NI society suffering 'breakdown'

[damon]

Damon - rewarding bad behaviour is not a great idea IMO.

I wasn't talking about bad behavior particularly. You wouldn't have to have been convicted of something to go - it would be for the young people of a neighbourhood, that's all.
Though having some criminal convictions for hoodie like crime wouldn't be a barrier to going either. How much would it cost to take 20 young people away on a trip to walk the West Highland Way in Scotland (95 miles) and then to go and do some monroe bagging?
Climbing or "Bagging" The Munroes - Walking And Hiking (UK)

They might develop a passion for it and want to do more. Off their own backs even.

[Cruimh]

I wasn't talking about bad behavior particularly. You wouldn't have to have been convicted of something to go - it would be for the young people of a neighbourhood, that's all.
Though having some criminal convictions for hoodie like crime wouldn't be a barrier to going either. How much would it cost to take 20 young people away on a trip to walk the West Highland Way in Scotland (95 miles) and then to go and do some monroe bagging?
Climbing or "Bagging" The Munroes - Walking And Hiking (UK)

They might develop a passion for it and want to do more. Off their own backs even.

Right - I remember there was a fad in the system a while back where persistent young offenders were sent on holidays to Jamaica etc.

I don't have issues in principle with the idea of good things being done for kids in deprived areas - though I did read some years ago somebody talking about trips abroad for them being counter productive as they have to come to terms with being back in a dump when they return.

[Ó Ghabhainn]

I think it would encourage idiots to commit crimes to get away for free.

[damon]

The thing is, in Northern Ireland not many people do live in dumps, do they?
The Bogside can't be called a dump. West Belfast has some decent housing.
It's more a lack of will and imagination I'd say. With young people I mean. Not the older long term unemployed. And we don't need to be talking about Jamaica here.
I'm sure a youth worker and a minibus could do all sorts of good work with youngsters from the area. Bringing them out to the countryside and beaches in their part of the country. Schools should do it more too.

By the time they leave school, children should have been to nearly all the places like these a couple hours drive from where they live. And know these places by name.
Take County Antrim for example.
County Antrim - Walk NI

But there is no reason why you could not be more adventurous and go further afield also.
Those teenagers will be parents themselves soon enough and it would be a good thing for them to know that it is easy and cheap to go to these places with their own children one day.

The 1.1 million pounds it cost to police the Ardoyne riots would have paid for 55 youth workers for a year (each earning 20,000 a year). Considering the huge amounts of money that get poured down the drain - not least with the cost of the criminal justice system, I don't know why they just don't spend a bit of money up front for schemes like that.

[physicist]

You'd have to say that the Labour government presided over this situation for 13 years and allowed it to develop as it has, it least the Tories are making an attempt to do something about it. They have done a fair amount of detailed research into the issue I believe.

You're right though, you have 2nd and 3rd generations now that haven't done a days work in their lives, true right across the UK of course, but even going with the stick approach and reforming the benefit system which is clearly necessary, who is going to employ these peope.

The Labour government would've delayed the austerity cuts but they'd have come.

As for what the Tories are doing for Northern Ireland, well what can they do:

Stimulus Spending ... that would infringe on the remit of the Assembley ... and go aganist the Conservative psychology ... oh well.

Reduce Corperation Tax to ROI levels ... funny there's some EU regulations preventing this, partially because of the FF-GP antics here.

VAT hike ... helps the ROI traders hold onto their money here and get some nice cash from the Six Counties too.

Monetary policy: NI is small fry on the UK trading scene, which has slashed Trade & Industry in a futile attempt to get The Big Society to manufacture exportable goods out of thin air ... this used to be the financial sector's job, but now they're paid to save money. :S

Reduce Income Tax and NI ... Very nice for those with jobs, but many are bound to lose there's.

Welfare Reform ... NI will always have a bigger Welfare need than GB because of The Troubles, throwing disabled and mentally ill people onto the street to match up with GB levels without increasing jobs will only shift the burden elsewhere ... then again this is Atwood and Empey's problem anyway. Unemployment won't significantly decline within 5 years, and the Brain Drain will only increase.

Encourage their large party tax dodging donors that Northern Ireland is open for buisness ....

Sit on their hands while the Assembly make the cuts, and forget the place even exists until Peter and Martin show up with the begging bowl ... yeah.

Anyway, with regards their detailed research ... CUNF backfired, Connorgate backfired and their only suggested solution of any intent was the resurrecting the failed "enterprise zone" policies of the last Conservative administration that ensured short term paracitic companies suck the life from what little enterprise and buisness that remains in the area.

Hardly innovative is it, all they've done is declared themselves Unionists and then behaved like a big Yellow and Blue Fianna Fail coalition ... still probably more Green than the southern Greens.

[Northern Voice]

It is time for our politicians to stop focusing solely on the constitutional question. Look at Gerry Adams, for example. West Belfast is one of the most deprived electoral constituencies in the UK yet they continually vote in a representative who does nothing for them on the basis of his ideology. Society across Britian and Ireland is in a downward spiral and a tough but caring hand must be taken to offer something of a response.

[physicist]

It is time for our politicians to stop focusing solely on the constitutional question. Look at Gerry Adams, for example. West Belfast is one of the most deprived electoral constituencies in the UK yet they continually vote in a representative who does nothing for them on the basis of his ideology. Society across Britian and Ireland is in a downward spiral and a tough but caring hand must be taken to offer something of a response.

Since Con-Lib are merely imitating Fianna Fail-Greens ... it's almost a joint authority anyway, with the Stormont lot simply dealing with a structural deficit that neither parent will fix.

[abitmoldy]

it happen years ago