Northern talks: 'The rot is setting in'

A week after the collapse of power-sharing talks, Northern Ireland risks drifting back to the familiarity of two-tone hate politics

DUP leader Arlene Foster and her deputy Nigel Dodds at Westminster. Pic: Getty

The recent launch of the National Strategic Plan, aka ‘Project Ireland 2040’, was full of promise about trains, roads, hospitals, schools and houses. In short, it’s the skeleton of a capital spending plan for Ireland Inc, a rolling up of big ticket spending for the next 20 years and music to the ears of local politicians everywhere, all of whom will stake a claim to any and all new bricks and mortar in ...