Archives for February 4, 2008

In the wake of the scandal concerning the Tory MP Derek Conway's payments to his son as a Westminster researcher, there has been a focus on MLAs' employment of family members. A number of parties have now issued lists of those MLAs who employ relatives. Here is the story so far.

Sinn Fein say there is no place for nepotism in politics, and they employ their staff on merit.

The party goes on to say that "Dodie McGuinness had previously been employed by Martin McGuinness through Westminster. She is no longer employed by the party. She was related to Martin through marriage to his brother although this relationship ended some 20 years ago and long before she was employed by the party. Her appointment was based on merit.
Grainne Maskey, who is a niece of both Alex and Paul Maskey, is employed by Fra McCann as a political advisor. Her appointment was based on merit.
Shauneen Baker is employed by Carál Ní Chuilín as a political advisor. She is married to Carál’s husband’s brother. Her appointment was based on merit."

UPDATE: Partly in response to a comment on this blog entry regarding Martina Anderson, Sinn Fein has now sent me amended family details as follows:

"Grainne Maskey, who is a niece of both Alex and Paul Maskey, is employed by Fra McCann as a political advisor. Her appointment was based on merit.
Shauneen Baker is employed by Carál Ní Chuilín as a political advisor. She is married to Carál’s husband’s brother. Her appointment was based on merit.
Paul Kavanagh, Martina Anderson’s husband, is employed by Raymond McCartney. He works primarily as a policy researcher. His employment was based on merit."

The SDLP says 10 of their MLAs employ family members. Here is their list:

"Alex Attwood (West Belfast) – Brother part-time constituency worker
Dominic Bradley (Newry and Armagh) – None
Mary Bradley (Foyle) – Daughter full-time researcher and office manager
PJ Bradley (South Down) – Daughter full-time researcher and secretary
Thomas Burns (South Antrim) – None
John Dallat (East Derry) – Wife full-time office manager
Mark Durkan (Foyle) Wife part-time receptionist
Tommy Gallagher (Fermanagh and South Tyrone) – Son full-time administrator and constituency worker
Carmel Hanna (South Belfast) – Sister part-time administration and planning
Dolores Kelly (Upper Bann) – Daughter one-year part-time contract administration and research
Alban Maginness (North Belfast) – None
Dr Alasdair McDonnell (South Belfast) – None but employs a niece on a temporary contract as a receptionist for Westminster
Patsy McGlone (Mid-Ulster) - None
Declan O’Loan (North Antrim) – None
Pat Ramsey (Foyle) – Wife, part-time driver
Margaret Ritchie (South Down) - None"

Four out of the seven Alliance members employ relatives. They are...

Stephen Farry MLA Dr Wendy Farry Wife Research and constituency work
Naomi Long MLA Michael Long Husband Communications, research and constituency work
Kieran McCarthy MLA Philip McCarthy Son General secretarial work
Séan Neeson MLA Carol Neeson Wife Secretarial work

The DUP won't confirm any family details sticking to a statement issued on Friday by their chief whip Lord Morrow which says they have to respect the confidentiality of their 100 plus staff in more than 40 offices.

At the time of writing I haven't got figures for the UUP but will add them if and when I have.

P.S. A commenter on this blog asked if Mary Bradley employed her husband as a driver. The SDLP says she does not and has not. They responded soon after the comment was made but due to a technical gremlin my attempt to add the statement on to the comments appears to have failed. So apologies for this late addition.

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I spent this morning away from Stormont at the University of Ulster judging an Institute of Ideas Pfizer "Debating Matters" event. It involved teams from local schools crossing swords over motions like "We should have an open borders policy for migrants" and "Scientific research on embryonic stem cells is a good thing".

In comparison to the often leaden and predictable exchanges at Stormont, it is refreshing to listen to young speakers who may still have lot to learn but come across as articulate, intellectually curious and able to comprehend and respond to counter arguments. So maybe there is hope that we will see the Stormont bar raised in the future.

That said, the debate I am listening to at the moment is quite good by Assembly standards. It concerns whether the age of consent here should be lowered to 16 in line with the rest of the UK (that is the thrust of a new NI Justice Order) or kept at 17.

In contrast to the votes we often get along party lines, the age of consent debate saw some MLAs (most notably Kieran McCarthy) disagreeing with their party colleagues (the committee chair Stephen Farry). The DUP's Jim Wells claimed Sinn Fein's Mickey Brady had experienced a "Damascus style conversion" from 17 to 16. Mr Brady denied he'd been got to by any "thought police".

A majority of the assembly committee which considered the matter backed the status quo. But given that justice matters are not devolved the NIO does not have to take any notice. So to that extent maybe this afternoon's debate did not have any more import than the school competition I judged earlier.

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