:00:40. > :00:45.Hello, and welcome to this Spotlight special, where the studio
:00:45. > :00:51.audience has a chance to put their questions to the panel. Among them,
:00:51. > :00:58.but politicians to shape our lives. Tonight, Mitchel McLoughlin, Sinn
:00:58. > :01:03.Fein's spokesperson for victims. Our line etched -- the minister for
:01:03. > :01:13.trade and investment. Bernadette McAliskey. Stephen Agnew. And the
:01:13. > :01:19.
:01:19. > :01:22.Strangford MLA, Mike Nesbitt, who heads the Ulster Unionist Party. We
:01:22. > :01:32.want to know what do you think about the talking points of the day.
:01:32. > :01:35.
:01:35. > :01:43.You can text the programme. The details are on your screen. Calls
:01:43. > :01:51.cost five pence per minute from most landmines. Let's go to our
:01:51. > :01:54.first question, from a teacher from Belfast. His fear being eight
:01:54. > :01:59.Unionist Unity candidate in Mid- Ulster a step backwards for
:01:59. > :02:04.Northern Ireland? This is a question based on the decision to
:02:04. > :02:08.field an agreed's candidate in the Mid-Ulster by-election, which led
:02:08. > :02:12.to the resignation of John McCallister and Basil McCrea. I
:02:12. > :02:20.expect big question is asking, is this a step back to its sectarian
:02:20. > :02:28.headcount, Mike Nesbitt? It is not new for either this party or for
:02:28. > :02:38.other parties in Northern Ireland. Bernadette was elected in 1969
:02:38. > :02:40.
:02:40. > :02:48.because Sinn Fein withdrew a candidate, and she had a clear run.
:02:48. > :02:52.At the last Westminster elections in South Belfast, Alex Maskey
:02:52. > :02:57.withdrew and Dr Alasdair McDonnell had a clear run for the SDLP. Gerry
:02:57. > :03:04.Adams described it as bold leadership about protecting and
:03:04. > :03:08.defending nationalist seats. It is not new. We had an agreed Unionist
:03:08. > :03:12.candidate at the last Westminster election for Fermanagh South Tyrone.
:03:12. > :03:16.I have been listening to the people of Mid-Ulster and they are saying
:03:16. > :03:21.that on this occasion, for a variety of reasons, including the
:03:21. > :03:25.recent murder of a prison officer but also because for 16 years they
:03:25. > :03:33.have had an abstentionist member of parliament, that they would like to
:03:33. > :03:36.see a single Unionist candidate. I am an Ulster Unionists, so my first
:03:36. > :03:41.preference is that an Ulster Unionist wins the seat. There was
:03:41. > :03:47.no possibility of that. What is my second option? It is not to give
:03:47. > :03:52.Sinn Fein if free run. My second preference is to see some form of
:03:52. > :03:59.Unionist over the line. The best way of maximising the opportunity
:03:59. > :04:02.for that is to field one, not three, four or five pro-union candidates.
:04:02. > :04:10.Basil McCrea said it is a good decision for Sinn Fein, be you
:04:10. > :04:13.agree? It is a matter for the Unionist parties. I hope the by-
:04:13. > :04:19.election is contested on social, economic and political issues. At
:04:19. > :04:23.the end of the day, I hope the electorate will decide. De you
:04:24. > :04:30.believe this is a neutral step or a step backwards? -- do you believe
:04:30. > :04:40.it. My sense of it is that Unionism, for some time now, the House
:04:40. > :04:45.cohesion. -- has lacked cohesion. What might emerge is a coherent
:04:45. > :04:52.voice. It is difficult when you are looking for partners to build a new
:04:52. > :04:56.democracy to fade partners in Alienist PAPA Obree -- to the park
:04:57. > :05:02.is in the Unionist Party who are afraid to take decisions.
:05:02. > :05:12.depends what future you want for Northern Ireland. The thing that I
:05:12. > :05:15.
:05:15. > :05:21.find quite sad is that in 1969, as a young student, and around quickly
:05:21. > :05:27.a platform of raising the absence of democracy? The parties which
:05:27. > :05:33.were meant the old Nationalist Party and the old republican club
:05:33. > :05:37.Sinn Fein, allowed a unity candidate, which happened to be me,
:05:37. > :05:43.precisely because neither want or the other could elbow each other
:05:43. > :05:50.out of a position of authority in the election. It was a very
:05:50. > :05:57.temporary solution for them. Ironically, they wondered what harm
:05:57. > :06:02.I could do in one year! They were seen to discover. That was a long
:06:02. > :06:10.time ago. What is the relevance for today? That we have not moved
:06:10. > :06:17.forward. In terms of developing a Northern Ireland as a democratic,
:06:17. > :06:21.Equitable, shared society which respects Rights, which builds peace
:06:21. > :06:30.and prosperity, which respects difference, which embraces
:06:30. > :06:35.diversity, that the conversation is still locked in parties simply
:06:35. > :06:41.around the issue of national identity. For me, what a sad to see
:06:41. > :06:47.is that there is not the emergence of new alliances in politics Evra
:06:47. > :06:57.and shared the social and economic ideas. The reality is that within
:06:57. > :07:03.the major parties, the differences on fundamental things, which is
:07:03. > :07:06.what this election should be about, the level of unemployment, the
:07:06. > :07:11.dismantling of the Health Service, the absence of affordable social
:07:11. > :07:19.housing, that absence of any coherence around our health care,
:07:19. > :07:23.but there is no clear challenge to the consensus politics on a hill
:07:23. > :07:29.about how that should be dealt with. I suppose the last thing you want
:07:29. > :07:34.is a challenge to the consensus? The original question is, does this
:07:34. > :07:38.take us back? Absolutely not. It is a good move forward for Unionism.
:07:38. > :07:43.It will come as no surprise that I believe in the Union and therefore,
:07:44. > :07:49.I want to see the people of Mid- Ulster represented in parliament.
:07:49. > :07:53.First of all represented, because we have not had a representative in
:07:53. > :08:00.parliament for such a long time, but also to have a unionist
:08:00. > :08:04.representing Mid-Ulster. It is a rational political ID. I do not
:08:04. > :08:10.understand they argument that says it is sectarian? I do not accept
:08:10. > :08:13.that. The argument might be that you are not offering a choice?
:08:13. > :08:19.are saying that we believe in the union and if you want to vote for
:08:19. > :08:24.it, vote for Nigel Martyn. If you believe in Sinn Fein, vote for them.
:08:24. > :08:30.If you believe in the SDLP's policies, more akin to Sinn Fein,
:08:30. > :08:37.vote for them. What we are saying is, to give people a chance to vote
:08:37. > :08:41.for a Unionist candidate and for him to be elected, the union at --
:08:41. > :08:45.Unionist parties had to come together.
:08:45. > :08:50.How can it be seen as a step forward for Unionism whenever it
:08:50. > :08:58.has, in fact, divided the Ulster Unionist Party and there may be
:08:58. > :09:02.another party created as a result? How can it be seen as uniting them?
:09:02. > :09:09.Do you think that if a new party does emerge at Stormont that it
:09:09. > :09:14.would be a good thing? Not necessarily for Unionism, but for
:09:14. > :09:18.Northern Ireland. This is not new, and Mike Nesbitt is right. It is
:09:18. > :09:21.all politics for a new way of thinking. We hear parties saying
:09:21. > :09:30.they are putting the economy first, but they are putting the union
:09:30. > :09:34.first. The union is not been debated at Westminster. It is up to
:09:34. > :09:39.the people in the audience and at home to decide the future of the
:09:39. > :09:43.Union. Let's talk about what we can't influence as politicians.
:09:43. > :09:49.People do not want processed parties or politics. They want
:09:49. > :09:55.parties that do what they say on the label. We have seen that with
:09:55. > :10:00.the horsemeat scandal. People want to know what they are buying into.
:10:00. > :10:06.If you start mixing two parties that... You should run at separate
:10:06. > :10:13.candidates. This has led to a deep split in the Ulster Unionist Party?
:10:13. > :10:16.I can test whether there has been a split, but I cannot let Stephen and
:10:16. > :10:20.-- Stephen Aguiar's comments go. There is going to be a vote on
:10:20. > :10:26.Scottish independence next year. The debate about the future of the
:10:26. > :10:29.union is alive and Westminster is key to it. In terms of John
:10:29. > :10:34.McCallister and Basil McCrea, we have well over 100 elected
:10:34. > :10:39.representatives, 2000 members, 100,000 people vote for us, never
:10:39. > :10:44.mind the DUP and TUV and other pro- union people involved in all of
:10:44. > :10:50.this. It does not always have to be about John and basil. They say they
:10:50. > :10:59.are men of principle yet they are not prepared to resign. Yet you
:10:59. > :11:09.would still be 20% short. Nigel Lutton, I can see Catholics and
:11:09. > :11:09.
:11:09. > :11:17.nationalists voting for him. Let me bring a few more people in. The two
:11:17. > :11:21.Unionist leaders, Surrey, people, have been talking about the most
:11:21. > :11:26.important thing. If you can sit in Stormont with Sinn Fein and work
:11:26. > :11:30.with them on committees, why can't you two parties work together, make
:11:30. > :11:36.one big union party instead of having all of these little ones
:11:36. > :11:46.with arguments among the in cells? -- your selves? It is not getting
:11:46. > :11:59.
:11:59. > :12:02.Was it a one-off or is at the start of things to come? What we want are
:12:02. > :12:06.not necessarily Unionist or nationalist candidates. What we
:12:06. > :12:13.want our people who we can vote for who will take leadership on
:12:13. > :12:18.improving jobs and the economy in Northern Ireland. We want it to be
:12:19. > :12:22.one party. Maybe Mike is heading that way. No, I don't think
:12:22. > :12:28.Unionist unity is a possibility. But I think Unionist co-operation
:12:28. > :12:31.can be done and at times should be done. I believe I demonstrated by
:12:31. > :12:37.winning this one I believed that time was right so to do it. What
:12:37. > :12:41.I'm talking about is not so much... Well, it is, yes, an experiment
:12:41. > :12:46.that has been done before. It's the right thing for Mid Ulster at this
:12:46. > :12:51.time. I can't look beyond that, as people would like it to do, for two
:12:51. > :12:55.reasons. First, we have to see how the co-operation between all the
:12:55. > :12:59.group's goes between now and 7th March, and then we have to see how
:12:59. > :13:03.the result goes. On the basis of that we will make a decision.
:13:03. > :13:08.think it's putting the constitutional issue right back up
:13:08. > :13:15.the top of the political agenda. Any type of normal politics should
:13:15. > :13:17.be moving us beyond simply the constitutional issue. To go to
:13:17. > :13:21.Stephen's point about constitutional politics. It is
:13:22. > :13:26.important we do give people the opportunity to vote for a candidate
:13:26. > :13:29.who might actually get elected. The way to do that is for both parties
:13:29. > :13:33.to come together. Because at present there is no representation
:13:33. > :13:37.at Westminster. We're talking about the union, we should be talking
:13:37. > :13:42.about the economy. Of course we should be talking about the economy
:13:42. > :13:47.in the context of the United Kingdom. At like ask another
:13:47. > :13:51.question now. The economically and politically, is it more beneficial
:13:51. > :13:57.for NI to remain in the UK? We had a recent opinion poll which showed
:13:57. > :14:01.38 % of Catholics would vote to stay in the UK, 27 % of Sinn Fein
:14:01. > :14:06.voters said it. And it also identified a new sector of about a
:14:06. > :14:09.quarter who consider themselves to be Northern Irish. What do you
:14:09. > :14:14.think, is it time to give up the republican struggle and throw your
:14:14. > :14:24.lot in with the UK? No, I think the first thing that people really
:14:24. > :14:24.
:14:24. > :14:34.ought to do is recognise that there has to be a certain integrity about
:14:34. > :14:34.
:14:34. > :14:39.the way you do things. You can't just keep chopping about and
:14:39. > :14:42.interchanging, say, cultural conversation around people's
:14:42. > :14:46.national identity with religious conversation, around people's
:14:46. > :14:51.religious beliefs. And then political ideologies around how
:14:51. > :14:55.people think, around social and economic issues. Because those are
:14:55. > :15:00.all very complex and different. So if you ask people in Northern
:15:00. > :15:05.Ireland, would you vote for a united Ireland tomorrow, and they
:15:05. > :15:09.say no. Then the question you have asked is, would you vote bought it
:15:09. > :15:14.to be united with Ireland tomorrow and the answer you've got is no, I
:15:14. > :15:19.would not vote to be in a united Ireland tomorrow. It is not know. I
:15:19. > :15:24.am now, by virtue of being a Catholic, for or against the idea
:15:24. > :15:31.of national unity. I am a Unionist. I am something else. You can't play
:15:31. > :15:37.this game, which we do all the time. We have created those markers for
:15:37. > :15:43.ourselves and then judge them. They have always been, right through the
:15:43. > :15:47.history of this country, Catholics who always have and always will be
:15:47. > :15:52.unionist and British in their national identity and national
:15:52. > :15:58.thinking. There may not be the majority. Not enough for them,
:15:59. > :16:05.perhaps. Not enough for Mike Nesbitt or whatever. Also, people
:16:05. > :16:10.who have a particular view on separate this or rearranging the
:16:10. > :16:14.relationship between these islands, politically, socially and
:16:14. > :16:19.economically, are not necessarily nationalists. I do not and never
:16:19. > :16:24.have considered myself to be a nationalist. There is not a
:16:24. > :16:31.Hibernian bone in my body. There is not a Hibernian thought in my head.
:16:31. > :16:35.I am a republican. I am a socialist. Economically and politically, is it
:16:35. > :16:41.more beneficial for Northern Ireland? Economically, politically
:16:41. > :16:45.and socially, it is at this point almost irrelevant, in the immediate
:16:45. > :16:51.sense, whether Northern Ireland is within the context of an Irish
:16:51. > :16:56.Republic that is owned by the European Union and by IMF, or in a
:16:56. > :17:01.British economy that very soon will be. The main problem facing people
:17:01. > :17:08.in this particular part of this particular island is an absence of
:17:08. > :17:13.democratic control. Over decisions that would allow us to reallocate
:17:13. > :17:17.resources. That would allow us to generate resources for the social
:17:17. > :17:21.and economic things that we need. What do you think, Stephen?
:17:21. > :17:27.you'd have asked that question five years ago, people might have said
:17:27. > :17:33.Ireland. If you ask it to date, people might say the UK. So we are
:17:33. > :17:38.a selfish lot. Only interested in our immediate gratification. What I
:17:38. > :17:42.think is the DUP and Sinn Fein have got exactly what they want. Sinn
:17:42. > :17:48.Fein's motion at Belfast City Council got us talking about flags.
:17:48. > :17:51.At Ulster, they got us talking about the union. This is the
:17:51. > :17:55.politics of distraction. At a time when our economy is at its worst,
:17:55. > :17:59.we are talking about these issues. This is all the will ever get when
:17:59. > :18:02.you have parties defined by their constitutional position first and
:18:02. > :18:06.foremost. I don't think these are the issues we need to be talking
:18:06. > :18:11.about at this time. Educational under-achievement, the economy, the
:18:11. > :18:13.challenges we face. That is where we need to get to. But is it more
:18:13. > :18:17.beneficial for people in Northern Ireland to stay where they are now
:18:17. > :18:21.rather than join the Republic? we are going to have that
:18:21. > :18:26.conversation, let's talk about the future rather than the past. People
:18:26. > :18:30.want to talk about the past, so let's talk and -- about the pros
:18:30. > :18:35.and cons, the economy has been mentioned. The UK has a national
:18:35. > :18:39.health system, is that a benefit? What about trading across islands?
:18:40. > :18:46.It doesn't keep me awake at night. It's up to these people at home.
:18:46. > :18:56.Does it keep you awake, be sure? Sometimes. The question really has
:18:56. > :19:01.to be answered in the experience... Fall of six of the last 90 years...
:19:01. > :19:07.What Mr Schweiz me, Unionists, when you want to discuss an alternative
:19:07. > :19:11.approach, delegating the fiscal power, they start talking about the
:19:11. > :19:15.price tag. About the size of the deficit, or about the scale of our
:19:15. > :19:21.bankruptcy. I don't know how anyone can argue over that. Gerry Adams
:19:21. > :19:27.has been talking about it most recently. It's not really is a
:19:27. > :19:32.venture that pour from Westminster. It's a rather strange analysis.
:19:32. > :19:35.What we have taken of the figures produced by the British Treasury
:19:35. > :19:39.and the figures produced by the finance minister in Stormont. We
:19:39. > :19:44.demonstrated that the assumptions that are made, which Gibbs raised
:19:44. > :19:47.to these exaggerated claims. But the real issue at the end of the
:19:47. > :19:52.day is not the size of the deficit, but the reason why there is a
:19:52. > :19:57.deficit. His partition good for the note? It doesn't answer that
:19:57. > :20:01.question. What we can talk about are the alternatives. We were
:20:01. > :20:05.starting with a green field. If I could stay that in terms of this
:20:05. > :20:10.small island of 6.2 million people. There are European cities that have
:20:10. > :20:14.a bigger population. So we can get the balance right between the
:20:14. > :20:18.different traditions. Would the first decision be, let's have two
:20:18. > :20:24.economies on this island? I think the answer would be no. We are
:20:24. > :20:29.managing the mistakes that were making history. But there are two
:20:29. > :20:36.sides to the house and Arlene is on the other. The people of Ireland
:20:36. > :20:42.would and decide to have two economies, 0 two Health Systems,
:20:42. > :20:47.nor two educational systems. Here is where we are. We are in a
:20:47. > :20:53.situation where we are in the UK, whether Mitchell likes it or not,
:20:53. > :20:56.and Benavidez and. End of the talks about this, so let's talk about
:20:56. > :21:00.something other than the economic figures, let's not talk about the
:21:00. > :21:04.economic figures. But those are economic realities and people need
:21:04. > :21:07.to understand those, if we're talking about the UK and how we
:21:08. > :21:12.benefit from membership. Economic and, yes, it's the right decision.
:21:13. > :21:16.Politically, for me, it's the right decision. Socially, culturally and
:21:17. > :21:26.every other reason it is right to be in the UK. I firmly believe that
:21:26. > :21:31.and that's why I'm a Unionist. short answer to the question is yes,
:21:31. > :21:37.we are better off in every sense being in the UK. Amazing! We are
:21:37. > :21:42.one of the 10 strongest economies in the world. Bernadette has been
:21:42. > :21:45.very clear where the Republic's economy is. That is not in
:21:45. > :21:49.anybody's best interest. I'm a Unionist, but before I was in
:21:49. > :21:54.politics when I was working in the private sector, I work with Mr
:21:54. > :21:58.George quickly, a great thinker, and a North-South economic corridor
:21:58. > :22:03.between Belfast and Dublin. I will give you a quote from John Hewitt,
:22:03. > :22:09.I am an Ulsterman but I am also and I am British and I am European. And
:22:09. > :22:13.to deny any of those diminishes the. In terms of our economic, cultural
:22:13. > :22:17.and social freedoms, we have to have relationships across all those
:22:17. > :22:21.different sectors. However, to get to the point where we are talking
:22:21. > :22:25.about the economy, education, health, housing, all those issues
:22:25. > :22:29.we want to focus on, you have to first settle people in terms of
:22:29. > :22:32.their culture and identity and make sure they are comfortable. When
:22:32. > :22:37.republicans weren't happy with the way their cultural identity was
:22:37. > :22:40.being treated in Northern Ireland, 3500 people had to dive and the
:22:40. > :22:43.economy was brought to its knees. We mustn't go back there. Everybody
:22:43. > :22:47.must feel comfortable with who they are and how well they are respected.
:22:47. > :22:52.That's what the Ulster Unionist Party did 15 years ago with the
:22:52. > :22:58.Belfast Agreement. Mutual respect, consensual and not majority rule
:22:58. > :23:02.politics. I want to take a quick straw poll on it being more
:23:02. > :23:08.beneficial for Northern Ireland to remain in the UK. What are your
:23:08. > :23:15.views? I would agree with Mike. I do think it's better economically,
:23:15. > :23:22.politically and socially to remain in the UK. Who thinks the same? I
:23:22. > :23:30.would say quite a big majority of people here. You agree? Yes, a huge
:23:30. > :23:34.majority. A comment to make their quickly? It's all about division.
:23:34. > :23:38.Not about what we can do it together and shared. It's not about
:23:38. > :23:48.Northern Ireland. We are Northern Ireland, we can all identify with
:23:48. > :23:52.that. Not everyone identified with that. That is what the NI 2012
:23:52. > :23:56.campaign was about last year. Hugely successful campaign, which
:23:56. > :23:59.was to attract more people to come to Northern Ireland. It was also
:23:59. > :24:03.about civic pride in Northern Ireland, and it was something
:24:03. > :24:09.everybody could take part in. I was proud of that campaign. I think
:24:09. > :24:14.it's something we can build on. Johnson is a nurse. Your question,
:24:14. > :24:17.please. I just wonder what the panel think the impact will be of
:24:17. > :24:23.the recent vote in the House of Commons in favour of gay marriage,
:24:23. > :24:28.and what impact they feel that were having Northern Ireland? It was
:24:28. > :24:31.carried by a majority of 225 in favour of allowing marriage with
:24:31. > :24:36.members of the same sex in religious institutions which
:24:36. > :24:41.consented to that. Of the Northern Ireland MPs, two voted for, nine
:24:41. > :24:45.against and two abstained. All the DUP voted against. Arlene Foster,
:24:45. > :24:49.why did you all do that and what impact would it have, or will it
:24:49. > :24:52.have in Northern Ireland because it has been passed? It doesn't have
:24:52. > :24:56.any impact in Northern Ireland in so far as the assembly has the
:24:56. > :24:59.power to pass laws in relation to that matter for Robben Island, and
:24:59. > :25:04.therefore we will continue with the definition of marriage as it
:25:04. > :25:09.currently stands. We believe that marriage is about a man and a wife.
:25:09. > :25:14.People say to me, what about equality and equity? Equity doesn't
:25:14. > :25:16.mean equality in all things. Actually, there is equity because
:25:16. > :25:23.civil partnerships are now in place for people who are homosexual, to
:25:23. > :25:28.come together in partnership. How are they not equal? You can't have
:25:28. > :25:34.a religious reading with a civil partnership ceremony, no religious
:25:34. > :25:39.music, no religious symbols. says that? The Church says that, as
:25:39. > :25:44.opposed to the law. In the law, you cannot have any civil partnership
:25:44. > :25:50.ceremony any religious ceremony. Are you sure that is not from the
:25:50. > :25:54.church as opposed to the law? As I understood it, his civil
:25:54. > :25:58.partnership event, it was a matter between the parties as to what they
:25:58. > :26:02.had done their partnership event, as opposed to in a church. But I
:26:02. > :26:05.very firmly believe in marriage. I believe in the institution of
:26:05. > :26:10.marriage and I believe it is between a man and a woman, and that
:26:10. > :26:15.is the position I have. David Cameron says Love makes societies
:26:15. > :26:19.stronger. This kind of marriage will promote commitment, which can
:26:19. > :26:22.only surely be a benefit to the wider society. That is happening
:26:22. > :26:27.already through civil partnership. That is why they are there, to
:26:27. > :26:31.allow people who are homosexual to come together in a relationship.
:26:31. > :26:41.That is not damaging the institution of marriage, as I
:26:41. > :26:51.
:26:51. > :26:53.believe it would be damaged if If we do not have equality of
:26:53. > :26:57.access in Northern Ireland, then having quite rightly discussed that
:26:58. > :27:02.we are members of the United Kingdom and we are British, it is a
:27:02. > :27:07.requirement of British law that all British citizens be treated equally
:27:07. > :27:13.before the law. And so, if it is the case that once again, in this
:27:13. > :27:18.particular part of the United Kingdom that people are going to
:27:18. > :27:23.half less rights because of the particular religious persuasion are
:27:23. > :27:27.the majority parties here, then we will be over a period of time
:27:27. > :27:31.looking at a case, and quite properly, looking at a case going
:27:32. > :27:36.before the European Court of Human Rights on that very issue. Gentle
:27:36. > :27:42.man in the front row. It is important to note that the vote in
:27:42. > :27:46.the House of Commons was for England only. The position of
:27:46. > :27:49.Northern Ireland is not technically Defford -- different from Wales,
:27:49. > :27:54.Scotland or Northern Ireland. the end of the day, the government
:27:54. > :27:59.of the UK is the government that has the statutory obligation for
:27:59. > :28:03.human rights protection to Europe. If we again have human rights
:28:03. > :28:08.protections by postcode lottery and region, then they will quite
:28:08. > :28:12.rightly, as they were on every other issue, be taken to the
:28:12. > :28:17.European Court of Human Rights and found wanting and they will be
:28:17. > :28:21.required and forced, just as the stake was taken out of the
:28:21. > :28:28.teacher's hand by the European Court, just as every other piece of
:28:28. > :28:34.prejudice was taken out of hand... The lady over there. It is wrong to
:28:34. > :28:39.oppose gay marriage. You can be Christian and gay. It is wrong as
:28:39. > :28:44.well, I do not see how the Protestant religion can remarry and
:28:45. > :28:50.divorce as much as they want in a church setting but a gay person
:28:50. > :28:56.cannot even get married in a church. It is just wrong. Gentle man in the
:28:56. > :29:00.blue jumper? The Church's due on gay marriage is that it is wrong,
:29:00. > :29:06.it says in the Bible it is wrong. Surely be a church should have a
:29:06. > :29:16.choice whether they will have gay marriages because it's a -- it says
:29:16. > :29:18.
:29:18. > :29:27.in the Bible. The day and a man in the back row? I do not think
:29:27. > :29:34.religion has any place in politics. Mike Nesbitt. Marriage is not a
:29:34. > :29:37.political construct, but is the difficulty. I can't do this as a
:29:37. > :29:45.churchgoer and a struggling Christian, but I led a become --
:29:45. > :29:48.congregation of the church I attend. I think they would feel that
:29:48. > :29:53.permitting gay marriage would make the Church are colder place for the
:29:53. > :29:57.majority of them. I look at this idea of equality and I think there
:29:57. > :30:00.is a contrary argument for the one Bernardette put forward. If you
:30:00. > :30:03.have a choice of civil partnership and marriage for the gay community
:30:03. > :30:08.and you do not have the same available to the heterosexual
:30:08. > :30:11.community, as would be the case, you do not have equality, you have
:30:11. > :30:15.inequality. That could be challenged in the European courts.
:30:15. > :30:21.It is a matter within my party, where people have a free vote and
:30:21. > :30:25.take different stances... What is your stance? I am against. You
:30:26. > :30:29.mentioned the vote in the Commons. Two of the Ulster Unionist Lords
:30:29. > :30:38.voted in favour and that is perfectly fine, because it is a
:30:38. > :30:45.matter for individual conscience, not politics. Does that mean, that
:30:45. > :30:51.if they are bringing equal marriage, would you be forcible partnerships
:30:51. > :30:56.-- fought civil partnerships in straight relationships? I would be
:30:56. > :30:59.pro anything that represents equality. The bottom line for me
:31:00. > :31:06.his commitment. A commitment between two people, whether they
:31:06. > :31:14.are same-sex are not, I will support. I think it was a
:31:14. > :31:21.regrettable decision by the Assembly. By Westminster? Not by me
:31:21. > :31:26.Westminster. I agree with the decision-taking. If people can be
:31:26. > :31:33.legally married in England and they come off the steps of an aeroplane
:31:33. > :31:37.here and they are no longer married, that is ridiculous. My sense is
:31:37. > :31:42.that we made the wrong decision and once again, religious opinion
:31:42. > :31:49.dominated a political decision. That is a matter for regret.
:31:49. > :31:58.APPLAUSE. Good to hear that the British got
:31:58. > :32:02.something right! Not everything, just most things. I am pleased with
:32:02. > :32:06.the decision Westminster have taken and I am pleased that Caroline
:32:06. > :32:09.Lucas voted for it. I am pleased to have brought it forward in the
:32:09. > :32:13.Assembly. It is an issue of equality. There is a lack of
:32:13. > :32:21.religious freedom as we speak. Churches cannot perform a civil
:32:21. > :32:25.partnership, even if they want to. An atheist heterosexual couple can
:32:25. > :32:30.have a religious ceremony but a Christian gay couple cannot have
:32:30. > :32:34.any religious paraphernalia at all at their civil partnership. This is
:32:34. > :32:38.something we need to address. We need to ensure consistency. The
:32:38. > :32:41.question was asked, what will be empowered be for Northern Ireland?
:32:41. > :32:46.Scotland have said they will legislate for it and the English
:32:46. > :32:51.and Wells seem to be doing it -- West seen to be doing it, as are
:32:51. > :32:54.the Republic of Ireland. We could find ourselves in a legal quagmire.
:32:54. > :32:57.Those uncivil partnerships in Northern Ireland cannot adopt
:32:57. > :33:01.either. You could have a married gay couple with children coming
:33:01. > :33:04.over to Northern Ireland from England, what is the status of
:33:04. > :33:13.those children in Northern Ireland? I do not know it Billy. Answers but
:33:13. > :33:18.those are questions we will have to face. Yes, sir? This legislation
:33:18. > :33:23.would not force any church to carry out the ceremonies. If the Unionist
:33:23. > :33:31.Party are still fighting strongly against it, does that not point out
:33:31. > :33:37.their homophobic undertones? I want to go back to John. As a Christian
:33:37. > :33:41.I do not agree with gay marriage. Although I totally agree with what
:33:41. > :33:50.Arlene has said, that their rights are protected is of a partnership.
:33:50. > :33:55.I think, 100%, people's rights should be protected. Marriage is a
:33:55. > :34:05.biblical concept that should be preserved and a sure touch -- and
:34:05. > :34:05.
:34:05. > :34:11.the Church should be allowed to say no. There was an accusation of
:34:11. > :34:14.homophobia and I resent it. resented as well. There is an anti-
:34:14. > :34:18.Christian feeling against people who take a stand on particular
:34:18. > :34:27.issues. People say you have to take religion out of politics. If you
:34:27. > :34:33.take religion out of politics you are taking the religion --
:34:33. > :34:37.personalities art. I am an Anglican, I cannot believe that at the door.
:34:37. > :34:46.You reject accusations of, for beer, that is fine and we have accepted
:34:46. > :34:52.that. -- accusations of homophobia. Is it bad news for Northern Ireland.
:34:52. > :34:58.9,000 children leave school each year without reaching required
:34:58. > :35:03.levels in reading, writing and counting? The Audit Office brought
:35:03. > :35:12.out a report today saying to out of five pupils failed to achieve the
:35:12. > :35:21.basic standards of five GCC -- GCSE passes above grade C. Is this bad
:35:21. > :35:27.news? It is bad news and it is not new news. If we go back to a report
:35:27. > :35:31.a number of years ago, at that time it was clearly identified. We are
:35:31. > :35:36.not talking about people in Northern Ireland now, who do not
:35:36. > :35:44.have English as a first language. That was a report when we had very
:35:44. > :35:49.little immigration. It said that one in every four at that was 25 --
:35:49. > :35:56.in every four, 25% of the adult population of Northern Ireland,
:35:56. > :36:02.were fun actually illiterate. That is 15 years ago. Every report since
:36:02. > :36:05.has continued to indicate that a society that sense it's children
:36:05. > :36:15.into formal education, almost earlier than anyone else in Europe,
:36:15. > :36:18.
:36:18. > :36:22.that provides compulsory education, the drains the people still come
:36:22. > :36:27.round, parents do what they think is the best for their children and
:36:27. > :36:30.at the end of that compulsory education system, we are still
:36:30. > :36:35.producing young adults and teenagers were that the basic
:36:35. > :36:40.ability to be numerate, to be literate. -- without the basic
:36:40. > :36:48.ability. Where does the fog like? That cannot be totally removed from
:36:48. > :36:52.the way we view education. We have segregated education on the basis
:36:52. > :37:00.of intellectual lines, for a long time on gender lines, fundamentally
:37:00. > :37:06.on class lines. We are not educating children to read and
:37:06. > :37:10.write and critically think, and the reflective. We are educating to
:37:10. > :37:18.meet market demand. We are producing some of the highest
:37:18. > :37:22.qualified school-leavers and we are part of the downside of that, the
:37:22. > :37:28.concentration of our resources on meeting that high-level market is
:37:28. > :37:32.directly related to the number of children that we are not
:37:32. > :37:40.concentrating on, because we are continually reinforcing the go-
:37:40. > :37:45.getter. This report points out that 90% of grammar school children get
:37:45. > :37:52.that level, only 40% of secondary children. That is a serious
:37:53. > :37:59.disparity. That tells you where the problem is. I am going to identify
:37:59. > :38:04.the failure and point a finger at Sinn Fein. Every child in this
:38:04. > :38:09.country has ability. I do not care if it is academic, vocational,
:38:09. > :38:14.technical, sporting, artistic. The educational system should allow the
:38:14. > :38:18.child to bring that forward. To do so they need basic levels of
:38:18. > :38:22.literacy and numeracy. Over all the years Sinn Fein have held the
:38:22. > :38:30.Ministry, it has been clear that the same groups of people are the
:38:30. > :38:34.ones most likely to under-achieve. Yet Sinn Fein have done nothing...
:38:34. > :38:39.Bernadette was pointing out a report from 15 years ago, before
:38:39. > :38:45.the Assembly. It is important to recognise it is not all down to
:38:45. > :38:49.teachers or schools. Academics who look at these issues say up to 70%
:38:49. > :38:55.of the influence of a child's education is outside school. When I
:38:55. > :39:02.was elected in 2011, I went to John O'Dowd and put forward proposals
:39:02. > :39:07.about a scheme called but bodies, which operate in the United States.
:39:07. > :39:12.You have one on one teetering between children whose literacy is
:39:12. > :39:15.below the national standard and people in a fold. They found that
:39:15. > :39:21.the young people, their levels of literacy went way above the state
:39:21. > :39:25.average but also, the people in the fold, there are medication levels
:39:25. > :39:29.dropped off because they found a new purpose in life. There are a
:39:29. > :39:39.lot of schemes, which are cheap and gave a sense of purpose, which are
:39:39. > :39:40.
:39:40. > :39:43.just there. It is new thinking on education. This report is very
:39:43. > :39:50.interesting. It points out some successes as well. There was an
:39:50. > :39:57.earlier inquiry. I remember the Public Accounts Committee, and we
:39:57. > :40:02.reviewed education difficulties in the workforce. -- I am a member of
:40:02. > :40:08.the Public Accounts Committee. We found that 30% of the workforce had
:40:08. > :40:15.profound literacy and numeracy difficulties and 25% had moderate
:40:16. > :40:20.difficulties. That is over half. This goes back many generations.
:40:20. > :40:24.The problem has been there for a very long time. We are trying to
:40:24. > :40:28.make it right. One of the main things we are attempting to do when
:40:28. > :40:35.we looked at the disparity between crime whiskers and post-primary is,
:40:35. > :40:39.we believe that the 11-plus his discrimination. -- between grammar
:40:39. > :40:43.schools and post primary schools. The 11-plus stops young people
:40:43. > :40:47.achieving their potential. We would like support from the other parties,
:40:47. > :40:52.including b Younis parties, in bringing forward reform. -- the
:40:52. > :40:55.Unionist parties. I was certainly told through school that our
:40:55. > :41:02.education system was one of the best in the world. We have focused
:41:02. > :41:06.on those at the top, and that is a good thing, but we have swept under
:41:06. > :41:11.the carpet those children you referred to. Special educational
:41:11. > :41:15.needs have almost been an afterthought. Tackling these issues
:41:15. > :41:21.takes resources and if we continue to educate separately we will
:41:21. > :41:25.continue to waste resources. If we educate together we can tackle
:41:26. > :41:30.educational and social issues with that. We can put the money into the
:41:30. > :41:36.early years, were all the evidence suggests. We can do the best work
:41:36. > :41:41.before children enter school. We need to shift focus on to the early
:41:41. > :41:45.years, when the child's brain is in development. All of the parties
:41:45. > :41:53.know this, we get hold it all the time. We need to put the resources
:41:53. > :42:01.I went to Belfast Royal Academy. It is a disgrace that someone would
:42:01. > :42:11.want to take away their privilege we had died taking away the
:42:11. > :42:16.
:42:16. > :42:19.I believe in academic selection, because it gives those children who
:42:19. > :42:24.come from a working-class background to have the aspiration
:42:24. > :42:30.to better themselves and to move further on. But shouldn't everyone
:42:30. > :42:33.have those basic building blocks? Yes. A but they don't. The which is
:42:33. > :42:39.why we shouldn't destroy a grammar system and think that is going to
:42:39. > :42:46.solve all of the problems. It's not. If you change that 90 % to 40 %
:42:46. > :42:51.ratio. It would. How is that going to help anybody? What we need to
:42:51. > :42:57.have is a system set for everybody. Those people who struggle and also
:42:57. > :43:02.at the grammar school level as well. It is mostly down to the individual
:43:02. > :43:07.how well they do. I come from a working-class background, I went to
:43:07. > :43:11.a state school, I failed the 11 plus, I've now got three A-levels.
:43:11. > :43:16.I didn't have any money to pay Browett and I managed to come out
:43:16. > :43:20.all right. The fact you will remove grammar schools and say we're down
:43:20. > :43:26.to segregated schools, or it's down to how much money your family's
:43:26. > :43:35.debt. It's not. It's down to self- motivation or, unfortunately in
:43:35. > :43:40.Northern Ireland, other key issues involving education in family life.
:43:40. > :43:45.I went to a state school and there was a lot of emphasis on grammar
:43:45. > :43:49.and spelling and punctuation. My daughter, who just finished school
:43:49. > :43:53.about five years ago, at her school there wasn't any emphasis on
:43:53. > :43:59.grammar and spelling and punctuation. How is she, no matter
:43:59. > :44:03.how well she does in her GCSEs, and she got her GCSEs and A-levels, but
:44:03. > :44:09.how could she even fill in an application form if she doesn't
:44:09. > :44:13.know the grammar? Is that part of the education now in state schools,
:44:13. > :44:19.that there isn't the emphasis on that? Do you not think that's
:44:19. > :44:24.important? The gentleman in the front and then we will have to move
:44:24. > :44:28.on. For the past 10 years the focus hasn't been an early years or
:44:28. > :44:32.improving. The sole focus has been on destroying the grammar school
:44:32. > :44:36.sector. Sinn Fein for the past 10 years have had disregard for
:44:36. > :44:46.improving the education system. Their focus has been on destroying
:44:46. > :44:47.
:44:47. > :44:54.the grammar school sector. My own son, he's 14. At the moment his
:44:54. > :44:58.reading level is aged 8.1. I said to the school, I got a school
:44:58. > :45:03.report home which had the full curriculum on that I know of,
:45:03. > :45:08.history, geography, French. My child can't read or write English
:45:08. > :45:11.and yet he's been taught French. I approached the school. On the
:45:11. > :45:15.curriculum, we have to spend so much time per week on all of these
:45:16. > :45:19.objects. I want my son into macro years' time to be able to read and
:45:19. > :45:23.write when he leaves school. Or what chance does he have in life?
:45:23. > :45:30.The CBI is calling for a complete review of the primary curriculum.
:45:30. > :45:35.We have to move on. Thank you very much. Clare MacGowan is a baker
:45:35. > :45:40.from Belfast. What are MLAs doing to help local traders who are at
:45:40. > :45:46.risk of losing their businesses due to the ongoing flag protests?
:45:46. > :45:49.you know, before Christmas I said that I felt the flag protests on
:45:49. > :45:54.the street needed to end and we needed to get into a process of
:45:54. > :45:59.discussing the issues that many people have raised, very relevant
:45:59. > :46:03.issues. A forum was set up to deal with those issues. I have been
:46:03. > :46:10.around the country meeting people, listening to their concerns about
:46:10. > :46:15.those issues. Street protest is a viable way to indicate your
:46:15. > :46:20.annoyance about an individual decision. Illegal street protests?
:46:20. > :46:24.No, street protests. What we have to look at now is, what is the
:46:24. > :46:28.purpose of the continuing protest? I firmly believe there is a process
:46:28. > :46:33.to listen to those concerns, and the process is through the Unionist
:46:33. > :46:38.forum. I do also believe that the traders have suffered. It's one of
:46:38. > :46:42.the reasons why I put money into back in Belfast through the
:46:42. > :46:46.Northern Irish Tourist Board. It has provided a lot of help and
:46:46. > :46:52.support to traders in Belfast. I hope that they will be able to see
:46:52. > :46:57.the benefits of that in the coming weeks and months. Putting local
:46:57. > :47:03.businesses first, from spearheading the Green Party, encouraging people
:47:03. > :47:08.to shop in their local town centre, right up to our stance on
:47:08. > :47:12.corporation tax. The enterprise trading and investment committee
:47:12. > :47:17.heard from the Belfast Chamber of Commerce and he said it was under
:47:17. > :47:20.the best interest of Belfast traders. We tried to put local
:47:20. > :47:25.businesses first, grow the local economy and ensure that where our
:47:25. > :47:31.priority is. What response should there be to the flag protest, which
:47:31. > :47:37.has cost 15 to �25 million and upwards? First of, I do agree that
:47:37. > :47:42.the legitimate right to processed. The protests have in many instances
:47:42. > :47:49.boiled over to illegal activity. I think we need... We didn't need to
:47:49. > :47:51.comes back to what I said earlier. If we continue to have the
:47:52. > :47:56.polarisation of politics in Northern Ireland along sectarian
:47:56. > :48:02.lines, we will continue to have these types of social protests.
:48:02. > :48:07.What concrete help should MLAs be giving to these businesses? To be
:48:07. > :48:11.fair, I will say that the present Belfast Chamber of Commerce did set
:48:11. > :48:15.up the campaign, so credit where it's due. I'm not going to be in
:48:15. > :48:19.opposition for the sake of doing so. But we have had a genuine
:48:19. > :48:23.expression from the public of disengagement. We need to bring
:48:23. > :48:26.them into the political process. We need to have a Sibbit conversation
:48:26. > :48:29.about the number of issues, including the reform of the
:48:29. > :48:33.assembly which ultimately is a reform of the people's agreement.
:48:33. > :48:40.We need to bring people back into these discussions and stop having
:48:40. > :48:45.them enclosed room discussions. think there are a number of issues
:48:45. > :48:49.that you can go off on a tangent about. But I always find it
:48:49. > :48:54.interesting how we are all told about rights not being absolute,
:48:54. > :48:58.they are all balanced. So when we are talking about important rights,
:48:58. > :49:02.like a right to equitable education, you have the balance that against
:49:02. > :49:06.the privilege of the grammar so -- grammar school set who are here. If
:49:07. > :49:10.we want to talk about rights of people do housing and welfare, we
:49:10. > :49:15.have to balance that against people not abusing the system. But God
:49:15. > :49:19.forbid that anyone should challenge an absolute right to wave flags up
:49:19. > :49:23.and down the streets in Northern Ireland. People who go on about
:49:23. > :49:28.their lawful business. That is an absolute right on everybody's part,
:49:28. > :49:32.and everybody has to walk round tiptoeing around it. I think the
:49:32. > :49:38.first thing you have to do his challenge that nonsense head-on.
:49:38. > :49:43.But that's the job of the police, about what is legitimate and what's
:49:43. > :49:47.not and what should be done about it. In terms of hard pressed, small
:49:47. > :49:52.business people, I think there are two things that have to be done. We
:49:52. > :49:58.heard a lot about corporation tax, which doesn't really help anybody.
:49:58. > :50:02.But we used to have a lower rate of tax for small areas of profit. So
:50:02. > :50:09.small, local retailers and small business people who are not making
:50:09. > :50:14.a large amount of profit should actually be paying less tax in the
:50:14. > :50:20.pound on the profit they make, so that they have resources to
:50:20. > :50:23.reinvest in their business. A return to the 10p tax, a return to
:50:23. > :50:29.the 15 p tax until you are making the kind of profit that allows you
:50:29. > :50:38.to avoid tax, like Starbucks and others, that would be helpful to
:50:38. > :50:41.small retailers. A lot of hands up. I think the protesters get a bad
:50:41. > :50:47.rep for the protesting. They are protesting because they are
:50:47. > :50:51.frustrated. They are getting led by a certain other members of the
:50:51. > :50:58.public and not getting led by the politicians. That is what is
:50:58. > :51:03.happening in Belfast at the moment. My question would be to Arlene. The
:51:03. > :51:07.Warwick former barrister and solicitor. The information we are
:51:07. > :51:12.getting is the protests are illegal if the road is blocked but not if
:51:12. > :51:15.there is a dividing line between the two lanes. The reason why I'm
:51:15. > :51:20.asking the question of clarification is because if it's
:51:20. > :51:27.illegal to stand in the middle of the road, will the same law apply
:51:27. > :51:30.in Ardoyne... That's not really what the question was about. It's
:51:30. > :51:39.always illegal, no matter what you do. You stand over there, it's
:51:39. > :51:44.illegal. We always seem to be in the wrong, no matter what. These
:51:44. > :51:48.time-bombs are going to tip us up all the time. While the politicians
:51:48. > :51:56.not moving in at an earlier stage and making sure they things aren't
:51:56. > :51:59.happening. They are our leaders. Given the money that has been
:52:00. > :52:04.invested try and come back from this, does Arlene find it strange
:52:04. > :52:08.that some of her own party councillors are already using
:52:08. > :52:13.photographs of themselves as publicity the two will come of them
:52:13. > :52:16.addressing the protesters? He I do think it is important. On many
:52:16. > :52:19.occasions police have come to party colleagues and said they felt their
:52:19. > :52:23.presence there was important to make sure that no trouble has
:52:23. > :52:28.happened. That is a responsible thing to do as a public
:52:28. > :52:32.representative, to try and keep the peace. There has been money put in
:52:32. > :52:36.to try and sort this situation, but if we want to go back to pointing
:52:36. > :52:42.fingers - why was the decision taken in the first place? There was
:52:42. > :52:48.a consensus... People are going back to the question. I've got to
:52:48. > :52:51.take a few more questions very quickly. There wouldn't be any
:52:51. > :52:54.protest that people would listen to what we want. Why don't they stop
:52:54. > :53:04.complaining about how much money it's costing the economy and listen
:53:04. > :53:09.to what we want? Which is want - but what? We want the flags back up.
:53:09. > :53:13.I'd just like to say, there's a lot of short-termism here about the
:53:13. > :53:20.flanks and the cost to the local economy. Is no one looking at the
:53:20. > :53:24.long-term effect of these protests? Tourism is a huge boom to Northern
:53:24. > :53:34.Ireland and it is totally going to die. Is the money being wasted now
:53:34. > :53:38.
:53:38. > :53:43.on policing or not policing... think the fact around the flag
:53:43. > :53:46.protests is wrong in itself. This is about that is content within the
:53:46. > :53:52.communities. This is about the failure of Stormont in general to
:53:52. > :53:56.provide what was promised in the Good Friday Agreement. The flags
:53:56. > :54:04.issue was the straw that broke the camel's back. They're all the other
:54:04. > :54:08.things that are going on within the tactics of Sinn Fein against... We
:54:08. > :54:15.had promises made to us. What are you going to help the people who've
:54:15. > :54:19.been suffering economic it? We've already discussed the back in
:54:19. > :54:25.Belfast. We support that approach. That type of approach is
:54:25. > :54:30.appropriate. The issue clearly is, can we come as a society, cope with
:54:30. > :54:35.the process of change? Belfast has changed. We should reflect and
:54:35. > :54:40.celebrate that. We should be able to manage and cope with that change.
:54:40. > :54:44.I look at the protests and what are they, they are a tactic to
:54:44. > :54:48.illustrate a grievance over the flag went all the other issues, the
:54:48. > :54:52.lack of peace, political failure at Stormont. But all the focus is on
:54:52. > :54:56.the tactics. We said from the first week of December, move on to
:54:56. > :55:02.another tactic and we will help you. We've created a forum to bring that
:55:02. > :55:06.to. We called for this Saturday, led the parade to commemorate the
:55:06. > :55:16.two people who were murdered 25 years ago go ahead. In terms of
:55:16. > :55:16.
:55:16. > :55:22.supporting the traders, for example, nothing is done for retailers.
:55:22. > :55:27.There's one in my constituency he says... I want you to tell me what
:55:27. > :55:32.you think should be done. Gillibrand says he sells clothing
:55:32. > :55:35.to the United States. He gets no support because he's not
:55:35. > :55:40.manufacturing, but he is exporting. Let Northern Ireland take a more
:55:40. > :55:44.imaginative look at supporting local traders. They have programmes
:55:44. > :55:49.to help. If the gentleman in question would like to come to me,
:55:49. > :55:59.I would send him to invest Northern Ireland. He's already been. Has he
:55:59. > :56:01.
:56:01. > :56:04.I feel like it's lots of talk and no action. I'd trade out of St
:56:04. > :56:08.George's and this is an immediate problem. It only takes a few bad
:56:08. > :56:14.weeks for these businesses to go down. More action and less talk
:56:14. > :56:17.would be helpful. The questions started off on a retail issue. We
:56:17. > :56:24.mentioned invest Northern Ireland. But what are we doing to help
:56:24. > :56:32.Northern Ireland's small businesses in totality? What were you going to
:56:32. > :56:39.say? On the flag situation, we wouldn't be in that situation at
:56:39. > :56:43.the moment. We are where we are. There's too much talk and not
:56:43. > :56:48.enough action. What we need is more talk, that is the action we need.
:56:48. > :56:53.If we bring the protesters into a process of engagement, we could
:56:53. > :56:57.potentially take them off the street. Edu think we do need to
:56:57. > :57:05.engage in a Sibbit conversation. Not just about the flags, about the
:57:05. > :57:09.institutions of the assembly, about we are many years on from then Good
:57:09. > :57:14.Friday Agreement. We need to change everything with their agreement.
:57:14. > :57:18.What is it you want specifically, what would help you most?
:57:18. > :57:23.protests going on outside St George's, they need to be stopped.
:57:23. > :57:25.Honestly, it's a week-to-week basis and we need to be getting people in
:57:25. > :57:29.there and making people feel they can come to Belfast safely and get
:57:29. > :57:33.home safely. It needs to be immediate. And that's more
:57:33. > :57:38.important than any financial aid that someone might give you? We did
:57:38. > :57:42.put in for rent reduction with the council. Three times a week, if you
:57:42. > :57:52.are not making any money, you could lose your business very quickly. We
:57:52. > :57:58.
:57:58. > :58:03.We have come along to represent the traders at St George's Market
:58:03. > :58:10.because we have all been affected. What do you need? On a Saturday
:58:10. > :58:16.Sunday, we have a vibrant market at St George's. We have got families,
:58:16. > :58:22.communities, all cultures working and trading at St George's. Com