onthehill
Papers, debates, research and e-services – information up #onthehill
Only a few steps away from the main entrance and the Great Hall in Parliament Buildings you’ll find the Assembly Library. It’s part of the Assembly’s Research and Information Service (RaISe) which exists to assist the work of the Members in their parliamentary business as well as the Assembly’s secretariat. When I was up at [...] more »
#onthehill Alex Maskey explaining the work and role of NI Assembly committees
The work of committees up at Stormont is a crucial part of the democratic jigsaw, many of them scrutinising the plans and work of Executive departments. On Tuesday I asked Alex Maskey about the role of committees in general, and then more specifically about the Social Development committee which he chairs. Alex Maskey explaining the [...] more »
#onthehill End of term report: how do MLAs assess the Assembly’s performance? (Can you name the 16 voices?)
Loitering around the Great Hall on Tuesday, I asked 16 MLAs to give a score out of ten and supply the headmaster’s comment for the Assembly’s end of term report card. Here’s what they said: End of term report: how do MLAs assess @niassembly performance? (mp3) But can you name all sixteen? No prize, other [...] more »
#onthehill The middle letter in M L A is Legislative
Before the plenary session on Tuesday, two charities had arranged photo opportunities with MLAs to promote campaigns – one disability-related, the other fuel poverty. The UUP’s Michael Copeland was well prepared with his furry hat for the outside snaps. Speaking to @MCopelandMLA this morning: "it strikes me as a piece of drama" (mp3) He spoke [...] more »
#onthehill In which the blogger wonders whether the online coverage is indeed better than being there in person …
If the Vodafone network penetrating the stone-clad Parliament Buildings had made the leap from 2G to 3G, some of this might have been uploaded during the day! First off, should you want to go and watch your MLAs at work, getting into Parliament Buildings – where the Northern Ireland Assembly and its committees meet – [...] more »
What’ll happen #onthehill on Tuesday? I’m planning to find out …
About eleven years old, visiting London for the first time, I queued up with my family and sat in the public gallery of the House of Commons and listened for a short time while a few MPs debated something unmemorable about foreign policy. Much closer to home, I’ve been to many events in the Long [...] more »
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Books
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Help me with the West Wing: Essential viewing or Party Political Broadcast?
Having somehow managed to avoid watching a single episode of the widely praised West Wing TV series I was delighted to discover the entire Box set in my Christmas stocking – and with enough spare time over the holidays to give it a good lash. But with 10 episodes of the first series under my [...] read our review »
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…if University education were universally available and availed of, the country would collapse in one generation
The words of Brian O’Nolan, variously Brian Ó Nualláin, Myles na gCopaleen, Myles na Gopaleen and, of course, Flann O’Brien. That O’Nolan was referencing his own dissolute student days at UCD only mildly distracts from the prophetic undertone of his words: I paid no attention whatsoever to books or study and regarded lectures as a [...] read our review »
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The Imperfectionists (Tom Rachman) – an insight into a newspaper that’s maybe not so fictional
‘news’ is often a polite way of saying ‘editor’s whim’ Given the shift from print to online and e-ink, maybe Tom Rachman’s The Imperfectionists was a suitable first first book for me to finish reading on the Kindle. Considering the economic pressures on the newspaper industry, his novel perhaps captures the spirit and soul of [...] read our review »
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