Sammy Wilson arranged a photo opportunity today at a social housing construction site in Belfast's Mersey Street to mark his announcement of £20 million in extra funding for the sector. But he knew before he left Stormont that Michael McGimpsey had stolen the headlines by angrily denouncing the failure to give his department any extra cash to fight swine flu.

As the Finance Minister donned a safety helmet for his tour of the site he quipped, "People will be wondering why I am putting this on - is it protection against swine flu? Is a swine going to hit me on the head?"

Michael McGimpsey points out that even though he cut a deal with previous Finance Ministers to keep his own efficiency savings and not to bid for extra money from other departments' surpluses, an exception was specifically written in for emergencies like flu pandemics.

Sammy Wilson retorts that there is still a live negotiation, involving Scotland and Wales, with all the devolved nations looking to the Treasury for extra swine flu cash. He accuses Mr McGimpsey of being a "maverick minister" (which is quite something coming from Sammy) whose solo run could undermine those efforts.

One way or another it seems certain that the £18 million needed for swine flu vaccines will be found, but it looks like this argument over the projected £50 million figure for combatting swine flu here could still be continuing in the autumn, provided our ministers are well enough by then to row about anything.

By the way I forgot to mention that when ministers unveiled the rough route of the new improved A5 from Aughnacloy to Donegal at yesterday's North South meeting, someone noticed that the map provided (presumably by Irish officials) identified the Maiden City by the term "Londonderry".

The Deputy First Minister leapt in, putting his thumb over the letters spelling out "London". That reminded me of Paddy Kielty telling a TV audience recently that he had advised Michael McKintyre that to please everyone in the North West he should call the city neither Derry nor Londonderry, but simply "London".

Anyway it was interesting that at a north south meeting which was supposed to be dealing with the economy and swine flu, we didn't have the Finance, Enterprise, Employment or Health Ministers. Oh yes, they are all unionists aren't they?

Today Michael McGimpsey denied Sinn Fein claims that he and Sir Reg Empey were boycotting the North South plenary meetings, pointing out that he met the Irish Health Minister Mary Harney at a health sectoral meeting just a few weeks ago. Maybe if they keep referring to the second city as "Londonderry" the North South Ministerial Council secretariat will find themselves overwhelmed with unionists wanting to attend future gatherings.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• NowPublic |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

I drove down to Dublin, stopping at the Drogheda bridge toll station to fumble around for some euros, and wondering whether my journey would prove worthwhile. I'd been tipped off already that Messrs Robinson, McGuinness and Cowen would be announcing some new money for the A5 and A8 road improvements. But whilst 8 million pounds might be very welcome as a statement of intent from Dublin to complete these north south infrastructure projects, it doesn't buy you a lot of tarmac.

However when the news conference began at Farmleigh house it became clear that rather bigger sums had been under discussion. The ministers had been discussing Dublin's plans for a National Asset Management Agency, a so called "bad bank" due to take on up to 90 billion euros of so called toxic assets run up by Irish banks. I have to admit I wasn't familiar with the acronym NAMA, but on enquiring further about this aspect of the discussions I learned that an estimated 30 billion euro worth are outside the Irish Republic, and anything between 15 and 20 billion of these assets could be in Northern Ireland (if the language here sounds vague it's because the officials are dealing in guesstimates - they still don't know exact figures for the toxic assets).

Clearly a sudden move by NAMA to try to claw back cash by selling northern assets could have a sudden negative impact on overall property prices. Certainly the figures involved dwarf the roads money, and once again emphasise the thin economic ice we all appear to be skating on.

On the margins of today's North South Ministerial conference I asked Peter Robinson about the Jeffrey Donaldson expenses story. The DUP leader said Jeffrey was right to be repaying around £680 to the Commons authorities. Back at Stormont my colleague Martina Purdy was asking the Lagan Valley MP about which films he had watched. Jeffrey said they were all blockbusters and family entertainment and gave as an example "The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe".

Having once starred as "Mr Beaver" on the Edinburgh fringe, I think I picked the wrong story. I was following the Yellow Brick road from Dublin to Donegal, when I should have been concentrating on the White Witch and her Turkish delight.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• NowPublic |
• Reddit
• - What's this?

I have just finished presenting this weekend's "Inside Politics". My main guest Jim Allister predicted that his party would force another council by-election, this time in Ballymoney, after the resignation of the DUP Councillor Roy Wilson. So could this be another Dromore?

Whilst we were on air the DUP rang up to deny Mr Allister's assertion that Councillor Wilson had resigned from the party. They said his decision to step down from the council was a personal matter not connected witht he party policy on power sharing.

Either way the contest, as Mr Allister maintained, should prove interesting given the focus on North Antrim in the run up to the next Westminster election.

Jim Allister also talked about the Larry Zaitschek case, his annoyance at Peter Robinson supposedly lumping anti-power sharing unionists together with dissident republicans as "wreckers" and the recent erratic behaviour of Ballymena Councillor Robin Sterling (who does not look as if he will be expelled from the TUV).

During discussions with my two guests, Politics Professor Rick Wilford and former civil servant Bill Smith, we covered a number of topics including Westminster expenses in the wake of the Daily Telegraph story on Jeffrey Donaldson, the likelihood of the mandatory coalition being repleced by a voluntary coalition and the supposed diary mix up which saw Martin McGuinness walking in to Downing Street to discuss policing and justice on his own. Rick pointed out that the current mandatory coalition, for all its faults, is more voluntary than people sometimes concede as any of the parties could walk away. Bill, wearing his civil service hat, reckoned that, when it came to the dairy mix up, the "cock up" theory might be more persuasive than the conpiracy one.

Amazingly, on a Drumcree Sunday, we didn't touch on parading. That would not have been imaginable 12 years ago.

• Bookmark with:
• del.icio.us |
• Digg |
• Newsvine |
• NowPublic |
• Reddit
• - What's this?