Northern Ireland - season of goodwill kicks in

At this season of goodwill Nigel Dodds (like Tony a barrister and ex St.Johns Coll.) the North Belfast DUP MP and member of the NI Assembly has rejected the timetable of May 2008 to transfer policing and justice powers to Stormont proposed by the "man with the tan from the can" and wannabe New Labour Deputy Leader wannabe Secretary of State for Wales and Northern Oreland Peter Hain MP.

Our Nigel demands the Unionists must first be satisfied by removal of all paramilitary structures, addressing continuing republican criminality, introducing legislation for a sanctions mechanism to punish any republican defaults during devolution and a range of equality issues for the unionist community.

Meanwhile the IRA's Gerry Adams has to face the need call this weekend a meeting of his national executive.If the executive approve a special conference next month on policing, Gerry will have to secure a two-thirds majority to change the SinnFein policy on publicly supporting the Police Service of Northern Ireland.

Which isn't going to happen.

Hardline republicans organised a "well attended" (250 people) public debate in Toomebridge on 14th December, have anounced that a series of meetings are to take place across the North.

A 12-strong 'focus group' made up of representatives of the IRSP, the 32 County Sovereignty Movement, (the political wings of the INLA and Real IRA respectively) independent republicans and what are being described as "disillusioned Sinn Fein members"is organising the meetings. in an attempt to highlight what it regards as a Sinn Fein "sell-out".

Willie Gallagher, a Strabane-based IRSP representative on the group ( and former republican prisoner and hunger striker), said a number of items will be up for discussion at the gatherings, with Sinn Fein's proposals for policing at the top of the agenda.

"Republicans in all areas are crying out for meetings on the issue. It's been suggested that after Christmas there'll be public meetings in East Tyrone, then possibly Derry City and then Strabane." claims Gallagher. An outline of their manifesto or arguments is available here.

Meanwhile the BBC report that the highest annual house price rise is in the fiercely republican border town of Newry - 54% - this has nothing whatever to do with the criminal success and related cross border illicit traffic .... as the top ten towns in for house price rises in the UK were all in Northern Ireland.

Organised Crime Task Force in Northern Ireland

The OCTF website claims that annual losses for Northern Ireland (1,685,267 (Census 29 April 2001 UK total 58.8 Mn. NI = 2.9% of population, NI has 627 thousand households)

1. Intellectual property theft (counterfeit DVD's etc.,) is estimated at £200 million (£300 per household)
2. Drugs worth over £7 million were seized by PSNI in 2005/06 - including the biggest haul ever in Europe of 3.5 tonnes of cannabis resin. (Heroin users contacting services increased 40% in 2006, Cocaine users doubled)
3. 35 million cigarettes were seized during the year equivalent to a loss of revenue of £7 - estimates are that 50% of cigarettes consumed in NI are stolen , smuggled or counterfeit.
4. The revenue loss from fuel smuggling and illegitimate cross border smuggling is estimated at £245 million. (£365 per household)