Competing Priorities
The Stormont press pack didn't have a lot of time to analyse last night's investment announcements as the Executive meeting over ran many of our teatime deadlines. A shame, given that ministers wanted to get what they view as "good news" out to their voters. Perhaps in the future the Executive will start their deliberations earlier on Thursdays, although this would mean an earlier start for ministers who are double jobbing as MPs, as most of them are travelling back from London on Thursday mornings.
Now the dust has settled on the Titanic and Rapid Transit announcements, some voices have been raised arguing that these projects should not have been considered the most "urgent". Why no immediate move on Margaret Ritchie's fuel poverty package, or no committment to build the new Women and Childrens' hospital at the Royal?
Fuel poverty is likely to form part of the wider package which the Assembly will be asked to consider next month (although as Stormontspy has pointed out the price of oil has slumped since the package was first mooted).
No doubt the Executive will argue that the justification for the £43.5 million capital spend on the Titanic project is the hope that this will become a great income generator for Belfast. Cynics counter that the project will end up as a "white elephant". To know who's right we'd need a pair of binoculars (an item of equipment distinctly lacking in the Crow's Nest on the fateful night) which could enable us to see into the future.
The question of competing priorities is one I may well raise with the Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness who is my guest on tomorrow's "Inside Politics". As usual, the programme will be broadcast on BBC Radio Ulster at 12.45pm
I'm 
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Is anyone in the Beeb able to find out WHY the National Lottery binned the project?
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CyberBobWilson
The answer to your question is straightforward.
Camelot realised quickly that the Titanic project was CRAP!
Susie
Carryduff
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Mark,
I think the Executive needs to carry out certain acts that will restore public confidence -
1. Change fuel poverty to Energy Poverty.
While the price of fuel is definitely down Electricity hasn't budged.
2. Conor Murphy needs to explain why Translink will not put their prices down to reflect the lower fuel costs
3. Pay the Civil Servants their back pay
4. Take a 10% reduction in pay
5. Urgently clear planning cases to get builders back to work.
Stormontspy
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Mark,
As a suggestion for Inside Politics have some ordinary regular MLA's on. You had Robbo twice in a month and now McGuiness. Why not some of the SDLP MLA's and they can tell us why they are unhappy with their Minister. The very Minister who agreed to PPS21 but the rest of the party are at odds. Even the SDLP chairman of the Environment committee has yet to fully support it. What about some of the UUP MLA's. They can tell us about the wedding of the year. Reg and Dave or should I say Dave and Reg!!
Stormontspy
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It is astounding that the BBC wants elected politicians to change their hours for the convenience of journalists. Utter arrogance.
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This just shows how out off touch the M.L.A.s are with the real folks
ordinary belfast people will not in any way prospur from this carbuncel the cost off an entry ticket will be so expensive that the ordinary people will not be able to afford it Do we need another conferance centre No Do we need another exciting ride No do we need a government that puts its people first Yes Remember there are six counties in Ulster not one city
Shame Shame
And pehaps the M.L.A.s might spend some more time realising that the problem does not begin and end in Belfast
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Although I do realise that the majority of people live within 30 miles of Belfast, I can't help but agree with kevinomagh. Regional towns and cities should also be a priority and are supposedly stated to be so in the Exectuive's Regional Economic Strategy.
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On education is the competing priority ESA - to be or not to be? or post-primary transfer 11 or 14?
It seems that the post-primary transfer issue is being used as a smokescreen to hide the transfer of C&A powers to a supremo largely unaccountable to the Folks on the Hill
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