Here’s an interesting vox pop from some of our brightest 16 and 17-year olds. A fundraising programme from my son’s school features answers to a number of questions. The answers to the question ‘possible career path’ contain no surprises. Out of 46 boys, almost half want to become doctors or lawyers.

But, is this a good thing? How does this unrepresentative picture impact on the need to grow a truly competitive, outward-looking economy here?

Parents and grandparents know where the secure and well-paid jobs are here – within the established professions – and they influence young people accordingly. Both law and medicine are largely dependent on the public purse. Yet with over 50 per cent of the workforce paid out of the public purse, the shape of our economy, and specifically in this case the demand for skills, is within our control. If we really want to get different results then we need to spend public money differently.

To address the ‘problem with skills’ our greatest challenge is on the demand-side – and I don’t mean sector skills councils or workforce development forums. I mean real demand. The sort that parents understand: the skills needed to get well paid and secure jobs. There is a lot that colleges can and are doing on the supply-side, but without a significant boost in real demand we risk failing to achieve the productivity gains our economy needs.

It is now clear that economic growth fuelled by foreign direct investment, or ‘money-from-America’, is not going to materialise to the extent hoped for – and that if we are going to transform our economy then we have to do it ourselves. But how, and what resources are available to us?

I see three opportunities. We need to maximise each of them.

First, our young people. Recent successes (e.g. CitiBank, Northgate IS, GEM, Liberty Mutual, Andor Technologies and Almac) demonstrate that our appetite for solving technical problems and hard work is alive and well. We have the raw talent and, with an education system aligned to economic opportunity, we are capable of nurturing significant numbers of highly skilled people.

Second, we have the block grant. We face big challenges in achieving good outcomes with less resource. To do this we need to think differently. Most public service organisations in here spend between 60 per cent and 70 per cent of their budgets on staff, driven largely by UK-wide pay agreements. This is an unintended consequence of our status quo within the United Kingdom. Our public sector pays significantly more for the same skills as the private sector. This is a direct disincentive to private sector growth. The solution is controversial. In addition to public sector headcount reductions, we need to reset these agreements to achieve, at least, pay parity between public and private sectors. The money saved can then be used to create fiscal differentials and enterprise zones.

Third, we have the six regional colleges with a critical mass – over 40 campuses and almost 4,000 professional staff – to respond to the skills needs of a resurgent enterprise culture. The new coalition government recognises this opportunity.

David Willetts’ vision is for affordable higher education delivered in further education colleges to students living at home, perhaps in part-time work. The policy of half the population going to university, on borrowed money, is over.

Central to policy in Great Britain is the imperative to free colleges to respond to the needs of employers and students. In a dynamic and fit-for-purpose further education sector colleges need control over their capital budgets, a ‘single-line’ funding model (i.e. an end to ring-fencing and bureaucracy) and light-touch regulation. If we are going to seize the opportunity available to us, we need trust and respect between a government, who sets policy and funds outcomes, and colleges who deliver.

How did you get started in journalism?

I was perhaps around eight years old when I began thinking about my career. A bit of a daydreamer, I spent many an afternoon creating my own fictional radio show. I was its presenter, newsreader, entertainment, and, fortunately for everyone else, its audience.

Whether that showed an early interest in media or an embryonic ego essential for the job, I’m not sure.

Later I studied a bachelor of arts degree in journalism at Dublin City University.

I remember the thrill of my first by-line as a teenager when the County Fermanagh newspaper, the Impartial Reporter published my review of a school production of Brian Friel’s ‘Philadelphia, Here I Come’.

The editor, Denzil McDaniel, later gave me my first summer job as a reporter and then my first staff job.

I worked on a freelance basis for the Irish News and after making myself available for every shift possible; I eventually landed a job as a news reporter.

This January I was promoted to the role of political correspondent.

Please describe the transition from weekly to daily newspapers.

I can’t say I noticed the transition because I was essentially working for both at the same time, working shifts in the Irish News or sending copy from interesting court cases and inquests.

I’m glad I started off at a weekly, provincial title because I developed contacts in the area that have stayed with me ever since. It also gave me my first taste of politics through covering Fermanagh District Council meetings.

Now, I bump into some of the same council faces in Stormont such as Enterprise Minister Arlene Foster and senior Ulster Unionist figure Tom Elliott.

What are the main challenges and most enjoyable aspects of being a political correspondent?

I began work as a political correspondent during the week that the shocked eyes of the world were transfixed on Stormont and more directly, on the First Minister’s wife, Iris Robinson.

Days into the job I was door-stepping her former 19-year-old lover, Kirk McCambley, and interviewing her husband Peter Robinson as his career and marriage hung in the balance.

The next few weeks were spent camped out at Hillsborough Castle for the policing and justice talks involving then British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Irish Taoiseach Brian Cowen.

Then it was an interview with Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams where I asked him if he had any involvement in the murder and disappearance of Jean McConville weeks before an explosive book published the claims he denies.

Finally it was on to an election that culminated in one of those ‘I was there’ moments when I watched in Ards Leisure Centre as Peter Robinson lost his East Belfast Westminster seat after over three decades in the role.

The words baptism and fire have often been directed my way but if I coped with those challenges, I suppose I’ll be able to deal with whatever else is sent my way.

What is the most memorable event from your career so far?

Can I say all of the above? Also meeting Seamus Heaney and Michael Longley, both heroes of mine from my A-level English literature days. And the many, many brave families whom I have met and interviewed as a news reporter during their dark days of tragedy.

How would you describe the political outlook of the Irish News?

The editorial outlook is broadly nationalist with a strong sense of promoting and encouraging reconciliation and extending the hand of friendship to unionism. When it comes to news and political coverage, the Irish News insists on balanced and impartial coverage.

As a political correspondent, I treat all parties equally and try to develop contacts within the five main parties.

Outside work, how do you like to relax?

Spending time with my lovely family (I’m one of seven children), cooking with friends, reading, theatre, and recently, training for a 400km cycle across India.

I’ve taken up the challenge, which includes cycling across part of the inhospitable Great Indian Desert, to raise money for a charity called Regain that helps athletes who have been left paralysed from sporting accidents.

How did you get started in politics?

I had an interest in politics from a young age, and although there were no direct family connections with any political party, I grew in a household which took an interest in the world around us, and where newspapers were read avidly, the news followed on television and radio an d election results studied closely.

Although I went to a couple of public meetings as a teenager, I didn’t become actively involved until I went to Queen’s University in the late 1980s, where I joined the Ulster Unionist Association. From that point on I got heavily involved in unionist politics at the Students’ Union, making many friends that I have to this day. I was actively involved with the UUP for over a decade, before effectively becoming estranged from the leadership over the Belfast Agreement, and found my true home in the DUP.

In a constituency known for its low turnout such as North Down, how can you encourage political participation in the area?

North Down has always been seen as a ultra-safe unionist seat where whatever the result a unionist wins (in the most recent elections Sinn Féin reached the heights of 250 votes), so it is perhaps not surprising that turnout is low when it is politically sheltered, has generally avoided the worst of the Troubles and, for some, is economically comfortable.

In engaging the population every opportunity needs to be taken from the new methods of websites, Facebook and Twitter, to the more tried and tested methodology of hard work on the ground and traditional door to door canvassing. Above all you can’t beat the opportunity to meet the public on a one-to-one basis, so any meeting should be grasped. In engaging with young people in particular I believe it is vital to treat them with respect and gravitas. The worst thing you can do is patronise people by engaging with gimmickry.

What are the potential conflicts of interest between your council work for Ballyholme and Groomsport and as MLA for the whole of the constituency?

I have the great honour and privilege in representing the area and the people that I grew up with and still live beside, both as an MLA and a local councillor for Ballyholme and Groomsport. I have never felt a conflict between the two roles, and indeed in my experience the two are complementary.

I served for seven years as purely an MLA before becoming a councillor, and there is a distinct advantage to being a local government representative. It enhances the level of knowledge of what is happening on the ground. As an MLA it has been very useful at times to have the knowledge of what is happening at the council, and as a councillor it has been of benefit at times to bring the perspective of what is happening up at Stormont to the Council chamber.

People don’t make a distinction between problems that are best dealt with by a councillor, an MLA or an MP and from the day of your election you become a councillor for the whole borough.

What more needs to be done to make sure Northern Ireland is well-placed to emerge from the downturn?

I believe that the policies that the Executive has been pursuing to counteract the effects of the recession have largely been the right course of action.

Before the current economic difficulties we placed economy at the heart of the agenda, and we have sought to back that up through easing the burden on businesses through restricting the regional rate, preventing any rise in the manufacturing rate, the small business rates relief and through aiding consumer spending by freezing the regional rate and holding back water charges. Our Enterprise Minister has sought to gain new foreign investment as well as providing practical support for indigenous businesses.

We will be keen to explore with the new government how we can aid Northern Ireland’s competitive edge through for example the lowering of corporation tax, but we will also send a clear message that public sector cuts too quickly and too deeply could threaten recovery, especially in Northern Ireland.

Your party’s general election manifesto proposed to expand allotment provision. In practice, how will this work?

We believe that this is both physically and mentally beneficial, as well as providing a social need in an increasingly urbanised society, although demand heavily outstrips supply. We would encourage councils and other public bodies by considering the allocation of public land which is not suitable for other development to the allotment scheme, rather that allowing that land to go to waste and lie idle and unkempt.

As a former lawyer, what changes will the profession see as justice is devolved?

As the operational independence of the judiciary and the court system has been protected, perhaps there will be less change than some people predict.

The principal role of a justice minister will be on policy issues, so I hope that there will be focus on matters such as sentencing guidelines and better support for victims of crimes. I believe that the new minister is likely to have lawyers’ fees in his sights, and if he gets his way this is likely to lead to a degree of redistribution of fees within the sector.

Outside politics, what do you do to relax?

When I remove the political anorak, I enjoy sport, mainly in a spectator role. I am keen member of the Green and White Army as a regular at Windsor Park for Northern Ireland internationals, and also support Manchester United. My other sporting passions are cricket and snooker, which I play regularly as the lazy man’s form of golf. I am also interested in history and in music, and am looking forward to the return of local band Snow Patrol on their return to Bangor.

Stormont’s last sitting month sees a logjam of legislation dominate the agenda and two new faces appearing on the hill.

End-of-term illustrations are often used when summing up the Assembly’s last month before the summer. However, other school phrases seemed relevant this month including suspension and some members’ first days.

After the SDLP whip was taken from Declan O’Loan, June’s business began with his removal from the Standards Committee chair and the Culture Committee deputy chair. The move, by Margaret Ritchie, again indicated that the parties have the real say at Stormont rather the Assembly having power in itself.

The House also saw the departure of two DUP MLAs, due to their election as MPs. Jeffrey Donaldson was replaced by Paul Givan on 10 June while Ian Paisley Jnr’s successor, Paul Frew, took that job on 21 June. Both are councillors. Naomi Long is to be replaced by Chris Lyttle and David Simpson’s nominated replacement is Sydney Anderson.

This process will continue in the DUP ranks although Sammy Wilson will stay in place to deliver the new budget this autumn. agendaNi understands that SDLP dual mandates will be phased out gradually but Sinn Féin does not plan to follow suit; its MPs would be left in difficulty as they have no salary.

Condemnation then followed for the Israeli attack on the Gaza flotilla and, more significantly for the Assembly, the UVF-linked murder of Bobby Moffett. Dawn Purvis’ resignation from the PUP came two days later.

An extremely rare Friday plenary session met on 4 June to debate Gaza further. Nationalist members saw this as an important stand to take but unionists saw little or no point in the debate as the Assembly has no influence on foreign affairs. The motion demanded an immediate end to the blockade but the vote, taken on 7 June, was tied at 40-40 and it therefore fell.

During OFMDFM questions on that day, Martin McGuinness said he was “open” to the idea of “inter-regional support services” covering Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, to save money. North/South co-operation was also a sensible course and he was encouraged that all the Assembly parties were willing to acknowledge this.

On 21 June, Peter Robinson praised Graeme McDowell’s win, remarking that he “watched almost every shot” from Thursday night to Monday morning: “Now that we have for the first time in 40 years, a European coming from Northern Ireland who has won the US Open, it will draw attention to the talent that we have and to the assets in Northern Ireland that brought about that talent being formed.”

Private member’s motions became much rarer in the rest of June as MLAs cleared up the large backlog of legislation. Such debates, though, attract fewer members with only eight present at one point to discuss the Pensions Regulator Tribunal (Transfer of Functions) (2010 Act) (Consequential Provisions) Order (Northern Ireland) 2010. The nine new Bills had thankfully shorter titles.

Moves to reform MLAs’ expenses foundered when the DUP blocked the Bill on 21 June. An independent expenses regulator is to be put in place next year and the party said it was wrong for MLAs to continue to vote on their own expenses in the meantime.

In what was seen as a related move, Stephen Moutray was moved from the Assembly Commission to chair the Agriculture Committee; the DUP says this was a promotion but others claim that he had failed to object to the Bill, which was brought by the commission.

A fiscal warning came from the Public Accounts Committee which warned that major projects are still being delayed, thus incurring extra costs. “In the current economic climate it is essential that the planning, management and evaluation of projects is appropriate and thorough to ensure that tax-payers get value for money,” said Paul Maskey.

The Assembly rises for its summer recess on 2 July and returns on 6 September.

From protestor to peer

“They named me in their votes and I’ve named them in my title,” said Ian Paisley of the people of Bannside as he discussed the latest stage in his career. Raised to the peerage on 18 June, Paisley’s first seat was as Stormont MP for the County Antrim constituency, from 1970 to 1973.

A portrait to mark his time as First Minister was unveiled at Parliament Buildings on 28 June; its painter is the Dublin-born artist David Nolan. At the age of 84, Ian Richard Kyle Paisley’s full title is now The Reverend & Right Honourable The Lord Bannside PC MLA.

Friends and former foes were present at the launch, including Peter Robinson, Martin McGuinness and Gerry Adams.

Paisley was MP for North Antrim from 1970 to this year, DUP leader from 1971 to 2008 and an MEP from 1979 to 2004. A member of every Northern Ireland Assembly to date, he spent a year as First Minister (2007-2008). However, his longest term was as Moderator of the Free Presbyterian Church (1951-2008) and he remains minister of the Martyrs Memorial congregation on Belfast’s Ravenhill Road.

The peerage is for life and he joins his wife Eileen (Baroness Paisley of St George’s), who has sat in the upper house since June 2006.

*Following Dawn Purvis’ registration from the PUP

 

Purpose: to set up and give power to the Older People’s Commissioner’s office.

In its 2005 manifesto, the DUP said the idea of an older people’s commissioner “to combat ageism” should be discussed. This was followed up by a debate in the pre-devolution Transitional Assembly on 19 December 2006 when MLAs called for a commissioner to be appointed.

Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness gave the idea a ‘green light’ almost exactly a year later, on 18 December 2007, but a lengthy period of consultancy and public consultation was to follow. A May 2008 Deloitte report supported the proposal, as there was “no one [government] body which has the concerns of older people as its primary focus”.

Detailed discussions then took place with older people’s charities and other interest groups, leading up to a public consultation from last October to January this year. Most of those responding were in favour.

In the meantime, an Older People’s Advocate, Dame Joan Harbison, was appointed in November 2008; her role is to identify the current problems facing that part of society.

The Commissioner would be appointed jointly by the First Minister and deputy First Minister, for a four-year term, renewable once. This appointment will happen after consultation with older people, selected and trained for the process; the exact method will be decided as the Bill goes through the Assembly. Significantly, there is no compulsory retirement age for the Commissioner.

His or her principal aim will be to “safeguard and promote the interests of older people” and would need to follow the 1991 United Nations Principles for Older Persons.

Specific duties include reviewing the effectiveness of relevant laws and public services, promoting the “elimination” of discrimination against older people, and advising the Assembly and Northern Ireland Secretary.

The Commissioner would have power to commission research and investigate serious cases involving questions of principle. Cases could also be brought to court by the Commissioner and some legal advice provided.

An older person is defined as someone aged 60 or over, although this category could be widened if the point of principle affected people aged 50 or over.

DUP support for a commissioner contrasts with its calls to cut other quangos, including the Children’s Commissioner. A party spokesman said that the new office would need a short time to “find its feet”. The DUP still wants less bureaucracy and suggests letting Great Britain’s Equality and Human Rights Commission cover the whole UK.

OFMDFM estimates that it will cost £500,000 to set up this office and expects an annual budget of around £1.5 million. UUP MLA Tom Elliott has given the plans a qualified welcome but questions the need for such a budget “in a time of financial constraint”.

The department said the estimated running costs are “broadly in line” with the Welsh example and the department will “look continually at ways to minimise costs and ensure value for money.”

Wales already has an Older People’s Commissioner, Ruth Marks MBE, who is a former regional head of the Royal National Institute for the Blind. She took up the post in January 2008. Interviewed by agendaNi a month afterwards, she explained that she had already received many letters from older people. Marks’ priorities were to listen to them, be an “effective voice for change” to improve their quality of life, and use her powers to take action on their behalf.

Scotland nearly had one. SNP MSP Alex Neil introduced a similar Bill in 2006 but it ran out of time before the 2007 election. Broad support for the Bill was voiced at its second stage and, having passed that point, it is currently with the OFMDFM Committee.

Now presided over by Conservative Owen Paterson, the NIO was tasked with running the Northern Ireland departments under direct rule. The criminal justice brief made the journey across the Irish Sea on 12 April to the newly established Department of Justice.

In the absence of those powers, its stated mission is now two-fold: to support devolution and to make sure that UK-wide policy takes account of all circumstances in Northern Ireland.

The department is split between Belfast and London, though when the Secretary of State is visiting he will stay at Hillsborough Castle. As well as representing Northern Ireland at Cabinet level, the current Secretary sits on two cabinet committees: the National Security Council (NSC) and the Home Affairs Committee. The NSC looks at terrorism and intelligence while the home affairs brief focuses on political and constitutional reform.

William Whitelaw was the first Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and 17 MPs have since held the brief. The Home Office was responsible for Northern Ireland policy between 1921 and 1972.

Responsibility for national security in Northern Ireland as well as human rights, elections policy and the legacy of the Troubles remains in the office’s hands. The Electoral Office prepares for and runs elections in the province while the independent UK-wide Electoral Commission oversees the finances of parties.

Now a much-reduced ministerial team, the NIO employs a team of two: Paterson as Secretary of State and Hugo Swire as Minister of State.

The office has been allocated £18.8 million for its ministers and political work in 2010- 2011; the wider criminal justice budget is still labelled as NIO expenditure in Treasury estimates.

Up until 12 April, the previous Minister of State had responsibility for criminal justice, security, policing and prisons. As those powers are now under Stormont control, Swire holds none of that remit but is still technically responsible for national security issues here – and thus is a ‘security minister’. The NIO will refer to Swire only as Minister of State to avoid ambiguity.

The office’s counterpart in the Republic is the Department of Foreign Affairs and it also works closely with the US State Department, given America’s interest in the peace process. Within Whitehall, its work links in closely with the Ministry of Justice’s oversight of devolution as a whole and the Home Office’s co-ordination of national security.

Its London headquarters is based in Millbank alongside Mi5 while locally NIO staff made the move from Castle Buildings to the red-bricked Stormont House after the Department of Justice moved in.

The relationship between the media and politicians has historically been fraught with tension. With the advent of new media platforms such as twitter, facebook and blogging, a space has been created for “an entirely new type of politics” and a modern and efficient way for the media to hold public representatives to account.

In addition, citizens, businesses and organisations can use these new media platforms to dictate the relevant issues of the day.

McDevitt is active in the online world through twitter and his blog ‘O’Connall Street’, which he describes as: “Borderless thoughts on politics, public affairs, the media and anything else that matters”.

Devenport’s BBC blog ‘The Devenport Diaries’ is a lively, humorous day-to-day site which updates readers on political issues as well providing quirky, off-beat stories about Northern Ireland’s politicians, that might not get air-time on other media outlets.

“New media is a very real part of our political discourse,” McDevitt contends. He said that it is not always the case that “new media is a place of progressive, liberal discourse.” In fact, new media can “pander to the very worst prejudices at the heart of our politics in this region.”

Claiming that Northern Ireland’s press is “divided along sectarian lines and tells people what to think”, McDevitt said that new media offers the opportunity to discuss and debate issues without links to a particular party.

“It creates the space for an entirely new type of politics; an issues-based politics, a conversational politics, a politics that is not about where you have come from or what flag you might be standing under, but a particular issue and the argument in front of you.”

An example, McDevitt explained, was his facebook campaign against student university fees which gathered 5,000 supporters in eight days.

“Those people don’t break down along sectarian lines. They are not interested in the fact I am an SDLP MLA. In fact half of them probably don’t even know,” he said.

Devenport was initially reluctant about the idea of blogging, particularly because he thought it would be difficult to remain impartial.

“I felt that the best blogs in the political sphere tended to be partisan, written by insiders with strongly held opinions,” he recalled.

Three years later, his blog has “taken on a life of its own” and has been welcomed by journalists and politicians alike, with Devenport revealing he is often approached in Stormont by an MLA saying: “Here’s one for the blog.”

The technicalities of maintaining a new media presence were discussed with delegates.

“As stakeholders who aren’t public representatives that gives you a power that you simply wouldn’t enjoy in the traditional press. It allows you to define your own platform, to become an advocate for your own issue,” McDevitt said.

He told delegates that a blog will be judged on the strength of the argument, the context and the power of its networks, and the issues discussed.

Devenport agreed, adding that blogs must be distinct, with relevant, welldiscussed issues, they should be updated every day so that readers are sure to return, and they must be legally safe.

“You have to watch what you publish. Interactivity is important, but we do have the laws of libel,” he said.

The anonymity of commentators is “a passport for bringing out the worst elements in people,” according to Devenport.

“Quite often my regular commentators are anonymous and the exchanges can become personal, either between them, about me, or against named politicians. And if they were sitting here today they wouldn’t engage in it,” he commented.

McDevitt agreed saying: “As a blogger, twitterer and facebooker, all I have is my own opinion, and the consequence of that is I will be ‘trolled’ heavily by people who have no interest in what I have to say. They are only out to get me. If they were here they wouldn’t [say it] to my face but they will do it in the new media forum.”

Ultimately, trial and error is required to perfect a blog, delegates were told. They should have links to their twitter and facebook sites so that a genuine virtual medium is created.

These are days in which the political class constantly worry about the viability of their trade. The general election just saw another slide in participation from the electorate in Northern Ireland and few expect next year’s Assembly elections to buck the trend. Oddly, however, the pattern of non-voting stalled in England, widely believed to have been part of the ‘Clegg factor’, as the young felt enthused at the prospect of taking part in a genuine contest rather than a coronation. If that is so, then there are lessons for Northern Ireland.

Here, as elsewhere, political parties have made considerable investments in new technology, in the belief that they can better ‘reach’ the young through Facebook or Twitter than through the traditional routes of newspapers, television or knocking on voters’ doors.

Politics, to have any meaning, should be participatory. People should feel a greater ownership than the right to vote every few years and to spout off on some blog every now and then. Politics needs to be public property; it cannot belong to a minority of specialists, but that is they way we are heading.

The past two decades has seen the emergence of a political class in the truest meaning of the term – we are ruled by people who have done nothing else apart from politics. The Prime Minister, his Deputy, most of the UK Cabinet and all five contenders for the leadership of the Labour Party have never worked at anything else apart from ‘politics’.

This is not a metropolitan disorder. A majority of the Northern Ireland Executive have little or no experience of employment other than ‘politics’. This is even more pronounced among the upcoming generation of MLAs and councillors.

If there was one lesson from the ‘Clegg factor’, it is that the public can get engaged with a politician who seems newer and fresher than the others. Irish Labour leader Eamon Gilmore is currently benefiting from such a bounce. Barack Obama certainly did in 2008. But the voters need more than novelty; they require substance and credibility, intelligence as well as passion. In other words policy matters as much as personality. People will not accept simply being told that there is no alternative to the prevailing wisdom. And they want somewhere to discuss the alternatives.

People need and politics requires “a theatre in modern societies in which political participation is enacted through the medium of talk”. A bridge is necessary between the ‘private sphere’ of friends and family and the ‘sphere of public authority’. That space is the ‘public sphere’, defined by the great German philosopher Jurgen Habermas as “the sphere where private people come together as a public.”

“Through the vehicle of public opinion it puts the state in touch with the needs of society,” and it acts “as a regulatory institution against the authority of the state itself.”

Being in public matters. The primary ailment of modern politics has been the effective privatisation of politics itself – the consumer passively reading the views of others in the comfort and isolation of their own home.

This is one of the many reasons why the proposed Public Assemblies, Parades and Protests Bill is wrong. The proposal to implement a uniform requirement for all protests and public exercises in participative democracy marks a further shrinkage of the public sphere. Rallies are meant to stop the traffic – metaphorically speaking at least. They have to be noticed by the public so that they can carry out their educational function, from library closures to May Day to gay pride. And if people object to the latter, they have every right to say so.

Previous legislation marked out the difference between public gatherings and contentious parades. It is disingenuous to suggest that the Public Assemblies Bill is about anything else apart from parades, and a tiny number of those.

Around 1 per cent of all parades and rallies required a determination from the Parades Commission. But to deal properly with these, Sinn Féin and the DUP would have to confront their core supporters with some uncomfortable facts.

Instead, we have this catch-all exercise in denial which flies in the face of civil liberties and human rights. This society requires an active and robust public sphere, publicly and loudly engaging in politics in shared open spaces.

The size of an organisation’s membership is a sign of its health, whatever the sector, but politics is one area where figures really count. Rival parties and candidates fight for a limited number of seats at election time, backed up by the grassroots volunteers needed to put up posters and knock the doors. Leadership contests depend on candidates swaying supporters in one direction or another.

House of Commons research shows that party membership in Great Britain has declined since the 1950s, although rises took place under charismatic leaders such as Thatcher and Blair. Figures are patchy but in 2008, there were around 250,000 Conservatives, 166,000 Labour Party members, 60,000 Liberal Democrats and 15,000 Scottish Nationalists.

agendaNi has surveyed the parties represented in the Assembly (Alliance, DUP, Greens, SDLP, Sinn Féin, UUP) or with more than one councillor (Conservatives, PUP, TUV) about their membership figures, types and fees. The DUP declined to respond and the PUP declined to give a reason for joining.

Alliance had the highest stated membership, currently at 1,215. It was steady at 1,090 in December 2009 and 1,070 at the end of 2008.

TUV activists number around 600, while there were 380 local Tories in December 2009; this was up from 350 at the end of 2008. The 144 Greens increased from 107 in March 2009 and 98 twelve months previously. The PUP’s tally has stayed around the 100-120 mark over the last four years.

The SDLP does not publish its membership figures although a spokesman was prepared to say that it “stands in the thousands and has grown steadily over the past five years.”

Figures for Sinn Féin were unavailable as the party was changing its definition of membership.

“Previously it was just members of a cumann [branch],” a spokesman commented. “Now is wider with people being free to choose whether they become cumann members or not.”

At present, the highest subscription is Alliance’s with a standard rate of £43.50. Joint membership is £75.00 and benefit claimants and students have a £10 rate. Sinn Féin has no membership fee at present, although that may change when the new model is introduced.

The norm for standard membership fees is £20-£30. The UUP charges £30 for 25-64 year olds, all Conservatives pay £25 and this is the standard rate for Traditional Unionists too. An SDLP subscription costs £20. The Green rate is £10.

Discounts are available. Older or younger Ulster Unionists have a £20 rate, the SDLP’s unwaged rate is £10 and the TUV has the same fee for students, senior citizens and the unemployed. The Green concessionary fee is £5. Each PUP member must make a £5 contribution for central party funds.

The SDLP appears to have the largest youth branch. SDLP Youth membership “stands in the hundreds”; the group has bases in all northern university campuses and Trinity College Dublin.

Ógra Shinn Féin, meanwhile, claims to be “the only all-Ireland political youth group as well as the fastest growing.”

Alliance’s youth branch has 81 members. Conservative Future’s Northern Ireland branch numbers 50 members. UUP youth branches exist through the province and membership figures are included in the main party membership number.

There is “some interest” in setting up a TUV youth branch but the PUP’s one is defunct. The Irish Greens have a youth organisation but no local branch in Northern Ireland.

Three surveyed parties, of course, have a reach beyond Northern Ireland: Sinn Féin, the Greens and Conservatives.

Non-northerners can join the SDLP as associate members; it has party groups in London and Dublin. Alliance has a 45- strong Great Britain association and a small overseas association of 10 members.

Ulster Unionists outside Northern Ireland are also associate members, with no voting rights; there are no external UUP branches. The TUV has some members, but no again branches, in Great Britain.

Overseas Tories, including Republic of Ireland residents, take part in the Conservatives Abroad organisation. Sinn Féin does not accept members outside the island but has an international support group, Cairde Sinn Féin (Friends of Sinn Féin), with branches in Canada, Australia and the USA.

For his part, a Green spokesman remarked that it gets “the occasional member from England or Scotland who like to be members of all the Green parties on these isles.”

As the head of the largest Irish diplomatic mission in the world, Rory Montgomery’s chief responsibility is to make sure the Irish Government’s views are taken into account in the “enormous number of meetings” that take place every day within the EU.

The policy process means that national ambassadors will see proposals before the Council so the Ambassador’s role therefore is to solve any disagreements before policy reaches that stage, or at least narrow down the problems.

While nearly every government department is represented by his 87 staff in the Belgian capital to help achieve that, there is also a more general function to get an overall grasp of what the European agenda is and try to influence it. The Commission remains the embassy’s default contact but Montgomery’s work is increasingly taking in the Parliament too.

“The European Parliament’s powers have steadily increased over the years, most recently through the Lisbon Treaty. A big part of that is not just dealing with the Irish MEPs and Northern Irish MEPs but also the chairs of the committees or people who are particularly active on particularly European issues,” the Ambassador says. The ultimate aim, in general terms, is to make sure that Ireland’s priorities are understood, even before policy goes into formal discussion.

Irish priorities have changed even in Montgomery’s 13 months in Brussels. While the Lisbon Treaty referendum re-run was the big issue in 2009, he found that once the ‘yes’ vote was returned, people moved on “very swiftly” to the implementation stage.

“I would say that we are seen in Europe as a state which generally takes a pretty constructive approach. We’re not an outlier,” Montgomery remarks, and on an area like the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP), Ireland can be found at the top table.

“We’re among the strongest supporters of the CAP. We also are very much in favour of ensuring that the single market is fully developed and that any remaining issues remaining are ironed out.”

He highlights two issues. The first is the progress on a single EU-wide patent, which would allow for one to be valid across all 27 states. The current system does not allow for this and manufacturers must apply for patents separately in each member state.

Secondly, in spite of the population happily spending online with companies they know, the Ambassador believes that people are still sceptical about buying products from sites based in other member states. This is especially evident in Ireland, which he admits is a “small, open economy on the edge of Europe”.

Montgomery has also seen first-hand Ireland’s reputation take a turn for the worse: “Overwhelmingly the biggest issue politically has been the economic crisis and clearly Ireland is in a position where we had been seen as a model economy to one which has very clear problems.”

The loan to finance the National Asset Management Agency came from the European Central Bank. He now sees a “big part” of his job to communicate to Brussels what the state is doing to fix its financial problems.

“Beyond that we’re gearing up for what is a major debate every couple of years,” he says, alluding to the EU’s ‘financial perspectives’ in 2013 – its seven-year spending plan. As each country agrees its contribution to the EU, contrary to what current economic circumstances might suggest, Montgomery is looking “not just in terms of what we contribute to the EU but also what we get back”, whether it is concessions in the CAP reform or framework funding.

An eye on the North

With a vested professional and personal interest in the province, the Ambassador believes that his parents’ land has “benefitted substantially” from the EU. Perhaps, he says, critics of the North are too inclined to focus solely on the money: “First of all Northern Ireland’s farmers have benefitted considerably but I think the challenge for Northern Ireland is to broaden the focus away from the question of simply receipts into policy.”

He suggests that the province should decide on policy areas where it has a very strong interest either for or against proposals, but he does recognise the potential drawbacks it faces: “In formal terms, and constitutionally, Northern Ireland is part of the UK. Together with Wales and Scotland there are means of feeding into the overall UK position but it is only a small part of it.”

“We obviously have an advantage in that our officials are the front-line, but we are able to share our experience and perceptions,” he adds. The Irish embassy, he contends, has had “a great deal of contact” with the Northern Ireland government departments and MLAs and most meetings are used “to compare notes”.

To the now seasoned EU observer, the UK remains something of a conundrum. “The UK representation here [Brussels] is exceptionally professional and well-run even though the UK adopts policy positions that would put it in some degree of conflict with the other European parties.”

But for Northern Ireland the best is yet to come, he remarks. As the institutions bed down and local ministers become more familiar with EU issues, Montgomery sees only a bright future as they continue to protect the province’s interests in the union.

Profile: Rory Montgomery

Born in Dublin in 1959, Rory Montgomery was a gold medallist in history at Trinity College, from which he also holds an MBA. His wife, Dr Gerardine Montgomery, is a college lecturer in French and their son Johnnie is a university student in Dublin. Rory was appointed Permanent Representative in April 2009, having previously been Assistant Secretary and Political Director at the Department of Foreign Affairs since 2005. He was also involved in negotiating the European Constitution during Ireland’s 2004 EU presidency.

Back in 1998, he was part of the team which negotiated the Good Friday Agreement. He joined the Department of Foreign Affairs in 1983, and his previous postings have included Rome, Chicago and London. In his free time, he is a horse- racing enthusiast.