:00:00. > :00:07.And they're back, just ten months after the last appearance together
:00:08. > :00:11.on this stage, the parties are again looking for your vote in Thursday's
:00:12. > :00:15.Assembly election. Tonight they answer questions from our studio
:00:16. > :00:36.audience. Welcome to the Northern Ireland Leaders' Debate.
:00:37. > :00:52.Good evening. Little did we think we'd be back here so soon. This
:00:53. > :00:56.second election in a year, has been brought about by a break down in the
:00:57. > :01:02.Stormont power-sharing coalition. It's about alleged corruption and
:01:03. > :01:06.Unionist arrogance, says Sinn Fein. No about insatiable Republican
:01:07. > :01:10.demands say the Democratic Unionists. The other main players
:01:11. > :01:15.invoke plagues on both parties. Welcome to the leaders debate. For
:01:16. > :01:22.the Social Democratic and Labour Party, Colum Eastwood. Michelle
:01:23. > :01:27.O'Neill. The leader of the DUP, Arlene Foster. Mike Nesbitt of the
:01:28. > :01:31.Ulster Unionists and for the Alliance Party, Naomi Long. The
:01:32. > :01:36.yeses are from the studio -- the questions tonight From Both
:01:37. > :01:38.yeses are from the studio -- the questions tonight From the questions
:01:39. > :01:43.tonight are from the studio audience. It's a pleasure to welcome
:01:44. > :01:53.viewers across the UK on the BBC News channel. Tweet us using hashtag
:01:54. > :01:59.BBC NI debate. Our first question comes from Kirsty, an analyst in a
:02:00. > :02:04.software company From the RHI scandal, what has been the most
:02:05. > :02:07.important lesson you've learned. For network viewers, this is a green
:02:08. > :02:10.energy scheme, similar to one run in the rest of the United Kingdom, but
:02:11. > :02:14.with one significant difference, there was no cap put on the money
:02:15. > :02:18.investors could make from their investment. For example, for every
:02:19. > :02:25.pound that you spent on renewable energy, you get 1. ?1.60 back for
:02:26. > :02:28.the next 20 years. This is potentially going to cost the
:02:29. > :02:35.Northern Ireland Assembly something like ?500 million. That's the RHI
:02:36. > :02:41.scandal. Arlene Foster, what have relearned from this? Of course, it's
:02:42. > :02:45.not going to cost the Northern Ireland taxpayer potentially or
:02:46. > :02:49.otherwise ?500 million because the reality is there are cost controls
:02:50. > :02:54.now in place that were put in place by the Assembly. There's also now a
:02:55. > :02:59.public inquiry set up, which will get to the truth and the facts of
:03:00. > :03:03.the matter. Because up until now, all we've had is splil smears. We've
:03:04. > :03:10.had numerous -- political smears. We've had numerous allegations. The
:03:11. > :03:13.public inquiry has now been set up and we can get to the facts. There
:03:14. > :03:18.have been lots of facts brought about, the fact is that this scheme
:03:19. > :03:21.was allowed to go the way it did up until October 2015, that people were
:03:22. > :03:26.in those last few weeks, before the cap was put on, before the rates
:03:27. > :03:29.were changed, there was a spike in people, 900 new people signed up.
:03:30. > :03:33.People thought this was a really good deal. It was far too good a
:03:34. > :03:38.deal. The public inquiry will get to the bottom of all of that. You can
:03:39. > :03:41.say now that was too good a deal. I called for an independent inquiry.
:03:42. > :03:46.Well, we're all operating with the benefit of hindsight. Obviously, if
:03:47. > :03:49.we had the benefit of hindsight when the scheme was set up, then this
:03:50. > :03:53.wouldn't have happened. What's important now - The benefit of
:03:54. > :03:58.sensible controls when it was set up. With the benefit of hindsight,
:03:59. > :04:02.what we need to do now is allow the public inquiry to run its course and
:04:03. > :04:06.get to the bottom of these issues. You didn't mention it at the launch
:04:07. > :04:08.of your party manifesto, when it is what so many people have been
:04:09. > :04:14.talking about for the past few months. You didn't even deem it
:04:15. > :04:19.worthy of a mention. Of course, Noel, this election has been brought
:04:20. > :04:22.about by lots of other things. The RHI has been the excuse. It has not
:04:23. > :04:27.been the cause of this election. The cause of this election, of course,
:04:28. > :04:31.is the wish of Sinn Fein to implement their radical Republican
:04:32. > :04:35.agenda on Northern Ireland and what we want to see at the election is a
:04:36. > :04:40.very clear choice. That choice is between - But why didn't you even
:04:41. > :04:44.mention it at the launch of your manifesto? It is such a significant
:04:45. > :04:48.issue for so many people? Because it's not the cause of the election.
:04:49. > :04:50.It is the excuse - I didn't say you should have mentioned it as the
:04:51. > :04:56.cause of the election. You didn't mention it All About Time. The
:04:57. > :05:00.public inquiry -- mention it at all. The public inquiry will deal with
:05:01. > :05:03.that. The pebble of Northern Ireland need to -- people of Northern
:05:04. > :05:09.Ireland need to get to the bottom of this. Michelle O'Neill, as
:05:10. > :05:13.agriculture minister, your department had 58 workshops on the
:05:14. > :05:17.incentive, even as late as October 2015, at that spike period. These
:05:18. > :05:21.workshops stressed the financial benefits of it. Do you think you've
:05:22. > :05:25.got completely clean hands in all this? I do, absolutely. I don't know
:05:26. > :05:31.where Arlene has been living for the past number of months. This election
:05:32. > :05:35.is clearly for the RHI scandal, potentially ?500 million out of the
:05:36. > :05:43.grant. Even by your own admission it's been many other things as well.
:05:44. > :05:47.It's about RH EU regulations, it's -- RHI. We will get to the bottom of
:05:48. > :05:51.all the issues with the public inquiry. There are things we know to
:05:52. > :05:56.be factful and true. That's the fact that Arlene stripped out the cost
:05:57. > :06:00.controls. I listened to Arlene wax leer cull about how the DUP have
:06:01. > :06:04.this under control. They haven't. They put a sticking plaster for one
:06:05. > :06:09.year. What about your department's involvement in it? What about when
:06:10. > :06:13.you were head of the department of agriculture. 5 workshops saying this
:06:14. > :06:19.is a fantastic -- 58 workshops saying this is a fantastic deal. The
:06:20. > :06:24.workshops that were held were about renewable energy. It was a scheme,
:06:25. > :06:28.as far as I was concerned, for any party was concerned it was a fine
:06:29. > :06:32.scheme. Once my party knew about it, action was taken. Within ten days
:06:33. > :06:38.the scheme was shut down. Other parties voted to keep the scheme
:06:39. > :06:44.open - You didn't know any of the details from 2010 on? I want to
:06:45. > :06:48.point out why that's a problem. The DUP very clearly and we've heard
:06:49. > :06:53.from counterclaim and claim within the DUP, Johnny Bell in particular,
:06:54. > :06:59.the DUP were withholding information from their government partners. What
:07:00. > :07:02.lessons can be learned... Martin McGuinness was fully aware of the
:07:03. > :07:08.scheme in January 2016. 5th February. That's months before the
:07:09. > :07:14.last Assembly election. Why was it not an issue at the last Assembly
:07:15. > :07:21.election? You will get a chance. We've heard Michelle that the DUP
:07:22. > :07:26.wanted to keep the scheme open. The DUP wanted it closed. No, no, I will
:07:27. > :07:30.let you come back on it. What lessons are to be learned? Arlene
:07:31. > :07:33.doesn't seem to have learned any lessons by the sound of the words
:07:34. > :07:37.coming out of her tonight. It's I disgrace in the way that we've got
:07:38. > :07:39.to this situation. What Arlene did in setting up the scheme is she
:07:40. > :07:43.changed the scheme from the British model to take out the cost controls.
:07:44. > :07:53.That has to be remembered. It's good now, we've got a public inquiry.
:07:54. > :07:59.Both Arlene and Sinn Fein opposed the public inquiry - Did you vote to
:08:00. > :08:03.keep it open? We voted to keep the scheme open. Your party said we were
:08:04. > :08:08.shameful for closing it down. Let me make this point, I agree with Arlene
:08:09. > :08:11.Foster on one thing, Sinn Fein knew either last January or last
:08:12. > :08:16.February, was it February? Last February. We went into an election
:08:17. > :08:20.and they didn't tell the public the full extent of the black hole in the
:08:21. > :08:22.finances. They didn't tell us. We went into negotiation about the
:08:23. > :08:26.programme for government, in fact. We were able to meet every single
:08:27. > :08:30.Permanent Secretary in the Northern Ireland Civil Service, apart from
:08:31. > :08:34.one. The finance department. They wouldn't let us meet the finance
:08:35. > :08:38.Permanent Secretary. There was no request. That's not true. There was
:08:39. > :08:41.a question to meet every single Permanent Secretary. They wouldn't
:08:42. > :08:44.let us. Now we know why. There's a huge black hole in the public
:08:45. > :08:48.finances. We got here because of arrogance. We got here because of
:08:49. > :08:53.mismanagement. What we have to do is learn the lessons, as the questioner
:08:54. > :08:57.asked. We need to curb the number of special advisors that we have. Far
:08:58. > :09:00.too many for a place of this size curb their pay and their power. That
:09:01. > :09:03.would be a damn good start in solving some of the problems we have
:09:04. > :09:07.in the public government. Naomi Long, lessons to be learned? I think
:09:08. > :09:14.the first lesson that we can all learn is if you elect people on the
:09:15. > :09:18.false premise they will go into the executive to defend unionism or
:09:19. > :09:24.nationalism they might not be the right people to run the government.
:09:25. > :09:28.They're not running it on the basis of their ability, competence. From
:09:29. > :09:32.my perspective it's clear, what we need to learn from this is to elect
:09:33. > :09:35.people who we believe - We can only elect people who stand. You've got
:09:36. > :09:40.to elect people who can deliver good government. There are people who are
:09:41. > :09:44.standing, not least in my own party, but in others, who are capable of
:09:45. > :09:50.delivering good government. That should be the basis for making good
:09:51. > :09:53.decisions in this election. How does that relate to RHI specifically? It
:09:54. > :09:56.relates specifically because what we heard at the last election was that
:09:57. > :10:01.we needed a strong leader of unionism. That same strong leader of
:10:02. > :10:04.unionism presided over chaos within this scheme, presided over scheme in
:10:05. > :10:08.terms of how it was handled. And didn't actually deal - This is chaos
:10:09. > :10:13.with hindsight. No not with hindsight. It's chaos in the here
:10:14. > :10:18.and now, because actually, when this was raised as part of the executive
:10:19. > :10:21.issues coming over the last number of months, it could have been
:10:22. > :10:27.handled better. It could have been handled differently. It could have
:10:28. > :10:29.been handled within government without election if people would
:10:30. > :10:33.have worked with the issues. They failed. The basis on which people
:10:34. > :10:37.seek election is not on their competence and fitness to govern,
:10:38. > :10:41.it's traditionally been on trying to frighten people in voting for them.
:10:42. > :10:44.If you vote on that basis, you may not get the best people. Mike
:10:45. > :10:49.Nesbitt? It's worning pointing out to your audience, particularly in
:10:50. > :10:54.Great Britain, that this is costing ?85,000 a day. That's going up in
:10:55. > :10:59.smoke needlessly. Some controls have been introduced already on that.
:11:00. > :11:02.Well the difficulty with saying that we can control this, as Arlene
:11:03. > :11:06.Foster is claiming, is that people in good faith, went to the banks,
:11:07. > :11:10.borrowed significant money to buy the kit, the new boilers and the
:11:11. > :11:14.banks were in receipt of a letter from Mrs Foster saying this is a
:11:15. > :11:18.good thing and saying that the tariffs were grandfathered and that
:11:19. > :11:23.they would not be changed under any circumstances. 12. 5%. Over the
:11:24. > :11:28.remaining 19 years of the scheme. There is a huge problem there. You
:11:29. > :11:34.can answer that. If there's a lesson to be learned it is this: We need
:11:35. > :11:38.the end to ten years of government hall marked by arrogance, cronyism
:11:39. > :11:43.and the strong whiff of corruption. It is time for change. A couple of
:11:44. > :11:49.issues there for you both. Michelle O'Neill, even as late as February of
:11:50. > :11:53.last year, Connor Murphy said he wanted the scheme kept open for two
:11:54. > :11:59.more weeks. That was after the limits had been put on, the new
:12:00. > :12:02.tariff had been established. He still wanted, as Colum Eastwood
:12:03. > :12:07.said, there was an election looming and Sinn Fein were still supporting
:12:08. > :12:13.the scheme. Let's be clear. As soon as I became aware on February 5, so
:12:14. > :12:18.did his minister in the executive. That's absolutely true. That's not
:12:19. > :12:22.true. It was dealt with by emergency procedures. We voted to shut the
:12:23. > :12:26.scheme down straight away within ten days. Why didn't you tell the public
:12:27. > :12:30.about it? Sinn Fein with the other parties voted to keep the scheme
:12:31. > :12:34.open for two more weeks to allow the small contractors who submitted
:12:35. > :12:38.money and were going to go bankrupt to deal with the back log. Other
:12:39. > :12:44.parties voted to keep the scheme open. A different scheme! At this
:12:45. > :12:47.stage the public purse was committed to the money. They wanted to keep
:12:48. > :12:50.going. You didn't come out and say this has been a scandal, we're going
:12:51. > :12:54.to bring the government of Northern Ireland down over this? We
:12:55. > :13:00.participated responsibly - The scheme was so good, that's why they
:13:01. > :13:05.had to close it. Connor Murphy brought it to the controller. Why in
:13:06. > :13:09.December, was the issue which you say you brought down the Assembly?
:13:10. > :13:12.Let me tell you. Johnny Bell made a public appearance and a media show
:13:13. > :13:15.to tell the world that the DUP were up to their necks in trying to hide
:13:16. > :13:19.the flaws of the scheme, that they knew about it from the July
:13:20. > :13:23.previous. Of course, Martin McGuinness had to act. He didn't
:13:24. > :13:28.know any that before? Absolutely he didn't. As soon as the programme was
:13:29. > :13:33.done, we had the claims from within the DUP, among themselves about what
:13:34. > :13:36.had happened, Martin McGuinness acted and shut the scheme down. Sinn
:13:37. > :13:39.Fein was the only person that could deal with the issue of the DUP and
:13:40. > :13:43.their arrogance and how they responded to the public. People are
:13:44. > :13:47.angry. We spent the last six weeks on the doors talking to people.
:13:48. > :13:50.People are angry at the arrogance, the disrespect, the contempt for the
:13:51. > :13:53.public. The DUP can't even recognise they did something absolutely wrong.
:13:54. > :13:58.Arrogance, disrespect and Colonel tempt, Arlene Foster? -- contempt. I
:13:59. > :14:02.have to deal with the allegations of corruption as well - Allegations of,
:14:03. > :14:07.there have been plenty of allegations, nothing more than that.
:14:08. > :14:12.There's no evidence - But plenty of allegations. Here's the reality.
:14:13. > :14:15.Would it not been more intelligent, better to have the public inquiry
:14:16. > :14:19.first and then had the election? Because then we would have had the
:14:20. > :14:23.full facts for everybody to make a judgment. Instead what - We could
:14:24. > :14:28.have had an inquiry if you had stepped aside. What we've had is
:14:29. > :14:32.political manoeuvring from Sinn Fein. What about a wee bit of
:14:33. > :14:35.respect Michelle, just saying. APPLAUSE
:14:36. > :14:37.What about respect for the public, Arlene.
:14:38. > :14:43.APPLAUSE What we need to do is to have...
:14:44. > :14:47.Instead of all the smears, the splil smearing that has gone -- political
:14:48. > :14:50.smearing that has gone on, I may be the target of this, but the people
:14:51. > :14:54.of Northern Ireland are the victims. We have a Health Service with
:14:55. > :14:56.waiting lists going up all the time and the Health Minister seems
:14:57. > :15:00.content. I want to bring the audience in. Gentleman at the back.
:15:01. > :15:07.I accept that all the politicians and all the leaders need to know as
:15:08. > :15:10.much as they possibly can. What I can't understand is how the
:15:11. > :15:13.government members in particular, who have the inside track don't seem
:15:14. > :15:18.to have communicated with each other about this. They don't seem to have
:15:19. > :15:21.informed each other. It seems to have been hidden by them. It could
:15:22. > :15:24.have been out before the last election and it wasn't. Here we are
:15:25. > :15:28.having the election on the basis of this again. When this first
:15:29. > :15:31.happened, when the scheme first went through in Stormont, it went through
:15:32. > :15:35.as a scheme that only pertained to one department. It didn't require
:15:36. > :15:38.executive sign-off. When it became a scheme and got into trouble and
:15:39. > :15:41.affected the executive on the basis of the finance it's was taken
:15:42. > :15:46.through by emergency procedure. So it never came in front of the
:15:47. > :15:49.executive. Other colleagues who sat on the executive were not informed
:15:50. > :15:53.of how bad the scheme was. Worse than that, they were lied to in the
:15:54. > :15:55.chamber because people stood up at the time, when the scheme was
:15:56. > :16:00.closing, and said it was being closed because it was a runaway
:16:01. > :16:03.success, when in fact, it was a catastrophic failure of government.
:16:04. > :16:08.Now when you lie to your colleagues in government and you don't share
:16:09. > :16:12.the full facts, you can't start after the event - There was a huge
:16:13. > :16:17.take up of what seemed to be a very good scheme.
:16:18. > :16:23.But it wasn't delivering what people wanted. I don't think anybody
:16:24. > :16:29.believes it was good for the environment. People were running
:16:30. > :16:33.boilers with windows open. People were being incentivised to use more
:16:34. > :16:40.fuel rather than less. The point of this is it was not brought to the
:16:41. > :16:46.Executive. Noel it was brought to the Assembly and scrutinised by the
:16:47. > :16:54.committees. We had no member... Let me bring a few more members of
:16:55. > :16:59.audience in. I signed for a mortgage and since paid off, I signed to pay
:17:00. > :17:04.so much over a period of time. I don't recall I could just walk into
:17:05. > :17:08.the bank and say, I have changed my mind, I'm not paying, I can't
:17:09. > :17:13.understand how the Government can sign up, people can take out a
:17:14. > :17:19.contract on a scheme that was backed by we had letters to the lenders. It
:17:20. > :17:25.is going to be scrapped and you're getting less. I don't think it is
:17:26. > :17:32.going to be scrapped. Yes. The question was what have you learned,
:17:33. > :17:34.it is clear Arlene Foster has learned nothing, she deflected, her
:17:35. > :17:39.answer was not about what she learned, but went to deflect and
:17:40. > :17:44.qualify about facts and what she is going to do about cost controls.
:17:45. > :17:49.What have you learned. So facts aren't important? We should have had
:17:50. > :17:57.fact finding. We have had the verdict... You wouldn't stand aside
:17:58. > :18:03.for a public inquiry. Yes, because it was a Sinn Fein demand and
:18:04. > :18:06.because of that, that was put there for a particular reason, why I
:18:07. > :18:12.didn't stand aside, I wanted to fix it. Everybody knows that. I wanted
:18:13. > :18:15.to fix the problem. When you're a politician, you should try and fix
:18:16. > :18:24.the issue, instead of walking away. That is what I was trying to do. One
:18:25. > :18:31.last comment. Can I just ask, the SDLP was it not the chair person of
:18:32. > :18:36.that committee that oversaw that, was it not Patsy McGlone. I sit on
:18:37. > :18:42.committees and surely this could have been brought to them sooner?
:18:43. > :18:47.Exactly. Any committee can only work on the information that they get.
:18:48. > :18:51.And it is clear now the nobody in this audience, nobody watching the
:18:52. > :18:56.show, knew about the black hole in the public finances at the last
:18:57. > :19:03.election. And it was kept away from other parties and kept between two
:19:04. > :19:06.parties. Yeses... Everybody knew at the same time. That is not true and
:19:07. > :19:13.you know it is not true. I do know... The Sinn Fein and DUP kept
:19:14. > :19:19.to it themselves and went into the election and told nobody and they
:19:20. > :19:22.denied opposition parties access to the permanent Secretary of the
:19:23. > :19:28.finance department. Now we all know why. Thank you. We are going to
:19:29. > :19:34.leave that one there. Our second question is from Thomas. Is this the
:19:35. > :19:44.first election where there will be significant cross community transfer
:19:45. > :19:49.of votes? A single transferable vote and you can vote for whoever you
:19:50. > :19:55.want. Mike Nesbitt said he would be voting outside the tribe and vote
:19:56. > :20:05.for an SDLP candidate and he got a lot of flak from it. Any regrets?
:20:06. > :20:09.No, what I'm encouraging is people to vote Ulster unionist one or two
:20:10. > :20:14.and then vote for any candidate that you trust will do right by your
:20:15. > :20:19.community and this country. I think this is the first election in the
:20:20. > :20:22.hisry of Northern Ireland -- history of Northern Ireland where it will be
:20:23. > :20:28.possible to sack your Government and give a turn to the opposition there.
:20:29. > :20:32.Hasn't been an official opposition since devolution returned in 1998
:20:33. > :20:36.and of course previously with the old Stormont rule, the unionists
:20:37. > :20:40.always won and it was majority rule. We are not going back there. You
:20:41. > :20:48.have a real opportunity this time to say, I am going to vote not orange
:20:49. > :20:52.or green, I'm going to vote as a referendum on the RHI scandal and
:20:53. > :20:57.ten years of the DUP and Sinn Fein running the Government. If you
:20:58. > :21:01.like... If you want to diskss this with your party, did you? If you
:21:02. > :21:08.like what they have done, give them another mandate. Your own party
:21:09. > :21:16.doesn't like what you said. Did you not consult can them before you went
:21:17. > :21:21.on this? The party does like whey said, vote Ulster unionist. Danny
:21:22. > :21:25.said I want to go down the unionist ticket, that is consistent with me
:21:26. > :21:31.saying trust the people in your local community. He knows his local
:21:32. > :21:39.community and it would be hypocritical of me to vote for the
:21:40. > :21:47.former speaker. Given the criticism I levelled at him. You didn't
:21:48. > :21:53.discuss it with anybody. Leadership involves leading. And usually a bit
:21:54. > :21:57.of consultation. I'm leading and people nowhere I stand, but more
:21:58. > :22:03.importantly, I am focussed on the fact that this is an opportunity to
:22:04. > :22:07.bring about change, away from two parties who only share space power
:22:08. > :22:15.and responsibility, because the law says they have to and to two parties
:22:16. > :22:21.that will share this. Some thought you were less than gracious in your
:22:22. > :22:26.response to Mike, especially since 11% of SDLP transfers in last
:22:27. > :22:32.election came from Ulster unionists. #10i9 is already happening. Yes, the
:22:33. > :22:38.public are ahead of us. Well ahead of you. I have said people will vote
:22:39. > :22:41.for change and hopefully they will vote for us in the first preference
:22:42. > :22:45.and transfer for change for candidates who are willing to make
:22:46. > :22:49.this place work. What Mike said was brave and the response to that from
:22:50. > :22:54.some was very unfortunate. Those people are behind where the people
:22:55. > :22:59.are. People in the North are voting across community and transferring
:23:00. > :23:04.and I'm an Irish nationalist, Mike Nesbitt is a unionist. I won't be
:23:05. > :23:09.less of a nationalist if I transfer across community, it doesn't affect
:23:10. > :23:17.my nationalism. It is the kind of politics we need to embrace. We had
:23:18. > :23:23.power sharing that means unionists and nationalists work together and
:23:24. > :23:28.it is time we embrace a work out how we can make Northern Ireland work.
:23:29. > :23:33.The problem, if we vote for Sinn Fein and the DUP, all we can see is
:23:34. > :23:37.red lines and that means direct lines. If people want devolution
:23:38. > :23:44.they should vote for people who make this work. Arlene Foster, you said
:23:45. > :23:48.it is dangerous to transfer out of your tribe. What I have said is that
:23:49. > :23:52.this election will be close. All of the polls are saying it and all the
:23:53. > :23:57.papers say it. It will be neck and neck between Sinn Fein and the DUP.
:23:58. > :24:02.That being the case, it is dangerous talk, because what you're going to
:24:03. > :24:06.end up for if you vote for the Ulster unionist and transfer to the
:24:07. > :24:11.SDLP, you're ensuring more nationalists are coming in. I make
:24:12. > :24:18.no apology for the fact I want to see the maximum number of unionists
:24:19. > :24:24.in. There is confidence for you. I'm a unionist first and foremost. You
:24:25. > :24:28.didn't want too see the maximum number of nationalists. It is not
:24:29. > :24:36.about a border poll. Would you not like to see the maximum number of
:24:37. > :24:40.nationalists? Arlene's unionism is so strong she is putsing out
:24:41. > :24:44.leaflets with a darkened down picture of Gerry Adams and talking
:24:45. > :24:50.about Gerry Adams more than anybody else. That is what people are fed up
:24:51. > :24:58.and... I haven't mentioned Gerry Adams. Makes a change. Thank you are
:24:59. > :25:03.for doing it. You mentioned him 32 time, Gerry Adams 12 times and Sinn
:25:04. > :25:08.Fein 32 times in your manifesto launch. I haven't mentioned him
:25:09. > :25:15.tonight, but thank you for doing that Noel. I couldn't hear kwha you
:25:16. > :25:18.said. I said thank you for mentioning it, it is important
:25:19. > :25:23.people know the consequences of transferring that you will have more
:25:24. > :25:28.nationalists in the Assembly and that is the reality. Nobody, no
:25:29. > :25:36.commentator, no serious commentator is saying that a vote for Mike and
:25:37. > :25:44.you get Colum. If you vote for Mike, you will get Michelle. What's wrong
:25:45. > :25:49.with me. People voted for you and they got Martin McGuinness and he
:25:50. > :25:59.wrote your resignation letter. How... Where would you transfer to?
:26:00. > :26:05.I won't be the first election the we have fought on the basis of cross...
:26:06. > :26:11.You have got 11% of transfers in 2016. . We draw from across the
:26:12. > :26:16.community, people... That is not the question. Who would you transfer
:26:17. > :26:21.your vote to. The question was is the first election that will be
:26:22. > :26:26.fought on tla basis. I say no not for the Alliance Party. I'm glad
:26:27. > :26:32.that others are talking about co-operating on the basis of doing
:26:33. > :26:37.so voluntarily, rather than doing it holding their nose. You don't think
:26:38. > :26:43.it whether it matters if you transfer to a unionist or
:26:44. > :26:46.nationalist. No what matters is you transfer to somebody that wants to
:26:47. > :26:51.build a liberal society and it willing after the election, because
:26:52. > :26:55.is the is what counts, to make the Assembly work for people in Northern
:26:56. > :27:00.Ireland and we tell our people to vote alliance first and then for
:27:01. > :27:04.other candidates. Does it mat Fer Sinn Fein becomes the largest party?
:27:05. > :27:08.What difference does it make? No one has told us what difference it
:27:09. > :27:15.makes. It is amazing the DUP when you're at their Conference are all
:27:16. > :27:19.about confident unionism, and then every election, unionism has not
:27:20. > :27:23.been in such trouble. It is time they stopped playing the politics of
:27:24. > :27:27.fear and owned up that they have nothing else to offer than fear and
:27:28. > :27:31.I think people are tired of trying to be pulled back into the ditches
:27:32. > :27:36.over this and they want to move forward and to vote on the basis of
:27:37. > :27:40.vision and to vote on the basis of something positive. We will tell
:27:41. > :27:44.people who vote Alliance to transfer to other people who are offering
:27:45. > :27:54.something positive. Michelle O'Neill who would you ask your voters to
:27:55. > :27:58.transfer to? We are out to seek the largest mandate, no one, Sinn Fein
:27:59. > :28:04.wants to represent everybody and make sure... You want a united
:28:05. > :28:09.Ireland so, unionists have something to fear. No we signed up to the
:28:10. > :28:17.principle of consent and it is my job to convince others that we...
:28:18. > :28:22.Who do we transfer to. That we could be better off. In terms of who I
:28:23. > :28:29.would want to transfer to, our own party. After that, you see any party
:28:30. > :28:38.that is progressive and anti-Brexit. People for profit? The they're not
:28:39. > :28:45.in the same position on Brexit. I would say vote for progressive
:28:46. > :28:51.parties and people that are view to your values of integrity and
:28:52. > :28:58.anticorruption. I want to come back quickly, what do you have to fear
:28:59. > :29:03.from Sinn Fein? Well they want to implement their radical Republican
:29:04. > :29:08.agenda. I want... Nothing to fear of a united Ireland. And nothing about
:29:09. > :29:12.my five point plan for Northern Ireland. She said we have nothing to
:29:13. > :29:16.positive to offer. If you look at our five-point plan, we want to see
:29:17. > :29:26.more and better jobs and an infrastructure that is world class,
:29:27. > :29:34.a good education. That could be a Sinn Fein manifesto. I spent
:29:35. > :29:38.three... I spent. I sprent 3,000 words talking about it at my
:29:39. > :29:42.manifesto launch but you want to talk about Gerry Adams. The words
:29:43. > :29:47.are there. I didn't talk about crocodiles. That was at my campaign.
:29:48. > :29:53.You wouldn't take questions at the manifesto launch. The gentleman at
:29:54. > :29:59.the back. I'm one of approximately 45% of people who didn't vote last
:30:00. > :30:05.time. Three of our leaders here have convinced that I want to vote.
:30:06. > :30:10.Simply because they're talking in terms of true partnership and
:30:11. > :30:17.leadership. And three out of five have convinced they want to work
:30:18. > :30:20.together for the sake of Northern Ireland and uniting it, two others
:30:21. > :30:28.are wanting to divide Northern Ireland. Name names.
:30:29. > :30:33.Michelle and Arlene will never see eye to eye. It's negative leadership
:30:34. > :30:38.all the way. Gentleman here in the blue. Michelle O'Neill was saying
:30:39. > :30:42.she wants for both sides of the community to help build a united
:30:43. > :30:46.Ireland together, but her party leader Gerry Adams cam out and
:30:47. > :30:49.called my community orange and I'm not going to repeat his abusive
:30:50. > :30:54.language towards my community. That's not telling me that you want
:30:55. > :30:57.to reach out. Also, disagree with my Colum Eastwood. I believe
:30:58. > :31:04.transferring the vote isn't important especially in this
:31:05. > :31:09.election. I'm a Unionist. I want most unionists elections returned.
:31:10. > :31:13.In tight councils - Hurry it up a little please. If you don't have
:31:14. > :31:19.enough unionists, people vote and take dob the flag. That shows our
:31:20. > :31:23.identity. Gentleman there. I'd like to ask the leaders who on the panel
:31:24. > :31:28.would be willing to sacrifice their wish for a united Ireland or United
:31:29. > :31:31.Kingdom if it meant that all of the community had better health care,
:31:32. > :31:36.better education and a better life? Would you sacrifice that aim? That
:31:37. > :31:41.is a retorical question at the moment. I won't go round everybody,
:31:42. > :31:46.but we will do our best. Question number three. You are a student
:31:47. > :31:49.representative. Can you tell us what you believe that our specific
:31:50. > :31:54.priorities should be in the upcoming Brexit negotiations? Brexit, of
:31:55. > :31:58.course, is on everybody's lips, I suppose. Martin McGuinness said that
:31:59. > :32:04.people are talking about no border of the past but we've got the border
:32:05. > :32:08.of the future coming at us. What can anyone do Michelle O'Neill in hiss
:32:09. > :32:12.situation to influence Brexit? We have no voice. We don't even have
:32:13. > :32:16.the Secretary of State on the Brexit committee. You're absolutely right.
:32:17. > :32:20.That's why I have engaged in theure even level. Those in the British
:32:21. > :32:25.Government dictate the terms of Brexit. It will not be up to them,
:32:26. > :32:28.despite what Theresa May says. We need to engage with Europe on the
:32:29. > :32:32.member states that have a vote in terms of what happens next. This is
:32:33. > :32:36.unprecedented. Clearly, it's catastrophic for the island of
:32:37. > :32:42.Ireland. One issue I've raised with the Taoiseach is that he needs to
:32:43. > :32:47.step up in the interest of Ireland. There's free movement of people
:32:48. > :32:49.across this Ireland and in relation to undermining the Good Friday
:32:50. > :32:52.Agreement. One of the things they're most proud of is the fact they've
:32:53. > :32:57.played our part in the peace process. We need to go out and
:32:58. > :33:01.engage in Europe. I think it's disappointing and disgraceful again
:33:02. > :33:05.that the DUP have taken a stance that turns their face against the
:33:06. > :33:08.majority of people here who voted to remain in Europe. We have seen that
:33:09. > :33:13.we should have been paid to take that stance. That is disgusting. It
:33:14. > :33:16.shows that again, the DUP in terms of allegations of corruption and
:33:17. > :33:21.arrogance and how they conduct themselves in business, that is not
:33:22. > :33:26.acceptable. Would you take your Westminster seats to vote on Brexit
:33:27. > :33:29.issues? It's clear that anybody who has taken their Westminster seats,
:33:30. > :33:33.we wobt. It will not make any difference. We're not being listened
:33:34. > :33:36.to out there. All the MPs taking their seats will be ineffective.
:33:37. > :33:42.Naomi Long you're talking about special status. You want to be still
:33:43. > :33:46.in the single market, still in the customs union, still have access to
:33:47. > :33:49.structural funds and the right to EU citizenship to anyone born in
:33:50. > :33:54.Northern Ireland. Are you ignoring the fact that the Brexit referendum
:33:55. > :33:56.took place and Brexit is Brexit. We are dealing with the practical
:33:57. > :34:02.challenges that Northern Ireland face. What we are doing is eting is
:34:03. > :34:06.out our pitch, unlike others we have produced a paper. It's La La Land to
:34:07. > :34:09.coin a phrase. It is absolutely not. It's our pitch for what Northern
:34:10. > :34:12.Ireland needs. Access to the customs union is important in terms of the
:34:13. > :34:16.cost - You may think it's what Northern Ireland needs. There's no
:34:17. > :34:20.chance of your getting it. You don't know that, with all due respect. You
:34:21. > :34:23.won't be round the table when the negotiations take place. I don't
:34:24. > :34:26.need to convince you. I into Ed to convince the Irish government and
:34:27. > :34:30.the 27 other EU states. And British Government who have said there's no
:34:31. > :34:34.special status. The British Government can say that they want.
:34:35. > :34:37.They don't have a plan. They are going to be round the table and they
:34:38. > :34:40.have said no special status. They don't have a plan that includes
:34:41. > :34:43.Northern Ireland or takes our issues seriously. We do. So we will be
:34:44. > :34:46.taking that to the other nations within Europe. We will be taking
:34:47. > :34:50.that to the Irish government as we have. We're listening, very
:34:51. > :34:54.carefully to those who do business on a cross-border basis to the
:34:55. > :34:57.challenges they will face. I believe we can get special arrangements,
:34:58. > :35:02.believe it or not. There is goodwill in the European Union for Northern
:35:03. > :35:06.Ireland. People recognise that we are pro-EU region. They recognise
:35:07. > :35:09.the importance of Europe in terms of actually helping our peace process.
:35:10. > :35:12.I think they are willing to be more flexible that people give them
:35:13. > :35:17.credit for. One of the good things about the EU that's often overlooked
:35:18. > :35:19.is it's ability to work round difficult issues and find bespoke
:35:20. > :35:22.solutions. I don't think it's unreasonable for us to go and fight
:35:23. > :35:26.our corner for a bespoke solution. If you're going to say that the
:35:27. > :35:30.answer to this is to lie down and give up and let Theresa May - I'm
:35:31. > :35:34.not saying anything of the sort. And let Theresa May give us a hard
:35:35. > :35:38.border and all the other things, that's not the kind of politics that
:35:39. > :35:44.I want to do. Colum Eastwood, you want join British-Irish rule to give
:35:45. > :35:48.us, assuming there's no government after the election. I want a
:35:49. > :35:51.government here first of all. Failing that, you've asked for joint
:35:52. > :35:54.British-Irish rule to give us a voice at the Brexit table. That's
:35:55. > :35:59.another solution, isn't it? No, it's not. What are we supposed to do? If
:36:00. > :36:04.we elect the DUP and Shane feign, who can't form a government, are we
:36:05. > :36:07.supposed to say over to you Theresa May, you lead this hard Brexit and
:36:08. > :36:10.destroy all the hopes and dreams of people here? Destroy our peace
:36:11. > :36:14.process, destroy our economic process. That may be what you have
:36:15. > :36:17.to do. That's why I've spent the last number of months travelling
:36:18. > :36:21.around Europe meeting the heads of our sister parties from across
:36:22. > :36:24.Europe, many of them Presidents and prime ministers to push the case for
:36:25. > :36:27.special status for citizens here. Remember the vast majority of people
:36:28. > :36:30.living in Northern Ireland are entitled to be European citizens.
:36:31. > :36:33.That has to be respected. We have to be able to move freely and do
:36:34. > :36:37.business freely across the European Union. If we don't get that, this
:36:38. > :36:40.will become an economic black water and it will threaten our peace
:36:41. > :36:43.process. Anybody who says differently are living in La La
:36:44. > :36:47.Land, as you said. I put the same point to you, though, the bring
:36:48. > :36:51.Government have said there will be no special status. It's not up to
:36:52. > :36:53.them. It's between the British Government and the EU, the
:36:54. > :36:56.negotiations. The British Government don't know what they want. They
:36:57. > :37:00.don't have a clue. Their position changes every single day. What I've
:37:01. > :37:03.been doing is speaking to the Irish government, speaking to governments
:37:04. > :37:07.across Europe to press the case for the special status that we require.
:37:08. > :37:10.Can you call it whatever you want. It's protecting citizens here,
:37:11. > :37:13.protecting communities and protecting businesses. That's what
:37:14. > :37:16.we have to be involved in. We are the representatives of the people
:37:17. > :37:20.here who voted to remain in the European Union. Our job is to
:37:21. > :37:25.protect them not to vote to get them out. It's unfortunate, though, that
:37:26. > :37:28.our executive did nothing when they were in post, unlike the Scottish
:37:29. > :37:32.government and Welsh government. Specific priorities was the
:37:33. > :37:35.question. We have ten asks that we published back in September when we
:37:36. > :37:38.produced our own document, a vision for Northern Ireland outside of the
:37:39. > :37:43.European Union. I would make this point to you, Noel, as we sit here,
:37:44. > :37:47.at the end of February, the UK Government has a white paper looking
:37:48. > :37:52.at Brexit. The Scottish Government has a paper. The Welsh Government
:37:53. > :37:58.has a paper. The Dublin Government has a paper. Our Government
:37:59. > :38:03.prodoused a blank sheet. We produced a paper. The key asks are things
:38:04. > :38:06.like access to the sing the market, the common travel area. And other
:38:07. > :38:10.areas like infrastructure, where we're very weak. Treble investment
:38:11. > :38:14.in infrastructure. DUP say your proposals are uncosted and untested.
:38:15. > :38:19.The DUP campaigned to come out of the European Union on the basis that
:38:20. > :38:23.we would repat reiate billions and billions and billions of sterling
:38:24. > :38:27.annually from Brussels. Where is the negotiation that say to Mrs May, you
:38:28. > :38:31.must take some of that lump of money and give it to us for things like
:38:32. > :38:35.skills and infrastructure? All that's available on our website.
:38:36. > :38:42.It's a terrible shame that we are not negotiating. I took our document
:38:43. > :38:45.to Mrs May in Downing Street. She understands our particular
:38:46. > :38:52.circumstances - Listens so intently, she has it on the back page of her
:38:53. > :38:54.document. She gave us one wee mention in the annexe. The British
:38:55. > :39:00.Government will not dictate the terms. Arlene Foster, you sent a
:39:01. > :39:07.joint letter with Martin McGuinness talking about access to migrant
:39:08. > :39:14.labour, cross-border crime and peace process, must continue to be dealt
:39:15. > :39:18.with. Are you pro or anti? We are a pro-Brexit party and have been for
:39:19. > :39:23.40 years, unlike Mike's party who changed at the Brexit debate, well,
:39:24. > :39:27.sorry, Mike changed. His party were mostly for coming out of the
:39:28. > :39:30.European Union. You do not know that. Maybe you should speak to your
:39:31. > :39:37.members, because I do. They were for coming out. What do the public say.
:39:38. > :39:40.Old friends of yours, of course. Where she gets her policies from.
:39:41. > :39:44.I'm certainly not taking any of yours. Can I say to you, we
:39:45. > :39:49.campaigned for Brexit. We believe in Brexit. We believe in global UK. We
:39:50. > :39:52.want to be a part of that. We're positive about it. You believe in
:39:53. > :39:56.spending other people's money to bring it about. We believe in
:39:57. > :39:59.flexibility and innovation, something not existing in the
:40:00. > :40:02.European Union. We will work with the Government, not against the
:40:03. > :40:06.Government to bring about a Brexit that is good for Northern Ireland.
:40:07. > :40:09.Of course, the DUP is the best placed party to bring about a good
:40:10. > :40:12.deal for Northern Ireland, because of our influence at Westminster.
:40:13. > :40:16.Michelle says she's not going to go to Westminster. We do have
:40:17. > :40:21.Westminster MPs. Will you respond to the claim that taking ?400,000 out
:40:22. > :40:25.from the constitutional research council for the newspaper adverts in
:40:26. > :40:29.England was despicable. No, of course it wasn't. We registered,
:40:30. > :40:35.unlike any of the other parties - We registered. Maybe you tell us about
:40:36. > :40:38.your donations then. Where did this money come from? There's another
:40:39. > :40:43.story out tonight breaking - You've had your chance to speak. Can you
:40:44. > :40:48.defend that. We've been entirely open as to where the money comes
:40:49. > :40:52.from. It comes from the constitutional research - no, it
:40:53. > :40:56.wasn't. That is so... That's wrong. You made a commitment that you would
:40:57. > :40:59.publish - We have published this. You said you would publish this
:41:00. > :41:05.around your donors in your manifesto. Have you published your
:41:06. > :41:09.donors? Yes, we have. You have published one. Neither has anyone
:41:10. > :41:13.else of course. Let's not stick on that. A couple of comments from the
:41:14. > :41:17.audience. We publish ours voluntarily. I don't know how
:41:18. > :41:24.anybody can trust a party who took such a large donation to campaign
:41:25. > :41:27.for Brexit, while sitting on a report on Brexit for Northern
:41:28. > :41:33.Ireland. I have no idea what you're talking about. I think it was summed
:41:34. > :41:40.up the other night, Brexit at any cost. The DUP have gapbled with all
:41:41. > :41:43.our futures -- gambled. It's interesting how Mike and Colum talk
:41:44. > :41:47.about working together. I'm quite tempted to go for that. Brexit shows
:41:48. > :41:51.how can you work together when you are so different on such a major
:41:52. > :41:55.issue facing us? That joint letter was a sign there was some
:41:56. > :41:58.preparedness to work together. Again, we've run out of time on that
:41:59. > :42:02.question. Thank you ladies and gentleman. We move on to the fourth
:42:03. > :42:09.question. Sarah, you are in marketing. Good evening. Given the
:42:10. > :42:14.failure of the parties to continue running Stormont, is direct rule now
:42:15. > :42:19.inevitable post election? Well, that was a big question, of course. Colum
:42:20. > :42:24.Eastwood, you have said a protracted period of direct rule looks
:42:25. > :42:28.inevitable. Is it so inevitable? It is only inevitable if people vote
:42:29. > :42:31.for the DUP and Sinn Fein, who have put down red lines everywhere.
:42:32. > :42:34.They've said they can't work together, they can't get the deal
:42:35. > :42:38.done. If we end up with direct rile, it's going to be a very difficult to
:42:39. > :42:42.put this back together again. We should vote for parties who want to
:42:43. > :42:45.work together on day one. We're not putting down red lines here. We want
:42:46. > :42:50.to get into government to tackle the issues and challenges around Brexit,
:42:51. > :42:54.the tackle the issues in the Health Service, not put up barriers to
:42:55. > :42:56.progress. The idea of handing back power, so hard fought for, to the
:42:57. > :43:02.British Government, who are intent on destroying our Health Service,
:43:03. > :43:06.intent on taking us into a hard Brexit, putting up barriers across
:43:07. > :43:09.this Ireland will be a real shame. We're in a battle to protect
:43:10. > :43:14.devolution, to protect power sharing. Don't let anybody tell us,
:43:15. > :43:19.any commentator or poster tell You Know Yourself don't have -- tell you
:43:20. > :43:22.you don't have the power. They can maintain devolution and power
:43:23. > :43:29.sharing and stop direct rule. You have said there were no red lines.
:43:30. > :43:32.Then your MLA said of course, there's the Irish Act, the legacy
:43:33. > :43:37.issues, the Bill of Rights, a whole list of red lines. Which is your
:43:38. > :43:40.position? I've always said that we won't negotiate our red lines in
:43:41. > :43:44.public. Everybody has red lines. It's interesting that it's only Sinn
:43:45. > :43:50.Fein that only gets asked about red lines. Colum Eastwood says he
:43:51. > :44:01.doesn't have red lines. I think it's a nonence. Hold on. Was has this to
:44:02. > :44:06.do with forming a government. ALL TALK AT ONCE Let's talk about
:44:07. > :44:09.possibly forming a government. I'll come back to that. That is the
:44:10. > :44:13.question. I don't want you to come back to it. That is the question. If
:44:14. > :44:17.you'll let me finish. I want you to answer the question. I'm asking for
:44:18. > :44:21.the strongest mandate for Sinn Fein to go into the negotiations to deal
:44:22. > :44:25.with the issues. To demand what? There's no public appetite for a
:44:26. > :44:29.gnaw agreement. What we need, the reason we're in the scenario we are
:44:30. > :44:32.in today is because of a failure to implement what's previously agreed.
:44:33. > :44:36.Like the Irish language act, the Bill of Rights, legacy issues. They
:44:37. > :44:39.are key issues which are important for society. We need to see those
:44:40. > :44:43.things implemented. I'm not seeking a gnaw agreement. I have my
:44:44. > :44:47.negotiation team ready to go. We want to find a way forward. Nobody
:44:48. > :44:51.has worked harder than Sinn Fein - But you won't negotiate as long as
:44:52. > :44:57.Arlene Foster is the nominated First Minister? If they become the biggest
:44:58. > :45:02.party? I've always said it's not for me to dictate who leads the DUP. So
:45:03. > :45:05.you will negotiate? I'll come at it with a good heart, wanting to find a
:45:06. > :45:09.way forward. I want to brick politics into the new era. A new
:45:10. > :45:13.style of government and politics. This is straight, because it's
:45:14. > :45:16.important. If the DUP is the biggest party in this election, and Arlene
:45:17. > :45:19.Foster is nominated as First Minister, you will nominate a deputy
:45:20. > :45:25.first machine and go into negotiations. No, no, I said I can't
:45:26. > :45:30.dictate who leads the DUP but we can say who goes into government with.
:45:31. > :45:33.That's the same thing. I can't go into government with Arlene Foster
:45:34. > :45:38.whilst there's a cloud hanging over her. The full vaning needs to --
:45:39. > :45:42.investigation needs to report. You see if Arlene wants to - If the
:45:43. > :45:45.public have their say and make the DUP the biggest party you're not
:45:46. > :45:52.letting the public have their say. Say that again. If people elect the
:45:53. > :45:55.DUP as the biggest party and the DUP puts forward Arlene Foster then you
:45:56. > :45:58.are not listening to the people. I am absolutely listening to the
:45:59. > :46:01.people. I'm true to the principles of the Good Friday agreement. I
:46:02. > :46:03.would like to see all parties in the executive, all parties working
:46:04. > :46:07.together on the principles of power sharing. If we go back to the
:46:08. > :46:11.principles of the Good Friday agreement, quality, respect and
:46:12. > :46:15.integrity, through power sharing - You won't respect the DUP mandate. I
:46:16. > :46:19.can respect their plan date. I can respect who they return. I can
:46:20. > :46:23.respect who leads the DUP. I can't go into government whilst there's a
:46:24. > :46:24.shadow hanging over Arlene Foster fost.
:46:25. > :46:25.APPLAUSE -- Arlene Foster.
:46:26. > :46:33.APPLAUSE Is that a reasonable position? I
:46:34. > :46:36.don't think it is. We called for Arlene Foster to stand aside without
:46:37. > :46:43.prejudice. She is not going to do that. It is not for us to dictate
:46:44. > :46:48.the outcome after the election. We said it won't be about personalities
:46:49. > :46:52.or party, but about policy and principles. We were clear in the
:46:53. > :46:55.last election as we have been in this one, that we have red lines and
:46:56. > :47:01.we have been open about what they are. Because we want people to
:47:02. > :47:05.understand our reasons to decide to go into government or not go into
:47:06. > :47:10.government. We have been open and honest about that on both occasions.
:47:11. > :47:16.I want to see is not an extended period of direct rule, it is not
:47:17. > :47:19.inevitable, people have a choice to make to make sure it does not happen
:47:20. > :47:25.and it is not desirable. What you need to have and what we have found
:47:26. > :47:29.as a result of discussion we have had is more accountable government
:47:30. > :47:33.and we won't get that from Westminster, we will get this from
:47:34. > :47:39.electing the right people to go to Stormont and do the job to the best
:47:40. > :47:43.of their ability and not power sharing, the problem is we have
:47:44. > :47:48.never tried power sharing. Wind farm tried power carve up and it has not
:47:49. > :47:54.worked. Now is the time to try power sharing, where people go into
:47:55. > :47:58.government together, together work, as opposed to using their
:47:59. > :48:03.departments like fiefdoms and don't recognise what is going on in the
:48:04. > :48:07.departments beside that. That can't continue and it has failed over and
:48:08. > :48:13.over again. We need a transformation in attitude as much as in practice.
:48:14. > :48:23.Mike Nesbitt is direct rule inevitable? I do not believe it is,
:48:24. > :48:27.because I'm not fatalist tick about the result and I'm encouraged by the
:48:28. > :48:33.man in the 45% who said he would vote. If Sinn Fein and DUP are the
:48:34. > :48:38.two main parties is direct rule inevitable. It seems likely, but it
:48:39. > :48:47.doesn't fix anything, we have to get back to 19 years ago and the Ulster
:48:48. > :48:54.Unionist Party worked for that and that was based on a fresh start for
:48:55. > :48:56.reconciliation, building trust between the two communities,
:48:57. > :49:00.demonstrating mutual respect. That will have to come. Whether it is in
:49:01. > :49:06.this election or the next one. We will have to show each other... We
:49:07. > :49:10.are talking about a three week period after Thursday. There must be
:49:11. > :49:15.an executive and a Government set up. It depends on who votes and how
:49:16. > :49:19.they vote. Would you go for some kind of, there has been talk about
:49:20. > :49:24.having direct rule ministers responsible to an Assembly, is that
:49:25. > :49:31.reasonable? They're all propositions that only need to be discussed be
:49:32. > :49:35.people don't vote for change. I encourage people too decide they
:49:36. > :49:42.want to build a properly shared future. Talking about red lines,
:49:43. > :49:45.Arlene Foster, you have said your demands will be proportionate to the
:49:46. > :49:50.demands of Sinn Fein. What does that mean? We want devolution back up and
:49:51. > :49:57.running quickly, because unlike the others, I think that we have
:49:58. > :50:03.achieved in this past ten years, stability has brought achievements.
:50:04. > :50:12.We were able to create 40,000 new jobs and see waiting lists go down
:50:13. > :50:16.and seen infrastructure improve and more tourists come to Northern
:50:17. > :50:21.Ireland. I want to see that back as quickly as possible to get into the
:50:22. > :50:26.positive way forward and I suppose it is a matter for Sinn Fein as to
:50:27. > :50:30.what they come forward with, if they come forward with a long list of
:50:31. > :50:35.demands, and we are not sure what they will come forward with, of
:50:36. > :50:39.course we will want to be proportionate in what we want for
:50:40. > :50:46.our community. What about those demandses. . You're there to
:50:47. > :50:50.represent the entire community, not just their community or your
:50:51. > :50:57.community. That is why we want devolution back to create the jobs
:50:58. > :51:03.we promised. That is what... Is not a red line though is it? We are not
:51:04. > :51:08.talking about red lines. Of course we have to see what Sinn Fein will
:51:09. > :51:10.ask for. What I want to see is devolution back up and running. That
:51:11. > :51:18.is what the people of Northern Ireland want. If Sinn Fein wins, we
:51:19. > :51:22.win for everybody, I'm only interested in governing for
:51:23. > :51:27.everybody. Equality, integrity and respect in government. I'm not
:51:28. > :51:32.interesting in finding thing force unionism or nationalism. None will
:51:33. > :51:38.happen, Arlene Foster, if you want to remain as First Minister. If you
:51:39. > :51:43.were acting in the interests of the people, you would say I will sit
:51:44. > :51:46.back. Not a single vote has been counted. So it is important that
:51:47. > :51:57.people come out and vote on Thursday for what they want to see. And they
:51:58. > :52:01.have a very clear choice, it whether they want a important election
:52:02. > :52:08.recognising values or a Sinn Fein Republican plan. I think we can move
:52:09. > :52:15.Northern Ireland forward. It is whether there is the will from
:52:16. > :52:21.others. Yes? You have mentioned the worries about what Sinn Fein might
:52:22. > :52:26.do, but you hold the same veto as they held over your plans, when you
:52:27. > :52:30.they were the deputy First Minister, what is the difference? I'm not
:52:31. > :52:37.talking about if they become First Minister, I'm talking about if they
:52:38. > :52:46.win the election, they will push ahead with their radical agenda and
:52:47. > :52:50.will use their mandate to argue for a border poll that would be
:52:51. > :52:55.destabilising for Northern Ireland and we have seen the way it has
:52:56. > :52:59.destabilised Scotland Sa it would be wrong for Northern Ireland if we had
:53:00. > :53:03.that. The only thing that will change is the DUP's ego will be
:53:04. > :53:12.wounded and I don't think the public cares about that, they care about
:53:13. > :53:16.health and education. The fact that less than two years, the election is
:53:17. > :53:21.a testament to their inability to work together. We are talking about
:53:22. > :53:26.ten years of stability it has not been ten years of stability for the
:53:27. > :53:31.environment we have had ten years with the biggest illegal landfill in
:53:32. > :53:36.Europe and that comes back to the door of environment minister who
:53:37. > :53:43.rejected recommendations for environmental form. For an illegal
:53:44. > :53:50.land dump, are you serious. Do you go back to your decision. No, it
:53:51. > :53:55.doesn't. Michelle said the mandate of the people will be listened to,
:53:56. > :54:02.what about the mandate of everyone across Northern Ireland, are you
:54:03. > :54:09.going to listen to the mandate of everybody else with L GB T rights
:54:10. > :54:15.and the stability and the First Minister's office has been Martin
:54:16. > :54:20.McGuinness. That is your opinion, your entitled it, I think the
:54:21. > :54:25.stability of First Minister's office was a joint effort. Mike told he
:54:26. > :54:31.would vote down the candidates you trust and you're an ex-Belfast man,
:54:32. > :54:35.and you have that selection of unionists that you would frus a
:54:36. > :54:40.nationalist. -- trust a nationalist. That is the ironic, because he
:54:41. > :54:50.doesn't trust the other unionist and he will find unionists don't trust
:54:51. > :54:58.Mike, because he doesn't show moral leadership. There has been talk
:54:59. > :55:03.about the united Ireland and Sinn Fein being the leader, Sinn Fein
:55:04. > :55:08.leader being the First Minister. Am I not right in thinking at the Good
:55:09. > :55:19.Friday Agreement the question of the constitution of Northern Ireland was
:55:20. > :55:24.settled? What I would like to ask, the gentleman said the Good Friday
:55:25. > :55:27.Agreement said the constitution question was settled, it has been
:55:28. > :55:34.settled under the principle of consent that cuts both ways. Are we
:55:35. > :55:39.going to be dragged back out of EU because people voted to... It was a
:55:40. > :55:48.national vote. That is the point. You have to accept the overall vote.
:55:49. > :55:52.Arlene talks about a radical Republican agenda, if that means
:55:53. > :56:02.supporting the Irish language, sign me up, I'm for that. You go ahead.
:56:03. > :56:06.You're voting in east Belfast and said you will transfer to other
:56:07. > :56:15.candidates that are progressive, will you vote for Naomi? I have no
:56:16. > :56:24.doubt... I will. There you go, it is a straight answer. My goodness. The
:56:25. > :56:28.issue of L GB T rights has been talked about, one issue has been the
:56:29. > :56:33.abuse of petition of concern. Now Arlene wants to get rid of it. Will
:56:34. > :56:39.you tell us, will you not use the petition of concern... Used 96
:56:40. > :56:44.times. Will Arlene commit to not using the petition of consent on
:56:45. > :56:57.equal marriage? Let me be very clear... APPLAUSE I can see we have
:56:58. > :57:02.a balanced audience tonight. Let me be clear. Completely balanced. No
:57:03. > :57:10.expense spared to get a balanced audience. Let me be clear, the SDLP
:57:11. > :57:19.and Sinn Fein used the petition of concern to block welfare reform and
:57:20. > :57:24.cost the people of Northern Ireland ?174 million, 160,000 a day for
:57:25. > :57:30.three years. That is how they used it. It was to protect the most
:57:31. > :57:37.vulnerable. They want to use the petition of concern when it suits
:57:38. > :57:42.them. Unionism is not allowed to. I'm glad she didn't bang the podium
:57:43. > :57:47.the way she banged the table when we asked about this last May. When we
:57:48. > :57:53.asked clearly, if as agreed under the fresh Start, this was something
:57:54. > :58:00.thatArlene signed up, they use the petition of concern... We have run
:58:01. > :58:07.out of time. Sorry, it is amazing how quickly the time passes when you
:58:08. > :58:17.are enjoying yourself. You can see a full list of candidates on the BBC
:58:18. > :58:23.news web side. The Green Party and People for Profit will give their
:58:24. > :58:54.views on Newsline. From here a very good night.
:58:55. > :58:58.Good morning, this is BBC Breakfast. Morning, Dan.
:58:59. > :59:01.In the sports news, we have the latest on the Welsh rugby team,