People have been queuing up to take a pop at the so-called Programme for Government: quite right too. It’s an insult to people’s intelligence and as such has been roundly criticised as waffle, gobbledegook, a word salad and worse.

Partly this justifiably hostile reception is because of disappointment. The PfG had been widely anticipated by business and commerce, and society in general, to present a compass pointing the direction for the next three years. Unfortunately, in the words of Samuel Johnson, that was the triumph of hope over experience.

Remember the last Programme for Government over a decade ago? What became of it? A big fat zero.

Look, producing a coherent PfG is above Stormont’s pay grade. First, they’re not a government. The Stormont assembly is a glorified county council with the airs and graces of Ruritania. They work at making themselves look ridiculous with a Speaker (seriously?), Principal Deputy Speaker, Deputy Speaker and maybe more, all at public expense. Who knows? Who cares?

Letter: Once mighty empire now can’t afford to build a pitch

‘The Irish banshee is once again in our midst’ – Cormac Moore

The Scottish parliament, which is a government, is content with an Oifigear-Riaghlaidh or Presiding Officer and two deputies, as is the Welsh Senedd. Calling the presiding officer a speaker is........

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