55
According to an Assembly Written Answer to the DUP's Simon Hamilton, that's the number of Freedom of Information requests submitted by the MEP Jim Allister to NI departments since May 8th. Mr Hamilton says that amounts to just under half of all the FoI requests from elected representatives (121 requests in total) and that only one question related to Mr Allister's job as an MEP.
Simon Hamilton's question comes hard on the heels of a statement from Sammy Wilson describing Jim Allister as "the poster boy of the Freedom of Information Act" and challenging the MEP to say whether any of his staff are family members.
Mr Hamilton says Mr Allister wants to "sit and snipe from the sidelines" submitting "frivolous FoI requests that cost a small fortune and do nothing for anybody but himself." Presumably Mr Allister will conclude that some of those FoIs must have hit their target.
I'm sure none of this has anything to do with the Dromore by-election due this Wednesday.
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More to the point is why are other elected members not using the Freedom of Information Act as effectively as Mr Allister.
Perhaps part of the answer can be found at www.niassembly.gov.uk/qanda/2007mandate/consolidated/consolidated.htm and contains a list of the written questions (some hardly worth the paper they are written on) submitted by our overpaid MLA's.
At least to be fair to Mr Allister his FoI requests seem to be structured in such a way as to allow him to take political advantage of the responses.
Meanwhile well done Simon Hamilton for eventually getting round to registering as a Data Controller under the Data Protection Act (registration no Z1157435). Shame it took him until December 2007.
If you want to find out which MLA's (including more than one Minister )have so far failed to register as Data Controllers with the Information Commissioners Office visit
Anyone who reads my comments knows how much I despise Jim Allister and his cronies trying to destabilise the Assembly and Executive. These are lines that the Civil Service should respond to Jim Allister aka Bowen-
1. Are you asking me or telling me? 2. Super, smashing, great 3. All for the throw of a dart! 4.Let's have a look at what you could've won! 5.It'll take me two minutes to count this money out, see you in a couple of minutes 6.Take your time 7.Let's check it with bully 8. Faces, Places, Books, Showbiz, History, Words, Affairs) we'd like 9. You can't beat a bit of bully! 10. Wouldn't be the same without a bit of bully on Sunday would it 12. Thanks for joining us down here at central 13. What happened to your legs? 14. Like a Frogakapump ya cant go back 15. you got your £2 here but itll take me the commercial break to count it out.
With this in mind I hope Jim Allister takes him pettiness to someone who might listen to him - Bully!!!!
Obviously, I share little in common with Jim Allister politically. The DUP's hysterical overreaction, however, shows what a shower of authoritarian glipes, completely divorced from any concept of accountability or open government they are.
Mark, your story seems to end abruptly?
"I don't know whether this has anything to do with the Dromore by-election, due on Wednesday, but Mr Allister is clearly getting to"
Simon Hamilton's question comes hard on the heels of a statement from Sammy Wilson describing Jim Allister as "the poster boy of the Freedom of Information Act" and challenging the MEP to say whether any of his staff are family members.
Sammy Wilson should really tighten up on his research (or get some decent assistants:)), it's on Allister's website that his daughter works for him.
It's up to the public to decide whether Allister's FOI requests are "frivolous", not some DUP apparachik. Transparent and accountable government is a pre-requisite for any full-functioning democracy.
A note to Magic Roundabout: the information commissioner's website appears to be somewhat faulty as I know of some MLA who are registered as data controllers but do not appear when their name and address is typed in but do appear when their data controller registration is entered.
Personally I can't wait to see Jim Allister turn his attention to Simon Hamilton...if he feels Simon is significant enough...yawn. But sure as long as Simon continues to put in irrelevant questions like Mr Shannon and gets the odd sensationalist headline he's doing his job.....isn't he?
The point Simon Hamilton has raised is the fact that as an elected member he is not carrying out his job for his people. Jim Alister was elected to represent the people of Northern Ireland in Europe and he is clearly not doing his job yet he is ready to attack the DUP every time feels he can. Can I just remind him he was elected on a DUP ballet and would not be in the position he was in if it was not for the DUP
Dromore is a simple test. Are the electorate as guillable as the DUP have taken them for? It seems that they are morphing into their "enemy" Sinn Fein but have only a shadow of SF's competencies.
Sammy Wilson should be worrying about his own performance particularly as chair of the Education Committee. People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones Sammy.
When Dromore goes to the poll voters must ask themselves " (a)What have the parties done for us since restoration of the Assembly? and (2) what have they done for themselves?
So by that reasoning MLAs should not be debating anything other than issues about Northern Ireland. I note the Assembly debated the Burmese Crisis in October last year...
I haven't seen Mr Allister with his ballet shoes on yet but that in itself should be an entertaining enough sight.
There is far too much bickering amongst the Unionist Parties. Personally I don't see why the DUP just don't choose to ignore Mr Allister for the yesterday's man that he is. Who cares if he is writing freedom of information letters? Is Mr Hamilton saying that as a British citizen Mr Allister has no right to write these letters? Has Mr Hamilton adduced any evidence to suggest that these letters weren't written some time in the evening after Mr Allister had spent a day fulfilling his duties as an MEP? Nope...just anything for a headline.