´óÏó´«Ã½

Just as Peter Hain managed to play his cards over water charges, rates, local councils, PPS14 and academic selection in a way which pressurised our politicians to do a deal over devolution, are we seeing the creation of a similar mixture of sticks and carrots in relation to the transfer of justice powers?

Today Paul Goggins confirmed the lowering of the age of consent to 16, in the face of opposition from the majority of MLAs. The implicit message is that if they would like to do things differently they could take the responsibility themselves. So that's a stick, then.

Earlier this week we had the Ashdown report on parades - something of a carrot to entice the DUP to sort out the policing log jam.

Could other carrots - say the handover of more security bases - be added to the mix? It's something Peter Robinson raised with Gordon Brown at Prime Minister's Questions today.

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• - What's this?

Marx Brothers' fans will recognise that as a quote from "A Night At The Opera" when Groucho as Otis B. Driftwood and Chico as Fiorello are discussing a singer's contract...

Fiorello: Hey, wait, wait. What does this say here, this thing here?
Driftwood: Oh, that? Oh, that's the usual clause, that's in every contract. That just says, uh, it says, uh, if any of the parties participating in this contract are shown not to be in their right mind, the entire agreement is automatically nullified.
Fiorello: Well, I don't know...
Driftwood: It's all right. That's, that's in every contract. That's, that's what they call a sanity clause.
Fiorello: Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You can't fool me. There ain't no Sanity Clause!

It's probably completely gratuitous, but the quote came in to my head when flicking through the second report from the former head of the Inland Revenue, Sir David Varney. He's probably extraordinarily generous to his nearest and dearest, but one thing he isn't, so far as Northern Ireland is concerned, is a "Sanity Clause".

Our politicians and industrialists hoped for a cut in Corporation Tax or at least some alternative sweetie, and in his first report Sir David told them "no chance". With the possibility of City of London firms screwing brass plates on to Belfast office doors, there was no way the Treasury would consider differential taxes.

In his second report today, coming on the eve of our US Investment Conference, Sir David suggests selling off Belfast Port and the Vehicle Licensing Agency and cutting public sector pay rates. He commends the Executive for its emphasis on kick starting the economy, but that's about it.

Perhaps I should invite Sir David to pay my place an overnight visit in the early hours of December 25th. There would be no presents left beside the tree, just an exhortation to the kids to stop staring at the hearth and start sweeping the chimney if they want to earn their regional rate of pocket money.

Bah humbug, there ain't no Sanity Clause!

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Our Agriculture Minister Michelle Gildernew told my (much more glamorous) colleague, Sarah Travers on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Newsline's "Family Focus" that she would not be getting any maternity leave when she gives birth (she is due in October). Last night, flicking through yesterday's "Times", I noticed that the Dutch have developed a system of political maternity cover .

Is this something Stormont should think about if it intends to attract more women into politics?

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• - What's this?

The Bill which is due to empower a Boundaries Commissioner to draw up the borders for our 11 proposed super councils was due to take up just an hour of the Assembly's time this morning. But trench warfare ensued over a series of amendments, many of which were proposed by Alliance, trying either to reinstate a 15 council model or to preserve the integrity of the new council areas. They started at 10.30 am, and they are still going as I write, which is nearly 5pm.

A moment ago the Deputy Speaker David McClarty tried to short circuit one of the votes by ruling that a shouted result was sufficient. But this drew objections from the Alliance leader David Ford who accused the Deputy Speaker of abandoning parliamentary precedent. Ian Paisley sprang to the Deputy Speaker's support, but Mr Ford recalled that the DUP had formally divided the House of Commonson one occasion when they were the only two MPs opposed to a measure.

This drew the put down from the Deputy Speaker that "this is not another place, this is this place".

The keenness of Alliance to formally divide the house prompted Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin to describe them as "the party of division". Needless to say Alliance reject this insisting on their right to have their opposition recorded.

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• - What's this?

Ian Paisley is expected to pay homage to "Flower Power" on Saturday. Nothing to do with the drug fuelled 1968 summer of love. Instead it's the latest exhibition of paintings by his daughter Rhonda at the .

The catalogue quotes Rhonda as describing her work as "the perfect antidote to cranky clerics and peevish politicians". The website adds "a single subject matter reflects more mellow times for us all. However, those surprised at the lack of political content in Flower Power, have not really looked!"

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When the former Presiding Officer of the Scottish Parliament George Reid drew up a report on the future of the Assembly in October last year he argued that "citizen engagement is a vital component in ensuring that the Assembly's business is conducted in line with the expectations of the democratic society which elected its members". In response the Assembly Commission developed as one of its strategic priorities "the development of a dynamic and responsive strategy for outreach and public engagement".

A new director of engagement is due to be appointed soon, but whenever the successful candidate takes up their job they will find that the Assembly is actually less open than when George Reid penned his report.

Outside the building we have seen the erection of a fence across the bottom of the Stormont steps and the filtering of all visitors through a security booth to the east of the building. As Sinn Fein's Mitchel McLaughlin has pointed out the first image a visitor has when they arrive at Stormont is "a padlocked gate at the bottom of the steps and a sign saying 'No Entry'." He believes the Assembly is "moving in the wrong direction".

Responding to the criticism, the Assembly authorities say they have " sought to balance ease of access with the need to create a safe space for everyone working in and visiting Parliament Buildings". Shortly after Mitchel McLaughlin put out his statement officials started making preparations to change the sign from "No Entry" to "Visitors This Way".

Of course there is general acceptance that security had to be revisited after Michael Stone's unscheduled appearance in November 2006, however it's ironic that Parliament Buildings did not require a fence across the bottom of the steps throughout the troubles.

Inside the building we still have the restrictions on filming introduced after Sinn Fein's Mairead Farrell commemoration. It's hard to imagine many parliaments where the notion of interviewing a Committee chair or a minister in the privacy of their own room would be controversial, but that's the situation we are in. The original draconian restrictions, which threatened to take "Stormont Live" off air were relaxed, but many of the rules remain in place.

Some senior politicians believe that - set beside their avowed aim of increasing engagement - these rules bring the Assembly into disrepute. But not all seem to agree - the DUP's Alastair Ross just yesterday raised a point of order about whether filming for the ´óÏó´«Ã½ "Politics Show" within the Standards Committee and an interview with the Committee Chair Carmel Hanna had received proper clearance.

The "Politics Show" team say they went through all the necessary hoops. But let's say, for the sake of argument that they didn't. What a disgrace it would be that local TV viewers had actually been allowed a peek of a Stormont Committee going about its work and the Committee's chair explaining what it is considering!

Journalists like me complain that - in contrast to our counterparts in Edinburgh and Cardiff - we remain largely confined to the Stormont basement. That can make getting to and from Committee meetings awkward and cuts down on the level of "engagement" we can have with our politicians.

It's even worse for the representatives of local charities, business and professional groups, some of whom I chatted to at a conference last week. They talked about having to wait in the Great Hall in between engagements with MLAs or Committees unable to get so much as a cup of coffee.

Mitchel McLaughlin says "one of the first things we need to look at is the provision of a dedicated visitor's facility". The Assembly authorities agree saying that "in the longer term the Commission is also developing plans for dedicated visitor facilities at Parliament Buildings, including the possibility of a new building designed for that purpose".

Certainly a more easily accessible visitor's restaurant and an expanded version of the current Assembly shop would be an improvement. A new building might enable the construction of committee rooms fitted out with cameras which should, by definition, make Stormont proceedings more open.

However waiting for a new building could take a long time. If the Assembly wants to prove it really is committed to engaging with the public it needs to address the current overly restrictive environment in the short term.

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Questioned about forthcoming events on the Stormont estate, Peter Robinson played a straight bat when David McClarty asked whether the concert by the Police had been scheduled in order to prepare the way for the transfer of policing powers. The Finance Minister couldn't confirm whether he would attend, but reckons 25 to 30 thousand people will be there.

It might not get such a big turnout, but all sides in the Chamber appeared enthusiastic about the news that a teddy bears' picnic is also planned. So if you go down to the Stormont woods in August, you could get a cross community surprise.

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• - What's this?

The new Westminster Register of Interests has been pored over . Locally the Robinsons have registered their two sons, daughter and daughter in law as employees. Ian Paisley hasn't declared Ian Paisley Jr., although he is still on the Westminster researcher's register. (Questioned by my Westminster colleague Lisa Costello, Ian Junior wouldn't confirm or deny whether he is still employed as his father's researcher, saying only that it was something his father would have to clarify).

Family matters to one side there is an interesting discrepancy between what our MPs feel they ought to register. The Foyle MP Mark Durkan registers his Chairmanship of the Stormont Enterprise Committee, which should earn him a payment of just over £11,000. However Ian Paisley Senior and Martin McGuinness don't put down the fact that they are First and Deputy First Ministers (earning salaries of more than £71,000) and Peter Robinson, Michelle Gildernew, Conor Murphy, Jeffrey Donaldson, and Nigel Dodds also don't note their ministerial duties. The eagle eyed commenter Noel Adams pointed this out to me.

On tomorrow's Inside Politics the SDLP leader urges his fellow MPs to amend their details. He also talks about the Ashdown review on parading, the government's plans to detain terror suspects for 42 days, the Embryology Bill and the prospects for a joint Fianna Fail SDLP candidacy in next summer's European elections. That's all on Inside Politics at a quarter to one on Saturday afternoon on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Ulster.

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• - What's this?

I was at a conference on "How the Northern Ireland Assembly Works" yesterday. Organised by the AgendaNI magazine, it included presentations from politicians, lobbyists and officials on the nuts and bolts of the system. The Principal Clerk from the Bill Office, Martin Wilson, talked us through the stages of law making, during which he divulged when a Stormont bill is deemed to have received Royal Assent.

After passing its various stages and being forwarded to the Secretary of State, the "letters patent" are presented to the Queen to sign. Once she has done that, the documents are sent back to the Royal Courts of Justice in Belfast. There a senior official applies a great seal. Only when the official lifts the phone and informs the Speaker's Office that the deed has been done does the measure become law.

This raised in my mind the notion of rugby tackling a ceremonially dressed Buckingham Palace flunky as he approached the Royal Courts as a last ditch attempt to avert, say, water charges becoming law. Sadly Martin tells me there is no flunky - the "letters patent" travel via more traditional mail.

It's often said the Assembly hasn't passed any laws. This isn't true. Martin says 8 bills have passed their final stage. The Assembly has introduced 14 bills since restoration and should start processing 8 to 10 more before the summer break.

The fact is, though, that most of these have been inherited from the days of direct rule or deal with fairly technical changes (including so called parity measures which keep our welfare systems in line with those in Great Britain). Martin says one reason why there has been no avalanche of legislation is that preparing an Executive bill can take up to two years, and the current administration is just coming up to its first birthday.

Private members bills can be dealt with more quickly (say in 3 to 4 months) and we now have one in the shape of David McNarry's Carer's bill. A few other private members' bills are in the early stages of preparation.

If you want to keep an eye on the bills under consideration and where they have got to so far you can do so via the Assembly website The explanatory memorandum attached to each bill normally provides a sense of the measure's purpose.

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• - What's this?

Leaked details of the interim Ashdown report have been condemned by the SDLP's Dolores Kelly and welcomed by the Orange Order, who see it as a victory in their campaign to abolish the Parades Commission. If the new structures enjoy the participation of both the Loyal Orders and nationalist residents groups they may stand a better chance of success than previous "piggies in the middle".

However the suggested involvement of panels appointed by the OFMDFM will raise some eyebrows given the difficulties associated with the new Victims Commission. If a three strong panel appointed to rule on a particular marching dispute is divided will they be allowed to reach a verdict by a majority vote, or should it be unanimous?

There's also the involvement of the councils as an "administrative conduit" for march applications. Although the Ashdown team's aim is to depoliticise parades, our councils haven't exactly been apolitical on the topic in recent years.

Presuming the NIO accepts the report, the new structures will not be in place in time to deal with this year's marching season. So the Parades Commission still has a job to do in the immediate future.

However it will be interesting to see if the proposals could be put in place for the summer of 2009, and whether there may be any interplay between the introduction of a marching solution attractive to the DUP and the party's acceptance that the time is right to devolve policing and justice.

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Is concern about the Victims Commission overshadowing everything else in the First and Deputy First Minister's Office? Making his presentation to a Stormont Committee this afternoon, the Junior Minister Gerry Kelly talked about the VIPs due to attend next month's US Investment Conference, among whom he listed the New York Mayor, "Michael Bloomfield".

The DUP's Jim Wells put him right. The Mayor of New York is Michael Bloomberg. The former Victims Commissioner is Sir Kenneth Bloomfield.

Also giving evidence, the other Junior Minister Jeffrey Donaldson spelled out the names of companies attending the conference. He joked about whether HP might be representing the world famous sauce - but it was evident that he knew he was talking about the multi national computer firm Hewlett Packard.

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As reported on today's Talkback, the Greens have come out in favour of the idea of Belfast having a directly elected Mayor. Their Holywood representative John Barry says "many cities in the world already have a directly elected Mayor with real powers to improve the delivery of services. People living in New York , Barcelona and London have seen major improvements in the way their cities are run as a result of directly elected Mayors. I am looking forward to the day when citizens of Belfast get the opportunity to elect a Mayor who will be accountable for the delivery of the good quality public services that we deserve."

All of which raises the question, who could be our Ken, and does Belfast have a Boris?

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The current stand off over the Victims Bill is focussed on the question of whether there should be a Chief Victims Commissioner and if the new Commission should decide contentious issues by majority voting. Speaking on this morning's Nolan Show the Commissioner Designate supported the idea of a rotating Chair.

In the background, however, there is still lurking the more ideological debate about the definition of victims. As reported here at the start of this month Who Is A Victim?, the Ulster Unionists ought to reopen this debate. However their amendment to the bill was ruled out of order as it represented too major a change to a measure which was meant to tidy up the workings of the Commission. Despite that a sense of the strength of unionist feeling on this score was that DUP MLAs tabled a very similar amendment, which was also ruled out of order

The First and Deputy First Minister's agreed compromise has been to leave it the proposed new Victims Forum to discuss the definition of a victim, although it's hard to see the Forum budging from the existing all inclusive definition, especially if a new one would disqualify some of those appointed to the Forum.

The Ulster Unionists have now come up with some amendments which have been accepted, whilst hinting at the same territory. These potential changes to the bill refer only to those who can be appointed to or employed by the new Victims Commission. But they would exclude "anyone convicted of a criminal offence arising out of a conflict-related incident". Do they have the potential to stir similar controversy to those amendments which were previously disallowed ?

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• - What's this?

At Stormont we never get quite as earthy as they seem to in the Welsh Assembly . However during the discussion of graduated driving, the DUP's Jim Shannon reminisced about his days as a 17 year old driving a Mini which doubled up as a babe machine". The image promises to give his colleague Peter Weir "nightmares". The Deputy Speaker David McClarty added drily that he could only imagine what Jim's babes looked like.

There was nothing salacious about the "bent bananas" though. That was the Alliance leader David Ford's chosen image for the shape of one of the new proposed super councils. The minister Arlene Foster thought he was referring to a "big banana" council, and added that she was glad he wasn't naming the new bodies.

However I am getting tired of that term "super council", Maybe "big banana" council could catch on before they become a reality in 2011.

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We have had some energetic debates over whether first, the Victims and Survivors Bill, then the Local Government Boundaries Bill should be given "accelerated passage". But the DUP and Sinn Fein's failure to resolve their differences over the Victims Bill has now led to a novel procedure which we may dub "decelerated passage" in which a bill's movers schedule a piece of legislation for debate not once, but twice, and each time withdraw it with a minimum of explanation.

The parties fell out over Alliance amendments suggesting the appointment of a Chief Commissioner and the adoption of a majority voting system on the four strong Victims Commission.

The Alliance party is now threatening to table its own duplicate Victims Bill, so we could have a legislative race in order to see whether the private members bill beats the decelerated Executive bill to the Royal Assent finishing line.

UPDATE: Since I posted this entry, ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness put out a statement confirming that they have agreed changes to the Victims Bill, but not spelling out the details. We wait to see whether the measure is accelerated or decelerated when it comes back to the Chamber on May 6th

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Ian Paisley had a good time in Cork over the weekend, as evidenced by his decision to put his signature on a copy of the Good Friday Agreement, as reported elsewhere on this website

In the Great Hall this morning, he reminisced about a previous visit to Cork, 60 years ago, when he was just 22 years old. He told us how he and a friend had taken a driving holiday in the south in an old Austin. All went smoothly until the two got to Tipperary, when the Austin broke down, and they had to wait three days for a spare part to arrive from Dublin.

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The days when you could stroll up the hill, then straight up the steps into the Assembly building are over. From today we have a new security booth on the east side of the building, through which visitors and staff must filter before gaining entry. It's a permanent monument to Michael Stone's unexpected appearance at the rotating door back in November 2006.

The new booth had only been up and running for a couple of hours before the doorkeepers discovered a knife in the bag of a visiting schoolboy. The old checks would probably have revealed the weapon, but Ian Paisley Jnr. sees the incident as a vindication of the tighter security regime.

In the chamber it's been a relatively unremarkable day, although Education questions got typically heated (Iris Robinson's glares across the Chamber at Caitriona Ruane had to be seen to be believed). Unionist MLAs did not even wait until the vexed question of academic selection came up - the tennis playing Education Minister lectured Sammy Wilson about interrupting her as she tried to explain the need for children to acquire "fundamental ball skills".

Tomorrow the Victims Commission Bill is due up for consideration. As I write there is still no sign of any resolution to the differences between the DUP and Sinn Fein over whether or not a Chief Commissioner should be appointed.

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• - What's this?

Saturday's guest on Inside Politics was the DUP leader in waiting Peter Robinson. We discussed his future style of leadership, relations with Sinn Fein and the Ulster Unionists (he is proposing greater electoral cooperation), devolving criminal justice, academic selection, the Victims Commission Bill and the proposed Maze stadium.

I conducted the interview in his constituency office, across a table bedecked with a rather imposing looking chess set made up of historical characters (I think the King was Napoleon). I'd like to report that we played chess in between questions, but I'm afraid that was well beyond my powers of concentration.

I had intended to publish this entry on Friday but fell foul of the new blogging system. If you want to listen to our conversational gambits, the programme is on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio Ulster's Listen Again site here

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Observers of the Mahon tribunal will know that Bertie Ahern is well acquainted with the concept of a "dig out". He had come by large sums of cash, he explained, because his friends had been keen to dig him out when he hit marital and financial difficulties.

So it's good to see that Bertie is ready to do a similar favour. He appeared at an SDLP business breakfast at the Carrickdale hotel this morning speaking on the topic of an all Ireland economy.

But with the tables costing 600 euros, my spies tell me that some of the proceeds will go towards the "SDLP 5", Newry councillors fined after blocking victims campaigner Willie Frazer from using a council run community centre in Newtownhamilton. The actions of 17 SDLP and Sinn Fein councillors drew fire from the local government auditor. But at least some of them got a good breakfast this morning.

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• - What's this?

Having travelled across the Atlantic to get to last week's announcement of the $150 million dollar New York contribution to the Emerald Fund, the pressure of deadlines meant I couldn't hang around long enough to ask the City Comptroller William C. Thompson any questions about how the funding might work in practice.

Instead I had to jump on to the Metro (the traffic congestion rendered a taxi impossible) then sprint four blocks to get Mr Thompson's words on the air for ´óÏó´«Ã½ Newsline 1830.

As I ran towards the ´óÏó´«Ã½ New York bureau, the Evening Extra presenter Karen Patterson cross questioned me about the announcement. If I sounded more incoherent than usual, I can only plead that I was trying to traverse a Manhattan Avenue at the time.

I only mention this now because tonight Karen got an interview with the Comptroller. She asked him about his commitment to the MacBride principles on job discrimination. Replying, the Comptroller appeared to indicate that anyone hoping to benefit from the Emerald Fund would have to sign up to the 9 principles.

That prompted a trenchant response from the Ulster Unionist Deputy Leader Danny Kennedy, who accused the Comptroller of being ignorant about the realities of Northern Ireland. He also questioned why the First Minister had gone along with the announcement if there were strings attached.

During the troubles, the MacBride principles were a bug bear for unionists and British ministers. But these days younger unionists are likely to be unaware of their existence. And when you look at the principles they don't seem too far away from current equality legislation.

My guess is that any difficulty on this score will be finessed away before the Comptroller, the New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and a host of other city officials arrive here for next month's investment conference.

William Thompson is a potential contender for Mayor Bloomberg's job when the next New York mayoral election takes place in November 2009. He isn't the only US candidate who has been talking about funding Ireland in recent days - I see that, addressing an Irish Presidential Forum in New York, Hillary Clinton floated the idea of "Irish bonds" echoing the "Israel bonds" which Jerusalem has been selling in the USA for more than 50 years .

On a separate note, I hope you all find the new comments system easy enough to cope with. It requires registration, but our blog boffins say that, once registered, it will make the process of leaving comments much smoother.

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It would really take something for Oliver Cromwell's reputation to be re-evaluated in, say, Drogheda or Wexford, but it seems like some citizens in Coleraine hold him in great esteem.

Sinn Fein's Billy Leonard claims that at this week's Coleraine Council meeting the DUP's Samuel Cole insisted that democracy had to be defended as it had been fought for and won by Oliver Cromwell.

Under the banner of "to hell or Coleraine", Councillor Leonard claims Councillor's Cole's regard for "the man who murdered his way around Ireland" is "bizarre". He adds that Councillor Cole " has the unfortunate knack of trying to wax lyrical for long periods and winds his way effortlessly into bland nonsense which he thinks is quite intellectual." Ouch.

"Old Ironsides" may have been a republican, but that will never endear him to Sinn Fein.

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• - What's this?

It's been one of those days when I've hardly been able to get my head around anything political. A flat tyre this morning left me struggling by the roadside. I must have looked particularly pathetic as a female motorist stopped to ask if she could help. Now don't get me wrong. I can change a tyre. But I couldn't find the little tool to unlock the hub cap (what is it with modern cars?).

Eventually an extremely helpful lorry driver stopped and managed to prise the locking cap off with his screwdriver, then change the wheel far more expertly than I would have managed. In the news business we tend to focus on people doing things they shouldn't. But in daily life most people turn out to be kinder and more generous than you have any right to expect.

I tried to memorise the name of my Good Samaritan's firm, but so far my efforts to trace a phone number have failed miserably. So Frank, if you are out there, thanks again.

As I struggled with my tyre, I was taking calls from the Ulster Unionists about the future of education. Basil McCrea is concerned that the DUP and Sinn Fein might be edging towards a compromise which would see the number of grammar schools slashed dramatically from 69 to 7. Sammy Wilson reckons this defies logic and that UUP HQ requires lessons in numeracy.

I am not convinced that either Basil or Sammy would qualify for the Maths Olympics. I think they need to call in Martin Orr (formerly of Methodist College) who, I think, is Northern Ireland's last gold medallist

Leaving the numeracy lessons to one side, the UUP leader Sir Reg Empey is making noises about withdrawing from Caitriona Ruane's area planning process, something which could further complicate efforts to find a compromise on academic selection.

Finally a technical footnote. Not only have I been working on my car, but the ´óÏó´«Ã½ has also been working on its blogging software. From 1800 this evening (UK time), our boffins will be doing some essential maintenance to all of the ´óÏó´«Ã½'s blogs. As a result of this, you won't be able to leave any comments on our blog posts from that time until early Thursday morning. They tell me it should make leaving comments easier and quicker in the future. I shall post again to let you know about the new system once it is installed tomorrow.

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• - What's this?

A rather quiet day at the Assembly today. MLAs debated the important topics of cancelled clinics and private finance initiatives, but the sense was that they were in a holding pattern, waiting for some progress on the Victims Commission Bill which is due to come back to the Assembly next week.

We did have a statement from our future leader, Peter Robinson, on his new Performance, Efficiency and Delivery Unit, constantly referred to by its acronym PEDU. The new unit (budget: half a million pounds) will seek out efficiencies in other departments, but the Finance Minister says other departments shouldn't regard them as "stormtroopers out to cause havoc". Now why on earth would anyone think the new leader would employ "stormtroopers"?

Outside on the steps we were treated to the sight of a Green Goddess. Aine Gormley brought a wheelbarrow full of petitions calling for the creation of an Environmental Protection Agency. An expert in "human-chemical-ecosystem interactions", Aine is also a Green Beauty Queen

I had devoted ages to getting ready for her appearance in the Stormont Live studio, even donning a green shirt to emphasise my own eco-credentials, only to discover that the presenter, Jim Fitzpatrick, had headed me off at the pass, conducting his entire interview with Aine and her wheelbarrow at the bottom of the Stormont steps. Stormont Live viewers may notice a distinct cooling in relations between the two of us for the next few editions...which means we shall mirror what's likely to happen in the OFMDFM.

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Asked about how he had waited so long to become DUP leader, Peter Robinson quipped "I am a patient man". Martin McGuinness says he is not expecting "Chuckle Brothers Mark 2". So far as the timing of the handover is concerned, the latest buzz is that it could be in mid June, not May as Ian Paisley indicated last month.

I have penned a profile of Peter Robinson for the main website. You can find it

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• - What's this?

An accident on the M2 held up the start of this morning's DUP Assembly Group meeting as some MLAs fought their way through the traffic towards Stormont. But it would have taken more than that to forestall the inevitable. Sammy Wilson and Arlene Foster nominated Peter Robinson and Nigel Dodds as the party's new "dream team". The party's 36 MLAs then unanimously approved the two ministers. Because the decision has yet to be ratified by the DUP's 120 strong Executive the two MPs withheld comment when they appeared on the Stormont steps (a strategy which provoked the jest of "Stalin is not dead" from none other than the leader designate himself). Eventually reporters cajoled Ian Paisley in to a few words. No doubt Peter Robinson will face more questions when he appears (about now) with the Taoiseach designate, Brian Cowen, at the Belfast Science Park. Ian Paisley will take questions in the Assembly this afternoon, but already the Chuckle Brothers era is looking like a chapter in history.

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• - What's this?

The First and Deputy First Ministers had to battle with Manhattan's omnipresent sirens when they arrived at the New York City Comptrollers' office for today's announcement of a multi million investment fund for Northern Ireland. However the cacophony was appropriate, given that the cash under discussion comes from the pension funds of New York's firefighters, police, teachers and other public workers.

The headline figure we have all been given is $150 million. But you can stretch that in both directions. If you want to go up you can note that the New York City cash is due to be supplemented by other contributions (probably from areas like Boston, New York State and California) to make an estimated $750 million dollar Emerald equity fund.

If you want to minimise the impact, you can note that the Comptroller's statement talks about "more than half" of the $150 million being spent in NI and the border counties, whilst the other half could go on "green investment" in North America.

Still at a time of a global credit crunch, it would seem a bit churlish to talk this down too soon. Observers will have to keep an eye on the Emerald Fund and see how it works out in practice.

The fund intends to back infrastructure projects including renewable energy, waste management and our water service. As I made my way up to New York from Washington this morning I read a column from the Comptroller, William Thompson, in the New York Post. He wasn't writing about Northern Ireland, but claiming that New Yorkers were being over taxed for their water. Now why does that sound familiar?

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The EU Commissioner Danuta Hubner is due in Belfast on Monday, when she will meet our two new leaders in waiting, Peter Robinson and Brian Cowen. Her taskforce on Northern Ireland published its report this week, which regular blog reader Noel Adams brought to my attention. It contains a few suggestions about future trends for the economy, but one which caught my eye was the notion of Northern Ireland hosting an "institutional facility for conflict resolution".

The taskforce report says "the Northern Ireland authorities have expressed an interest in
promoting the development of a facility to provide research and advice on the theme of
conflict resolution. The role of such a facility, its organisation and sources of finance are
under active consideration in Northern Ireland, taking account of the fact that there are
already existing initiatives in this direction within the region itself and in Ireland. The
Commission services have recognised the potentially valuable contribution which the
experience of the Northern Ireland peace process could make in conflict prevention,
resolution and peace building in other parts of the world, and have responded positively to a
request from the authorities to examine together the ways forward. For example, within the
context of the ongoing policy dialogue between the European Union and third countries and
the rules that govern the current support programmes as well as in the specific context of the
dialogue with countries such as China, Russia and Brazil on regional policy, the Commission
will draw attention to the specific contribution of the PEACE programmes to social and
economic development. It could be envisaged that this would give rise to cooperation with
third countries specifically on peace and reconciliation issues as promoted under the PEACE
programmes and which could benefit from expertise gathered within Northern Ireland."

The full report can be found

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I caught up with Ian Paisley outside the US State Department this morning. He arrived in style - in the British ambassador's Rolls Royce. At one point there had been suggestions that the First Minister would meet the US Presidential candidates during this, his farewell tour. But nothing came of that - the biggest political "face" on his itinerary here is Senator Ted Kennedy, who he is due to see in about an hour's time.

The First Minister then heads to New York, where he will be joined by the Deputy First Minister. The two men are seeing the New York City Comptroller William Thompson, for what the Comptroller's office is billing as the biggest US public investment in Northern Ireland to date. As the Big Apple's chief financial officer, Mr Thompson is in charge of a pension fund of more than 100 billion dollars so if he decides to look our way he can make a big difference, credit crunch or no credit crunch.

William Thompson was a leading advocate of the , essentially a code of conduct for US firms operating in Northern Ireland. The campaign's supporters argued they were a necessary counter to discrimination, whilst unionists (and direct rule ministers) used to attack them as an obstacle to much needed investment. The fact that William Thompson is making this announcement, and both Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness will be there to applaud it, is another sign of how far we have come.

But what about John the Baptist? Well the Pope is due in Washington D.C. next week so I couldn't resist suggesting to Ian Paisley that he must be the "warm up act". He himself joked that people had decided he must be playing a John the Baptist role, although given his views on the "Anti Christ" he made it clear that nothing could be further from the truth.

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I want to apologise to everyone for this week's rather interrupted service. It's not been because of any lack of material - today's withdrawal of the Victims Commission Bill from its consideration stage in the Assembly, for example, provides plenty of food for thought.

Instead I have found myself squeezed for time because a report on the alleged back channel between the DUP and Sinn Fein which I put together for tonight's ´óÏó´«Ã½ Newsline took up all my attention. It included a clip of Bertie Ahern heaping praise on an unnamed journalist for assisting the process.

Now it's nearly eleven o'clock at night and I am due up ridiculously early to catch a transatlantic flight. I have a rendezvous with Ian Paisley planned for Washington D.C. So there will be another enforced interruption, but I shall try to locate a keyboard somewhere in the US capital, in order to recommence normal service as soon as possible.

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I spent today in Dundalk recording an interview with Dermot Ahern for tomorrow's Inside Politics. He talks about Brian Cowen's plans to visit Belfast in May, Fianna Fail's options concerning political organisation north of the border and the likelihood of one last reunion for Bertie and Ian at the site of the Battle of the Boyne.

That's all on Inside Politics tomorrow at 12.45.

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Sinn Fein councillors in Armagh have complained about "SDLP bullying" after a female republican councillor was allegedly called "a washer woman". Not very pleasant, nor politically correct, but given the shenanigans and fist fights that used to happen inside Belfast's "Dome of Delight", it's maybe also a sign of how far we have come that it merits a complaint.

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could be decision time for our would be MLAs and Councillors. The Environment Minister Arlene Foster is talking about a combined election that month to both the Assembly and our eleven proposed super councils. If both happened on the same day our budding politicians might have to choose between Stormont and their local council - easy enough for some, but maybe not for those who would be sure of becoming a councillor but not so sure of becoming an MLA. They wouldn't get a chance to try their hand at the Assembly first and then turn to their council if they fail to make it into Stormont.

The council legislation will rule out the dual mandate, by which MLAs have held on to their council seats. But what about the other dual mandate? The Ulster Unionist Sammy Gardiner has asked Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness to provide a timescale for ending Westminster/Stormont double jobbing. The North Antrim MP and Mid Ulster MP answer in the following terms "Disqualification for membership of the Assembly is a reserved matter under the Northern Ireland Act 1998 and therefore not one for which the Office of the First Minister and deputy First Minister has any direct responsibility".

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It's been one of those days on which I've been too busy to blog, running in to one of our radio studios for a special news programme when Bertie Ahern announced his departure. Then on to Talkback, the ´óÏó´«Ã½ Network News at One and finally off to Stormont Castle to talk to Ian Paisley about his surprisingly warm rapport with the Taoiseach.

Far from lobbing snowballs at Bertie, the DUP leader was effusive about Mr Ahern's negotiating skills, saying he knew when not to speak and that the days of threats between north and south were over.

It's a weird coincidence that both the First Minister and the Taoiseach are now working their notice, having both promised to leave the scene in May. The First Minister says he still hopes to see Mr Ahern at his US Investment Conference on May 7th, even if he is only a caretaker. But our sources in Dublin suggest the transition could be complete by then (Mr Ahern gave May 6th as his departure date).

I don't want to "upset the apple tart", to quote a famous Bertie-ism, but this raises the intriguing possibility of the First Minister welcoming a politician as Taoiseach who he once lampooned for having "thick lips". I asked about this in a circuitous fashion, and the DUP leader responded that he thought Mr Cowen had seen the jocular side of the remark, by acknowledging he wasn't the most beautiful politician ever.

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There were some feisty exchanges this morning during the debate on the Victims and Survivors Commission Bill. DUP members crossed swords with both Basil McCrea and David Ford, who claimed the measure was "a grubby little bill with a grubby little purpose", by which he meant covering the OFMDFM's failure to agree a single Commissioner.

The UUP are promising to open up a hornet's nest next week when they propose an amendment suggesting a new definition of a victim. Currently the Executive is working with the existing definition which refers to victims and survivors as "(a) someone who is or has been physically or psychologically injured as a result of or in consequence of a conflict-related incident; (b) someone who provides a substantial amount of care on a regular basis for an individual mentioned in paragraph (a); or (c) someone who has been bereaved as a result of or in consequence of a conflict-related incident".

Basil McCrea's contributions this week suggest the UUP will try to differentiate between "combatants" and "innocent victims". Whether they will also draw a line between soldiers, police and paramilitaries we shall have to wait to see.

Martin McGuinness has already said he wants the proposed new Victims Forum to work on a definition of a victim, but as Stephen Farry pointed out today this could lead to complications - what if a new definition militated against the inclusion of some of those already selected to sit on the Forum?

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During exchanges on the Victims Commission Bill this morning, David Ford suggested that Jim Shannon's hearing might be faulty. The Strangford MLA responded by claiming that he could hear doves flying half to three quarters of a mile away. Presumably this was a reference to his dove shooting trips prevously documented on the blog Hawks and Doves.

It's not just South American doves who should be on alert when Jim's around. It's time for any ruddy ducks to keep their heads bobbed down below the waterline. The countryside sports enthusiast has been checking with the Environment Minister on whether she has any plans to cull ruddy ducks. Arlene Foster tells him that she has agreed to extend a UK wide cull to Northern Ireland. The minister's officials are talking to the UK Central Science Laboratory about when the cull might begin.

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