:00:25. > :00:36.Welcome along to a brand new series of Nolan Live, and the first
:00:37. > :00:43.Lots to talk about tonight with our politicians
:00:44. > :00:47.and studio audience, but first let's just recap on some
:00:48. > :00:50.of the events that have brought us to our second Assembly election
:00:51. > :01:15.In the strongest terms, both in volume and force, Arlene Foster as
:01:16. > :01:20.First Minister... Arlene Foster needs to take the opportunity she
:01:21. > :01:23.has now to step aside for an agreed period, as Peter Robinson has done
:01:24. > :01:28.in the past and allow the truth to come out in this issue. I am not
:01:29. > :01:33.stepping aside, I am the First Minister, the party leader and I
:01:34. > :01:37.have a job to do. The purpose of summoning us today was to receive a
:01:38. > :01:42.statement of the First Minister and the Deputy First Minister. You have
:01:43. > :01:48.made it clear, the Deputy First Minister has made it clear she does
:01:49. > :01:53.not endorse what Mrs Foster is going to say. That invalidate standing
:01:54. > :01:59.order 11. Mr Speaker, I am grateful for you to agree to recall the
:02:00. > :02:06.assembly today and make the time for my statement about my role in the
:02:07. > :02:09.renewable heat incentive scheme. Today I have told Arlene Foster I
:02:10. > :02:18.have tendered my resignation. I think today is the right time to
:02:19. > :02:24.call a stop to the DUP. Northern Ireland need stability but because
:02:25. > :02:29.of Sinn Fein's selfish actions, we have instability. If Sinn Fein
:02:30. > :02:34.doesn't nominate a replacement to the role of Deputy First Minister, I
:02:35. > :02:37.am obliged to call an election of the assembly. We have seen our
:02:38. > :02:43.government behaved like a squabbling couple, seeking a divorce, who throw
:02:44. > :02:50.their head up, walk out and leave their children at home with no food
:02:51. > :03:00.and no water. The decision around removing it, was the wrong one. They
:03:01. > :03:08.need to select damages they would say, on the DUP. Sinn Fein will not
:03:09. > :03:16.renominate but the Deputy First Minister. They have forced an
:03:17. > :03:22.election which refutes the future. There will be no return to the
:03:23. > :03:26.status quo. In this characterisation we should have given something to
:03:27. > :03:33.Sinn Fein to keep them appeased, is not the way I do business. If you
:03:34. > :03:43.feed a crocodile, they are going to keep coming back and looking for
:03:44. > :03:45.more. See you later, alligator. I will be transferring from my
:03:46. > :03:48.unionist vote to the SDLP. So, lots and lots to talk
:03:49. > :03:51.about tonight with representatives On the panel, outgoing education
:03:52. > :03:57.Minister Peter Weir of the DUP, from Sinn Fein John O'Dowd,
:03:58. > :03:59.Steve Aiken of the UUP, Nichola Mallon from the SDLP
:04:00. > :04:03.and Stephen Farry from Alliance. Also joining us in studio
:04:04. > :04:06.are the TUV's Sammy Morrison, Clare Bailey of the Greens
:04:07. > :04:09.and Gerry Carroll from You can find details
:04:10. > :04:14.of all candidates running in this election on our
:04:15. > :04:24.website at bbc.co.uk/nolanlive. I have no doubt that
:04:25. > :04:27.you in the audience will want to join in the debate and we want
:04:28. > :04:31.you to get involved at home too. Now, our questions for the panel
:04:32. > :04:34.tonight are coming straight from our studio audience,
:04:35. > :04:48.they've come up with them, and our First question is from Luke Chapman.
:04:49. > :04:54.As it said in the video before, the assembly has basically crumbled time
:04:55. > :04:58.and time again because of petty squabbles that children in a
:04:59. > :05:02.playground could sort out. Bad times there are issues that are
:05:03. > :05:05.controversial, but every time we do take a step forward it comes to a
:05:06. > :05:12.halt, goes back to square one and here we sitting here at our second
:05:13. > :05:16.election in a year. It is not good enough, instead of asking you
:05:17. > :05:20.questions, we should be seeing things getting done. What is your
:05:21. > :05:24.question? What other party is going to do when they get elected into
:05:25. > :05:27.Stormont to stop this happening again, so when we sat here in six
:05:28. > :05:35.months' time, we sat here in six months' time, we're not in another
:05:36. > :05:39.election. Peter. There has been a threat against Nicola Mallon, it is
:05:40. > :05:44.important we show solidarity and whatever robust debate we have
:05:45. > :05:51.tonight we should stand together in solidarity. There shouldn't have
:05:52. > :05:56.been a need for an election. From the DUP's point of view, we wanted
:05:57. > :06:00.to move ahead on health, education, Brexiter and the economy.
:06:01. > :06:05.Unfortunately we are seeing a narrow agenda being pushed by Gerry Adams
:06:06. > :06:10.and Sinn Fein. What he is asking is how will you make sure it doesn't
:06:11. > :06:15.happen again? We will try to ensure, our aim would be to see government
:06:16. > :06:19.re-established rate away. If it is not possible, we have to look and
:06:20. > :06:26.see what we can do structurally because we cannot keep lurching from
:06:27. > :06:29.is anything going to be different next time? That is what he is
:06:30. > :06:33.asking. We will try and continue to deliver for people. If we enter
:06:34. > :06:37.negotiations where everything deliver for people. If we enter
:06:38. > :06:41.go into the pot, we have to ensure we have a more stable forum. It is
:06:42. > :06:48.about how you treat each other and how you talk about each other.
:06:49. > :06:52.Within that, it is irresponsible for Sinn Fein to bring down the
:06:53. > :07:02.executive. We should be putting the priority with dealing with money for
:07:03. > :07:07.extra health, and the waiting lists, except the pride of Sinn Fein. He is
:07:08. > :07:11.saying you walked away? I don't agree with him. This isn't a
:07:12. > :07:15.childish dispute. It is not something we sort out in the
:07:16. > :07:20.playground. We're talking about financial corruption at the heart of
:07:21. > :07:24.government. There is no democracy or government that would have or should
:07:25. > :07:30.have survived the period of time we have seen over this last six weeks.
:07:31. > :07:36.We are talking about the loss of ?85,000 of public funds in a scheme
:07:37. > :07:40.which was either designed to be corrupted, or through incompetence,
:07:41. > :07:47.has been corrupted. We will talk about our page I in a second. This
:07:48. > :07:52.first question is about, is there any notion of things getting better
:07:53. > :07:59.in the future? What are people voting for? More of the same. The
:08:00. > :08:10.institutions collapsed, because of the scandal, the agreements were not
:08:11. > :08:14.being lived up to. Will things be different in the future? They can
:08:15. > :08:18.be. If we live up to the agreements we have signed up to and we treat
:08:19. > :08:22.each other, both in the chamber and outside the chamber and the people
:08:23. > :08:26.in this audience and your viewers today, with mutual respect. Will
:08:27. > :08:33.there be disagreement in the future? Of course, there is no utopian
:08:34. > :08:37.society. Let's not state obvious facts tonight, we know that. Is it
:08:38. > :08:42.going to be any different? When I have been out and about, some people
:08:43. > :08:50.have said, what is the point of voting, we will get it all over
:08:51. > :08:57.again, again, and again. We have spent weeks of journalists,
:08:58. > :09:02.commentators debating the issues. The public will make up their minds
:09:03. > :09:06.whether to vote, who to vote for and if there will be progress in the
:09:07. > :09:10.future. That is what the ballot box is about and the decision will be
:09:11. > :09:17.made by the people in this room. Young lady up here, go ahead. Why is
:09:18. > :09:24.power-sharing not working, what motivation is there for young people
:09:25. > :09:27.to keep voting along the single issue, green or orange lines. We
:09:28. > :09:31.need to move on from the single issue. Do you think that is what
:09:32. > :09:36.people will vote for this time, orange or green? I think there is
:09:37. > :09:43.still an element of it. People here are loyal to an issue, but as young
:09:44. > :09:49.people, it is time we move past it. Is there anyone in the audience, may
:09:50. > :09:53.be a show of hands, who may have in the past voted along orange and
:09:54. > :09:59.green and this time, because of what happened, you may vote differently?
:10:00. > :10:05.Is there any sense? Gentlemen here, why is it going to be different this
:10:06. > :10:10.time? There has been so many issues with both green and orange parties.
:10:11. > :10:16.In the middle seems to be the way to go. They are talking more sense.
:10:17. > :10:22.There is no funny business going on, nobody bickering in the background.
:10:23. > :10:28.It is time for change. Time for change, yes, go ahead. We hear the
:10:29. > :10:33.MLAs and politicians talking about the failure of Stormont and moving
:10:34. > :10:39.Northern Ireland forward. They should, in my eyes, we have a
:10:40. > :10:46.structure of storm on is that has been said, unfit for purpose. What
:10:47. > :10:49.would be better? Voluntary coalition, those who are willing and
:10:50. > :10:54.can agree formed the government, those who cannot agree from the
:10:55. > :11:02.opposition with a weighted majority of around 60%. This would ensure
:11:03. > :11:06.cross community government for all. We need to be changing what we are
:11:07. > :11:10.doing. We should be moving towards partnership. We should be moving
:11:11. > :11:14.towards parties that want to work together. We have issues with the
:11:15. > :11:18.health care system, issues with education. We have got to be working
:11:19. > :11:23.together and that is what we need to change about Northern Ireland. Would
:11:24. > :11:27.it be different your party working with the SDLP and Sinn Fein working
:11:28. > :11:31.with the DUP? It will be a lot different because we will be working
:11:32. > :11:37.from mutual respect, not screaming and shouting at each other. We will
:11:38. > :11:40.be working with the SDLP, working with the Alliance and other members
:11:41. > :11:46.of the party who want to make things work. Isn't that what the executive
:11:47. > :11:52.was supposed to be doing? Yes, and it hasn't. When you were in it, not
:11:53. > :11:59.that long ago. APPLAUSE
:12:00. > :12:04.You forget you all then this is not that long ago.
:12:05. > :12:09.We went the Deputy First Ministers. Look what happened. Stephen, you
:12:10. > :12:13.were a government minister, how often were you involved in the
:12:14. > :12:17.decision-making at the centre? How often could you go up there and
:12:18. > :12:25.influence what was happening. We won't. So you were toothless?
:12:26. > :12:29.Probably. As ministers we could do a lot and good things were done, not
:12:30. > :12:35.just by David Forde and myself, but by other parties. But the system
:12:36. > :12:40.failed. There was a lack of collective decision-making, both the
:12:41. > :12:44.DUP and Sinn Fein arrogantly took decisions themselves and excluded
:12:45. > :12:49.other parties. I think the audience are identifying this problem. There
:12:50. > :12:55.is an issue of trust and partnership and an issue of the structures
:12:56. > :12:58.themselves where we have these vetoes, designations where people
:12:59. > :13:02.are in a comfort zone where they don't have to work with one another
:13:03. > :13:10.in terms of partnership and they are arrogant in terms of the way they
:13:11. > :13:15.approach government. Nicola? I understand your frustrations, I did
:13:16. > :13:21.not get into politics for institutions get stuck or we are
:13:22. > :13:25.held captive by the past. Don't enter the fallacy it always has to
:13:26. > :13:31.be like this. You have the power on the 2nd of March to vote for change.
:13:32. > :13:36.You can vote for division, deadlock and direct rule which is where Sinn
:13:37. > :13:39.Fein and the DUP are taking us. Or you can vote for parties that want
:13:40. > :13:46.to work together and have proven they can. You cannot even agree on
:13:47. > :13:55.vote transfer, how can you agree on anything the government if you
:13:56. > :14:00.cannot agree with each other. You have been in power for how long?
:14:01. > :14:07.There is a draft paper the government. On the point of it in
:14:08. > :14:11.the Ulster Unionist, you don't agree and education, health, welfare and
:14:12. > :14:21.you have different positions in terms of Brexit. The idea you are
:14:22. > :14:27.trying... Do you have do hold your nose to go across the table? The
:14:28. > :14:39.idea you will go into some cosy utopia... Let me tell you then, the
:14:40. > :14:45.SDLP and the Ulster Unionists, if you take them parties, we are
:14:46. > :14:50.different and there will be a number of issues we cannot agree on. But
:14:51. > :14:54.what we promise is we will work together based on respect and we
:14:55. > :14:59.will find commonalities. Sinn Fein and the DUP told us two months ago
:15:00. > :15:03.everything was wonderful. Then we find out it is dysfunctional, no
:15:04. > :15:13.respect or quality. What he will get from the SDLP is the truth.
:15:14. > :15:17.My question is a potent issue and there are several others but the
:15:18. > :15:29.straw that broke the camel's back this time was HRI. My question is
:15:30. > :15:33.not about who did what and who knew what, what preventative vertical
:15:34. > :15:38.method can we have two ensure that nothing like that ever happens
:15:39. > :15:42.again? What measure would ensure that nothing like HRI ever happened
:15:43. > :15:50.again, Peter Weir? Is your party sorry for what happened? We've
:15:51. > :15:57.already apologised. There were mistakes that were made about HRI
:15:58. > :16:03.because everyone voted in favour of it, there's no point saying
:16:04. > :16:13.otherwise. They voted for the right scheme. From the very beginning,
:16:14. > :16:24.when HRI was set up, there was a minister in charge of that, who was
:16:25. > :16:33.Arlene Foster. Was she incompetent in not knowing there was no cost
:16:34. > :16:43.control? I was at the civil servant's fault I was at the
:16:44. > :16:47.public's fault or the man on Mars? Who was responsible? The
:16:48. > :16:53.responsibility will be determined by the independent public inquiry. that
:16:54. > :16:56.after the election, that's why I'm asking you who you think what is
:16:57. > :17:00.possible before the election. We would have liked to have had the
:17:01. > :17:05.independent inquiry before the election. Whatever the findings of
:17:06. > :17:11.the inquiry are, we will accept them unreservedly in relation to it. The
:17:12. > :17:21.HRI is the excuse, not because of the selection. Northern Ireland know
:17:22. > :17:26.that this was all brought about by the complete inefficiency,
:17:27. > :17:44.incompetence, arrogance and above all corruption around HRI.
:17:45. > :17:53.Let the public inquiry do its duty. We brought in cost control measures
:17:54. > :18:03.which will ensure there is no overspend at. Says in your fact
:18:04. > :18:08.sheet, costs have been capped so they will be no future overspend and
:18:09. > :18:14.you just said you will ensure that. Simon Hamilton says they will be an
:18:15. > :18:18.overspend of ?2 million. It is important for people to know what
:18:19. > :18:24.the real factors. As you know, the overspend is capped at 2 million for
:18:25. > :18:32.just one year and it's up in the air what will happen for the next 19
:18:33. > :18:35.years. Do you accept that? We will ensure that there will be
:18:36. > :18:40.legislation put through which will ensure that there won't be overspend
:18:41. > :18:48.in the future and I have to say, every party is in favour of that
:18:49. > :18:53.position. It has to be said, given at one stage you were actually
:18:54. > :18:56.making an allegation that 400 million had already been spent in
:18:57. > :19:07.relation to that, the point is how we move on. 64 million has already
:19:08. > :19:12.spent. What measure would ensure nothing like HRI happens again? I
:19:13. > :19:14.think the whole election is about HRI but the problem is we don't know
:19:15. > :19:18.about it because we haven't had a public inquiry yet to be expected to
:19:19. > :19:24.vote on something and we don't know who's to blame. We say the DUP is to
:19:25. > :19:27.blame but you can't turn your back on it, everyone at the table is to
:19:28. > :19:31.blame, the whole system is incompetent, it is not one-woman's
:19:32. > :19:44.fault because ring Foster could not have put threw herself -- put this
:19:45. > :19:52.threw herself. -- through. How did you not know so many people were
:19:53. > :20:03.piling into this? I don't wear anyone involved an attempt to --
:20:04. > :20:06.involved in the HRI scheme. The flaws in the HRI scheme when they
:20:07. > :20:09.came to light were brought directly to the attention of the responsible
:20:10. > :20:13.Minister Arlene Foster so the public inquiry has two establish what
:20:14. > :20:22.Arlene Foster did with that information and how that information
:20:23. > :20:27.was dealt with -- has to establish. they were brought to civil servants,
:20:28. > :20:35.not to her. There were concerns about the HRI scheme. The public
:20:36. > :20:38.inquiry will find to what level those concerns were raised and what
:20:39. > :20:44.action Arlene Foster should have taken. They were brought to the
:20:45. > :20:47.attention of Sinn Fein and Martin McGuinness and ahead of the civil
:20:48. > :20:53.servants. Within a week, we the scheme closed down or stop within a
:20:54. > :20:57.week, it was shut down. We are responsible on a certain level, but
:20:58. > :21:05.are we responsible for closing it down? Yes, we are. I responsible for
:21:06. > :21:14.bringing forward the selection? -- this election? Yes. Are you always
:21:15. > :21:24.going to walk away from the executive and are you just using HRI
:21:25. > :21:31.as an excuse? The parties pretending they will hold hands and skip
:21:32. > :21:35.through the medal is rubbish. It is a difficult position to be on in
:21:36. > :21:41.terms of power-sharing. John is being loose in terms of trying to
:21:42. > :21:44.paint this rosy and unrealistic picture. We're not saying it's going
:21:45. > :21:54.to be rosy, we're not going to be just glossy documents. We're not
:21:55. > :22:00.going to have joint spin doctors. On HRI, you need to make sure a
:22:01. > :22:05.minister is completely briefed. You need to make sure whistle-blowers
:22:06. > :22:08.are acted on. You need to have humility and honesty when you get it
:22:09. > :22:20.wrong. We need to see quickly, I got it wrong and fix it. -- you need to
:22:21. > :22:24.say quickly. Peter, you are saying there won't be an overspend on HRI.
:22:25. > :22:28.Where will funds be diverted from in order to ensure there isn't an
:22:29. > :22:35.overspend? We put through legislation which will make sure
:22:36. > :22:39.there is not an overspend on that. There is no explanation as to what
:22:40. > :22:44.those measures are. What specific legislation have you put in place?
:22:45. > :22:49.Legislation has already gone through the Assembly which will cap the
:22:50. > :22:58.payments. Any piece of legislation will be subject to review. I would
:22:59. > :23:07.have thought there was a collective will around this table. In contrast,
:23:08. > :23:11.I have to say sharply, for example in the last Assembly, we had a ?170
:23:12. > :23:24.million overspend because of the blockage of welfare reform. Any
:23:25. > :23:26.normal job situation, the person in charge would be suspended so why is
:23:27. > :23:37.our dream Foster not being suspended? -- why is Arlene Foster
:23:38. > :23:43.not being suspended? One of the reasons Martin McGuinness
:23:44. > :23:46.reluctantly resigned was to spare Arlene Foster. Who gives you the
:23:47. > :23:54.right to suspend another party leader? Who do you think you are? I
:23:55. > :23:59.haven't suspended her, I didn't claim she was suspended as leader,
:24:00. > :24:08.she has been suspended as First Minister. you said to this audience
:24:09. > :24:15.a moment ago that within a week of you knowing about HRI, it took you a
:24:16. > :24:20.lot longer to tell the public. You are telling the public you have
:24:21. > :24:24.walked away because of the scandal of HRI. The public should know you
:24:25. > :24:30.found out about it in January 2016 and you want away in January 20
:24:31. > :24:37.17th. It was because the media got it -- January 2017. You stayed in
:24:38. > :24:41.the executive and now you're saying you walked away. How does that add
:24:42. > :24:51.up? It was brought to the attention of the audit office and the auditor
:24:52. > :24:55.general. But you didn't walk away. There were further revelations that
:24:56. > :25:02.came about through your show where we had a former DUP minister making
:25:03. > :25:05.serious allegations about the conduct of the DUP and what was
:25:06. > :25:19.happening in relation to Spies and ministers within the DUP. Further
:25:20. > :25:25.information came to light. This isn't an issue of suspension. In any
:25:26. > :25:27.other democracy, this would be a matter of ministerial resignation.
:25:28. > :25:36.Ministers have gone far, far less in those jurisdictions -- for far less.
:25:37. > :25:38.It is called ministerial accountability. We then office on
:25:39. > :25:46.behalf of the public. If things go wrong on our watch whether we are
:25:47. > :25:55.directly responsible, you have to walk. Having public inquiry is all
:25:56. > :26:00.very well but what action are you going to take as a result of the
:26:01. > :26:03.findings of this inquiry? We spend millions on inquiries every year but
:26:04. > :26:09.we don't actually act upon them. Is it going to make prosecutions? What
:26:10. > :26:16.is the money for this public inquiry? Will there be any results
:26:17. > :26:20.from this inquiry? What should happen as a result of the public
:26:21. > :26:28.inquiry? People are furious about what has been happening. It is not
:26:29. > :26:41.just HRI, and Arlene Foster designed the scheme. Sinn Fein organised 58
:26:42. > :26:48.meetings on HRI. We want to see politics about standing up for
:26:49. > :26:51.corruption. The HRI situation shows priorities are in the wrong place
:26:52. > :26:55.because rather than put money into health and education, we've had
:26:56. > :27:07.hundreds of millions wasted on HRI scheme but at the same time Arlene
:27:08. > :27:11.Foster promised the payments. Protesters were out because they
:27:12. > :27:22.were not sure if they would have a job next month. It is one law for
:27:23. > :27:27.corporations... There is not a direct budget but there is no
:27:28. > :27:34.intention to cut any of those by the education authority and they will be
:27:35. > :27:40.a budget next year. The budget will continue for those people and their
:27:41. > :27:47.jobs are safe. Isn't the case that London people thought London were
:27:48. > :27:50.paying for HRI and money found out we would have to pay for some of it
:27:51. > :28:00.ourselves, that's when it broke out and it took a year to figure out. I
:28:01. > :28:04.think you're exactly right. One of the problem is that so-called
:28:05. > :28:08.unionists in the DUP think it is all right to take money from Britain.
:28:09. > :28:12.I'm a British taxpayer, that's my money as well and everybody here who
:28:13. > :28:22.pays taxes, that money has been taken out of it. It's not a 0-sum
:28:23. > :28:27.game. This is an absolute scandal. we need to keep moving this on.
:28:28. > :28:34.Peter, if the public inquiry and that Arlene Foster, because she was
:28:35. > :28:37.the minister who set it up, was responsible for anything that went
:28:38. > :28:47.wrong, without the resignation matter for her? We are confident
:28:48. > :28:54.that Arlene Foster will be cleared. I've already indicated that whatever
:28:55. > :28:59.the findings of the inquiry, we will accept them. We're not going to
:29:00. > :29:02.prejudge what the inquiry says and I think it would be wrong to prejudge
:29:03. > :29:09.it. We will accept whatever findings emerge from that. We have a
:29:10. > :29:17.commitment because one of the things we ask... I have questions for you!
:29:18. > :29:21.I'm not just talking about our programme. Newspapers and other
:29:22. > :29:29.broadcast media, they have dug into a lot of detail. The public also pay
:29:30. > :29:37.you lot in committees to be digging into the details. Where were you?
:29:38. > :29:47.We did. The scheme went to the committee, then it went in front of
:29:48. > :30:00.the assembly. The scheme was approved. So if there is guilt...
:30:01. > :30:04.The chair of the economy commitment, we asked Simon Hamilton the minister
:30:05. > :30:13.and the permanent Secretary... Let him finish. We asked Simon Hamilton
:30:14. > :30:18.when he made the decision and when he was going to put together the
:30:19. > :30:26.plan to stop the RHI debacle going forward? Simon Hamilton told us he
:30:27. > :30:30.did it on the 30th of December. Not 2015, 30th of December 20 16. Then
:30:31. > :30:35.we asked him the question, was it his plan? No, he said it wasn't. We
:30:36. > :30:51.asked the question of the permanent secretary. We are going to move on.
:30:52. > :30:56.You are highly selective of the quotations from the permanent
:30:57. > :31:01.secretary. Arlene Foster followed the advice and therefore did
:31:02. > :31:07.nothing. You are not just there to follow advice. As the minister you
:31:08. > :31:11.are the first line of scrutiny and accountability and it is your
:31:12. > :31:16.responsibility to ensure the advice is correct, challenge the advice and
:31:17. > :31:20.ask questions. Any minister worth their salt would ask the question,
:31:21. > :31:27.what are the risks of the scheme I am about to sign up to, what are the
:31:28. > :31:35.financial risks? Those questions were not asked. Where is Florence
:31:36. > :31:45.tonight? I am from Co Fermanagh and we don't have a doctor. A doctor has
:31:46. > :31:49.to come up 15 miles and it is on a limited basis. I would like to know
:31:50. > :31:57.what are the government going to do to relieve the pressure on the
:31:58. > :32:01.health service? What we have seen already has shown us this government
:32:02. > :32:06.is incapable of delivering. After this election we will face the same
:32:07. > :32:12.problems. The question is, what is your party going to do? We will have
:32:13. > :32:16.to change the government of Northern Ireland so it is delivering on
:32:17. > :32:21.issues like that, Stephen. And unless you change the government of
:32:22. > :32:29.Northern Ireland, so that those who are agreeing are in government
:32:30. > :32:36.together you will get things moving on health. It is the biggest policy
:32:37. > :32:41.in Northern Ireland. What is your idea to reduce waiting lists?
:32:42. > :32:47.Reverse the cuts to the number of hospital beds. In some trusts we
:32:48. > :32:51.have seen cuts up to 20% and above that in some places. When you cut
:32:52. > :32:57.the number of birds, the number of people who can go into hospital
:32:58. > :33:03.decreases. -- beds. How many extra beds are you pledging? We want to
:33:04. > :33:11.reverse the cuts, bring it back to the 20%. 20% of what? Reverse the
:33:12. > :33:21.20% cut. I don't know the figures and he will make a show of that, I
:33:22. > :33:28.am sure. We have got lots of numbers we can talk about... Lots of
:33:29. > :33:33.numbers? Let's talk about one of them, one of the biggest issues that
:33:34. > :33:36.face is Northern Ireland is the health service. The TUV is sitting
:33:37. > :33:43.in front of the country tonight and you are their representatives, how
:33:44. > :33:51.many beds are you pledging extra? I am pledging to reverse the cuts.
:33:52. > :33:57.20%. 20% of what? I don't have the piece of paper in front of me.
:33:58. > :34:06.Hundreds of extra beds because there were hundreds of beds cut. How much
:34:07. > :34:10.would that cost? I don't know. Clare Bayley, your policy for health on
:34:11. > :34:16.waiting list, how would you reduce them? Have a bigger conversation.
:34:17. > :34:23.What is coming up for us on the doorsteps, it is not necessarily
:34:24. > :34:27.RHI, but it is health and education. When you are having that
:34:28. > :34:30.conversation and you are part of that conversation, this is a
:34:31. > :34:36.conversation and I am saying, what is your policy? How are you reducing
:34:37. > :34:39.waiting list? We need to have a bigger conversation about what our
:34:40. > :34:48.priorities are the government. What is your policy? On what? To reduce
:34:49. > :34:53.waiting lists. We need to invest in the health service, put the money in
:34:54. > :35:00.and get it sorted, stop putting doctors under pressure. Take the
:35:01. > :35:03.money from where? From the government's budgets, we are a very
:35:04. > :35:11.rich nation. We have a government and ministers who can commit half ?1
:35:12. > :35:17.billion to a faulty scheme, then they tell us we cannot invest in a
:35:18. > :35:23.waiting list. Is there a bigger thinking from the Greens than, we
:35:24. > :35:28.need to invest more money. Some people are waiting, I have the
:35:29. > :35:32.latest figures, at the end of January 2017, some people were
:35:33. > :35:36.waiting up to three years for surgery on their back, routine
:35:37. > :35:41.surgery. I am trying to understand if you have a policy on reducing
:35:42. > :35:45.waiting lists beyond saying invest more money. We don't see waiting
:35:46. > :35:50.lists as a single issue. We think investing in the health service
:35:51. > :35:55.generally, people cannot get appointments with their GPs. That is
:35:56. > :36:00.what the question was about. How would you solve it? Sit down as a
:36:01. > :36:03.government who want to work together, prioritise the needs of
:36:04. > :36:08.the people in Northern Ireland and put our resources to those needs.
:36:09. > :36:14.Sammy doesn't know how many more beds he would bring back, you don't
:36:15. > :36:19.know how much money to invest... I don't have a piece of paper sitting
:36:20. > :36:25.in front of me with all those figures. What did the audience make
:36:26. > :36:33.of this? You, sir go ahead. We are talking about general practitioners.
:36:34. > :36:37.There is mass resignation, resigning GPs. This will come to a head very
:36:38. > :36:45.quickly. How would the panel address that immediately after the election?
:36:46. > :36:51.APPLAUSE . This is about primary care and
:36:52. > :37:00.often in the debate around health we tripped off and primary care is left
:37:01. > :37:03.behind. We have to look at the health service in totality and
:37:04. > :37:07.restructure the health service to deal with the pressures that are
:37:08. > :37:12.there. In relation to primary care, Michelle has invested in the
:37:13. > :37:17.training of more doctors. A long border communities, it is ridiculous
:37:18. > :37:20.we don't have greater cross-border cooperation for primary care and you
:37:21. > :37:27.should be able to access primary care on either side of the border.
:37:28. > :37:30.With GPs, we need to bring more GPs into the service. But we need to
:37:31. > :37:37.look at how we manage GP practices and how they are governed as well.
:37:38. > :37:41.You mentioned Michelle, let's talk about your new leader. When she was
:37:42. > :37:44.the health minister she promised us in October, she would have a plan
:37:45. > :37:50.ready to reduce waiting lists by January. What did she do? She didn't
:37:51. > :37:55.produce it in January, it wasn't costed and delivered to the public
:37:56. > :38:01.in January, it was produced in February after she walked out of the
:38:02. > :38:06.executive. Why didn't she sought it while she was in the executive? She
:38:07. > :38:10.said it would be ready in January so some of the people sitting at home
:38:11. > :38:14.now, waiting on an operation, it wouldn't be an election issue, it
:38:15. > :38:19.would be delivered to them when Michelle promised it would be, which
:38:20. > :38:22.was January. She waited till she had walked out of government and they
:38:23. > :38:28.still don't have it. Michelle is still health minister. Has she
:38:29. > :38:37.delivered it? She delivered it last week. The waiting list programme.
:38:38. > :38:43.She has written to all the executive parties. Let me finish the point.
:38:44. > :38:46.She has written to the executive parties and ask them to commit to
:38:47. > :38:51.the delivery of the ?31 million ahead of an executive being formed.
:38:52. > :38:55.If there is failure to Bruce Senna Dzeko did, the civil Service need a
:38:56. > :39:05.sense of direction of where it is going. We heard in October, to these
:39:06. > :39:11.people every day, she promised the country she would deliver a costed
:39:12. > :39:18.plan in January and she didn't. She produced it in February. This is an
:39:19. > :39:28.important point. Michelle O'Neill is still health minister. She has
:39:29. > :39:34.authority as Minister of health. You walked away before you got the
:39:35. > :39:43.money. The DUP are not prepared to hand over the money. Sorry, that is
:39:44. > :39:51.untrue. Arlene Foster has said in principle she supports this. Her
:39:52. > :39:58.only complaint... She is agreeing with the 31 million going. In
:39:59. > :40:02.principle, or if she agreeing it? We cannot allocate any budget at the
:40:03. > :40:08.moment because he pulled the plug on that. Our commitment is to put 80
:40:09. > :40:18.million from next year's budget into the waiting lists. Sinn Fein made a
:40:19. > :40:23.decision and the decision was, before they got the money guaranteed
:40:24. > :40:29.for people on waiting lists, and by the way these are people waiting a
:40:30. > :40:34.year. You walked away, you didn't put them first and get the money in,
:40:35. > :40:38.you walked away before getting the money. Michelle O'Neill walked away.
:40:39. > :40:49.Michelle O'Neill is still health minister. You walked away before the
:40:50. > :40:54.budget. Go ahead. We have a multi-million pound
:40:55. > :40:59.hospital sitting there and it is crumbling. Two years ago the people
:41:00. > :41:03.campaigned and went out in their droves and still nothing has been
:41:04. > :41:08.done. An amazing hospital with brilliant staff and the money isn't
:41:09. > :41:14.there. What will they do with this hospital? If you get sick in the
:41:15. > :41:18.middle of the night... Young man here, go ahead. I am a final year
:41:19. > :41:21.students in school and I hope to study medicine. Seeing our
:41:22. > :41:26.politicians tonight arguing and throwing figures around, it is
:41:27. > :41:31.worrying and cringeworthy. At the end of the day, it is patients
:41:32. > :41:37.suffering, the everyday person on the waiting list. Real lives.
:41:38. > :41:41.APPLAUSE You asked the question, how do you
:41:42. > :41:52.feel of the responses you have got so far, Florence? I was just sitting
:41:53. > :41:59.there thinking, once they get into government again, will they squabble
:42:00. > :42:08.the same, will we be any better off than we are now? There is a doctor
:42:09. > :42:13.by me, who wants to retire, but they won't let him because nobody can
:42:14. > :42:20.take his place. Florence, the one issue I can say, people were putting
:42:21. > :42:24.their party differences aside was around health. People were willing
:42:25. > :42:27.to rally round the health minister because it was about putting
:42:28. > :42:32.patients first. The problem is, you don't have a budget. Why can't
:42:33. > :42:38.parties get together, agree a budget to cover critical issues like this?
:42:39. > :42:42.We have a crisis in A and in some and a hospital, you will be waiting
:42:43. > :42:46.85 minutes, the highest waiting to be seen in north Belfast. We have a
:42:47. > :42:53.crisis with GPs and a crisis in mental health. Remind me how many
:42:54. > :42:58.times when the SDLP could have done when you have taken the health
:42:59. > :43:04.brief. We haven't taken the health brief yet. You haven't voted for a
:43:05. > :43:08.budget in ten years. I wasn't around when we were selecting it. If you
:43:09. > :43:13.don't have the health budget and you don't hold the purse strings, it is
:43:14. > :43:20.difficult to get things done. You could say that about any department.
:43:21. > :43:23.It is difficult around health. If it is a big issue for the people of
:43:24. > :43:28.Northern Ireland, are you going to run away from the big issues? We
:43:29. > :43:33.have no problem in handling the big issues. We have taken a number of
:43:34. > :43:39.ministries, but we haven't taken health. If we look at other parties,
:43:40. > :43:44.health was one of the last pics in the mandates. What does that say
:43:45. > :43:48.about political parties. It says it is a big challenge and when you take
:43:49. > :43:53.on the health portfolio you have difficult decisions to make. That is
:43:54. > :43:58.why you don't take it. Are we afraid to take difficult decisions? No
:43:59. > :44:03.we're not. Difficult dishes and is have to be taken, and have the
:44:04. > :44:11.health Ministry, will continue to work with any political party...
:44:12. > :44:23.You haven't supported a budget in ten years. I think it is
:44:24. > :44:34.interconnected because you are waiting 12, 13, 14 hours at A, it
:44:35. > :44:37.is a holistic approach to health. There has been a series of thousands
:44:38. > :44:40.of Beds pulled out of the health service or not rhetoric but it's
:44:41. > :44:49.true to say that want the health service defended. At the minute,
:44:50. > :44:58.there are millions being spent on recruiting agency staff. They should
:44:59. > :45:09.be employed. the lady at the end. One of the problems as a parent is
:45:10. > :45:14.my daughter was recently diagnosed with Asperger's and a waiting list
:45:15. > :45:28.was 13 weeks. Why do we have to constantly phone? 21 months I had to
:45:29. > :45:33.wait. As regards to how we move forward, money is part of the
:45:34. > :45:39.problem. There have been a number of reports. A lot of it is involved in
:45:40. > :45:47.doing things differently. how frustrated are you? With patients
:45:48. > :45:52.phoning up on a daily basis to ask when their procedures will be. It
:45:53. > :46:05.will involve doing things differently. What is your direct
:46:06. > :46:09.question? If there are differences about how we deliver services, will
:46:10. > :46:19.they stand up for the overall concept and supporting local
:46:20. > :46:22.hospitals and local casualties? I don't know how many health care
:46:23. > :46:29.professionals are heeded the moment but I think one of the things we did
:46:30. > :46:37.as a party, we ask the question. We haven't actually seen any results.
:46:38. > :46:41.For 920 critical staff short, one of the big issues we have is their key
:46:42. > :46:50.people in key places missing, particularly late consultant
:46:51. > :46:52.anaesthetists. Would you support centralisation of
:46:53. > :47:02.some services and taking them away from other areas? This is a
:47:03. > :47:04.question, we have a population in Northern Ireland about the size of
:47:05. > :47:08.Manchester and we have some of the best hospitals and staff. We need to
:47:09. > :47:13.be able to provide the best health care when it is available. I have
:47:14. > :47:19.suffered from cancer in the past. I do not mind travelling 1.5 hours to
:47:20. > :47:25.get a scan. We need to think about how we're doing it differently. One
:47:26. > :47:34.more question tonight. Peter, your question. Do we really need a. Irish
:47:35. > :47:39.Language Act when people can learn this at night classes? Yes, I think
:47:40. > :47:47.we do but the question is what the Irish Language Act will look like. I
:47:48. > :47:52.see the Irish language being politicised on both sides of the
:47:53. > :47:55.debate. There are people who speak Irish and it is important we
:47:56. > :48:04.recognise it is the individual language that we celebrate in our
:48:05. > :48:12.culture. There should be appropriate protections but there is an issue of
:48:13. > :48:17.cost. We cannot take a proposal without proper scrutiny. Your leader
:48:18. > :48:23.today on the radio show described the Irish language as a hobby. Well,
:48:24. > :48:28.it is. It's not a language you going to use on holiday. In agreeing to
:48:29. > :48:41.speak Irish in France. You're not going to speak it...
:48:42. > :48:44.BOOING how respectful is that people in
:48:45. > :48:51.this audience to see the language as part of their and identity? I don't
:48:52. > :48:56.have a problem with that, I have a problem with it being politicised.
:48:57. > :49:00.His party is politicising the Irish language. There are so keen about it
:49:01. > :49:11.they are having to take down Irish language posters because they have
:49:12. > :49:20.misspelled words. It will not be the first time... In terms of the
:49:21. > :49:25.question, do we need a Irish Language Act, it's not about
:49:26. > :49:31.learning Irish, it's the right to use Irish in your daily life and
:49:32. > :49:38.have that right. How much will it cost? I don't have the cost but I'll
:49:39. > :49:42.put it in this context. Wales has a Welsh language act and a health
:49:43. > :49:48.service and education and all those other things. Scotland has a
:49:49. > :49:58.Scottish language act and a health service. I'm not painting red lines
:49:59. > :50:01.here tonight. Is the electorate not entitled to know what the red lines
:50:02. > :50:06.are before they decide whether to vote for you or not? Or do you want
:50:07. > :50:09.to keep all your options open and jumbled in the air and people don't
:50:10. > :50:17.know what they are likely going to get delivered? Would you go into
:50:18. > :50:23.Government if you don't get an Irish Language Act? Peter is telling me
:50:24. > :50:32.that if the Irish Language Act was reasonably priced, we would support
:50:33. > :50:35.it. It's nothing to do with cost. I respect the rate of anybody to learn
:50:36. > :50:40.whatever language they want, whether it is Irish or whatever. The problem
:50:41. > :50:44.is when you come to the practicalities of this and if you
:50:45. > :50:47.look at what Sinn Fein are asking for, if you look at what the
:50:48. > :50:51.equivalent is in the Republic of Ireland, they are spending about 100
:50:52. > :50:58.million euros each year on the Irish language. If we go by what was put
:50:59. > :51:00.out ahead of the last Assembly election, is much more ambitious
:51:01. > :51:14.now. We believe it would introduce a
:51:15. > :51:22.range of affirmative action. It is to do with cost. The Irish language
:51:23. > :51:28.is not a hobby, it is my first language that I use every day. I
:51:29. > :51:42.want to say so much to everybody. How old are you? 19. I think the
:51:43. > :51:46.point that has to be made -- the comments that are being made about
:51:47. > :51:55.the Irish language are disgusting. They surely have hated and are
:51:56. > :52:04.intolerant. As a young who speak Irish every day, I think it is your
:52:05. > :52:10.downfall -- as a young man. I respect his right to speak Irish.
:52:11. > :52:17.Bite you call it a hobby language. The reality is -- air what you call
:52:18. > :52:36.it a hobby language. Keep looking at that young man. I
:52:37. > :52:41.want you to tell the young man that he's not allowed to decide his
:52:42. > :52:50.identity is and his languages. I'm not disputing it but the reality is
:52:51. > :53:01.that we don't have enough respect for Orange men to walk down a road
:53:02. > :53:09.for ten minutes. You cannot campaign -- you cannot compare the ice
:53:10. > :53:17.language to an Orange order march -- the Irish language. The reality is
:53:18. > :53:27.you cannot tolerate the Orange order. I think the only way to take
:53:28. > :53:32.the politics out of a Irish Language Act is to have one and give it back
:53:33. > :53:36.to the people who speak it and ornate and take it away from
:53:37. > :53:49.politics -- own it. A group of people started the school
:53:50. > :53:54.and took it forward because they wanted Irish to be the language of
:53:55. > :53:57.their children. I don't speak Irish but you should take it away from
:53:58. > :54:06.politics and give it back to the people. It is important that we take
:54:07. > :54:09.the politics out of this. It is offensive to say it is a hobby
:54:10. > :54:16.because people speak it as their first language and is part of their
:54:17. > :54:19.daily lives. The key point is that my version of Irish Language Act is
:54:20. > :54:25.something we do ask public bodies to scope out their client base and work
:54:26. > :54:35.out what the level of demand is and ensure they are responding in kind.
:54:36. > :54:38.I think politicising the Irish language, whoever does that does it
:54:39. > :54:42.a great injustice and for me it is about respect and when you see
:54:43. > :54:48.people talking about the Irish language, they call it a hobby, that
:54:49. > :54:55.is insulting, they call people crocodiles, that is insulting, and
:54:56. > :55:04.if you ask me what is at the heart of our problems, it is a lack of
:55:05. > :55:10.respect. As someone who is raising his family through Irish, I can
:55:11. > :55:14.confirm it is far from a hobby and as far as politicising a language,
:55:15. > :55:20.that goes back centuries when it was banned from being spoken here. What
:55:21. > :55:27.I would ask the party, we have broad support as evidenced by our panel
:55:28. > :55:36.for an Irish Language Act. We have people abdicating their
:55:37. > :55:41.responsibility in the British Government. We are in a time warp in
:55:42. > :55:48.terms of Irish language. Will the parties enter into another executive
:55:49. > :55:57.without the provisions being made for an Irish Language Act? Where
:55:58. > :56:07.does the red line? I'm not painting any red lines. I've answered your
:56:08. > :56:15.question. I'm not painting any red lines here tonight. Your leader has
:56:16. > :56:21.said she will never do the Irish Language Act. We don't believe there
:56:22. > :56:26.is a need for legislation. Is that a word that should be used? Is it that
:56:27. > :56:38.disgusting to let people have their language? I'm mad enough say sorry.
:56:39. > :56:59.I shouldn't have said disgusting. It will lead to certain levels of
:57:00. > :57:05.affirmative action. Rather than pursue an agenda which Sinn Fein are
:57:06. > :57:10.looking for, whether it is the rewriting of the past, legacy issues
:57:11. > :57:17.around prosecution of soldiers and police officers, whether it is the
:57:18. > :57:28.Irish Language Act, we should prioritise health, education and the
:57:29. > :57:38.economy. the DUP have held themselves up as a moral party. they
:57:39. > :57:49.would say that they didn't technically sign up to it but did
:57:50. > :57:52.embrace the spirit of St Andrews. The DUP has never signed up to a
:57:53. > :58:02.Irish Language Act. That is factually incorrect. Do you agree to
:58:03. > :58:30.St Andrews? they will be a lot more discussion
:58:31. > :58:32.across the BBC networks. Thank you for your company tonight. We're back
:58:33. > :58:58.next week. Good night. I just feel as though the decisions
:58:59. > :59:02.I made when I was younger We'll go home and the horses
:59:03. > :59:08.still need mucking out Mightn't be
:59:09. > :59:10.in this particular outfit -