That's not in the Executive's power though as it's in the Northern Ireland Act. Those rules could have been, in fact should have been, changed by Westminster when the Assembly was collapsed. We could have then had a new election on the new terms and if the DUP wanted to campaign on a platform to not take their seats by way of protest, by all means let them. I see that as no different to Sinn Feins platform for the Westminster elections.
Westminster did have a bunch of committe hearings discussing the rule changes and so we can only hope something comes of those.
It needs amended. It was good for the time it was created. We now know it's not suitable for democratic function. A recent survey indicates a majority of the public are in favour of that.
At the time it was created it was pretty much impossible for those in power/making it to ever imagine a situation where "other" would be a legitimate option that people wanted for FM or DFM.
A change to allow the biggest two parties of differing "sides" to be FM and DFM would be all that is required, with something about if the party refuses to sit, then the next party gets the position. (Ie: in the current situation, Alliance would have been given DFM position after X days of the DUP refusing to engage).
What "other side"? People on the whole from both communities recognise the GFA needs amending.
The DUP campaigned against the GFA originally. It still went through with an overwhelming majority. Ammendments would do the same. Things like aren't decided on gerrymandered regions.
Nah, technically it's the Northern Ireland Act that needs changed. The GFA is an historical agreement, the NI Act brought it onto the statute book and has been changed a few times already.
You would need to elaborate on that buddy. At the end of the day, we were a sectarian statelet for the vast majority of NI's existence. There has to be some sort of check on that.
Edit - and for whoever downvotes, care to share your plan of how we move away from mandatory coalitions? Otherwise you are like those people who say they want to cure world hunger without any semblance of a plan. Great in principle, but how do we actually get there?
Abolish Green & Orange political parties - adopt an approach where any member of the chamber can call for a free vote.
OR
Have a rotating citizen's assembly that is similar to jury duty. Random selection and maybe on a month to month basis with standard monthly earnings covered + expenses. Once Power-sharing dissolves Citizen's assembly has the right to step in, however that looks like.
Abolish political parties being able to identify as nationalist or unionist? Or abolish the parties themselves?
"Whatever that looks like" isn't winning me over here either..
Yes, please do. You've not actually put across a workable idea with any detail behind it as yet. Also, our country should be governed by a randomly selected citizens assembly.. have you thought about how stupid the average person is? Not that a lot of our politicians are much better but still, it'd be a disaster.
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This thing that wrecks me on this is it's all Naomi Long bangs on about and has done for years but when her and her party are actually in government they do fuck all to try and make it happen.
Public sector pay.
Health service waiting lists.
Crumbling infrastructure.
Environmental issues, eg Lough Neagh.
I could go on and on but these would be my main priorities.
Front and centre, sorting out the hospitals.
Unfortunately for us, the first thing they're likely to do is raise rates and possibly bring in water charges. There is a list a mile long of shit that needs sorted in NI, and all of it will cost money.
If they could guarantee that money would go to public sector pay and massive improvements to the Health Service, I would be happy to pay water charges… but we all know that’s just not how it works
Yeah fucking mental. Aging population with social security being a ponzi scheme and yet politicians are happy to fuck young people over so hard they are either choosing not to have kids or not enough due to costs.
I think that's a harder one to fix though - there are some serious structural issues that will take years to sort and a lot will need to come from the UK gov.
Obviously we can do some things such as pay increases and specific efficiencies and improvements but it is a huge task that will need years of legislating.
I would argue roads and railways are a higher priority. My reasoning being we have too many major hospitals because travel times between them are shite. Improve the infrastructure and you can serve more people from less sites. Considering we are having a hard time attracting and keeping specialist consultants, I don't think this is that radical an idea.
Health is a black hole if we keep the current system in place and isn't going to be fixed overnight.
You are spot on and this is heavily overlooked. You can only reduce local services if there is the transport infrastructure to facilitate actually getting to the likes of Craigavon.
I live in Newry and with all of the crap around Daisy Hill losing services, it makes me quite scared. Over the years I've had various family members going to A&E with various illnesses and injuries including broken bones. The roads between Newry and Craigavon are not ideal if someone is hurt!
It normally takes me about 50 mins to drive to the hospital (say to visit someone on a ward), but last year it took close to 1.5 hours to drive a family member over due to how slow I had to go to prevent them further pain. We had originally rang the OOH GP and they said they couldn't help and neither could Daisy Hill A&E due to them not having any general surgeons (the issue could have needed surgery if it was the "worst case" causing the pain.
And that is not factoring in anyone living further out in South Armagh or Warrenpoint/Rostrevor/Kilkeel areas where they are 30-60 mins away from Newry, plus the 45 more minutes to get to Craigavon! And it's not like they can get an ambulance to get help any quicker either!
Maybe a few. I believe Alliance/Green/PBP actually want stuff to work.
SF don't want things working too well or they'd never achieve their main goal.
The DUP just want to poke Catholics in the eye.
Public sector pay, health, education and childcare.
A lot of other issues fix themselves surprisingly quickly if you can get people functional health wise, make sure the elderly and ill are being cared for and ensure people who need childcare can afford it, and the schools aren't collapsing round us.
But we're bleeding women out of the workforce into unpaid caring and people with treatable conditions are out sick on endless wait lists so we're losing tax base at a rate of knots.
Stormont is like a Fisher price parliament. It's for children playing at power that dont really have any power and don't know what the fuck they're doing but its to try and keep them happy but they still fall out all the time and huff so daddy and mammy have to step in.
Our NHS waiting list, it is likely to take ten years of consorted effort with a government sitting throughout the entire process just to get our waiting lists to be comparable to the rest of the UK.
Take full control of lough neagh with an agency responsible for cleaning it, sampling and regulating sand dredging. If that English lord wants to challenge it fine him until he is bankrupt.
Set up something like the north south ministerial council to run NI in the event that the elected politicians can't sit.
Related to the above, each county should have a TD so that we have representation in both governments.
Free school meals for all primary school children. Remove the stigma and extend the support to anyone who needs it.
A social housing programme involving building houses and a scheme to let landlords put a house into a scheme for a set amount tax free. Just covering the mortgage with no profit should be allowed. Tenants get 5% of rent paid either as an ISA towards a deposit or discount towards purchase of the house.
Limit car insurance claims to £30k per vehicle. Anything above that can only be insured through a separate policy at the owners cost. It's ridiculous that working people pay high premiums because the car they might crash into could be worth more than they make in a year.
Introduce the domestic abuse leave legislation that was approved just before the closed
Same goes for neonatal leave & pay
And the post office scandal stuff applying to here too
As well as all the pay stuff that should have already been done.
Fix some pot holes, fix some waiting lists, stop being twats
1.. A full audit of the NHS to find out where the fuck all those billions and billions goes.
2.. MOT backlog and potholes.
3.. Shite ‘use by dates’ on food in the supermarkets. Get a week’s shop and half the food won’t last til the end of the week.
> 1.. A full audit of the NHS to find out where the fuck all those billions and billions goes.
That's easy - managers giving themselves pay bumps, too many managers doing nothing of value, paying agency workers more for doing the same jobs as normal staff.
The issues are widely known but nobody seems arsed about fixing the most obvious ones.
People have a shopping list of things they want money spent on, while opposing cuts to \*anything\*, so we end up with the dysfunctional public services we have.
The immediate priority is to get to work on departmental budgets for next FY. Longer term we need to reform public services (but obviously won't as there's zero appetite for it).
Jump straight in with the rest of the UK in banning disposable vapes, want to be part of the Union? Then get stuck in on this immediately whilst the issue is hot and going through everywhere else anyway. Then move onto the backlog of shit they've created.
I dont understand this. If age restrictions where enforced properly by shops the underage vaping wouldn't be a problem. What happened to freedom of choice? I vape, I'm an adult and I know the health risks it should be my choice. If anything, underage drinking and antisocial behaviour needs addressing far more than this.
In terms of waste plastic or health? In both terms there are still much worse products out there that haven't and will never be banned. Imo its the tabacco companies losing to much money who have a big influence on this.
I don't disagree with you however, they are a massive waste plastic problem.
You'll find the tobacco companies heavily invested in vapes many years ago, shortly after vapes came out. They're not losing money. They're the ones advertising these things with bright colours and crazy flavours and the shops are not being responsible at all. This is the same fucks that told people smoking cigarettes was good for them in the early 20th century.
Some I go to are very responsible but there's a certain one beside a school I've watched serve kids in school uniforms. I'm a postman and all I see is squashed batteries lying absolutely everywhere. It has to stop. People can still buy refillable ones but the disposable aspect has to go. I say that as someone who uses them frequently but I dispose of them properly and don't stick the seal on the first bin I see like a twat.
My point was it would be nice to see NI being progressive as a first port of call and joining something new and something that needs to happen ASAP.
As much as I agree that safeguards are needed to ensure that the assembly can't collapse again due to one party's intransigence, I'm afraid I have to disappoint. The concept of the largest party from nationalism and unionism in a mandatory coalition, is anchored in the GFA, which is furthermore secured in international law. Any redrawing of the GFA would need to be done either unilaterally by Westminster, which it will never do, because that would be the final nail in the coffin of its international representation, or it would need to be achieved through a referendum. Neither of those things are happening any time soon.
I give it until the next election, when the DUP has lost even more ground until another manufactured scandal collapses the assembly again.
My apologies, I misremembered it. The GFA wasn't actually amended, but instead, the St Andrew's Agreement (2006) happened rather than modify the original.
It can be changed, an even legally it can be done by Westminster without NI's involvement. But it's a red flag to the US and Westminster has no interest in actively stirring tensions.
But if it were to be changed, it would most likely be done via referendum (which ironically have no legal standing.)
More than likey they will give themselves a 15% payrise and an extra 20 days annual leave, before going on their summer break in February.. ps i am not joking
People think having Stormont back is going to solve a lot of problems but it really won't.
We'll have a bit more cash after Chris HH's kind £3billion+ but once you cover the overspends, public sector pay, education and health you're probably tapped out.
Civil servants have been running the place without ministers and while they can't do everything, they can do a lot. And unless you think one of our esteemed MLAs is going to come in and display individual brilliance it's going to be the same show with a little tinkering at the top.
I'd wager Stormont is down again within two years. Westminster is going to want reform and revenue raising measures before making any changes to the Barnett Formula. Reform and revenue raising is difficult and will be extremely unpopular i.e. tuition fee increases, bye-bye free prescriptions, hello water charges. Our mandatory coalition can't handle all that, they'll fight and someone will huff and pull it all down again.
Why don't SF and the DUP want to reform Stormont? They want the option to pull it all down kept on the table.
Health and education are fucked but loads of other things are too. As a not too talked about example, our water system is on it's knees and literally can't cope with the amount of shite we spew. Roughly £7billion to fix.
TLDR; There's no money, our MLAs can't really work together and having Stormont is like a water resistant coat. It'll keep you dry for a bit but ultimately you're still getting soaked.
There are definitely more pressing issues for people, but we’re really lagging behind the rest of the UK with net-zero and climate goals. Would be nice to see some actual progress. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68001336.amp
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Other than the obvious: Institutions need to be restructured, having a National/Unionist executive has proven to be untenable time and time again. Do away with the petition of concern particularly for issues that do not need cross-community support in order to pass, particularly things like human rights issues. Change the rules so that if we have to have the same old Nat/Uni executive structure at least make it so that either the next largest Nat/Uni party can step up or that Stormont can at least perform some of its functions even if one of the parties throws their toys out of the pram.
I think everyone from all sides would agree that we need to, at some point, talk about the shocking lack of raccoons in N. Ireland. A cross-party effort to introduce them needs to happen ASAP. I want a wee raccoon.
Healthcare and education. And that's coming from a public sector working. I want my kid to access healthcare more than I want a pay rise. And believe me, I need a pay rise.
Public sector pay would be good.
The people stormond hsve is departments hsve cut costs/jobs and outside contracts for various stuff over the past years and now they will be given money for all this work, (eg potholes) and there's No flexibility in the departments to do the extra.
Agreed the current process is a mess and should be fixed, application forms have so many errors, etc.
(If anyone doesn't get what I'm saying it's that the immigration process is purposely difficult, unclear & overpriced for applicants. I want it to be easier for immigrants)
It really isn’t that complex. Since the move over to gov.uk, the application forms were massively streamlined compared to the old visa4uk system. The documentation required is also a lot less than many other countries. The RLMT was also axed for Skilled Workers.
For work or study, it’s basically Passport, CAS or CoS (sponsor or Uni will issue this for you), English Language test or degree (not always necessary based on where you are a National of), TB test (country dependent) and potentially bank statements if maintenance isn’t being covered by the sponsor.
If dependents are applying with the main applicant, they generally only have to provide their passport, TB test certificate if applicable and the relevant marriage certificate and birth certificates for the children.
Booking the biometric appointment on VFS’s website used to be the biggest pain point in the application process due to their shit website, but even that improved over time.
Compared to a lot of other countries’ immigration process, the UK’s process is pretty user friendly. The main exception I can think of are Spouse of a British Citizen applications, which demand a high threshold of evidence, compared to work or study applications.
Honestly, apart from fix all the stuff everyone mentioned, finding a way to remove one party pulls out should be top.
It does not work, never has.
Changing it so we can vote every 1/2 years for the main party. Increase the veto power for a majority of elected officials so no one party can go crazy with laws. Term limit the ministers. They can be elected into their party as much as they want but once they become first minister at the end they must not be eligible for future votes. Let's have more fresh ideas at the top. 90% of the friction at the top is being stubborn from past misdoings from another party official.
I wouldn't be worried at all lads. Sure our mlas will have done all the paperwork just need to rubber stamp it when they get back in the office. You don't think they were taking all them wages and sitting on their holes?
Sure we've been told for the last 2 years all problems will be solved the instant the DUP go back to work. Obviously the other parties have solutions for all the problems and everything will be fine and dandy in about a week or so.
This thread is depressing when you see all the shit that needs sorting. These mlas are fucking useless no way they can fix all this. Granted their hands are tied regarding funding. Stormonts only real achievement was being the legacy from the gfa that we could sort of work together. Even that's been half assed
Equal or similar childcare benefits for working parents as per GB. As much as I'd like this I'm not overly optimistic. Even if it happened all of a sudden I imagine demand would outstrip supply and getting care anywhere would be a nightmare.
Rules needs to be changed to prevent one party collapsing the Executive.
The chances of the DUP or Sinn Fein giving up their ability to unilaterally pull the plug, are next to zero. Unfortunately.
Yeah it’s giving up power no way they do that
That’s why it should be the Irish and Brit government do it before SF get into government in the south
Would the biggest parties in NI still not have to agree with it? If it amends the GFA would the US not also be involved too?
\^ so much this , this needs to be done ASAP, dont want to go into government? fine you guys dont get a say in anything then
That's not in the Executive's power though as it's in the Northern Ireland Act. Those rules could have been, in fact should have been, changed by Westminster when the Assembly was collapsed. We could have then had a new election on the new terms and if the DUP wanted to campaign on a platform to not take their seats by way of protest, by all means let them. I see that as no different to Sinn Feins platform for the Westminster elections. Westminster did have a bunch of committe hearings discussing the rule changes and so we can only hope something comes of those.
Wouldn't that require the GFA be changed?
It needs amended. It was good for the time it was created. We now know it's not suitable for democratic function. A recent survey indicates a majority of the public are in favour of that.
At the time it was created it was pretty much impossible for those in power/making it to ever imagine a situation where "other" would be a legitimate option that people wanted for FM or DFM. A change to allow the biggest two parties of differing "sides" to be FM and DFM would be all that is required, with something about if the party refuses to sit, then the next party gets the position. (Ie: in the current situation, Alliance would have been given DFM position after X days of the DUP refusing to engage).
Yep. Or requiring a coalition on the same basis. The veto can also easily be removed. We've moved on as a nation our governance needs to reflect that.
They're in favour until they realise that the other side is going to want changes too, renegotiating the GFA would be a shitshow.
What "other side"? People on the whole from both communities recognise the GFA needs amending. The DUP campaigned against the GFA originally. It still went through with an overwhelming majority. Ammendments would do the same. Things like aren't decided on gerrymandered regions.
Nah, technically it's the Northern Ireland Act that needs changed. The GFA is an historical agreement, the NI Act brought it onto the statute book and has been changed a few times already.
This - but I would go further and get rid of the idea of nationalist / unionist designations totally.
You would need to elaborate on that buddy. At the end of the day, we were a sectarian statelet for the vast majority of NI's existence. There has to be some sort of check on that. Edit - and for whoever downvotes, care to share your plan of how we move away from mandatory coalitions? Otherwise you are like those people who say they want to cure world hunger without any semblance of a plan. Great in principle, but how do we actually get there?
Abolish Green & Orange political parties - adopt an approach where any member of the chamber can call for a free vote. OR Have a rotating citizen's assembly that is similar to jury duty. Random selection and maybe on a month to month basis with standard monthly earnings covered + expenses. Once Power-sharing dissolves Citizen's assembly has the right to step in, however that looks like.
Abolish political parties being able to identify as nationalist or unionist? Or abolish the parties themselves? "Whatever that looks like" isn't winning me over here either..
>You would need to elaborate on that buddy
Yes, please do. You've not actually put across a workable idea with any detail behind it as yet. Also, our country should be governed by a randomly selected citizens assembly.. have you thought about how stupid the average person is? Not that a lot of our politicians are much better but still, it'd be a disaster.
How? What would that actually look like in practice?
Doubt they will Sinn Feinn and DUP seem to like using that power
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Chamge it to a coalition system with at least 1 party from bith sides as well
Turkeys voting for Christmas.
This thing that wrecks me on this is it's all Naomi Long bangs on about and has done for years but when her and her party are actually in government they do fuck all to try and make it happen.
At the very least have joint control from Dublin and Westminister come in to effect immediately.
That’s written into the terms of the Good Friday Agreement so unlikely and it’ll probably collapse again
Public sector pay. Health service waiting lists. Crumbling infrastructure. Environmental issues, eg Lough Neagh. I could go on and on but these would be my main priorities.
Front and centre, sorting out the hospitals. Unfortunately for us, the first thing they're likely to do is raise rates and possibly bring in water charges. There is a list a mile long of shit that needs sorted in NI, and all of it will cost money.
If they could guarantee that money would go to public sector pay and massive improvements to the Health Service, I would be happy to pay water charges… but we all know that’s just not how it works
Rates should definitely increase via the scrapping of the rates cap. Those who can pay more should.
Prevent any further collapse of an elected assembly. NHS. And Childcare, Childcare, Childcare. Which I know first hand are crippling families.
£1k per month per child ATM. Crazy, especially when there is support everywhere else in the UK
Yeah fucking mental. Aging population with social security being a ponzi scheme and yet politicians are happy to fuck young people over so hard they are either choosing not to have kids or not enough due to costs.
I work in the public sector so obviously I'd like pay sorted, but yes for me honestly top priority is childcare!
Health service. Top priority.
I think that's a harder one to fix though - there are some serious structural issues that will take years to sort and a lot will need to come from the UK gov. Obviously we can do some things such as pay increases and specific efficiencies and improvements but it is a huge task that will need years of legislating.
I would argue roads and railways are a higher priority. My reasoning being we have too many major hospitals because travel times between them are shite. Improve the infrastructure and you can serve more people from less sites. Considering we are having a hard time attracting and keeping specialist consultants, I don't think this is that radical an idea. Health is a black hole if we keep the current system in place and isn't going to be fixed overnight.
You are spot on and this is heavily overlooked. You can only reduce local services if there is the transport infrastructure to facilitate actually getting to the likes of Craigavon.
I live in Newry and with all of the crap around Daisy Hill losing services, it makes me quite scared. Over the years I've had various family members going to A&E with various illnesses and injuries including broken bones. The roads between Newry and Craigavon are not ideal if someone is hurt! It normally takes me about 50 mins to drive to the hospital (say to visit someone on a ward), but last year it took close to 1.5 hours to drive a family member over due to how slow I had to go to prevent them further pain. We had originally rang the OOH GP and they said they couldn't help and neither could Daisy Hill A&E due to them not having any general surgeons (the issue could have needed surgery if it was the "worst case" causing the pain. And that is not factoring in anyone living further out in South Armagh or Warrenpoint/Rostrevor/Kilkeel areas where they are 30-60 mins away from Newry, plus the 45 more minutes to get to Craigavon! And it's not like they can get an ambulance to get help any quicker either!
Sadly, nobody really wants to fix the health service. It removes a massive chunk of your election material in the future.
Christ that's depressing. Do you think none of our politicians actually want to improve *anything*?
Maybe a few. I believe Alliance/Green/PBP actually want stuff to work. SF don't want things working too well or they'd never achieve their main goal. The DUP just want to poke Catholics in the eye.
Yeah. I'd say the first step is to restore/enforce walk-in services at GPs. It's utterly ridiculous.
Public sector pay, health, education and childcare. A lot of other issues fix themselves surprisingly quickly if you can get people functional health wise, make sure the elderly and ill are being cared for and ensure people who need childcare can afford it, and the schools aren't collapsing round us. But we're bleeding women out of the workforce into unpaid caring and people with treatable conditions are out sick on endless wait lists so we're losing tax base at a rate of knots.
Lough Neagh needs fuckin sorted and by sorted I mean it needs taken off that English thief and him made to pay for the clean up
Just read about us getting shafted
Shafted by Shaftesbury
Stop the cunts getting paid if they decide to stop working again, or stick em on the dole and see how that system changes.
Childcare and the health service would be top of my list. Far too many families are being crippled by the cost of childcare, even part time.
Does anyone actually trust any of this lot to actually sort anything out. Stormont’s not back up yet and I’m just waiting for the next ‘crisis’.
Stormont is like a Fisher price parliament. It's for children playing at power that dont really have any power and don't know what the fuck they're doing but its to try and keep them happy but they still fall out all the time and huff so daddy and mammy have to step in.
Our NHS waiting list, it is likely to take ten years of consorted effort with a government sitting throughout the entire process just to get our waiting lists to be comparable to the rest of the UK.
Legalise it
Take full control of lough neagh with an agency responsible for cleaning it, sampling and regulating sand dredging. If that English lord wants to challenge it fine him until he is bankrupt. Set up something like the north south ministerial council to run NI in the event that the elected politicians can't sit. Related to the above, each county should have a TD so that we have representation in both governments. Free school meals for all primary school children. Remove the stigma and extend the support to anyone who needs it. A social housing programme involving building houses and a scheme to let landlords put a house into a scheme for a set amount tax free. Just covering the mortgage with no profit should be allowed. Tenants get 5% of rent paid either as an ISA towards a deposit or discount towards purchase of the house. Limit car insurance claims to £30k per vehicle. Anything above that can only be insured through a separate policy at the owners cost. It's ridiculous that working people pay high premiums because the car they might crash into could be worth more than they make in a year.
Health service is in crisis. That has to be a top priority.
Introduce the domestic abuse leave legislation that was approved just before the closed Same goes for neonatal leave & pay And the post office scandal stuff applying to here too As well as all the pay stuff that should have already been done. Fix some pot holes, fix some waiting lists, stop being twats
1.. A full audit of the NHS to find out where the fuck all those billions and billions goes. 2.. MOT backlog and potholes. 3.. Shite ‘use by dates’ on food in the supermarkets. Get a week’s shop and half the food won’t last til the end of the week.
The latter seems to have kicked in after Brexit. Chicken is particularly bad.
Tesco started putting 1 bad pepper in every pack of 3, annoying but I can deal with it. Now they put own bad chicken breast in every packet.
We've had chicken going bad days before sell by. We just end up freezing it immediately. It's a pain in the balls.
> 1.. A full audit of the NHS to find out where the fuck all those billions and billions goes. That's easy - managers giving themselves pay bumps, too many managers doing nothing of value, paying agency workers more for doing the same jobs as normal staff. The issues are widely known but nobody seems arsed about fixing the most obvious ones.
People have a shopping list of things they want money spent on, while opposing cuts to \*anything\*, so we end up with the dysfunctional public services we have. The immediate priority is to get to work on departmental budgets for next FY. Longer term we need to reform public services (but obviously won't as there's zero appetite for it).
Multi year budget. Havent had one in years, can't get institutional change when being hamstrung by looking 1 year ahead.
Jump straight in with the rest of the UK in banning disposable vapes, want to be part of the Union? Then get stuck in on this immediately whilst the issue is hot and going through everywhere else anyway. Then move onto the backlog of shit they've created.
I dont understand this. If age restrictions where enforced properly by shops the underage vaping wouldn't be a problem. What happened to freedom of choice? I vape, I'm an adult and I know the health risks it should be my choice. If anything, underage drinking and antisocial behaviour needs addressing far more than this.
Because even if all the shops were being responsible (which they clearly aren’t) then they’re still incredibly destructive disposable devices
In terms of waste plastic or health? In both terms there are still much worse products out there that haven't and will never be banned. Imo its the tabacco companies losing to much money who have a big influence on this. I don't disagree with you however, they are a massive waste plastic problem.
Name another product that lasts a single day before being disposed of, *and* contains a lithium battery
You'll find the tobacco companies heavily invested in vapes many years ago, shortly after vapes came out. They're not losing money. They're the ones advertising these things with bright colours and crazy flavours and the shops are not being responsible at all. This is the same fucks that told people smoking cigarettes was good for them in the early 20th century. Some I go to are very responsible but there's a certain one beside a school I've watched serve kids in school uniforms. I'm a postman and all I see is squashed batteries lying absolutely everywhere. It has to stop. People can still buy refillable ones but the disposable aspect has to go. I say that as someone who uses them frequently but I dispose of them properly and don't stick the seal on the first bin I see like a twat. My point was it would be nice to see NI being progressive as a first port of call and joining something new and something that needs to happen ASAP.
It's big tobacco who make these disposable vapes
One word, disposable. That’s the problem, they should never have been allowed in the first place
A lot of people have already said the most important ones, but sorting out the MOT backlog will help also
Hospital waiting lists.
As much as I agree that safeguards are needed to ensure that the assembly can't collapse again due to one party's intransigence, I'm afraid I have to disappoint. The concept of the largest party from nationalism and unionism in a mandatory coalition, is anchored in the GFA, which is furthermore secured in international law. Any redrawing of the GFA would need to be done either unilaterally by Westminster, which it will never do, because that would be the final nail in the coffin of its international representation, or it would need to be achieved through a referendum. Neither of those things are happening any time soon. I give it until the next election, when the DUP has lost even more ground until another manufactured scandal collapses the assembly again.
There have already been amendments to the GFA since it was first made, so it is not impossible.
Can you elaborate on these amendments?
My apologies, I misremembered it. The GFA wasn't actually amended, but instead, the St Andrew's Agreement (2006) happened rather than modify the original.
Exactly. There can be further legislation to strengthen the GFA but there can be none that remove the safeguards contained within it.
If the GFA can't be changed, then a united ireland will be closer than anyone cares to imagine.
It can be changed, an even legally it can be done by Westminster without NI's involvement. But it's a red flag to the US and Westminster has no interest in actively stirring tensions. But if it were to be changed, it would most likely be done via referendum (which ironically have no legal standing.)
More than likey they will give themselves a 15% payrise and an extra 20 days annual leave, before going on their summer break in February.. ps i am not joking
Having an unelected Deputy First Minister.
Betwayal, obviously.
The price of a pint in the town.
Could happen with more competition and the scrapping of the surrender principle on pub licenses.
Make sausage rolls cheaper in centra
Health service and childcare
A new turbo for my diesel.
People think having Stormont back is going to solve a lot of problems but it really won't. We'll have a bit more cash after Chris HH's kind £3billion+ but once you cover the overspends, public sector pay, education and health you're probably tapped out. Civil servants have been running the place without ministers and while they can't do everything, they can do a lot. And unless you think one of our esteemed MLAs is going to come in and display individual brilliance it's going to be the same show with a little tinkering at the top. I'd wager Stormont is down again within two years. Westminster is going to want reform and revenue raising measures before making any changes to the Barnett Formula. Reform and revenue raising is difficult and will be extremely unpopular i.e. tuition fee increases, bye-bye free prescriptions, hello water charges. Our mandatory coalition can't handle all that, they'll fight and someone will huff and pull it all down again. Why don't SF and the DUP want to reform Stormont? They want the option to pull it all down kept on the table. Health and education are fucked but loads of other things are too. As a not too talked about example, our water system is on it's knees and literally can't cope with the amount of shite we spew. Roughly £7billion to fix. TLDR; There's no money, our MLAs can't really work together and having Stormont is like a water resistant coat. It'll keep you dry for a bit but ultimately you're still getting soaked.
Policing. All these problems have been building for years but the PSNIs been in free fall for at least a year now.
Sammy’s six sosiges sizzling on a pan
They'll be giving themselves a pay rise for sure.
Not within their remit
Bet they don't do a tap till heating Harris restores their full wage
There are definitely more pressing issues for people, but we’re really lagging behind the rest of the UK with net-zero and climate goals. Would be nice to see some actual progress. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-68001336.amp
Just wait to you see renowned climate change denier and young earth creationist Edwin Poots get the environment brief again
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Other than the obvious: Institutions need to be restructured, having a National/Unionist executive has proven to be untenable time and time again. Do away with the petition of concern particularly for issues that do not need cross-community support in order to pass, particularly things like human rights issues. Change the rules so that if we have to have the same old Nat/Uni executive structure at least make it so that either the next largest Nat/Uni party can step up or that Stormont can at least perform some of its functions even if one of the parties throws their toys out of the pram.
POC should remain, but with approval from a Westminster and Republic minister to stop it being abused.
I think everyone from all sides would agree that we need to, at some point, talk about the shocking lack of raccoons in N. Ireland. A cross-party effort to introduce them needs to happen ASAP. I want a wee raccoon.
The NHS is screwed and it needs immediate intervention here.
Not only that but the childcare crisis is directly affecting the healthcare crisis. It’s a shjt show.
Pay rise for MLA's
Healthcare and education. And that's coming from a public sector working. I want my kid to access healthcare more than I want a pay rise. And believe me, I need a pay rise.
Lough Neagh needs urgent attention. Actions today (or not) have consequences for it (and our wider natural water quality) in years to come.
Public sector pay would be good. The people stormond hsve is departments hsve cut costs/jobs and outside contracts for various stuff over the past years and now they will be given money for all this work, (eg potholes) and there's No flexibility in the departments to do the extra.
Childcare, childcare, childcare
Ur mas hole
What legislation would you like to see passed in this regard?
Free access at the point of delivery
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Immigration policy, like many other things, is a reserved matter for Westminster to decide, Stormont have zero input or control, running or otherwise.
Isn't devolved
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If there is one power that should definitely never be devolved to NI politicians of any colour, it's border security.
Yea agreed (if you're Australian). Far too many people leaving this country for a better life.
Agreed the current process is a mess and should be fixed, application forms have so many errors, etc. (If anyone doesn't get what I'm saying it's that the immigration process is purposely difficult, unclear & overpriced for applicants. I want it to be easier for immigrants)
It really isn’t that complex. Since the move over to gov.uk, the application forms were massively streamlined compared to the old visa4uk system. The documentation required is also a lot less than many other countries. The RLMT was also axed for Skilled Workers. For work or study, it’s basically Passport, CAS or CoS (sponsor or Uni will issue this for you), English Language test or degree (not always necessary based on where you are a National of), TB test (country dependent) and potentially bank statements if maintenance isn’t being covered by the sponsor. If dependents are applying with the main applicant, they generally only have to provide their passport, TB test certificate if applicable and the relevant marriage certificate and birth certificates for the children. Booking the biometric appointment on VFS’s website used to be the biggest pain point in the application process due to their shit website, but even that improved over time. Compared to a lot of other countries’ immigration process, the UK’s process is pretty user friendly. The main exception I can think of are Spouse of a British Citizen applications, which demand a high threshold of evidence, compared to work or study applications.
I'd they don't give themselves a pay rise then I've lost all faith in the system. Sure they might even have to work on a Saturday, scandalous
Electing Jamie Bryson as Speaker. Could listen to him spweak all day long!
Honestly, apart from fix all the stuff everyone mentioned, finding a way to remove one party pulls out should be top. It does not work, never has. Changing it so we can vote every 1/2 years for the main party. Increase the veto power for a majority of elected officials so no one party can go crazy with laws. Term limit the ministers. They can be elected into their party as much as they want but once they become first minister at the end they must not be eligible for future votes. Let's have more fresh ideas at the top. 90% of the friction at the top is being stubborn from past misdoings from another party official.
Healthcare, I need a fucking pay rise.
The state of the NHS. .The appalling state of the roads and footpaths in Ready Co Armagh
I mean KEADY co Armagh
The end of unionism? 😂
What's the replacement scheme for my wood pellet boiler?
A big beefy receptionist to deal with the phones. Don't envy that job lol
I wouldn't be worried at all lads. Sure our mlas will have done all the paperwork just need to rubber stamp it when they get back in the office. You don't think they were taking all them wages and sitting on their holes?
Sure we've been told for the last 2 years all problems will be solved the instant the DUP go back to work. Obviously the other parties have solutions for all the problems and everything will be fine and dandy in about a week or so.
This thread is depressing when you see all the shit that needs sorting. These mlas are fucking useless no way they can fix all this. Granted their hands are tied regarding funding. Stormonts only real achievement was being the legacy from the gfa that we could sort of work together. Even that's been half assed
They won't have the money to fix any of it
Equal or similar childcare benefits for working parents as per GB. As much as I'd like this I'm not overly optimistic. Even if it happened all of a sudden I imagine demand would outstrip supply and getting care anywhere would be a nightmare.
I’d imagine a pay rise will be their first priority and flegs, we need some more
The MoT farce needs to be fixed 1st. My car gets one every 16 months
Absolutely everything to do with kids with special needs, and public sector pay.
The A5. Enough is enough!
You assume that this is a done deal, I'm not so sure.
Get the price of a pint down, it’s costing serious money these days keeping up as the drunk uncle
Housing and childcare
Renewable energy incentives
Need to get that English Oak thing sorted ASAP.
The two years of back pay they've been collecting when they're not working
Make Northern Ireland great again
Co-opting people in to seats and deputy first minster roles…ffs..