Máire Geoghegan-Quinn, European Commissioner for Research, Innovation and Science, a position obtained as a political appointee of Ireland's disgraced Fianna Fail party, speaking in Belfast yesterday --
In a very big way, and with a sense of determination, the Northern Irish have shown everyone else how to "collaborate to innovate".
There is something not quite right about that sentence. Have the people of Northern Ireland really done this, or have the administrative institutions of Northern Ireland's government shown some interesting results in this area, assuming we accept her premise? At some point, in other words, living in Northern Ireland has become a distinctive political identity. That may in fact be the case, but it may come as news to some that it's now official EU policy.
In a very big way, and with a sense of determination, the Northern Irish have shown everyone else how to "collaborate to innovate".
There is something not quite right about that sentence. Have the people of Northern Ireland really done this, or have the administrative institutions of Northern Ireland's government shown some interesting results in this area, assuming we accept her premise? At some point, in other words, living in Northern Ireland has become a distinctive political identity. That may in fact be the case, but it may come as news to some that it's now official EU policy.