After months of bizarre delay over the appointment of a Victims' Commissioner, it now transpires that four will be appointed. Quite why this has happened remains to be seen. The DUP's Jeffrey Donaldson claimed on today's BBC Politics Show that there was enough work to justify this many people being appointed. Perhaps, but why wasn't this made clear at the outset? After all, such an argument wasn't raised at the time of Bertha McDougall's appointment- the DUP seemed quite happy to have gotten 'their' woman into the post at the time.
I think most of us would be forgiven for thinking that perhaps this odd outcome is the result of the DUP and Sinn Féin not being able to come to an agreement over who ought to have been appointed Commissioner, so they decided to appoint a whole pile of them to keep everyone happy. Surely if someone met all of the criteria, that should have been enough to see them placed in the role- to appoint four Commissioners would suggest that we ought not have faith in the system alone.
Is this the start of a pattern? Is the DUP/ SF axis going to take this route every time they are faced with a tough decision?
Given that each of these Commissioners will need staff support, it will be interesting to see how much extra all of this costs the taxpayer. After all, the initial plan to have one Commissioner on a salary of £65,000 has now been scrapped. Also, given the diverse backgrounds of those involved, will they all be engaged in dealing with every case, or will each of them have a separate portfolio? There are also rumours circulating regarding the legality of plumping for four Commissioners instead of just one.
I wish the new Commissioners good luck- they have an important task ahead of them. However, I don't think this is over just yet.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
Four Victims' Commissioners
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1 comments:
Is this how the 'chuckle bros' are going to govern Norn' Ireland - every time they have to make hard decisions are they going to bottle it and cost the hard up taxpayer even more money - where is strong and decisive leadership - I think this reveals so much more - the deep divisions between the First and Deputy First Minister - this does not bode well - by the way if the four commisioners feel a bit lonely I could take up a fifth position - £65,000 would come in handy - as a public sector worker I have just been offered a 2% pay rise - I feel insulted by this cowardly move.
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