16/01/2017 BBC Newsline

There's to be an Assembly election on Thursday March the second.

It was called at teatime by the Secretary of State exactly

seven days after Martin McGuinness resigned as the Deputy

James Brokenshire called on the parties to establish it as soon as

possible. No one should underestimate the challenge faced by

the institutions here and what is at stake. It is inevitable that debates

will be intense, I would encourage the parties to carry this election

with a view to the future of Northern Ireland and re-establishing

a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that.

This is essential to the operation of government and means all must

Remain open to dialogue. Two parties that pledged to make a Fresh Start

are now deeply divided. Our political correspondent charts the

day. We've had political break-ups at

Stormont before but not quite like this. Arlene Foster and Martin

McGuinness's relationship has been in meltdown for months and today

this was reduced to ashes. This is the moment their separation was

rubber-stamped. One was prepared to stay and the other wanted out. I am

nominating Arlene Foster to be the minister. Thousands of people said

it in the country and we, as the DUP will decide who the leader of our

party is, not someone else sitting in this chamber. Sinn Fein have

honoured all agreements, we have striven to make these agreements

work, Martin McGuinness has acted with integrity, dignity and respect.

Moments later, Martin McGuinness left the chamber, leaving many to

wonder if he'd played his last political hand. Whilst Arlene Foster

faced up to her next challenge, blaming Sinn Fein for sending voters

back to the polls. They've forced an election which risks the stability

and future of Northern Ireland and suits nobody other than themselves.

They will take every vote for them as an encouragement that they can

bring down the Executive whenever they don't get their own way,

whatever the cost to Northern Ireland, again and again and again.

Today we've called time on the behaviour of the DUP. We've done so

because we can no longer accept how these institutions were being

treated with contempt, and the DUP treat the public with contempt. Sinn

Fein and Martin McGuinness have stretched ourselves to the very

limits to keep these institutions working but have been let down by

the behaviour of the DUP, the imposition of Tory policies and the

inaction of the Irish government. The heated exchanges continued

inside the chamber as Sinn Fein withdrew its motion of no-confidence

in the speaker Robin Newton. In a bizarre twist, the chamber was left

without a speaker when Lord Morrow refused to take any points of order

and left the chair. The Deputy speaker was drafted in. I'm going to

suspend the Assembly because of the absolute mess we've arrived into to

take some advice. There are a lot of questions to be dealt with in a

serious manner without tomfoolery that has been happening here. That

was not the only piece of business taken off the agenda, the plan to

reduce the cost of the flawed heating scheme was adjourned until

next week. The class of 2002 new about stop start politics but this

will be a new experience for the MLAs leaving Stormont not knowing

when or if they might return. As they know, collapsing institutions

is the easy bit. Bringing them back and rebuilding trust is the real

challenge and that is the test awaiting our politicians on the

other side of the election. As for other political parties, this was

their reaction to today's events. The people of Northern Ireland

should be extremely disappointed and angry by the developments that have

culminated in the inevitable collapse of this mandate after just

eight months. I would encourage them to express that anger and

frustration by coming out to vote next time and not staying at home.

They've had ten years of the DUP and Sinn Fein ruling us from Stormont

Castle. You need no more proof that they are incapable of working

together. We told people these parties could not deliver. We told

them we need a programme for government. Sinn Fein did not

listen. The DUP did not listen. It only took seven months of proper

accountability and opposition for this government to collapse. The

only thing the public have voted for in the Good Friday agreement is that

these institutions should work. Now we need people who are willing to be

transparent and accountable. They want to be elected to the Assembly

and do the work on behalf of the people. Eight months is a disgrace.

Earlier tonight in the Assembly the former Enterprise

Minister Jonathan Bell of the DUP addressed MLAs.

I believe these matters can be investigated. Alongside the very

first piece of information given to me by the DUP special officer that

you will not be allowed to reduce the tariff on the scheme because

Timothy Johnson, special adviser to the then First Minister and Jon

Ronson, the director of communications to the DUP, and the

special adviser to the economy minister, have such extensive

interests in the poultry industry that has not been allowed on the

agenda. I have the information, I have kept the records in many

formats. This party has suspended me for telling the truth whilst I give

the deputy leader all the information about the people sitting

beside them and bind them of much more serious offences. We've had

response to that from Timothy Johnston and from the special

adviser to the economy minister, Simon Hamilton. Mr Johnston said, I

have no family connections to the poultry industry...

The current Assembly comes to an early end without agreeing

a budget for the start of the new financial year in April.

A senior civil servant has warned that could lead to a huge

range of difficulties, particularly for the health service.

Earlier I spoke to our Economics and Business Editor John Campbell

about what will happen with no budget in place.

It is what David Stirling was trying to spell out today, he initially

stuck an optimistic note -- struck. He said we have a few weeks to put

an Executive back together and agree a budget just-in-time before the

start of the financial year in April. That means he is probably

more optimistic, and if it cannot be put together... He will immediately

have access to 75% of the budget, so he sought to reassure them he will

have that cash at hand and public services would continue to operate

even if there is not a government or a budget agreed. What does that mean

for the running of the departments? Even though he was reassuring people

that the cash would not run out he said it was still a very

unsatisfactory situation and his precise words were, if there wasn't

a government in place for a period of time, say a couple of months,

that would pose a huge range of difficulties in a wide range of

areas. He gave a specific example of the Department of Health and he said

the quality of services they depend on the pattern of spending, in other

words, the Department of Health, huge department, they need to have

certainty at the start of the financial year so they can plan

their services so if there is no budget in place, that will cause

difficulties to services that are already under pressure. There is

also a difficulty with rates bills. Setting rates is one of the powers.

There is a piece of legislation which allows the government to

collect rates, the taxes levied on businesses and households. If there

is no power to collect those then what happens? There is a contingency

plan in place. Usually they are collected over a ten month period.

It could be possible that you could get them in May or June. That is the

initial plan. If there's no money coming in, councils rely on them. He

said he could make it work for a couple of months. He emphasised it

could only be a short-term solution. If this runs on later than June or

July they will be in a real budget crunch. If there is no Executive in

place then a direct minister would step in and impose a budget.

You've News of an important phone call. Theresa May and Enda Kenny

spoke on the phone. Both parties say they are very concerned about the

direction politics is heading in Northern Ireland and they've urged

all sides to show respect during the campaign because there is a concern

in London and Dublin that gap between Sinn Fein and the DUP will

widen considerably the selection and that will make it more difficult

when we get down to the negotiations. In regards to the

practicalities of what will happen in Stormont before election day,

take us through that. We have our date of March the 2nd and we know

that the institutions, the Assembly will be devolved on January 26. The

business will continue in the chamber until January 25 and they

will wrap up ongoing as this, so to speak, by the 25th of January. After

that date, the ministers will still be in position and behind their

desks, running there are various departments. That will continue to

be the case until the eve of the election. We will have the election,

the MLAs are elected, how soon, given what you heard today, will be

Executive be back up and running? That's a massive question and not

too many pundits will have the answer. They would love to know how

it will play out. We do know there will be a three-week period for the

first and the Deputy First Minister to be elected. After that, we are

into unknown territory. It will be up to James Brokenshire to make the

call. We may see prolonged negotiations continuing between the

parties because we know the gap is so weighed between Sinn Fein and the

DUP that it may take some time before we can put things together

again. Seven days since Martin McGuinness announced his

resignation. You mentioned in your report about his political career.

Do we see the end of it today? Do we see Malcolm McGuinness playing his

last letter got hand? He seemed a lot stronger today, health-wise, and

speaking to him, he was pleased with where he was with his health. But he

has to decide whether he puts his health before politics. We are

expecting a decision on that. That needs to be made because the

election is now up and running. There will be 90 MLAs selected after

the election day. I presume they are all vying for position now within

parties as well. 18 MLAs are facing the prospect of redundancy from a

very good job, a job that pays ?50,000 a year with quite a generous

expenses package. These are politicians who thought they were in

a job for the next five years and here they are, seven or eight months

later, facing the electorate and 18 of them will not be coming back, we

know that pressure. We have a journey ahead of us, that is mature.

There is more on those developments on Stormont today at 11:20pm.

In other news now and two years after the death of a 13-year-old

Fermanagh boy following a playground incident, a former pupil

at his school has appeared in court charged with manslaughter.

Our South West reporter Julian Fowler was at the hearing

Oisin McGrath died after an incident in February 2000 15. France's

McDermott was in sixth form at time. The 19-year-old is accused of

unlawful killing. The family were in court and listened as the defence

solicitor said he'd been asked to express continuing sympathy to them,

saying it had devastated to families. The solicitor said Francis

would carry the memory of what happened in the schoolyard with him

for the rest of his life and said he had been instructed to minimise the

pain that the Justice process will have for the McGrath family. The

judge said the sentiments were laudable in an extremely difficult

set of circumstances. France's McDermott said he understood the

charges. He was released on bail for ?500 and will appear at Crown Court

next month. Efforts to stop the closure of a GP

practice in Portadown have failed. Someone who it was thought may be

able to take over the Bannview Our Health Correspondent

Marie-Louise Connolly reports. At one time, there were four

full-time GPs working from this practice, caring for 5200 men, women

and children. A vital health club in the town, over the years, as GPs

retired, they were not replaced. Despite the warning signs, the last

remaining GP resigned saying she could no longer cope with the

pressure. Nearby practices told the BBC they were overstretched and

unable to take on patients. It was left in the hands of the health and

social care boards to sex. A contractor had been fined late this

afternoon and it emerged that GP had withdrawn from the contract. The

health minister said the move was extremely disappointing and she has

called for an urgent meeting with the health and social care boards to

ensure patients receive high-quality health care. They added that the

health care will manage the practice until a contract is appointed. It is

not ideal that locums could be in charge of running a health centre.

Patients who are older, especially, require somebody who knows their

medical history. Unless problems are addressed this could become a

familiar story. The weather forecast, and here are the details.

We have a quieter week, apart from spots of rain we are looking at dry

weather. Rain has been moving through, it will clear away to the

east, and in the second part of the night it turning drier but we are

left with the legacy of cloud. Quite a bit of hillfort in places.

Temperatures will not be lower than 7 degrees. Tomorrow, apart from the

odd spot of drizzle we are looking at dry weather. Some low cloud over

the hills and it will be a dull and grey start. Similar across the

Republic of Ireland. Quite a brisk wind in the Northwest. Mainly dry.

Further south, southern Scotland and northern Wales seeing rain and to

the south of that it is mainly dry. The sun will come through after the

frosty start. Temperature is not much above four or 5 degrees. Milder

conditions, in fact, double figures. We are looking at 10 degrees in

Northern Ireland. Generally speaking, more cloud than sunshine.

I pressure of the dominant feature. Not a lot of sunshine. We are

looking at a fair amount of cloud. Mainly dry. Temperatures are

tapering down. That was BBC newsline. A fresh election has been

called for Thursday 2nd of March. The power-sharing Executive

collapsed, sparked by the renewable heat scheme which could cost

taxpayers nearly half ?1 billion. Good

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