O’Conall Street

Ladybird Wars

The native Irish Ladybird is under threat from a bigger, stronger foreign invader. Yes folks the harlequin ladybird is here and challenging our beloved childhood insect friend.

The harlequin is a large black-spotted reddish or orange ladybird native to south-east Asia, including eastern China and Japan.

Harlequins have been introduced to other parts of the world including Europe to control pest greenfly, mainly in glasshouses. Unfortunately, harlequins have shown an ability to escape and naturalise in new countries. In Europe, North America and elsewhere wild populations have appeared and spread extremely rapidly.

A by-product of their enormous success has been a decline in native ladybirds and many native species in North America have been decimated as a result of harlequin competition.  Not only do harlequins eat their food, but in hard years will also eat the larvae of other species.

Harlequins were first spotted in Northern Ireland in 2007 when one took a lift in on a vegetable consignment arriving in one of our large supermarkets. 

A top expert, Dr Helen Roy talked to the Today Programme this week about the threat these little mites present.

New venture funds for Northern Ireland

Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson , today officially launched a new £8million suite of initiatives to support start-ups and early stage businesses in Northern Ireland.

Fully funded by Invest Northern Ireland, the NISPO initiative includes a £5million venture capital fund which will focus on seed and early stage businesses which have high growth potential. Investments by the fund will typically be in the £50,000 to £250,000 deal size range. A £3million proof of concept fund has also been established to provide funding to very early, non university projects. An important element of the initiative is an “Enterprise Escalator” to assist promoters move from research to readiness for commercial funding and early stage capital.

Following a competitive tender process, ESynergy, a London-based firm has been selected to manage the NISPO suite of funds and services on behalf of Invest NI.

Stormy Weather

The heavens have dumped on the east coast of Ireland this morning. Traffic chaos in Dublin and a wet start in Belfast have brought the summer fun to an abrupt end.

This is nothing in comparison to what a guy with a video camera in Jacksonville, Florida who managed to capture a tornado right above his head.

Will summer holidays break the education deadlock?

Yesterday the Minister for Education, Caitriona Ruane, formally tabled her guidelines to school’s on Transfer 2010. The proposals were welcomed by her party colleagues in Sinn Fein and questioned by every other MLA in the House. After nearly two and a half years of devolved government it appears the Minister is no more able today to build a consensus then she was when she took office.

Speak to many in the educationsector and they will tell you there is a major crisis looming. Ask the Minister’s fellow MLAs and they will say that she appears to have very little interest in finding compromise on the issue.

Nearly a year ago an eminentand progressive educationalist warned me that were now in a “race to the bottom” where everyone would be a looser.

Some months ago I floated a series of principles aroundwhich a positive discussion might take place. As there appears to be damn little else being suggested I commend them to all for summer reflection. If the DUP and SF are unable to agree a way forward surely the other big parties could seek common ground?

• Agreement that 14 is a better age at which to exercise pupil and parental choice about possible transfer for the final four years of education;
• Agreement to further develop thinking about a collegiate based system;
• Agreement to guarantee parents and pupils access faith based education;
• Agreement that an early intervention strategy should be developed to support children from deprived socio economic backgrounds during primary and early second level education;
• Agreement to consider and draw on international best practice when developing these proposals;
• Agreement that the system must be based on a commitment to social equity and educational excellence at every level;
• Agreement that the change programme would be rolled out over at least a five year period, allowing up to ten years for any institutional realignments to take place;
• Agreement that an interim regulated system should be introduced immediately.

Africa v the World

Since returning from Uganda I have been trying to come to terms with the poverty gap between that country and anywhere else I have visited. What also baffled me was the availability of mobile phone technology in every corner of the bush yet a total absence of running water, electricity or basic healthcare. Technology had arrived but without all the benefits that it is meant to bring.  Santa came, but he left no presents!

I came across a TED talk by Hans Rosling which helps explain the inability of Africa to catch up with the rest of the world despite the massive economic and technological growth which has taken place since 1960. Its also highlights the power of data and the real barriers which exist to true global development.

(There is an interesting clip about Ugandan child mortality about 13 min in)

If you are interested in development, watch this.

A taste of Tall Ships to come

The Tall Ships will arrive in Belfast mid August. Here’s a report from CNN on their latest port of call, Charleston, South Carolina.

Next up Boston then Halifax before the Atlantic crossing.

Can’t wait!

Dublin in the pink

I was strolling down Bachelor’s Walk in Dublin last Thursday lunchtime when I took this picture.

Less then a week after the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland published research showing very high levels of homophobia and other prejudice in NI, the Capital was preparing for its biggest ever Pride event which took place on Saturday.

Today writing in the Irish Times, Eoin Collins, the Director the Irish Gay and Lesbian Equality Network, lays out his stall on the issue of Gay Marriage in Ireland and the current government proposals for civil partnerships.

Opinion polls over the last number of years have consistently shown more than 80 per cent of the public have supported legal recognition for same-sex couples.

The Civil Partnership Bill follows extensive public discussion and analysis on the issues in the media, in both houses of the Oireachtas and by a range of policy bodies, including the Government Working Group on Domestic Partnership (the Colley Group), the Law Reform Commission and the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Constitution.

Some of the most striking aspects of the 2007 Dáil debate on civil unions for same-sex couples were the personal stories which politicians from all parties told about the importance of legal recognition for individual lesbian and gay people. The dominant theme of same-sex partnership ceremonies, noted one TD, was happiness, joy and celebration, not just for the couple but also for their family, friends, neighbours and work colleagues.

It is heartening to see this debate taking place in such a constructive environment south of the border. Many in the gay community will feel let down that the government’s proposals do not go far enough but they will also feel able to lobby publicly and speak out loudly for a stronger Bill without fear of attack or rejection by society.

There are loads of North - South divides on this island. Many have nothing to do with religion or politics. The fact that the Dublin, an increasingly liberal city,  can fly Gay Pride flags on in its best lamp posts and Belfast cannot is maybe as good an example as any of one.

We need an SDLP - UUP alternative

Patrick Murphy had a typically thought provoking piece in yesterday’s Irish News about the need for an ‘Opposition’ at Stormont which was also covered on Slugger.

Mr Murphy’s central premise is that some day the North will need to consider whether compulsory power sharing is working. This is not a new argument. Last year Mark Durkan raised the issue in the context of a debate around a strong and inclusive Bill of Rights.

The Irish News columnist has a point:

In the old Stormont, the opposition was ignored.  In the new Stormont, the opposition has been abolished.  How democratic is a parliament without an opposition?  Advocates of the new system argue that it brings political benefits.  But does it?  It gives constitutional authority to sectarianism and promotes political schizophrenia.  Both the DUP and Sinn Féin claim the other is the enemy, within a supposedly partnership government.  Do nationalists benefit by having nationalist ministers?  For example, would our roads policy be different if Arlene Foster replaced Conor Murphy as regional development minister?

But does a focus on the structures of government take away from other significant weaknesses in Northern politics?

Adversarial, winner takes all, politics with clear governments and opposition is the way here in the UK and Ireland but not everywhere. The American system is much more complex as is the French one. Not to mention Isreal or Belgium, both of which have systems in which power is effectively shared between different offices which may or may not be held by representatives of the same party.

Our system doesn’t make politics more difficult it just makes it different. What is worrying is that the weakness of our political parties may be the real issue which is undermining the opportunity for government here.

Neither SF or the DUP will score well on their record in Government. To date the Executive they both lead has distinguished itself for inaction rather than results and this is very unlikely to change in the run up to the 2010 UK General Election and the 2011 Assembly poll. This is not because they have a free run in institutional terms with no opposition breathing down their necks - it is because they are being measured by their support base on their ability to stand up to each other rather then work together. That said we do need to ask whether to some extent the SDLP and UUP are letting them away with it.

I see no great public desire to see instability return to Stormont. As much as it pains many who are ambitious for the North, the basic threshold for success in the public mind appears to be stability. The vast majority of Northern voters seem willing to reward parties who stay together. That they are achieving very little whilst doing so is not an issue as there is nobody offering an alternative which would also be stable.

So heads down and do nothing then?

With the exception of the 60,000 who support the TUV the other million voters in NI seem supportive of powersharing and devolution.

If either the SDLP or UUP were to leave the Executive they would stand accused of fostering instability. But that does not mean they cannot change they way they work together and inside and outside the Executive. Right now is not so much a debate about opposition but one about alternatives.

There is nothing in the structures of government which would prevent the UUP and SDLP from developing common positions on key issues.

Education is an obvious example. Agree the basic principles of a workable system based on academic excellence and social justice, possibly with pupil choice at 14 and at least both parties could demonstrate that Irish and British people who call this region home can agree on important issues.

Tackling our divisions is another. Commit to a shared future and stand together against sectarianism and racism.

Even on the economy there is very little on which the DUP and SF agree.  This creates yet another opportunity for the UUP and the SDLP. They should agree a real Green New Deal and have the courage to publish it as an alternative response to the current recession.

All this does not in any way prejudice either party’s nationalism or unionism. No more than it would prejudice the Green Party, Alliance or PUP if they were to support agreed positions. What it would illustrate is that our two communities and their representatives can work together and share a commitment to the success of this region and its people. This would be a real platform for change.

The system can be reviewed till the cows come home but real change will come when nationalists and unionists start really sharing power and working together for the betterment of all.  The DUP and SF seem unable or unwilling to do this. The question is whether the SDLP and UUP could?

American day

Weber Shandwick was very pleased to support yesterday’s Independence Day celebrations at the United States Consul General’s Residence in Belfast.

It was a wonderful event on a glorious day. Susan Elliot who leaves Belfast next month to take up a new post in Moscow gave an emotional speech to a packed lawn. It is a testament to her and the quiet work the consulate does here that so many people from so many diverse backgrounds were there to mark the US idependence from Britain.

There has been a good bit of chat in recent months about how the North matures it’s relationship with the States. Whether it is time to try and identify ways in which we can return some of the support that has been so generously given. A Friends of America group might be a possibility so might a more structured trade or commerce body.

Obama has “become the media”

Have just been handed a sneak preview of Professor Michael Freedman’s DIVA address to the University of Ulster’s School of Communications. He is a former US Congressional Spokesperson and heads up the Global Media Institute at George Washington University in DC.

Its a great history tour of the communications revolution which draws specifically on the contribution President Obama has made. I’ll post a link to the full speech later but this passage stuck out for me:

Like Franklin Roosevelt in 1933, President Obama is using new media platforms to carry his messages, push his political agenda and – thanks to social networking – initiate and encourage dialogue, not just locally and nationally – but globally. President Obama has over 1.3 million followers on Twitter. He has been building this following for 28-months now - meaning he has successfully transformed a unique campaign tool into one through which, as President, he can communicate directly with a broad constituency about policy issues.

President Obama is following the first rule of politics - define yourself before the opposition has an opportunity to define you. And in addition to working with the media to that end, he has become the media.

The President’s recent speech to the Muslim world in Cairo serves as a good example. My friend and colleague, CBS News White House Correspondent Peter Maer, points out the “high profile” White House strategy to spread Mr. Obama’s message using Facebook, My Space and Twitter. A White House spokesman pointed out that Facebook is the largest social network in the Muslim world with nearly 20-million users.  A State Department program also allowed international callers to register to receive free text messages on the President’s speech in Arabic and other languages. Video of the speech was streamed live on the White House Web site and it was posted on YouTube. The President not only delivered his message to the Muslim world locally in Cairo, he communicated globally by becoming the media.