With the news that FG Wilson (Caterpillar) is laying off another 700 or so workers, our politicians are caught like rabbits in the headlights of not so much a car as an oncoming locomotive (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19587807). The economy is in the crapper and all they can do is...what exactly? Not much it would seem. Business leaders call for a lowering of the corporate tax rate, but there is little evidence that this would do anything except make businesses richer at the expense of ordinary working families, shifting the tax burden in an unacceptable fashion. It would also mean a cut to the block grant from HM Treasury of such magnitude as to actually threaten Northern Ireland's very viability as a governable entity.
The common theme is a complete lack of imagination or even willingness to engage with the real issues at hand. Much has been made of exploiting tourism, of making Northern Ireland a more attractive place to visit. Talk extends as far as setting up more golf courses in areas already overloaded with them, and in areas which need to be protected from stupid over-development. Where are the discussions about the one thing that would give Northern Ireland that extra edge (or at least equalise things a bit) - countryside access reform?
It would be almost laughable were it not so tragic that, instead of grasping the opportunity which so obviously presents itself, we have our Environment Minister Alex Attwood running scared from creating Northern Ireland's first national parks simply because the Ulster Farmer Union stamp their feet at the mere suggestion (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-19550802). Fear of change is of course the reason the farming lobby do so, for they are not so daft as to realise that access in such areas won't have to be enhanced - a park isn't a park unless you can walk around it a bit. However, the more enlightened surely realise that this very change will likely deliver a more prosperous future for them and their families. We simply cannot afford this myopic self-defeating nonsense anymore. If we don't change, if we don't show a willingness to improve things and to progress, for the benefit of all this society and not just the few, then what is the point of having a local Executive?
So, a challenge to our politicians: get your collective fingers out and start making a difference. Get your heads out of your favorite subjects of flags and marches and sectarian whataboutery, and get them into creating and delivering a real and imaginative program for government (as opposed to that lifeless thing you 'created' recently - http://www.northernireland.gov.uk/index/programme-for-government-and-budget-v1.htm) that will improve people's lives, not just economically but socially and environmentally also.
Here's a starter for ten - let's create a new legislative framework on countryside access that will actually deliver positive outcomes for everyone. Marry this legislation to a top down 10 year strategy with the aim of delivering a structured network of bridleways and footpaths right across Northern Ireland, linking every part of it with off-road access for walker, cyclist and horse-rider alike. Guarantee access to all parts of our uplands and mountains as a right. Create a path around the entire coastline. Create a path around Lough Neagh and also Lower and Upper Lough Erne. Create tow paths along all our major rivers. In short, create a countryside environment which will mean that hundreds of thousands more people, both at home and from abroad, will want to visit and explore our beautiful landscapes, and where new and existing tourism businesses can make investments, in the knowledge that they will have every chance to develop and flourish.
Too radical? I think we live in radical times. We have radical problems, we need radical solutions. And when you think about it, there's little radical about it. Its nothing more than simply playing catchup with the rest of the UK and most of Europe anyway.
