Budget time

A NORTH Belfast primary school is considering converting to an Irish-Medium Primary school, despite it being on the edge of the largest ‘Protestant’ housing estate in Northern Ireland.

Parents and pupils at Whitehouse Primary School have been hoping for news that their school would be rebuilt after a fire that all but razed it to the ground last year.

But, with the Education budget finally getting beyond officials calculators and ministerial approval it seems that the pupils will once be facing more time crammed into any spare space available at a nearby high school.

Now, who should we be to claim that at the same time Irish Medium primary schools are getting the green light to break ground? Indeed it would be churlish to suggest that there is a political agenda that is holding back the re-build at Whitehouse! Let no-one say we said it.

Cash crises

IF the cost of preventing climate change seems high, the cost to NI plc of not devolving policing and justice could soon prove very high indeed in these cash-strapped times.

Gordon Brown has warned that if we don’t get it sorted soon the ‘generous financial settlement’ may be off the table.

Trying to save the world is comparable to the trials and tribulations of our so-called political elite.

Gordon must be pondering whether that the £1 billion bonanza promised for policing and justice could be used to save a South Seas island from devastating floods rather than thrown down the political black hole that passes for democracy here in ‘Norn Iron’.

There is more to life than government spending – and devolution

The Government spin doctors will be pleased with how the Budget was reported in Northern Ireland. A number of Executive Ministers rushed to welcome aspects of the Budget – particularly extra Government spending that will apply to Northern Ireland. In many ways the response brought home the limitations of both devolution but more notably the parochial perspective of the media here.

The Budget’s ‘extra £21m’ for Northern Ireland was trumpeted by the media – doubtless working off a Treasury press release. I failed to find anything other than a passing mention of the fact that corporation tax on small businesses is going up from 20 to 21%. Given that Northern Ireland has a disproportionate reliance on small business and is apparently seeking to build the private sector here this was a curious oversight – particularly by a media that has given acres of coverage to a simplistic campaign to lower the ‘headline’ rate of Corporation Tax (the one paid by large businesses like those who own papers, radio and TV stations) in NI.

No mention, as far as we could see, either of the abolition of the 10% income tax rate – which given our lower pay rates will have a disproportionate impact here. These measures alone coupled with the increases in tax on fuel and vehicle excise duty – Northern Ireland has a disproportionate reliance on heating oil and the car - will far outweigh any gains for NI.
Given the state of economy, however, the general opinion is that there was little else Mr Darling could do.