More haste less speed
Rather than reach its final stage tomorrow, the historic Justice Bill (Stormont's first in nearly 40 years) had had to be clawed back for an extraordinary extra further consideration stage. The reason - a clause inserted via an amendment appears to contravene a European directive on the age which someone must be to supervise an under 18 year old using a shotgun.
The UUP's Basil McCrea has accused the Justice department of incompetence, which may be a bit harsh as the Minister opposed the amendment in question. However Basil may have a point when he cites this as evidence of the weaknesses inherent in pushing laws through via accelerated passage. A couple of weeks ago the DUP's Jim Wells floated in the Newsletter the idea that instead of rushing bills through before the end of an Assembly term (when they automatically fall), politicians should be able to pick up a bill at the stage it had previosuly reached, provided no one objects. In a rare sintance of UUP DUP agreement, Basil thinks Jim might have a point.
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