is the point.
They can promise all they want but they cannot deliver

That's right, it's not directly under their control, obviously, but somebody has to talk about it as a serious proposition, because it is plausible.

SF got a review in the Financial times :
A referendum in 10 years but  only the Brits can  call one and they will only do so if there is big shift in public opinion

SF is gaslighting voters on unity. It will happen but not when SF want it to happen.

It's not completely outlandish for SF to aspire to unity in a decade. Less than a decade ago it would have seemed unlikely that Brexit would happen or Trump would get to the White House, but circumstances conspired and they did happen.

I had to listen very carefully to make any sense of what Feeney was trying to say.  He was trying to make points but always seemed to stop short and leave it hanging with a big 'you know what I mean', look on his face. Wasn't really clear at all what he was on about.

I'm all for pay rises for front line workers. Pity though that so much public money is wasted on bluffers and red tape.

Totally agree. Looking at the team sheet there are some very good footballers in that team. But there are levels - good players in their own club environment, but collectively against a Tyrone or a Derry we are miles off.  I still think Conchuir Johnston is our best chance and he would've been a big miss yesterday.  He can't turn the ship around single handedly, but he's the nearest thing we have to a special player that a team could be built around.

I might be wrong, but I think that age group got wiped out by Donegal in the minor championship a couple of years ago and we had the same debate

Regardless of the opposition, it's a desperate score line.  Many many factors including a half-arsed U20 club competition dogged by apathy.

Missed a couple of conversions, lost a couple of important lineouts and never hit the heights. A recipe for being pipped at the post.

[I can't see how the British are let off with putting in no more money here, Euros or not.]

If the Euro soccer doesn't happen due to no more £s from the Brits then provide what you can with the funds available..new pitch, 5,000 seat stand, some terracing.

Imagine thinking a GAA style stadium straight from the 60s would be sufficient going forward for years... Clones needs replaced, an Ulster final location is needed. Your suggestion ain't it

No Brit money = no Euro soccer = GAA have £80m (possibly plus our €50m).
Who then is going to pay the extra £75m to build a 34k capacity Ulster Final Stadium?
Just asking a realistic question

First off, the GAA requirements are not the full cost of the stadium. GAA needs are far less than the UEFA standard, so if no Euros, or they don't want to host UEFA matches or such in future, then the cost gets revised down quite a bit from the silly figures being bandied about the place. I can't see how the British are let off with putting in no more money here, Euros or not. The original NI executive allowance is very far below inflation levels, and in order for some sort of stadium to be built, they will come in with something. I can't see how it will be swallowed politically if Ireland chumps in with 50million a few weeks ago and they do nothing, yet will get the tax proceeds of a stadium there. A very good stadium can be built with no Euros, but the point being is for a little bit more, the Euros can be done and you leave a modern legacy stadium there for all and paid off nearly immediately.

Well, they have continually underfunded the north  for years , so  not stumping up money for Casement would be  nothing new.

Oh absolutely, but getting one upped by the Irish government? I can't see it

Heaton Harris' change of tone was to say we changed our mind on HS2 because costs spun out of control, so we may have to change our mind here - and there were a hell of a lot of votes at risk with HS2. It's election year and everything the Tories say will be put through the election filter first, not that Casement would register on any British voters list of worries. If they renege, it will have zero consequences for their vote in Britain.