Sparklebox statement due from Minister this morning

The Minister for Education Caitriona Ruane’s decision to make a emergency statement to the Assembly today on blocking schools access to an educational resource website run by a convicted sex offenders is welcome. You can follow it live here at about noon today http://www.niassembly.gov.uk/stream.htm

Ten days ago I warned the Minister that many schools were downloading workpages from the ‘Sparklebox’ teaching resources website.

I informed the Minister by means of a priority question that the person who owns this site, Samuel/Daniel/David King/Kinge (he has changed his name by deed-poll) was found guilty and imprisoned last week for making and possessing indecent images of children and babies. Last week I was informed that the Minister instructed that access through the C2K education portal has been blocked. I look forward to hearing her confirm that tomorrow in the Assembly.

This matter was brought to my intention by concerned parents in my constituency eleven days ago. It is essential that this site be blocked on the C2K system which all schools us. I also call on the authorities to monitor the site and want to warn parents about it.

Everyone should be aware of what has happened in this case and what lessons might be learned about internet safety.

Here is the question I tabled on Thursday 28^th January for priority two day answer. It was due for answer on Tuesday last but the Minister will instead come to the Assembly to make a statement on the matter.

QUESTIONS FOR WRITTEN ANSWER
ON TUESDAY 2 FEBRUARY 2010

Questions To The Minister of Education

4. Mr C McDevitt ( South Belfast )

To ask the Minister of Education if she is aware that the owner and operator of the educational resource website ‘Sparklebox’ was found guilty of downloading abusive images of children; and if so, what steps she is taking to ensure that material from the ‘Sparklebox’ website is not used by schools.

(AQW 4381/10)

Serious questions remain for Gerry Adams following today’s Sunday Tribune

In today’s Sunday Tribune, Gerry Adams’ niece, Aine Tyrell strongly challenges his version of events surrounding his brother Liam’s work with young people in West Belfast. Her interview raise more serious questions for Mr Adams. This is the key passage in my mind:

But it is Gerry Adams’ account of what transpired between Áine and himself that she wants to challenge. “Gerry has said that when he found out Liam was in Sinn Féin, he couldn’t tell his colleagues Liam was a suspected paedophile in order to protect my anonymity.

“That’s nonsense. I didn’t know Liam was in Sinn Féin but had Gerry bothered to tell me, I would have waived my anonymity without hesitation. I’d have accompanied Gerry to meet his colleagues in Sinn Féin, to talk to the ard chomhairle about what Liam had done to me so they could expel him from the party. But Gerry never gave me that option.”

The same applies to the youth projects where Liam worked, Áine says. She frequently brought this up with the Sinn Féin president during two years of meetings from late 2003 until late 2005.

“I’d heard Liam was working in youth projects in west Belfast but not which ones. I repeatedly raised this with Gerry. I said I was very concerned that Liam was seeking jobs working with children. Gerry told me that was Liam’s way of trying to make up to the community for what he’d done to me. I asked Gerry how Liam had been successfully vetted for these jobs.

“I told Gerry I believed children were at risk. I said that if something happened to another child, it would be on my conscience and I couldn’t sleep at night from worrying about it. Gerry said it wasn’t my responsibility. I kept telling Gerry to get Liam out of the youth groups.

‘I thought of handing out leaflets’

“Gerry has now said he had to tread carefully in order to protect my anonymity. Again, that’s rubbish. I’d have gone with Gerry to these youth clubs and told them what Liam had done but Gerry never gave me that option either.

“I didn’t know which groups Liam was in but I even thought of standing on the streets of west Belfast handing out leaflets saying ‘Liam Adams is a paedophile’. I thought of writing it up as graffiti on the walls. That’s how desperate I was.”

In her final meeting with Gerry Adams in late 2005, Áine says: “I told him that I wouldn’t let my kids attend any children’s or youth group in west Belfast in case Liam was involved. ‘Would you feel comfortable letting your wee granddaughter go somewhere Liam was working?’ I asked Gerry. I could see the rage in his eyes when I said that.”

When Áine finally found out last year that Liam had worked in Clonard youth centre, located in the grounds of Clonard Monastery, she and her uncle, Bob Corrigan, visited the centre. They spoke to a senior youth worker there whose name is known to the Sunday Tribune. “We brought down the police charge sheet listing the abuse charges Liam was facing. The youth worker was stunned. He said he’d worked with Liam for four years and he wasn’t aware of this. He said no one had ever informed him.”

The next day, Áine and her partner, Tony Dahlstrom, met a Clonard priest whose name is known to the Sunday Tribune. “He also said he’d worked with Liam and he was shocked. Nobody had ever told him about Liam’s past. This doesn’t fit with Gerry Adams’ claim that he’d informed Clonard about Liam,” Áine says.

While Clonard were “totally sympathetic”, Áine claims a person she approached last year in a youth project in Beechmount, where Liam had previously worked, did not respond positively. This person’s name is known to the Sunday Tribune.

“Their attitude was hostile,” Áine says. “They said Liam was innocent until proven guilty. I asked them if they’d employ Liam again and they said they would. I said I wanted to speak to the parents of the children Liam had worked with. That request was refused. I told the person in Beechmount, ‘If you hear in future that anything has happened to any child, remember my name’.”

Politics fails (again). Now bring in the governments

The DUP – Sinn Fein spat has become a splat.

As others have noted it will nearly certainly take the British and Irish Government intervention to wet nurse the big two towards some sort of settlement. I can see the big house, the media stakeout, the other parties being brought  in to provide some perspective. High wire, high octane (or maybe not) and all because our big two parties don’t do power sharing. Stand off and flag waving seem to be more their thing – real mature!

I spent yesterday afternoon with a group of upper and lower sixth form girls talking about politics. These teenagers asked me questions about education, identity, and the Good Friday Agreement. The issue of parading or policing wasn’t brought up, nor were parades. It seems these young ladies are very interested in politics but not at all interested in the issues which SF and the DUP are now threatening the institutions over.

Waking up as an MLA for the first time it is clear that the real gulf in our politics is between the big two parties of the past and the hopes and aspirations of our young northerners.

The challenge for all of us is to close it.

Are Tories heading back to the barricades?

Two things are worth mentioning about news that the Conservative party hosted a meeting last weekend with leadership figures from the UUP and DUP.

From a media point of view it is worth noting that the story was broken by Eamonn Mallie on Slugger O’Toole and not on the mainstream media. It seems quality serious online news and comment is now able to drive the traditional news agenda even in this small region of ours.  That’s a very positive development.

The other notable aspect of the story is altogether more depressing. No matter what way you look at this it stinks either of sectarian politics or good old fashioned Tory, win at all cost, power grabbing.

The last thing Northern Ireland needs is more bigoted politics. The vast majority of people in both communities are interested in making the common ground work, not building new walls between us. It all makes David Cameron’s calls for post sectarian politics sound a bad joke.

We saw what unionist unity looked like in the seventies. It brought down power sharing and gave us Vanguard and the ulster workers council strike. Is that the price the North is going to pay to get David Cameron into Number 10?

Earth system change needed says Prof Iain Stewart

I was able to sneak in the back at last night’s Belfast Geologists Society Annual Lecture by BBC star and earth science professor, Iain Stewart.

His new series ‘How the Earth Made Us’ starts tonight at 9pm on BBC2. Iain uses the elements, Earth, Wind, Water and Fire to explain the complex and interdepent relationships between each of them and us.  

Complete with the latest clips such as the one above he is always a pleasure to listen to.

But last night there was an additional message. 

Earth science must change and geology must start thinking about the earth as a complex interconnected system. Time for the ice pick to stop cracking open old rocks and start cracking a few heads to meet the challenges presented by climate change, depleting resources and over-population. Iain wants to see social scientists in earth science department building a  greater understanding of the complex relationships between mankind and our planet and he wants earth scientists to play a greater role in political discourse. 

What I heard was a manifesto for change. A call to governments and science to start investing in this complex adaptive system which is our earth and for earth scientists to become part of the debate in an interdisciplinary and new way.

One which can begin to tackle the serious dilemma at the heart of humanity.

Is our future to be built on economic profit or the sustainability of our civilisations?

Palintology X – GILF goes foxy

Sarah Palin is back. The GILF is a fox!

Morgan speaks but questions remain – investigative journalism is back

Valerie Robinson, the Irish News’ southern correspondent, ended her three week pursuit of the Sinn Fein Louth TD, Arthur Morgan with a ten minute interview yesterday which begs even more questions for Sinn Fein and Gerry Adams.

Mr Morgan is pleading ignorance of Liam’s activities and told the Irish news that Gerry Adams kept him in the dark about his brother.

This is another example of good local journalism, a theme Davy Adams (too many Adams and Robinsons in this post) picks up on today in the Irish Timeswho congratulates the the Darragh McIntyre and Chris Moore for their investigative television programmes on, respectively, allegations of sexual abuse against a brother of Gerry Adams, and the financial and extra-marital affairs of Iris Robinson. Hopefully, the programmes will have reminded the bulk of their colleagues in the North of the role a journalist is meant to play.

For a long time now the mainstream media in Northern Ireland has been acting as though its primary responsibility is to the survival of the peace process – and by extension the professional lives of its major players – rather than to reporting without fear or favour. At first glance, this may seem like a laudable position to adopt. However, in practice it has meant that large sections of journalism have all but abdicated their responsibilities to the public they are meant to be serving.

Time to put people before parties

Nothing has happened since I last blogged to clear the fog surrounding Peter Robinson and Gerry Adams. Both leader still face serious questions.

The First Minister’s QC inquiry is going down like a lead balloon. It’s clear that formal inquiry mechanisms either through the Assembly, Westminster, the Electoral Commission and or the police will now become the vehicle for the disclosure of fact and the adjudication of behaviour.

Assembly Members gather in Stormont this morning after the long (many would say too long) Christmas break. The Order of Business has four procedural motions either passing the buck to Westminster or appointing new MLA Billy Leonard to his committees. There will be one significantdebate on health. Conor Murphy will face questions and I am sure many members will have much to ask about DRD’s response to the cold snap.  

Even before the Robinson saga broke this Assembly was in poor shape. The order of the day has been to use the place to further narrow party interest with little apparent regard for the issues which matter to the ordinary people of this region. 

This week the DUP and Sinn Fein can clean the slate and agree to put people before party, or they can continue as they have to date. The choice is theirs.   

Peter Robinson may not survive the week. If  he resigns will Sinn Fein refuse to re-elect a new First and Deputy First Minister?

Last week Mark Durkan wrote to all party leader asking for an urgent meeting.

It will be interesting to see if such a gathering takes place.

Durkan calls for urgent meeting of party leaders

Mark Durkan has called for an urgent meeting of Party Leaders to break the political deadlock.

“The air of impasse and confusion surrounding both the issue of the devolution of justice and the stability of the Executive needs to be restored.

 “All of us must try to play our part in restoring purpose and collective commitment in the Assembly and the Executive.

 “The First Minister and deputy First Minister have a central responsibility to enable the achievement of renewed public confidence in our political process.

 “I have written to them both urging them to present a joint statement in the Assembly immediately next week on the devolution of policing and justice and how it is planned to take that issue forward from here to a decisive positive conclusion.

 “It would be important if both the Assembly and the public could see and hear from both of them in the chamber.

 “Furthermore, it would particularly helpful to convene a meeting of all party leaders in advance of this statement.

 “This meeting is needed to discuss a number of issues not just policing and justice but other significant public policy uses which are locked in drift and confusion and causing real public concern.

 “While one meeting will agree outcomes to all issues we should try to frame cross-party approaches which would complement the collective strategic responsibilities of the Executive which needs to be seen to be working more productively.”

Is the media treating Gerry Adams with kid gloves?

Writing in today’s Irish Independent and Belfast Telegraph, Suzanne Breen, argues that the media is treating Gerry Adams with kid gloves.