10/06/2012 Sunday Politics Northern Ireland

Ed has been a week of celebrations and commemorations. The Culture

Minister is here to put it into perspective. Joining us is Terry

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 1706 seconds

Welcome to Sunday Politics in Northern Ireland. It has been a

week of celebrations, with the Olympic torch and the Jubilee.

There is more to come. A visit by the Queen and the garden party at

Stormont. The UK City of council -- City of Culture celebrations in

Londonderry. Well that the Nabil long-term degeneration? -- will

that create? There is some positive news coming, but the people of

Derry want to see bricks-and-mortar. My guess -- Sharon O'Connor and

Terry George. -- my guests are... 10,000 people have been invited to

Stormont to celebrate the Queen's Jubilee. The news came at the end

double we kept events -- the end of a week of events. Thousands came

out to see the Olympic Torch will make its way through towns and

cities. It has been a busy week for you following the torch. Were you

surprised how many people came out? I was surprised by some of the very

early morning starts and the numbers they are. The weather was

not kind on some of the days, but I knew there was great support for

the athletes. It was brilliant. People who have overcome great

obstacles, many celebrities as well, but the focus was on people with

disabilities and problems to have overcome them. In my own

constituency, one of the torch- bearer has lost a son through

suicide. He was carrying the torch for families who went through a

similar experience. Many ordinary people have done extraordinary

things. We now know the spirit is alive and well but in terms of

long-term legacy, could we have done more? What we could have had

if we had been more organised, could we have done that? I think we

have done very well in the circumstances. We didn't have

team's training, we didn't get the swimming pool, or the Vellow drome.

-- velodrome. We do have nine team's training here, which is very

good. -- teams. These have been hard to come by and we have done

well. What about encouraging people to do sport, people grasping that,

getting more athletes, so the next time they come round we will have

some more representatives? It will have an effect. Not to be parochial,

but in the work -- in north Belfast, we have legendary athlete. We have

young girls getting involved in boxing. That is a good thing.

about the Jubilee. There will be a huge party at Stormont. How do you

feel about that? I found out about his garden party through the media,

it has not been agreed by the Executive. I assume it has been

concocted in discussions with the DUP. We need to remember Stormont

is shared. I will not be going to the garden party or any other event

associated with the Jubilee. I do respect the significance that the

British Queen has here, but also respect that we are trying to

promote shared services and a shared future. The fact this has

been done without any discussion with ourselves jars of me.

Martin McGuinness know about this? I'm sure he found out of the TV or

radio like me. That is not the way to do business. They should be

organised in conjunction with the ministers. Well nobody from Sinn

Fein attend the party? I will not be attending the party. Despite the

fact we need to create conditions of mutual respect, and I do respect

a lot of people who hold the British Queen very dear, I do

respect that. This may come as a surprise to some people that this

has been organised without your knowledge, but is this not also a

signal if he did attend of a real sense of commitment? Details are

still emerging, and I have not been officially invited. Share futures

and shared aspirations are done on the aspirations of trust, respect.

A few weeks ago, it was put forward about meeting the Queen, has that

been decided? It has not. Details are still emerging. Do you feel a

real sense of unease about Martin McGuinness meeting the Queen?

is about speculation. Martin McGuinness has provided excellent

leadership, leading by example. Martin meeting the British Queen

will be a decision made by our party. Some people felt you were

out of step last year, but what the Queen dead in terms of laying a

wreath for the Irish dead was a real step forward. Should that not

be reciprocated? At the end of the day, we have made big strides. We

have always made big strides. But we are a democratic party, and it

will be a decision made by the party. Martin McGuinness has

provided excellent leadership, continually. He will do that. Like

myself, he is governed by the party. Would you be happy if he meets the

Queen? Would you be happy if he met the Queen in Belfast? Let's be

straight, I'm an Irish republican, I don't recognise the Queen is

being the head of the Cid -- as being the head of the state. Terry

George, there was some sense of tolerance of the Jubilee

celebrations this week among nationalists and republicans. This

sounds like it is not straightforward. It is all news to

me, I just flew in from New York. I fully understand Sinn Fein's

position. I am a republican and I believed in a reunited Ireland. On

a personal level, I would have no problem meeting the Queen. I think

the Pope has done more damage in my lifetime ban the Queen has. That is

a personal opinion. There are bigger issues that Martin and Carol

have to confront. They have taken giant Steps and should be

congratulated. When we look back to the Silver Jubilee, you were in

Northern Ireland. What sets do you get up the difference between that

time then, when there was protesting and violence compared to

what could happen this time? I was in jail, so I had no real

perspective of it. To tell you the truth I cannot remember it. It

certainly hasn't come up in my films. You mention your films, and

the theme of reconciliation does not seem to be back straight

forward, compared to your films. is never straightforward. It needs

to be understood that what has been achieved in Northern Ireland, and I

have said it before, what has been achieved by Sinn Fein, Ian Paisley,

Gerry Adams, D P, is unique in major conflict around the world. --

DUP. That they work it out between them is stunning. The people of

Northern Ireland should not forget that. What they have achieved

collectively is amazing. It was only achieved in South Africa by

the defeat of the apartheid government. They sat down here and

work out the peace settlement. To fixate on Martin McGuinness shaking

the Queen's hand, Peter Robinson going to a Gaelic football match,

this nit-picking by the media, it is so destructive in not

considering the overall scope of the thing. At the end of the day,

it is only to fill the air space that you are asking these questions.

The Martin McGuinness handshake would be a mental thing, but to

keep harking on about it, when there are day-to-day events in

Stormont that are so unique and precious, it is destructive. What

about Gary? There would be no chance of having a party for 10,000

people for the Queen in Derry. of the most remarkable things is

the level of community participation. It is really

significant within the committee chamber, we have a measure of

consensus and partnership. I think it is quite remarkable. I say it as

someone who came through the period of history we are all live through.

We have no problem marching together towards a shared future.

The evidence is palpable within the city. If everyone doubts that, they

should look. We have a remarkable story. Is it is distraction? It is

something that will be very significant for a lot of people but

I do think it is a distraction in terms of recognition of where we

have come from, where we are now, where we intend to go. I do think

at times, these issues are very sensitive, and I appreciate there

is a lot of interest in them, but try to corner someone is not

conducive. The fact that this garden party was announced in the

media, people like me feel negative, and in that context, we may be

asked to make a decision about who will meet the Queen of England, and

it is not a good backdrop. Thank you.

Now that Titanic celebrations have subsided, the focus is moving to

Derry, host of the UK City of Culture 2013. The body responsible

for regeneration is ILEX, who have been under fire recently for

spending money without approval. There are concerns it has been slow

to deliver on key projects. This is very's latest tourist attraction.

In the middle of a recession, it is an optimistic man to invest in this

new venture. Here is that man. -- Derry's latest. I went through

Dublin when they had massive developments that led to the Celtic

Tiger. The City is putting on a new base and it has impressed these

tourists. There are great strides being made to unite the community.

The city itself is very smart. were not met at the border with

guns are. Otherwise, everywhere looks brighter. There is not much

to look at here. The city's publicly-owned company, ILEX, had

big plans, but they never came to pass. The company says they will

construct many things next year. Across the bridge is another ILEX

site. Everyone agrees this is a great shared space for dairy. --

Derry. When you look below the surface, what is here? Only this

building is occupied by the City of Culture office. Across the way,

there are plans for a heritage museum. It will not be open until

2015. In the meantime, we are rather restaurants and art

galleries? We're rather jobs? have some very welcome development.

But the people of Derry want to see bricks-and-mortar. It is time to

get back to the plan. I hope and believe that can happen. This

journalist has studied urban regeneration project across the UK.

He says ILEX have been hampered by having too many masters. It has

been responsible to numerous people and that has held it back. It is

quite obvious to lot of people that the relationship between ILEX and

the development committee is not good. The relationship between them

and the city council is also bad. It adds to the bureaucracy but it

is our job to make sure it tick the boxes. It manages but it is

difficult. ILEX has spent over �40 million, and the budget for the

next few years is �30 million. Some of that was spent on a consultation

process, during which time, the recession kicked in. We had a plan

into their them by but nobody owned it. It was not going anywhere. --

we had a plan in 2005. I think the investment at that time will pay

off. Some people are criticising the council for not leading the

City of Culture bid. Actually, the Culture it was led by them. The

original preparation came out of Derry City Council. We are

effectively the leaders of the project. Was it a good idea to have

a separate company? Absolutely. That was about maximising the

leverage of external funds, encouraging charitable trusts and

private sector organisations to get involved. It was about embracing a

wider perspective from the Arts Centre. That is the purpose of the

company and it has been successful. What about some of the criticism, a

lack of facilities and some of the site's not being well enough

developed, no chance of them being well enough developed? In terms of

the development site, it is being used by the community, the bridge

has been hugely successful. There are new cafes and museums, new

things for people to do. The reality is, we will have the Turner

Prize on that site, the Maritime Museum, the fundamental issues.

There is a team effort in the city and we take issue with their not

being good relationships between the city council and ILEX. There is

a very strong team activity. It is working effectively. If you missed

any of the comings and goings, here It was the Queen's Diamond Jubilee,

in case you hadn't noticed. The woman herself was not actually here,

at least not yet. Enjoying it. Looking forward to the impending

visit of Her Majesty. We did have a visit from another VIP, the Olympic

Torch was just about everywhere. There has been crowds on the

streets. That has bright and everything up. It even crossed the

border, just like this man. When I was told no Unionist leader had

ever spoken in a formal sense in Leinster House, I was thinking that

cannot be right. Another bit of history was made in Ballymena.

very humble. It will send a message is all around but we need to work

as a community. -- send out messages. The real reason you are

in Northern Ireland is to promote your new soul. -- your new film.

is a comedy. It stars Brendan Fraser. It has a lot of local

people, shot in Belfast. It is a Belfast film, Belfast comedy.

you find it easy to get films made here? Has it been easy to get