Ballysally Nurture Unit

The Department for Social Development has proved to be extremely interesting and there is much that it can do to support projects and initiatives that enhance our quality of life in Northern Ireland.  This was illustrated by a series of visits that I made last Thursday to Coleraine, Portrush and Lisburn.

The day started in the Ballysally estate in Coleraine, with a visit to Ballysally Primary School.  I was welcomed by the principal Geoff Dunne and officials from Coleraine Borough Council and Coleraine Neighbourhood Partnership.  After meeting some of the children at their assembly we went on to see the school's nurture unit.  Ballysally is one of around ten schools in Northern Ireland with nurture units and DSD supports a number of these.  This unit was established in 2004 as an interventionist strategy aimed at targeting social deprivation and was initially supported by Peace 11 funding but has been funded by DSD through Neighbourhood Renewal since 2006.

The programme affords the school the opportunity to engage with pupils, their parents and the community to address various needs such as social interaction and emotional, behavioural and parenting needs. 

Additionally, the project seeks to develop a nurturing ethos throughout the school through a number of initiatives, including a breakfast club, and provides parents with opportunities to improve their skills, interaction and communication through initiatives such as parenting workshops.

Prior to the introduction of this programme, the school made 11 referrals per year to the Educational Psychology Service, 9 of which were for behavioural difficulties.  In each year since the programme was introduced there have been just 3 referrals each year with only one of these for behavioural difficulties.  There has also been a marked improvement in levels of attainment at Key stages 2 and 3 in English, with attainment at Level 2 rising from 65% to 75% and Level 3 rising from 13.04% to 18.75%.  This certainly shows the value of investment in early intervention.

Since April 2011 the school has worked in collaboration with Ballysally Presbyterian Church, Sure Start and Focus on Family, a local nurturing and development centre, to deliver a joint nurturing service within the estate.

I was very impressed by the school and the nurture unit.  This is certainly an example of DSD money being well spent.

Questions for Gerry Adams

There are two interesting and related reports in the Belfast Telegraph tonight.

The first relates to the attempt by the PSNI Serious Crime Branch to subpoena tapes from the Boston College archive  in which former IRA members allegedly implicated Gerry Adams in crimes such as the murder of Jean McConville.  Among those interviewed were Brendan Hughes, a former Belfast IRA commander who died in 2008, and Dolours Price, a convicted IRA bomber.  Hughes said that Adams set up a secret murder squad in Belfast to kill 'the disappeared' and this was repeated in Ed Moloney's book Voices from the Grave, which was based on the interviews.

Apart from her interviews in the Boston archive, Dolours Price also referred to Adams at a republican commemoration in county Mayo in 2001.  On that occasion she said that it was 'too much' to listen to people now saying they weren't in the IRA and she added 'Gerry Adams was my commanding officer'.

The second story concerns Marian Price, a sister of Dolours Price.  Both Marian and Dolours were part of an IRA team that bombed the Old Bailey in 1973.  Today Marian Price is a dissident republican and secretary of the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, the political wing of the Real IRA.  Marian Price's home in West Belfast was raided and she is now being questioned by detectives about dissident republican activity.

Adams has gone south of the border to Louth and a seat in the Dail but he cannot escape the questions about his role in the IRA, especially in Belfast in the early 1970s.  Those were the days when the IRA established its secret murder squad, developed the car bomb and then used it to terrible effect on Bloody Friday.

Republicans are good at asking for inquiries and demanding the truth from everyone else but they are guilty of the worst hypocrisy in that Adams and others refuse to tell the truth about their role in the IRA.  Not only does Adams refuse to tell the truth but he even denies he was a member of the IRA, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary from former Provisionals such as Hughes and Price.

There are many questions for Adams to answer and however much he tries to run away from them, those questions will pursue him until they are answered.  Otherwise they will pursue him to the grave.

Time to cut Policing Board costs

There is a good report in the Belfast Telegraph on the running costs of the Northern Ireland Policing Board (NIPB), which currently stand at £8.3 million a year.  This is much higher than comparable policing boards in Great Britain and is due to a number of factors.

• The chief executive of the NIPB has a salary of £110,000, which is higher than comparable boards in Great Britain.
• The chairman is paid over £58,000, whereas in Great Britain chairmen tend to get between £10k and £30k.
• The NIPB has 64 staff whereas Strathclyde Police Authority has just 11 staff.
• The budget includes the cost of running District Policing Partnerships and this stands at £3 million of the £8.3 million.  An accompanying editorial says of the DPPs that 'many of these meetings are poorly attended and it can be argued that the political representatives on the Board already give the public an adequate conduit to the police.  The board and the district off-shoots were set up to address legacy issues and create a new confidence in policing.  This has been achieved by and large and perhaps a more cost-effective model can evolve.'

The Policing Board has already been ordered to make savings but much more could be done to save money and that money could then be redirected into putting police officers out on the streets, which is what most people want to see.

The NIPB came into existence after the Belfast Agreement and was part of the new approach to policing.  It was of its time but time has moved on and many things have changed.  We need more money directed into front-line policing and less into administration, salaries and DPPs.

Whitewell republican parade

Today the Greencastle Commemoration Committee staged a parade from the Whitewell Road, around the Whitewell area, and then back down the Whitewell Road to Bawnmore, where there was a commemorative event at the Bawnmore Memorial Garden.

This event has taken place over a number of years and the Volunteer Sean McIlvenna Republican Flute Band from Glasgow regularly appears at the parade.  The band is named after Sean McIlvenna, a member of the IRA who was born in North Belfast but later moved south of the border.  He was killed on 17 December 1984 at Blackwaterstown when he was shot after taking part in an IRA landmine attack on a UDR patrol vehicle.

I thought the parade was smaller than in previous years.  It usually consists of a colour party and two bands with a crowd of mainly young republicans walking between them.  The crowd was certainly smaller than usual and the second 'band' was actually only half a band.  The only Sinn Fein figures I recognised were Gerry Kelly and Gerard O'Reilly.

The event in Bawnmore commemorates, amongst others, three IRA men - Charles McCrystal, Samuel Hughes and John McErlean - who were killed on 7 April 1972 when a bomb they were preparing exploded prematurely in a garage in Bawnmore Park.

Tonight there was a 'function' in the Fountain Bar on the Shore Road, with the Volunteer Sean McIlvenna  Band, a republican group named Phoenix Folk and an entrance charge of £5.

Next year is the 40th anniversary of the deaths of the three IRA men and it will be interesting to see how republicans mark that anniversary but over the past few years this has been a rather dismal and disorganised event and one that has been on the decline.

Belfast homecoming parade

On 4 April Belfast City Council passed a resolution inviting the Army to hold a homecoming parade in Belfast. The chief executive then wrote to the Army on 6 April extending this invitation.

The Army has now written back thanking the Council for its kind invitation but indicating that due to a very busy period of post-operational duties they would have to decline.

In his letter of 21 April to the Council, Lieutenant General BWB White-Spunner CBE, Commander Field army, wrote:

Thank you for your letter of 6 April advising me of Belfast City Council's Notice of motion to extend a warm invitation to the military authorities to hold a Homecoming Parade and reception in Belfast for members of the Royal Irish Regimewnt and Irish Guards on their safe return from their deployment in Afghanistan.

The Army has been overwhelmed by the widespread support that we have received and are greatly heartened by your request.  Returning from overseas operations is difficult and we place a great deal of emphasis on ensuring that our returning units are afforded an opportunity to visit as many communities as possible before embarking on post operational tour leave to allow them to spend uninterrupted time at home with their loved ones. As you may appreciate, planning has been underway for some months to hold a number of events to remember, to give thanks, and to mark the return of the soldiers and officers of the Royal Irish Regiment and Irish Guards from their current operational deployment.

Both the Royal Irish Regiment and the Irish Guards will now be embarking on a very busy period of post operational duties. That they are geographically dislocated with differing programmes of events has meant that these programmes would not be able to be disrupted, without infringing on the soldiers and officers taking their full complement of rest and recuperation. It is therefore with regret that I must advise that we will be unable to accept the kind and gracious offer made by Belfast City Council but, on behalf of the officers and men of the 1 Royal Irish Battle Group and the 1st Battalion Irish Guards, may I offer our sincere thanks for your continued support.

This decision by the Army is deeply disappointing as many people, including families and friends, were looking forward to a homecoming parade in the capital city of Northern Ireland.

All matters pertaining to the Army are reserved matters, which are dealt with at Westminster, and I know that the DUP MPs at Westminster will take this up as a matter of urgency.  We want to see this decision reversed and it is important that our efforts are directed towards those who made the initial decision.

Born Fighting

Some weeks ago I made a short film trailer, which lasted just a few minutes, about the Ulster-Scots contribution to the making of the United States of America.  It was filmed at the Andrew Jackson Centre in Carrickfergus and was to be used at an event in Washington, as part of Tartan Week.  This is a week that celebrates Scottish and Scotch-Irish heritage in America.

Yesterday I received this e-mail from Dr Nancy Groce, the Senior Folklorist at the American Folklife Center in the US Library of Congress.

Dear Minister McCausland:

Just a short note to let you know that I thought you did an excellent job in your introduction trailer to Senator Webb's documentary 'Born Fighting'.  I saw it on Friday night at the wonderful reception at the National Archive. (One of the more high-profile and successful events all season, thanks to the efforts of the NIB(Northern Ireland Bureau) and Scottish Office.)

The film does an excellent job of raising Americans understand of Scottish, Northern Irish and US history, and I think it will remain a popular staple on US television and in US classrooms for years to come.  Yuor introduction added a very nice touch by bringing contemporary Northern Ireland into the discussion.

I trust you are doing well.  It was a pleasure to host you last fall at the Library and I hope you'll stop vy and visit us again when your schedule allows.

Best wishes, Nancy Groce.

This is a good example of the way in which we can use Ulster-Scots culture and heritage to promote Northern Ireland around the world.  There is a Global Ulster, which reaches out to America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and other lands.  I like that concept of Global Ulster because it reinforces the fact that the Ulster-Scots were indeed a pioneering people.

Dr Groce says that the film Born Fighting will be'a popular staple on US television and in US classrooms for years to come' and that is good news for Northern Ireland.

Congratulations to Norman Houston and his staff at the Northern Ireland Bureau for organising this event.  I had the opportunity of meeting Senator James Webb when I was out in Washington last year and that conversation led on to the event that took place last Friday evening.

Sectarian attack on Ligoniel Orange Hall

Sectarian attack on Ligoniel Orange Hall

North Belfast DUP representatives have condemned a sectarian arson attack which destroyed Ligoniel Orange Hall, on the Crumlin Road, last night.

‘The hall is completely gutted and many historic artefacts have been destroyed,’ said William Humphrey MLA. ‘Those artefacts had great sentimental and historic value for the two lodges which use the hall and they are irreplaceable.’

‘Such attacks are the legacy of years of demonisation of the Orange Order by Irish republicans,’ said Councillor Gareth McKee. ‘Those who cultivated a sectarian hatred of the Orange Order are in many ways as guilty as those who carried out the attack.’

‘The Orange Order plays an important role within the Protestant and unionist community and an attack on an Orange Hall is an attack on the community it serves,’ said Nelson McCausland MLA. ‘I welcome the fact that the PSNI are treating this as a sectarian hate crime and we must hope that the culprits will be brought to book.’