:00:00. > :00:00.Welcome along to the big show and what a show we have tonight!
:00:07. > :00:08.Bob Geldof is here with his Boomtown Rats.
:00:09. > :00:12.And of course we'll be discussing the big issues that you want to talk
:00:13. > :00:51.There've been massive political developments across these islands
:00:52. > :00:55.Scotland is calling for another independence referendum,
:00:56. > :00:58.Sinn Fein want a border poll, and in Dublin, Michael Martin
:00:59. > :01:01.is looking at a paper on Irish Unification,
:01:02. > :01:04.and the Taoiseach wants a referendum about Irish people north
:01:05. > :01:07.of the border being allowed to vote in their presidential elections.
:01:08. > :01:09.So big, big shifts happening post-Brexit, and then
:01:10. > :01:26.Ireland is told, get over it, don't worry about it, it is going to be a
:01:27. > :01:33.frictionless border, whatever the hell that means. Nobody knows. Let
:01:34. > :01:38.me put the record straight. No border, hard or soft, will be
:01:39. > :01:43.accepted by the people of Ireland. But British armoured cars and tanks
:01:44. > :01:49.and guns couldn't do in Ireland, 27 member states will not be able to
:01:50. > :01:53.do. Theresa May, your notion of the border, hard and soft, stick it
:01:54. > :01:59.where the sun doesn't shine, you are not getting it in Ireland.
:02:00. > :02:06.Some of the audience laughing. Is that funny or offensive? I
:02:07. > :02:11.understand why the laughing. It got quite a lot of feed on social media.
:02:12. > :02:16.A lot of Unionist people were sharing it and they were having
:02:17. > :02:20.quite a lot of humorous comments about that performance. I think if
:02:21. > :02:24.you just roll back three or four weeks, you had an election where
:02:25. > :02:30.Sinn Fein was constantly talking about respect and I think there was
:02:31. > :02:36.a severe absence of respect yesterday. Whenever Martina Anderson
:02:37. > :02:40.was making a speech. Wasn't a joke? It is a clear absence of respect.
:02:41. > :02:46.The comments from Michelle O'Neill over the last number of weeks as
:02:47. > :02:49.well, the waffle, waffle, waffle comments and so forth, there has
:02:50. > :02:53.been a severe lack of respect shown towards our Secretary of State who
:02:54. > :02:58.is here to do a job and should be shown courtesy. Matt Carthy from
:02:59. > :03:07.Sinn Fein, what is she at? Is your party trying to wind people up no?
:03:08. > :03:11.Was that coordinated, premeditated? Anybody who has been listening to
:03:12. > :03:15.what Martina Anderson are any one of the forged Sinn Fein MPs have been
:03:16. > :03:21.seen here in Strasbourg and Brussels will be not one bit surprised by the
:03:22. > :03:25.comments of Martina Anderson. Nobody has done more to protect the
:03:26. > :03:27.interests of the people of the Northern Ireland since the
:03:28. > :03:32.referendum last year and Martina Anderson. I have joined her on a
:03:33. > :03:34.number of occasions with the European Commissioners and
:03:35. > :03:38.representatives of the council with almost every delegation represented
:03:39. > :03:42.in the European Parliament making the case as strongly as it needs to
:03:43. > :03:48.be. The people in the north of Ireland will not suffer. Here is
:03:49. > :03:53.what I am asking you. How has your party got any moral authority left
:03:54. > :03:58.to ask the likes of the DUP to treat it with respect? You criticise them
:03:59. > :04:02.for not taking the population with respect, when your Representative
:04:03. > :04:08.Martina Anderson tells the British Prime Minister to stick deck for the
:04:09. > :04:17.sun doesn't shine. Is she really at that base level? The question you
:04:18. > :04:22.asked was what she at? Does she really have... Making the case as
:04:23. > :04:24.forcefully as it needs to be made so people right across Europe
:04:25. > :04:28.understand that the potential implications for the island of
:04:29. > :04:35.Ireland, north and south, of Brexit are so great we cannot allow it to
:04:36. > :04:40.become part of some... It is vulgar. That is where your party is that no.
:04:41. > :04:45.Did throw that type of offence at the British minister is vulgar, is
:04:46. > :04:50.it not? The point has been made as forcefully as needs to be made and
:04:51. > :04:54.we continue to make this point. Under no circumstances can we see
:04:55. > :04:58.any hardening of the Irish border. The reality is that lots of people
:04:59. > :05:03.in Ireland, north and south, going to suffer as a result of Brexit. The
:05:04. > :05:07.implications were always great as a result of Brexit. All of the
:05:08. > :05:10.challenges and problems presented are exacerbated because we are no
:05:11. > :05:17.fees with the prospect that one part of our country will be taken out of
:05:18. > :05:19.the EU is remaining. That is not the current discussion in Northern
:05:20. > :05:23.Ireland. The current discussion is the language that your party has
:05:24. > :05:26.used while asking other parties to show respect. It is one of your
:05:27. > :05:33.campaign slogans, for goodness sake. And then you should -- through that
:05:34. > :05:37.type of abuse at a British payments. White are you smiling? What is funny
:05:38. > :05:43.about it? If you want to be sensitive, that's your own business.
:05:44. > :05:49.Sinn Fein have been consistent in saying that we will argue and demand
:05:50. > :05:51.at every single opportunity in every single for privately and publicly we
:05:52. > :05:55.need to ensure there are special arrangements put in place so we
:05:56. > :05:59.don't see any hardening of the Irish border because the complications and
:06:00. > :06:02.implications of any such move would be so great that the error just
:06:03. > :06:06.simply an copperhead will to us and we are not going to tolerate any
:06:07. > :06:10.situation where a British Government behave as we have been doing for the
:06:11. > :06:13.past number of months, setting out their own strategies Brexit that
:06:14. > :06:21.doesn't give a single iota of concern for the invitations that
:06:22. > :06:24.will have for any county in Ireland, whether the six counties in the
:06:25. > :06:27.north or any of the rest. We see the implications for agriculture,
:06:28. > :06:32.business, students, the economy and the ever so great we need to make
:06:33. > :06:35.those points forcefully. When it comes to agriculture, the vast
:06:36. > :06:39.majority of the farming community voted to leave the European Union.
:06:40. > :06:42.The reason they voted to leave the European Union is they were sick,
:06:43. > :06:46.sore and tired of the regulations imposed upon them and the
:06:47. > :06:52.regulations posed upon business in general. How do you know the
:06:53. > :06:55.majority of them voted to leave? Doing the doors for the election,
:06:56. > :07:00.the Assembly election which took place before the European
:07:01. > :07:05.referendum, farmer after farmer after farmer was telling us that
:07:06. > :07:08.message, over and over again. A vast majority of Nationalist farmers, I
:07:09. > :07:16.believe, voted against, voted to leave the European Union as well. I
:07:17. > :07:19.speak to a lot of people and that committee. I know that community
:07:20. > :07:23.well and the voted to get out of Europe because they are sick so and
:07:24. > :07:26.tired of the regulations of people in Brussels telling them how to do
:07:27. > :07:30.their job and not telling them very well how to do it. They have been
:07:31. > :07:34.huge constraint on the welfare of agriculture, huge problems for
:07:35. > :07:38.agriculture and the benefits have come from Brussels are far
:07:39. > :07:46.outweighed by all of the rest... Go ahead. Picture hand up. With the SNP
:07:47. > :07:50.asking for a second independence referendum and Sinn Fein gesturing
:07:51. > :07:53.towards the border poll, it is time the British Government started
:07:54. > :07:58.taking the devolved institutions more seriously in the negotiations
:07:59. > :08:02.about Brexit? I think that is right. We need to take the devolved
:08:03. > :08:05.institutions and the whole of the United Kingdom and the Irish all
:08:06. > :08:12.talking together to work out how do we make the union work better. Not
:08:13. > :08:17.how do because to fall apart. Is direct rule free period going to be
:08:18. > :08:22.better? We want our Government any here and showing respect to each
:08:23. > :08:28.other. You think that can be done in three weeks? Three weeks of is what
:08:29. > :08:32.it starts with. We need to sort it was happening with our hospitals,
:08:33. > :08:36.schools, there is so much that needs to be done here. There is ten days
:08:37. > :08:44.left. You any closer to getting the deal? Work is taking place, I think
:08:45. > :08:51.next week will be a very, very busy week for all of us. Considerable
:08:52. > :08:55.background work is being done. Any compromise between new? You go into
:08:56. > :08:59.negotiations with a willingness to look at what other people are asking
:09:00. > :09:05.for, explore that and Testament as to why they're asking for it. To
:09:06. > :09:09.resolve issues. You don't go in with the hard-nosed attitude. At the same
:09:10. > :09:13.time, we intend to be tough in the negotiations but pragmatic in terms
:09:14. > :09:22.of getting the Assembly back in the room again. At any cost? Not at any
:09:23. > :09:26.cost. We are your red lines? We are not setting red lines. We are in
:09:27. > :09:33.there to negotiate. You have set red lines. There will never be an Irish
:09:34. > :09:38.Language Act under Arlene Foster. That is the red line. Is Sinn Fein
:09:39. > :09:44.would prefer James Brokenshire to be running Northern Ireland, van
:09:45. > :09:47.working with the DUP we want to actually run Northern Ireland, we
:09:48. > :09:51.want people in Northern Ireland to be making the decisions on behalf of
:09:52. > :09:54.the people of Northern Ireland. If Sinn Fein want to bring a British
:09:55. > :10:03.director Ronald ministered to build Northern Ireland, that'll be up to
:10:04. > :10:07.them. Go ahead. Does Theresa May's stands towards Nicola Sturgeon's
:10:08. > :10:13.Brexit concerns come straight out of Arlene Foster's hand-picked and is
:10:14. > :10:18.it helpful? What do you mean? The way she is just denouncing Nicola
:10:19. > :10:22.Sturgeon's concerns about Brexit. Theresa May doesn't seem to be
:10:23. > :10:27.taking anybody's concerns about this Brexit thing seriously apart from
:10:28. > :10:32.those concerns in her own party. There is a lot of truth in what you
:10:33. > :10:36.say. Certainly, the response of Theresa May to the mandate that
:10:37. > :10:42.Nicola Sturgeon has in Scotland was quite derisory and I think she has
:10:43. > :10:46.made it more difficult for herself to sell any future day with the
:10:47. > :10:52.devolved administrations. It has been our experience and experience
:10:53. > :10:57.of Scotland in particular. That is borne out in part by the comments of
:10:58. > :11:00.Martina Anderson, the lack of knowledge, around Brexit, what a
:11:01. > :11:05.double meaning, it is not just in terms of the border but the economy
:11:06. > :11:09.and our relationships. Even within England, it looks as though those
:11:10. > :11:14.who campaign for Brexit, once they've won, the actually jump ship
:11:15. > :11:20.and left it there. And now the hour trying to interpret what Brexit will
:11:21. > :11:24.mean. I actually think Theresa May's comments to Nicola Sturgeon were
:11:25. > :11:30.most unhelpful. Help me understand how that is not going to be some
:11:31. > :11:35.type of hard border. Help me understand how someone can walk
:11:36. > :11:38.effortlessly in and out of Europe. Northern Ireland will be outside of
:11:39. > :11:43.Europe, Ireland will be within inside Europe I can just walk over
:11:44. > :11:49.the border and there will be no checks. Is that right? Two choices.
:11:50. > :11:53.We could have a hard border, there could be checks. What Sinn Fein are
:11:54. > :11:56.seeing and we are seeing in the north last year, is that that wasn't
:11:57. > :12:03.something that was acceptable to them. How does your secure its
:12:04. > :12:08.border? What we have been putting forward is an argument for the north
:12:09. > :12:14.to receive special starters so it would remain part of the European
:12:15. > :12:18.Union. So there is no border at all? The border would be maintained on an
:12:19. > :12:26.island of Ireland basis, people coming in leaving the island of
:12:27. > :12:31.Ireland, would go through the same immigration controls. Would that
:12:32. > :12:33.work? Not necessarily. The border we have been told from the evidence
:12:34. > :12:38.given in the Northern Ireland affairs committee, the European side
:12:39. > :12:42.had to have checks for goods but as far as the Common travel area,
:12:43. > :12:46.people can move freely. It is only on the goods. There is a long way to
:12:47. > :12:52.go on negotiations and a lot to be played out. What happens with the
:12:53. > :12:56.dudes? What has been proposed by Sinn Fein is fantasy politics. That
:12:57. > :13:02.won't happen. There is no prospect of that happening. I don't want to
:13:03. > :13:07.remain in the European Union, I want out. I wouldn't be fighting for it.
:13:08. > :13:14.It is up to the Europeans what happens with the border. Theresa May
:13:15. > :13:18.doesn't want a hard border. The political representatives in
:13:19. > :13:21.Northern Ireland want a hard border. But if Europe insists they are going
:13:22. > :13:24.to have these tariffs and all of that there, it would be to the
:13:25. > :13:28.detriment of Europe because Britain imports twice as many goods to
:13:29. > :13:36.Europe as it exports from it. If the are going to be like this and going
:13:37. > :13:41.to insist on this, it will certainly be some kind of border. You have no
:13:42. > :13:45.problem with a hard border? We want the border to remain as it is, but
:13:46. > :13:49.if it's going to be imposed, is going to be imposed at the behest of
:13:50. > :13:53.the European Union. Martina Anderson was targeting the wrong person.
:13:54. > :13:59.Theresa May doesn't want a hard border. It's the Europeans who will
:14:00. > :14:04.impose it upon us, not Theresa May. It is Britain that will be doing it
:14:05. > :14:07.if they leave the customs union. You have different trading policies on
:14:08. > :14:12.either side of the border, you have to have physical checks. You cannot
:14:13. > :14:15.avoid it. We want is special deal for Northern Ireland, that could be
:14:16. > :14:25.wearing Northern Ireland stays in the European union, like Norway.
:14:26. > :14:29.What is the boat? In Northern Ireland the vote was for yes and
:14:30. > :14:34.quite clearly we have to appreciate a one size fits all Brexit across
:14:35. > :14:38.the UK is not going to work. It would work for Scotland, Northern
:14:39. > :14:42.Ireland. We have our peace process, I Good Friday Agreement, we are a
:14:43. > :14:51.divided society, we are now going down this road of... Why does this
:14:52. > :14:57.matter in terms of Europe? We need stability. The only way to have it
:14:58. > :15:00.is if we have some recognition of our special circumstances. If we are
:15:01. > :15:03.dragged out of the European Union against the well of local people
:15:04. > :15:10.without some form of special deal that recognises the fact... What
:15:11. > :15:13.special deal? We single market, European funding, how we protect the
:15:14. > :15:18.Good Friday Agreement. The whole essence of the agreement is that
:15:19. > :15:24.people buy into this shared space. People can operate on a north side
:15:25. > :15:31.bases, east west bases. What Brexit is about is beating downlines.
:15:32. > :15:40.Do you think we get a special deal? There is no prospect of it. I was
:15:41. > :15:44.speaking to our leader this week and she was talking about some form of
:15:45. > :15:53.special arrangement. She is not talking the Sinn Fein version of
:15:54. > :16:02.staying in the EU budget -- but she has recognising... What special deal
:16:03. > :16:06.does she want? I am aware of what the DUP has signed up to. It is for
:16:07. > :16:15.them to answer what they are talking about. You have hinted at it. Last
:16:16. > :16:17.summer they wrote a joint letter to the Prime Minister which touched on
:16:18. > :16:23.a number of issues facing Northern Ireland. There was a set of
:16:24. > :16:34.principles agreed... You said you spoke this week to Arlene Foster. I
:16:35. > :16:37.can see what they don't want is for Northern Ireland to remain part of
:16:38. > :16:42.the EU but they're saying it is different from the rest of the UK
:16:43. > :16:49.and we have to recognise that. She hasn't told you she wants a special
:16:50. > :16:55.deal. She says she recognises there are a special circumstances. If we
:16:56. > :17:04.had devilish -- devolution restored... It was a UK wide vote,
:17:05. > :17:10.special circumstances are not going to work. We knew it was either we
:17:11. > :17:21.are going as the UK are we are staying. I voted to leave. Northern
:17:22. > :17:29.Ireland voted to stay but it was a UK wide vote. Sinn Fein and anyone
:17:30. > :17:32.else should accept it. With respect, really what people thought about was
:17:33. > :17:43.just leaving the EU and getting extra millions into the health
:17:44. > :17:50.service. That disappeared quickly. That is the ?350 million a week on
:17:51. > :17:57.the side of the bus. It wasn't just that, Arlene made a comment during
:17:58. > :18:01.the week where she said there should be a special deal for Northern
:18:02. > :18:10.Ireland. America further and say that in terms of Brexit it is
:18:11. > :18:19.regrettable that the DUP fronted for a research group UK wide further
:18:20. > :18:25.Brexit campaign. It is very patronising to people. You know what
:18:26. > :18:31.it means but the public doesn't. Nobody knows what it means. Even
:18:32. > :18:37.those who campaigned for it. It means we are casting the shackles of
:18:38. > :18:43.Europe. It means the fifth largest economy in the world will run its
:18:44. > :18:53.own business. We have been relegated already. Tell that to the firms that
:18:54. > :18:58.might move back to France. Their economy has risen since the Brexit
:18:59. > :19:05.decision, employment and business have gone up and the economy is
:19:06. > :19:13.thriving. Are you saying the economy is thriving? The economy of the UK
:19:14. > :19:16.is thriving. There is more wealth amongst about 6% of the people and
:19:17. > :19:26.greater levels of poverty amongst a 90%. I know some other parties like
:19:27. > :19:30.to talk Northern Ireland down but our unemployment rate is half of
:19:31. > :19:36.what the average of Europe is. And look what our average salary is and
:19:37. > :19:43.the level of child poverty. We are talking Northern Ireland town again.
:19:44. > :19:52.It is about facing the facts. 48 workers this week, told the jobs
:19:53. > :20:01.were going, you covered that. In the absence of a devolved
:20:02. > :20:06.administration. That particular course of work was one I had
:20:07. > :20:09.actually saved. Civil servants in the absence of politicians have
:20:10. > :20:21.taken it away. All the more reason to sort ourselves out. We covered it
:20:22. > :20:28.on the show. It was an organisation that helped involvement will -- help
:20:29. > :20:34.vulnerable families. The civil servants have told them it is over.
:20:35. > :20:38.The civil service and health and social care board said it was a
:20:39. > :20:43.pilot project but civil servants have said that is it. 47 people are
:20:44. > :20:46.going to lose their jobs and there have been some vulnerable people
:20:47. > :20:58.contacting the shorter safe they are desperate now. Early intervention
:20:59. > :21:02.that took place with those families will save us hundreds of thousands
:21:03. > :21:16.of pounds each year because young people will get a chance in life. It
:21:17. > :21:21.is government. -- it is gone. We are prepared to get to the bottom of the
:21:22. > :21:30.problems that were around. Sinn Fein decided they would take advantage of
:21:31. > :21:35.the situation. Might you sacrifice your leader in order for governments
:21:36. > :21:38.to be restored in Northern Ireland because Sinn Fein are saying they
:21:39. > :21:45.will not go into government with you while Arlene Foster is being
:21:46. > :21:50.investigated? We fully support our leader. If anybody wants to dictate
:21:51. > :21:55.to the DUP as to who we nominate for any position, they will find it is
:21:56. > :22:03.our choice. We did not tell Sinn Fein that their people were
:22:04. > :22:07.unacceptable. If we listen carefully to what you have said, you're not
:22:08. > :22:12.saying that Arlene Foster will definitely be your leader nominated
:22:13. > :22:19.for the First Minister post. You might give her away. It is for hard
:22:20. > :22:35.to make that decision herself but we are not offering up Arlene Foster do
:22:36. > :22:39.-- to anybody. What you are not saying and what Arlene Foster is not
:22:40. > :22:48.saying is that she will definitely be the nominated candidate. You are
:22:49. > :22:58.leaving it open as an option. We are not setting red lines. Arlene Foster
:22:59. > :23:04.as a leader of a political party gained more seats than other
:23:05. > :23:09.political parties, why are you not saying that she will be the
:23:10. > :23:14.designated candidate? It is for her to make that decision and we are 100
:23:15. > :23:17.cent binder and if she nominates herself to be First Minister and
:23:18. > :23:29.then she will have our full endorsement. Has she talked about an
:23:30. > :23:35.option of her standing aside? No. So the uniform statement from the DUP
:23:36. > :23:39.is that it is her decision, you are all coincidentally saying the same
:23:40. > :23:46.thing. It just makes sense. That was was her decision as to who she would
:23:47. > :23:50.nominate last time as well. It is the job of the leader of the party.
:23:51. > :23:59.Do you think the union is under threat? No. Is Dublin circling
:24:00. > :24:10.around the union? People read into the election results that the unions
:24:11. > :24:13.are in a minute or two in the Assembly, even in the election were
:24:14. > :24:19.Sinn Fein worked so hard to get the vote out, still people came out to
:24:20. > :24:24.vote for Unionist parties. I voted to remain for a number of reasons
:24:25. > :24:29.but one was because I grew up on the border and I know what it is like
:24:30. > :24:33.living beside a visible hardboard and nobody from the panel can tell
:24:34. > :24:46.me what it is going to be like when we leave Europe, what my family will
:24:47. > :24:53.have to face. -- heart border. I had to cross the border to buy things,
:24:54. > :24:59.to practice my faith. Nobody understands what a heart border is
:25:00. > :25:16.to the people that live on it. There are so many people who live on
:25:17. > :25:19.the border and cross it all the time. We have big populations on
:25:20. > :25:26.either side so we have to restrict the UK not to leave the customs
:25:27. > :25:32.union. Europe is the biggest market so why are we throwing that we? If
:25:33. > :25:35.we can keep everyone in the customs union and think about the single
:25:36. > :25:43.market for Ireland then there are prospects of surviving and the
:25:44. > :25:52.region flourishing. The UK Government are being and talking in
:25:53. > :25:57.platitudes and meaningless phrases. What is most crucial is that we will
:25:58. > :26:00.get nowhere in terms of fighting for Northern Ireland unless we have an
:26:01. > :26:12.executive that is functional with a clear plan around Brexit. Therefore,
:26:13. > :26:16.to flip some of the questions, why doesn't Sinn Fein in the interests
:26:17. > :26:28.of the people of Northern Ireland, go into this negotiation now without
:26:29. > :26:32.any red lines? That is the spirit that Sinn Fein are entering the
:26:33. > :26:38.negotiation. You are dictating to them who their leader will be. We
:26:39. > :26:42.are stating clearly that we don't have the confidence in Arlene Foster
:26:43. > :26:49.that would allow us to support her nomination for First Minister while
:26:50. > :26:56.the cloud is still hanging over her. Does this DUP have confidence in
:26:57. > :27:00.Michelle O'Neill when she celebrates and engages and aligns himself with
:27:01. > :27:14.people who tried to put bullets into policemen many years ago? --
:27:15. > :27:21.herself. There are no clouds hanging over her in relation to cash
:27:22. > :27:24.scandals. She was found guilty by a judge as to how she administered her
:27:25. > :27:31.department in the Department of agriculture. I am sitting on an
:27:32. > :27:38.uncomfortable seat here and I have listened to the whole debate and I
:27:39. > :27:41.like to be able to complete one sentence without interruption. I
:27:42. > :27:46.think it is clear we need to say this. An earlier contribution quite
:27:47. > :27:52.rightly said that Theresa May, the Irish government, EU institutions,
:27:53. > :27:59.they are happy to say there should be no return to a hard border. But
:28:00. > :28:04.what do they all mean by marker on? Some cases it is the simple free
:28:05. > :28:09.movement of people. To us what a hard border is is anything that
:28:10. > :28:17.makes it more difficult for farmers for example to operate or trade in
:28:18. > :28:24.an all Ireland basis, for other businesses to operate, for students
:28:25. > :28:26.to travel across the border, anything that makes it more
:28:27. > :28:32.difficult for communities on either side of the border. The truth of the
:28:33. > :28:37.matter is that all of those things are up in there and up for
:28:38. > :28:45.negotiation as a result of the failure of the British government. I
:28:46. > :28:50.was going to ask who will man the border and who will pay for the
:28:51. > :28:55.people on the border? Who is going to man the border? There is a
:28:56. > :29:01.reality that given what happens during the troubles with the many
:29:02. > :29:04.soldiers and police officers, it is not realistic to have a customs
:29:05. > :29:10.borrowers would have been the case many years ago. A lot of it has to
:29:11. > :29:16.be around technology in terms of people movement. Even on goods it
:29:17. > :29:21.will have to be around technology. It is in the best interest of
:29:22. > :29:25.everyone that the EU do not insist that Britain leaves the single
:29:26. > :29:31.market. And that we all stay in the single market. Consequently we don't
:29:32. > :29:35.have a heart border. We have to move on.
:29:36. > :29:38.Well, you all know this show is all about the politics
:29:39. > :29:43.He's a household name who doesn't mince his words and likes to get
:29:44. > :30:00.You are on the European Parliament fishing committee and you are
:30:01. > :30:11.attempted one out of 43 meetings. -- attended. You are a fraud, Nigel.
:30:12. > :30:17.The gentle, he doesn't shout very much, please welcome Sir Bob Geldof.
:30:18. > :30:31.Good to see you. Hello. Help me get my head around where you are
:30:32. > :30:35.rattling your head with Brexit. It is, without question, the greatest
:30:36. > :30:42.act of national self harm that has ever been perpetrated in history.
:30:43. > :30:47.APPLAUSE And yet you are a Democrat and you
:30:48. > :30:51.respect the referendum. Where people stupid? I accepted, I don't respect
:30:52. > :30:58.it. I rejected argument but accept its result. Over the next two years,
:30:59. > :31:03.I will do everything in my power to undermine what Theresa May is doing,
:31:04. > :31:08.everything in my power within the Democratic confines. Why do you
:31:09. > :31:14.think you lost the referendum? Why do you think people voted for
:31:15. > :31:22.Brexit? I have got the passport and the kids of all got is, thank God.
:31:23. > :31:28.But it was an emotional moment and we know that it was the dawn of
:31:29. > :31:32.alternative facts and features news, we know that now. We knew it then.
:31:33. > :31:36.If you look at recent studies over the last few weeks, queer people
:31:37. > :31:41.have a certain sentiment about something and the told something
:31:42. > :31:50.menial to be false. -- certain people. There is a sense that this
:31:51. > :31:55.is better for us, it is not working at all. Where I would agree is that
:31:56. > :32:00.the EU is not functioning. I have been dealing with it with 30 years
:32:01. > :32:04.with regard to Africa and there is a bureaucratic mess. That's not to say
:32:05. > :32:13.the UK does not go in to the heart of this thing. The French are afraid
:32:14. > :32:19.of Germany. My main argument throughout all of this was that one
:32:20. > :32:24.singular reason I would vote to remain, and it goes to this country
:32:25. > :32:31.here, one singular reason is I will never, I will never vote for my
:32:32. > :32:36.children or my grandchildren to go to war. Never. I will never do that.
:32:37. > :32:40.If we are reduced, if Britain is the loose thread on the EU cardigan and
:32:41. > :32:46.we have pulled it with Brexit and the whole thing begins to unravel,
:32:47. > :32:50.stay with me, then we are reduced to economic competing states. When
:32:51. > :32:53.states compete economically and the small guy says that's my field over
:32:54. > :32:58.there and if you don't give it to me, I will get my mate rush out to
:32:59. > :33:02.give it to me. We are back to World War I and we are the most ardent,
:33:03. > :33:08.the most dangerous, the most tribal and wealthy continent ever for 2000
:33:09. > :33:13.years, we fought each other, the one great triumph of the EU is we have
:33:14. > :33:19.had 70 years of peace and look what the belt. You seriously think Brexit
:33:20. > :33:25.could lead to another war? It could lead to an unravelling of this
:33:26. > :33:31.desperately complex compact. If it does lead to an unravelling, we are
:33:32. > :33:37.already in a brutal world war anyway with proxy. Things like Al-Qaeda and
:33:38. > :33:45.Isis fighting each other. Not so much under the wire any more. You
:33:46. > :33:50.know me, I know you, I bought the artist of people. Stay where I am
:33:51. > :33:53.coming from. 1814 was the Battle of Waterloo, one century had to die and
:33:54. > :34:01.another had to be born because there was new technology. It resulted in
:34:02. > :34:07.an afternoon, a day of Matt Kuchar. The greater the first day of the
:34:08. > :34:12.Somme, get rid of old politics because a new economy is coming.
:34:13. > :34:18.Must we repeat that the 21st-century? No. You are not
:34:19. > :34:23.seriously suggesting... I am. Within our lifetime, a few years our
:34:24. > :34:28.European partners fighting with this country in a war? You are not
:34:29. > :34:35.suggesting that. If you look at Russia and a thug like Vladimir
:34:36. > :34:39.Putin, already illegally invading Crimea and he is starring in the
:34:40. > :34:48.Balkans, big-time, where he currently tried to... That is very
:34:49. > :34:52.First World War. The Balkans are frightened to death. Britain has
:34:53. > :34:58.sent 800 troops out there, Germany has sent 500, they are scared of
:34:59. > :35:01.sending their own troops. We are in one here and the people here talking
:35:02. > :35:08.about the border, please guys, please, please, please let's not go
:35:09. > :35:12.back to that, please. Let's not go back to that nonsense that we have
:35:13. > :35:19.had to put up with here, please. What do you mean? The border. There
:35:20. > :35:25.may be. This is the worst Government. I am serious. You have
:35:26. > :35:29.an odious unprincipled creep, and unfunny clown as Foreign Secretary,
:35:30. > :35:35.he really is awful. A very popular man. He lied his way to try and get
:35:36. > :35:41.into position. He has no principle other than herself. He was a lousy
:35:42. > :35:46.mayor. He is a clown. This is anti-democratic. You are pumping
:35:47. > :35:52.your anger into all of these people and denigrating them as characters.
:35:53. > :35:56.Boris Johnson was one of the most popular politicians. That is what
:35:57. > :36:05.you do on a nightly basis. You get paid for it, I don't.
:36:06. > :36:11.APPLAUSE Johnson is useless. He is not up to
:36:12. > :36:15.the job. He goes off and denigrate leaders to diseases. Hello. You talk
:36:16. > :36:19.about that moment in Brussels. David Davis who I know and spoke far in
:36:20. > :36:28.his constituency when he stood down on the 42 days, he asked me if I
:36:29. > :36:32.would go and he came. I spoke with him, he has never done a negotiation
:36:33. > :36:36.in his life. What is your sense of what's happening here in Northern
:36:37. > :36:40.Ireland? Some people are worried. Our Government has fallen. The two
:36:41. > :36:49.big parties, people would argue, they entrenching now into their core
:36:50. > :36:55.base and he did have the DUP on easily talking before the election
:36:56. > :37:00.about a radical Republican agenda, that Sinn Fein have. And you have
:37:01. > :37:04.Sinn Fein talking about Irish unity and very much appealing to their
:37:05. > :37:10.base. Are you worried about what's happening in Northern Ireland? We
:37:11. > :37:14.have no Government. We have no Government and that is really a
:37:15. > :37:22.shame that it's come down to two views of what this places. -- what
:37:23. > :37:25.this place is. You see it's a radical Republican agenda, I don't
:37:26. > :37:28.want to speak about the politics in this place because an city before
:37:29. > :37:34.the show, it is not pertinent because I don't know enough about
:37:35. > :37:40.it. I am for staying in Europe. It's a mess but you can change it. I saw
:37:41. > :37:44.the representative of the DUP about farmers. The farmers will be killed
:37:45. > :37:49.by this. The young people who voted against it, the future has been
:37:50. > :37:54.taken from them. This is true, Stephen. You don't know. It's an
:37:55. > :38:02.unknown. Of course you know, look at the facts. A deal hasn't been done
:38:03. > :38:07.yet. What you are you talking about? The Theresa May is going to be
:38:08. > :38:12.negotiated. This is nonsense. It is the Crystal Method Government. The
:38:13. > :38:18.are saying it's going to be great. Let me tell you, hope is not a plan.
:38:19. > :38:23.What do people do now? You say you're going to spend every minute
:38:24. > :38:30.you can under many Theresa May. I will be playing with the The
:38:31. > :38:34.Boomtown Rats and he is up there and doesn't care what he says. You did
:38:35. > :38:39.say you're going to try and undermine what Theresa May is doing.
:38:40. > :38:42.What can you do? I have got no power at all but I can only persuade with
:38:43. > :38:47.absolute evidence as opposed to the lies that people vote on. I respect
:38:48. > :38:51.the people who voted for all the reasons they voted but I reject your
:38:52. > :38:55.argument and it is my democratic right, just like you don't like what
:38:56. > :39:00.happened in this election, so you must keep the argument going. Where
:39:01. > :39:04.is the opposition in parliament and Westminster? Where is it? Nicola
:39:05. > :39:08.Sturgeon is the opposition. What happened to the Labour Party? BIP to
:39:09. > :39:15.be Her Majesty Buzz 's official opposition, it isn't clear. May keep
:39:16. > :39:19.seeing the people of Britain, no they didn't. Some couldn't be
:39:20. > :39:24.bothered. 48 million said no and some are too young to vote. The vast
:39:25. > :39:28.majority of people said no or didn't vote at all. This must be fought
:39:29. > :39:34.tooth and nail because it's existential to the future of
:39:35. > :39:38.Britain. You go out and you argue. You go out and you campaign, you
:39:39. > :39:45.walk in the streets, I know it's a drag. And who cares what I see? But
:39:46. > :39:50.it's so important that my kids can have a life. I watched these guys
:39:51. > :39:55.here in the front row nodding and objecting. I don't know how you
:39:56. > :39:59.voted, lads, but my life was we would be queueing overnight on
:40:00. > :40:01.borders with the checked every guitar, every amplifier, sleeping in
:40:02. > :40:06.seats where we try to cross the border. Then the EU happens and we
:40:07. > :40:11.breezed through. When I was trying to go around Europe getting any job
:40:12. > :40:16.I could, I had to go under the wire and get rubbish jobs. Now, you get a
:40:17. > :40:20.Ryanair over to Berlin for a weekend, you go to the club, you
:40:21. > :40:26.like it, you find someone, you go to the flat, you hang out. Maybe stay a
:40:27. > :40:33.week. I'd apply for a job. That's over! The future is closed. Get
:40:34. > :40:43.stuck in at open it up. Where do you get this energy from? From you.
:40:44. > :40:47.APPLAUSE Seriously though. It's not for me to
:40:48. > :40:54.see what you're saying is right or wrong but I love your passion. Do
:40:55. > :41:00.you never actually... I bore people. I really wish I didn't. I told you
:41:01. > :41:06.my whizbang plan, you said that will never work. Here is the plan. If
:41:07. > :41:11.only to a Theresa May, here is the plan. It is the Hibernian
:41:12. > :41:18.federation. You are not going onto the next ten minutes. You have got
:41:19. > :41:25.20 seconds. Everything is up for grabs. You on a rock star and
:41:26. > :41:29.talking about this. We get Scotland, Northern Ireland and the Republic,
:41:30. > :41:33.the three capsules, three separate entities but they join up in a
:41:34. > :41:40.federation, it back to Earth Scotland into the EU, the except the
:41:41. > :41:44.euro, for the Republic, the keep all the benefits of an additional larger
:41:45. > :41:50.economy, for Northern Ireland to keep the benefits of the EU while
:41:51. > :41:59.expanding their pop -- economy and Theresa May starts worrying. Don't
:42:00. > :42:03.you blame me that we haven't had time to talk about the fact that you
:42:04. > :42:08.are coming to Belfast. You are playing next Friday. For the first
:42:09. > :42:19.time in years. Why and coming back? I love it. I love it here. We all
:42:20. > :42:23.do. We have been here, coming for 40 years. It has always been fantastic
:42:24. > :42:30.playing here, one of the greatest venues. Belfast was always the best
:42:31. > :42:32.venue. Belfast, Glasgow, to play. We are a mega- band, probably the
:42:33. > :42:38.greatest band in the world, as you know. Shut up! And we are coming
:42:39. > :42:44.back to prove the point. I wish I could get away with wearing a suit
:42:45. > :42:48.like that. You won't! Bob, thanks very much. You're going to sing for
:42:49. > :42:52.us later on. Thanks. We will hear from Sir Bob Geldof
:42:53. > :42:58.later on, he's going to sing for us. Right, it's that time of year again,
:42:59. > :43:01.St Patrick's Day, and if you're wondering about the Universities'
:43:02. > :43:03.policy of giving a reading day to students today and tomorrow,
:43:04. > :43:06.it's because they are trying to encourage students to leave
:43:07. > :43:09.the area and avoid a repeat of this. Imagine living in
:43:10. > :43:35.the middle of this. A lot of the students are gathering
:43:36. > :43:38.already tonight to start the party. We sent a camera up
:43:39. > :43:53.to the University area to hear We don't do anything except drinking
:43:54. > :44:02.our own gardens because the union would get involved. -- University.
:44:03. > :44:07.We are getting a hard time and we are not doing any harm. It is not
:44:08. > :44:11.fair to brand all the students with that image. It is unrealistic to
:44:12. > :44:23.what St Patrick's Day is about for all of us. It is about celebrating
:44:24. > :44:28.your heritage. It is not as if everyone who lives here is actively
:44:29. > :44:33.bad. It is that once you are there it is easy to be drawn into the
:44:34. > :44:40.wrong lifestyle. It is a religious day but students think otherwise.
:44:41. > :44:45.But I am in equilibria, I don't mind getting drunk or sitting chilled, it
:44:46. > :44:52.will be a good night. Students work hard all year round and then one day
:44:53. > :45:02.of the year they want to get have a good day. There is letter but it
:45:03. > :45:05.doesn't cost that much to clean up. We get the impression that
:45:06. > :45:10.universities are going to be penalties on us and we are going to
:45:11. > :45:15.get kicked out but it is not as, it is the people who are coming up. I
:45:16. > :45:23.think we have to have respect for everyone in the area. What residents
:45:24. > :45:34.live there now, realistically? There are more students than residents so
:45:35. > :45:39.surely our voice should be louder. What residents realistically live
:45:40. > :45:45.their? What residents want is a quiet night. St Patrick's Day is
:45:46. > :45:51.focused on Saint Patrick at the minute but we have practical every
:45:52. > :45:57.term night of the week there is something going on. People clear off
:45:58. > :46:03.about half past ten, they front-load beforehand. It gets quiet for about
:46:04. > :46:09.three hours until about three o'clock and they come back shouting
:46:10. > :46:19.and running over cars and it isn't fun. We have been talking about
:46:20. > :46:23.this, since about 20 years ago when I was skinny, you have lost the
:46:24. > :46:31.argument. This goes on every year. It doesn't mean it is right. It
:46:32. > :46:37.means you're not going to stop it. The police have offered three times
:46:38. > :46:41.the number of officers over the period coming up to St Patrick's
:46:42. > :46:47.Day. The argument is with the wrong people. This problem was created by
:46:48. > :46:52.property developers funded by the Housing executive. We have created a
:46:53. > :46:56.ghetto for students. If I was 18 years old on Friday morning I'll be
:46:57. > :47:01.down there at ten o'clock with my own bottle of cider cos that is what
:47:02. > :47:05.young people do. But we created a ghetto in which you bring thousands
:47:06. > :47:12.of young people together. It has been ruined. You think what it was
:47:13. > :47:18.30 or 20 years ago, it was the best mixed area in Belfast. It was a
:47:19. > :47:23.beautiful area, I lived there and had friends there, Protestant and
:47:24. > :47:29.Catholic, people at the University, working-class people, it was
:47:30. > :47:35.wonderful. It was destroyed by developers and the whole plan to
:47:36. > :47:44.create an area first and is. It is now a zoo. I don't think it is fair
:47:45. > :47:53.to call it a zoo but also not fair for us to concentrate on saying it
:47:54. > :48:04.is the fault of students. Did you live there? Certainly no. He
:48:05. > :48:09.wouldn't live their? I mean, I moved home from London a few weeks ago.
:48:10. > :48:15.I'm staying on the Mullen wrote. That doesn't help my case at all,
:48:16. > :48:24.does it? Why do we focus on students? Because they're getting
:48:25. > :48:27.drunk. The majority of people who go there on St Patrick's Day are
:48:28. > :48:31.actually just young people who are not students but they know that is
:48:32. > :48:37.where you have to go. In fact, students face a lot of consequences
:48:38. > :48:44.and penalties from universities which is more of a disincentive. You
:48:45. > :48:50.remember freshers week. If you go on the first week outside Queens,
:48:51. > :48:55.people are giving out drinks vouchers, the entire bar culture of
:48:56. > :49:01.self Belfast is constructive and students in the first thing you get
:49:02. > :49:07.when you arrive in Belfast as a student is not your books or grant,
:49:08. > :49:11.it is a drinks voucher. And the students bring their friends, their
:49:12. > :49:18.younger siblings, people come into the area. It is because the students
:49:19. > :49:24.that they are attracted all. They're coming for a big party. It is not
:49:25. > :49:28.the way to behave nowadays. There is no respect shown to people who have
:49:29. > :49:36.lived there. You're not the enemy here but you represent the students.
:49:37. > :49:39.Do you think they care? I am neither a student nor a representative of
:49:40. > :49:44.them so I would encourage any students in the audience to speak up
:49:45. > :49:49.for themselves. I think a great deal of them do care. Think about the
:49:50. > :49:53.people who do cause upset, and I am not defending them at all, people
:49:54. > :50:04.who break the law are subject to the law. No, they're not. They ought to
:50:05. > :50:10.be. The you're not allowed to walk openly with open cans of beer or
:50:11. > :50:19.whatever, and they do it and get away with it. I would never condone
:50:20. > :50:26.anti-social behaviour but the problem is more holistic. All year
:50:27. > :50:32.round you have absentee landlords, rundown areas, housing that needs
:50:33. > :50:37.investment in regeneration. Rundown housing doesn't prompt them to get
:50:38. > :50:41.drunk on St Patrick's Day. If they took an interest around the whole
:50:42. > :50:44.year where there is a lot of reinvestment to be done then maybe
:50:45. > :50:48.the problem would be solved. Your demonising students yet we are one
:50:49. > :50:56.of the main economic contributors around that area. What, with buying
:50:57. > :51:03.drink? We rent out the houses and we're shopping and creating an
:51:04. > :51:06.economic injection into the economy. I think the mistake was destroying a
:51:07. > :51:11.beautiful area by putting students there. Property developers made big
:51:12. > :51:14.money out of it and the Housing executive put money to fund them to
:51:15. > :51:21.redevelop and you have created... I would break it up. Try to get some
:51:22. > :51:28.accommodation for students outside of the area. Distribute it so they
:51:29. > :51:33.are not bundled together in mass numbers. Separate them and restore
:51:34. > :51:41.it to what it was, a lovely housing area. Is one day of partying that
:51:42. > :51:47.bad? It is constant. You're talking about people not being prosecuted,
:51:48. > :51:53.in one year less than ten people were prosecuted for drinking and if
:51:54. > :51:57.you walk down on St Patrick's Day you'll see about 1000 and the worst
:51:58. > :52:05.that has happened is able get their bottle taken off them. Should the
:52:06. > :52:10.PSNI not just do their job and sorted out? Make sure they are there
:52:11. > :52:16.whenever the students go home, stop the riotous behaviour? It would be
:52:17. > :52:23.difficult for the police to remove alcohol from hundreds. They could.
:52:24. > :52:34.We pay hundreds of pounds assistance to live there but the way that Irish
:52:35. > :52:42.firms act during the Euros, they get rewarded for acting the same way we
:52:43. > :52:51.act on St Patrick's Day. -- fans. Is it fair enough? The students take up
:52:52. > :53:00.90% of the place and have fun on one day of the year and yet the Northern
:53:01. > :53:05.Ireland and Republic of Ireland fans can be celebrated for doing the same
:53:06. > :53:10.sort of thing but then all the media outlets slate us. You talk about
:53:11. > :53:20.getting the students out but it is one of the closest places to Queens.
:53:21. > :53:24.There is housing all over all fast. South Belfast is much bigger, so
:53:25. > :53:28.spread them about. The concentration and then you bring drinking and big
:53:29. > :53:33.festivals and you have mayhem. It is not just one day of the year. People
:53:34. > :53:37.living there are putting up with ghastly noise from neighbours all
:53:38. > :53:41.the time. That was a good area, lovely area, it could be a lovely
:53:42. > :53:48.area again. I wish we had more time to talk about this but tonight I'm
:53:49. > :53:54.afraid we don't. You are a starstruck! I like the man.
:53:55. > :53:55.Right, I promised you the Boomtown Rats.
:53:56. > :54:27.Here they are with one of their biggest hits - Rat Trap.
:54:28. > :54:31.# There was a lot of rocking going on that night.
:54:32. > :54:34.# Cruising time for the young bright lights.
:54:35. > :54:37.# Just down past the gasworks, by the meat factory door.
:54:38. > :54:40.# The five lamp boys were coming on strong.
:54:41. > :54:44.# The Saturday night city beat had already started.
:54:45. > :54:47.# The pulse of the corner boys sprang into action.
:54:48. > :54:50.# And young Billy watched it all under the yellow street light.
:54:51. > :55:01.# And said, "Tonight of all nights there's gonna be a fight".
:55:02. > :55:04.# Billy don't like it living here in this town.
:55:05. > :55:07.# He says the traps have been sprung long before he was born.
:55:08. > :55:10.# He says hope bites the dust behind all the closed doors.
:55:11. > :55:12.# And pus and grime ooze from its scab crusted sores.
:55:13. > :55:15.# There's screaming and crying in the high rise blocks.
:55:16. > :55:17.# It's a rat trap, Billy, but you're already caught.
:55:18. > :55:21.# But you can make it if you want to or you need it bad enough.
:55:22. > :55:24.# You're young and good looking and you're acting kind of tough.
:55:25. > :55:27.# Anyway it's Saturday night, time to see what's going down.
:55:28. > :55:30.# Put on the bright suit, Billy, head for the right side of town.
:55:31. > :55:33.# It's only eight o'clock but you're already bored.
:55:34. > :55:37.# You don't know what it is but there's got to be more.
:55:38. > :55:40.# You'd better find a way out, hey, kick down that door.
:55:41. > :55:51.# It's a rat trap and you've been caught.
:55:52. > :55:54.# In this town Billy says everybody tries to tell you what to do.
:55:55. > :56:04.# In this town Billy says everybody says you gotta follow rules.
:56:05. > :56:06.# You walk up to those traffic lights.
:56:07. > :56:10.# You push in that button, and when that button comes alight.
:56:11. > :57:04.# Take a walk with me. take a walk, take a walk.
:57:05. > :57:07.# Little Judy's trying to watch Top Of The Pops.
:57:08. > :57:10.# But Mum and Dad are fighting, don't they ever stop?
:57:11. > :57:13.# She take down her coat and walks down to the street.
:57:14. > :57:17.# It's cold on that road, but it's got that home beat.
:57:18. > :57:20.# Deep down in her pocket, she finds 50p.
:57:21. > :57:23.# Now is that any way for a young girl to be?
:57:24. > :57:27.# "I'm gonna get out of school, work in some factory.
:57:28. > :57:31.# "Work all the hours God gave me, get myself a little easy money".
:57:32. > :57:40.# Her mind's made up, she walks down the road.
:57:41. > :57:44.# Her hands in her pockets, coat buttoned 'gainst the cold.
:57:45. > :57:47.# She finally finds Billy down at the Italian cafe.
:57:48. > :57:50.# When he's drunk it's hard to understand what Billy says.
:57:51. > :57:54.# But then he mumbles in his coffee and suddenly roars.
:57:55. > :58:00.# "It's a rat trap, Judy, and we've been caught!"