:01:26. > :01:29.looking across the Irish Sea to Cardiff after a weekend of talks on
:01:29. > :01:39.parading and policing leads to an agreement supporting the PSNI. Join
:01:39. > :01:39.
:01:39. > :37:34.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2155 seconds
:37:34. > :37:39.Northern Ireland. The sun finally came out as the Balmoral show made
:37:39. > :37:42.its debut at the Long Kesh site where big plans were made for one of
:37:42. > :37:48.our most successful industries. We talk to the Agriculture Minister
:37:49. > :37:58.Michelle O'Neill. Also a weekend of talks on policing
:37:59. > :38:05.
:38:05. > :38:10.many of our farmers are truly weatherbeaten. The executive handed
:38:10. > :38:14.out around five billion pounds in hardship funding to those of farmers
:38:14. > :38:17.who lost livestock in the snow falls in March. Last week a further
:38:17. > :38:22.million pounds was made available to help farmers cope with animal food
:38:22. > :38:26.shortages. Despite this doom and gloom, the agri- food sector has
:38:26. > :38:30.been outperforming other parts of the economy. A new growth strategy
:38:30. > :38:34.is to capitalise on that and create a further 15,000 jobs over the next
:38:34. > :38:42.seven years. The Agriculture Minister Michelle O'Neill is with me
:38:42. > :38:48.now. Why do you think our agri- food sector is performing so well?
:38:48. > :38:54.think that it has been a particularly difficult year over the
:38:54. > :38:57.last 18 months for the farming community, but despite all of that,
:38:57. > :39:01.despite the climate, agriculture continued to grow. There is a
:39:01. > :39:07.growing demand for food, so there is a massive potential market there for
:39:07. > :39:13.us to exploit. This week we have launched the agri- food strategy.
:39:13. > :39:17.That is been devised by industry and we look forward to be able to
:39:17. > :39:23.implement a lot of the recommendations. There are a lot of
:39:23. > :39:28.big asks in it, it is there a challenging. It is a very big ask.
:39:28. > :39:36.Is it realistic? Absolutely. We are talking about 15,000 new jobs being
:39:36. > :39:42.created, 75% growth in the export market. We are targeting the export
:39:42. > :39:48.market. We want to get into the emerging markets of China, Russia,
:39:48. > :39:54.the USA... There is so much potential for us. We need to exploit
:39:54. > :40:01.that to its full potential. sector is worth �5 billion at the
:40:01. > :40:07.moment. The plan is to push that to 7 billion by 2020. That is 40%
:40:07. > :40:11.growth in the seven years. Those figures are not to be sniffed at.
:40:11. > :40:15.Absolutely not, but this report has come from the industry. A lot of
:40:15. > :40:21.hard work has been put in and I commend the board for the work they
:40:21. > :40:25.have put in. There are often whenever you talk about the food
:40:25. > :40:29.supply chain, the farmers are the poor relation. In this case the
:40:29. > :40:33.unions have been very much involved in the conversation so now there is
:40:33. > :40:39.recognition that there is only one supply chain and we have to invest
:40:39. > :40:44.in it if it is to be successful in the future. Certainly for me, one of
:40:44. > :40:51.the challenging aspects to it is it is calling for 400 million from the
:40:51. > :40:54.executive. That will leave 1.3 billion in investment for the
:40:54. > :41:01.industry and that is a big win and will help us drive forward the
:41:01. > :41:06.agenda. There are things to change in processing, but it is about
:41:06. > :41:10.skills development, research and development. Do you know where this
:41:10. > :41:15.investment is going to come from? Can you pinpoint specific sectors,
:41:15. > :41:22.factories and organisations that can deliver these figures or are we
:41:22. > :41:28.still at the early stages of it being a fanciful wish list? A lot of
:41:28. > :41:31.this has looked in the beef sector, dairy sector, and everything from
:41:31. > :41:37.food processing... Even if you take it from the farming end of things
:41:37. > :41:41.right through to people who produce the packaging and labels, scientists
:41:41. > :41:45.and all those things, there is such a range of jobs across the sector.
:41:45. > :41:50.The other thing is it is not specific to one area, it is right
:41:50. > :41:55.across the North. I can say it is growth right across the North, not
:41:55. > :42:01.just targeted in one area. It is an area that is susceptible to the
:42:01. > :42:07.vagaries of international markets, employment situations and food
:42:07. > :42:11.safety, which is a critical issue. There is an off a lot that could
:42:11. > :42:17.potentially go wrong. It would be great if these figures are
:42:17. > :42:21.delivered, but it is a risky strategy, isn't it? If you even take
:42:21. > :42:25.horse meat and the scandal surrounding that and the impact that
:42:25. > :42:28.it had on the local industry, if there is anything positive to come
:42:28. > :42:34.out of that it is that people are starting to recognise the importance
:42:34. > :42:40.of supply chains. Tesco have said they will source 100% of their beef
:42:40. > :42:47.products locally, to me that is a major win. We must be mindful of the
:42:47. > :42:52.fact that over the last 18 months it has been very challenging economic
:42:52. > :42:57.times. But the industry has continued to grow. A positive
:42:57. > :43:04.announcement in terms of the agri- food sector, but the other
:43:04. > :43:10.announcement of �1 billion put in a fund to help farmers deal with a
:43:10. > :43:18.crisis in terms of fodder supply. A lot of people who aren't involved
:43:18. > :43:26.don't understand that conflict. said at the start, we are coming out
:43:26. > :43:28.of a period of extreme weather between the rain and the snow. There
:43:28. > :43:35.have been particular challenges because of this. These are
:43:35. > :43:39.short-term measures, in terms of getting some fodder out to them, is
:43:39. > :43:44.something we need to sustain them into the future. If we don't have
:43:44. > :43:51.the farmers now, they won't be able to produce the food in the future.
:43:51. > :43:58.We will hear from the commentators in just a second. Your reflections,
:43:58. > :44:06.if you would, after the first Balmoral show at the site of the
:44:06. > :44:15.former Maze, Long Kesh site? absolutely commend the vision for
:44:15. > :44:19.moving to that site. The potential there is amazing. The show was very
:44:19. > :44:24.successful, over 80,000 people visited it and everyone in the
:44:24. > :44:29.grounds was very positive about what they saw and everything that was on
:44:30. > :44:39.for families to come along too. no butts? No buts, it was a
:44:40. > :44:40.
:44:40. > :44:46.fantastic show. Mike Smyth, wearing your economists
:44:46. > :44:51.hat, what you feel about this notion that the agri- food sector can be
:44:51. > :45:00.grown to that level in such a short period of time? There are two
:45:00. > :45:04.observations. Certainly the targets are very ambitious. However, the
:45:04. > :45:09.analysis of the demand increase we have already seen would indicate
:45:09. > :45:14.that if it is out there then we could certainly get a fair share of
:45:14. > :45:23.it. The real problem I have is that we are a very fragmented industry
:45:23. > :45:32.here. The strategy is aimed at trying to simplify it. Abolish a lot
:45:32. > :45:37.of institutions that make for a lot of noise, and it is about money and
:45:37. > :45:41.the way we deal with things here. The road to the target is littered
:45:41. > :45:51.with strategies like this, so it is very challenging. You wouldn't
:45:51. > :45:53.
:45:53. > :46:02.disagree with that, the? -- Liam? It should be judged at the next
:46:02. > :46:06.election if it is made. There will be a reward if it comes off. As the
:46:06. > :46:14.Minister said, sustainability is becoming an important thing. Since
:46:14. > :46:22.the horse meat scandal, that has suddenly given us a niche market
:46:22. > :46:32.higher up the cost chain. We can charge more for our products, and I
:46:32. > :46:32.
:46:32. > :46:37.know a minister is going to Brazil to meet a major employer. We are now
:46:37. > :46:46.their European headquarters. You can see that these foundations are being
:46:46. > :46:51.built on. Let's talk about the political dimension to this other
:46:51. > :46:54.story, which is bound up in the Maze development. We know it is
:46:54. > :46:57.controversial, but we have seen something happened there which has
:46:57. > :47:02.brought people together from all kinds of communities. The minister
:47:02. > :47:10.says it was a great success from her point of view, does that help with
:47:10. > :47:17.the other aspects of the development of that site? I think it does. My
:47:17. > :47:19.personal view is it would have been foolish developing the Maze without
:47:19. > :47:28.developing the other buildings. It will be a draw for buildings
:47:28. > :47:32.depending on how we develop them. Presumably you have to tell the
:47:32. > :47:39.story in a balanced way. If you wanted to be a tourist draw then
:47:39. > :47:44.there are other things, like the chance of a stadium. We will hear
:47:44. > :47:49.more from you later in the programme.
:47:49. > :47:55.Intensive talks between police, politicians and committee leaders
:47:55. > :48:01.came to an end with a vow of support for the PSNI. The focus was on
:48:01. > :48:06.reducing tensions between police, Loyalist and republican communities.
:48:06. > :48:09.We made our expectations clear that we wanted to do what we could to
:48:09. > :48:14.ease tension and build relationships with communities. We have been
:48:14. > :48:20.through a particularly difficult few months and we want to do what we can
:48:20. > :48:23.to get relationships re-established. We want to maintain
:48:23. > :48:32.clean occasion throughout the summer, and this shows that a series
:48:32. > :48:36.of principles have been agreed that shows that has actually happened.
:48:36. > :48:40.have seen how quickly things can spiral out of control, and what I
:48:40. > :48:50.was impressed with was the sense of collective purpose and integrity
:48:50. > :48:53.that people in that room had, their will to make it work. Vincent, I
:48:53. > :49:00.suppose we shouldn't be too surprised that they had all agreed
:49:00. > :49:02.they should support the rule of law, first of all. You expect
:49:02. > :49:08.politicians and community representatives to support the
:49:08. > :49:14.police and the rule of law, and the police are agreed to stress that
:49:14. > :49:20.this statement comes after some strong criticism of the PSNI. For
:49:20. > :49:26.example, during the protests earlier this year Republicans accused the
:49:26. > :49:31.police of being too soft. On the other hand, no-one has accused the
:49:31. > :49:34.police being too heavy-handed and brutal in their response. The police
:49:34. > :49:41.say they were caught in the middle, being criticised and attacked while
:49:41. > :49:47.both sides. Even that backdrop, the police say they are pleased at the
:49:47. > :49:51.statement which supports them and acceptance for their responsibility
:49:51. > :49:57.of maintaining the rule of law. They have also agreed to give more
:49:57. > :50:03.advance notice about how they will police public events. They say they
:50:03. > :50:07.will provide an explanation as to what they will do and why in the
:50:07. > :50:13.hope of reducing tensions. police are clearly happy with the
:50:13. > :50:20.outcomes of the talks. What about the delegates? They aren't all
:50:20. > :50:24.singing of the same hymn sheet. After the police started talking to
:50:24. > :50:33.us, we had an orderly queue willing to give us their views. They are
:50:33. > :50:39.keen to stress to things, Mark. That smack two things. It is about trying
:50:39. > :50:44.to reduce tensions in areas where there has been criticism of the
:50:44. > :50:48.police. They stress that this has been a successful initiative. There
:50:48. > :50:58.were some candid and frank discussions and it wasn't always
:50:58. > :51:00.
:51:00. > :51:09.pleasant, but the view was it was successful. It was summed up by Sinn
:51:09. > :51:13.Fein 's. It is a positive move forward. This is about the
:51:13. > :51:18.relationship between the police and the community and in that
:51:18. > :51:24.parameter, the weekend has been successful. You are suggesting that
:51:24. > :51:33.the delegates are happy with the outcome. Will it have any practical
:51:33. > :51:38.impact in the future? That is the weight issue. -- big issue. It has
:51:38. > :51:45.cost millions of pounds for the policing of protest since December,
:51:45. > :51:53.�23 million. They hope that this will reduce tensions on the street.
:51:53. > :51:58.The big issue is, will it have any impact on the street? I asked
:51:58. > :52:02.whether these talks have reduced the potential for violence this summer?
:52:02. > :52:04.There are always people who will not listen to anyone who are intent on
:52:04. > :52:05.listen to anyone who are intent on listen to anyone who are intent on
:52:06. > :52:08.disruption with no positive disruption with no positive
:52:09. > :52:13.disruption with no positive contribution to make to society.
:52:13. > :52:22.contribution to make to society. contribution to make to society.
:52:22. > :52:28.That is the case around the world. What is next for the protests?
:52:28. > :52:35.about trying to do something more strategic, meeting with community
:52:35. > :52:40.representatives after there has been trouble. They want to keep the
:52:40. > :52:46.communication going. We have been told there will be talks closer to
:52:46. > :52:50.home in the weeks ahead and this will be put to the test, because all
:52:50. > :52:55.those who have signed up to this agreement support the police. I
:52:55. > :52:59.asked a number of delegates if they will continue to support the police
:52:59. > :53:03.if they do something they don't like. They said they are entitled to
:53:03. > :53:06.criticise the police if everything goes wrong, but they say they will
:53:06. > :53:15.support the police throughout this summer. That will be put to the test
:53:15. > :53:23.in the weeks ahead. Let's hear the thoughts of Mike's
:53:23. > :53:27.Mike. When you hear -- Mike Smyth. When you hear about what they have
:53:27. > :53:36.been discussing, it seems like potentially a significant
:53:36. > :53:41.development, doesn't it? It is a positive thing. It is important to
:53:41. > :53:48.get it in perspective. This is a kind of tactical thing. How do we
:53:48. > :53:54.deal with trouble when it comes up, how do we deal with new parades? I
:53:54. > :53:59.think it is useful to do that. One of the best agreements was the
:53:59. > :54:03.police saying they will brief people on their tactics before the events
:54:03. > :54:12.take place. At the beginning of the flag protest there were some
:54:12. > :54:16.complaints, and the police didn't really explain what they were going
:54:16. > :54:23.to do and it might have ended a bit sooner if they did. Good comedic
:54:23. > :54:30.Asian is always a good thing. Good communication is always a good
:54:30. > :54:38.thing. They said that they want to avoid the violence of earlier, which
:54:38. > :54:43.cost �23 million. I have to say that I travel across Europe and the flag
:54:43. > :54:47.protest, people didn't understand them. All they could see was the
:54:47. > :54:54.trouble and the violence. They were shaking their heads saying, we
:54:54. > :54:59.thought you had sorted all this out? It was headlines in continental
:54:59. > :55:05.Europe for quite some time, doing a lot of damage, not just in terms of
:55:05. > :55:12.the cost of dealing with it, but the effect on our image. There is a
:55:12. > :55:19.premium here, a dialogue, trying to improve lines of communication.
:55:19. > :55:22.is interesting way in which that dialogue might take place, Liam.
:55:22. > :55:29.They spoke about the number of resolutions that the delegates
:55:29. > :55:34.agreed to, but one of them is, we recognise the importance of words
:55:34. > :55:37.and use of respectful language in the coming months. I know that isn't
:55:37. > :55:45.a binding agreement, but they presumably will have to weigh very
:55:45. > :55:50.carefully what they say in future. It is good you have this range of
:55:50. > :56:00.people agreeing about inflammatory language. The ombudsman is involved
:56:00. > :56:00.
:56:00. > :56:10.as well, they will act as an umpire to some extent. It was a little
:56:10. > :56:10.
:56:10. > :56:15.disappointing, perhaps, that it will be added into later discussions. At
:56:16. > :56:23.the end of the marching season we had a letter signed by the Royal
:56:23. > :56:29.Orders that was a prelude to further disturbances. There was no parades
:56:29. > :56:32.commission, no. The chairman of the parades commission said he was happy
:56:32. > :56:38.not to be there because it wasn't about parading, but it would have
:56:38. > :56:44.been interesting to see if representatives from the Orange
:56:44. > :56:54.Commission and other orders could have attended. Ewe-mac I think it
:56:54. > :57:04.may have been -- I think it may have been one of the reasons why it
:57:04. > :57:05.
:57:05. > :57:09.didn't happen. The message it sent out, the optics, are good. There is
:57:09. > :57:14.some kind of planning and a process going on. There will be some
:57:14. > :57:20.difficult months coming up, and I think it is best to prepare as best
:57:20. > :57:30.we can. We will hear a quick final thoughts from you both before we
:57:30. > :57:34.
:57:34. > :57:38.finish, but for now thank you very With marching once again making the
:57:38. > :57:45.headlines, the parades commission chairman dispels rumours that
:57:45. > :57:47.tensions exist with the police. police do a terrific job given the
:57:47. > :57:53.issues and complexities and challenges that they have faced over
:57:53. > :58:01.the couple of months prior. First Minister had a biblical
:58:01. > :58:10.putdown for assembled critics. Listening to the tribe of
:58:10. > :58:17.Jeremiahs... There does seem to be a general malaise around the police.
:58:17. > :58:26.Some don't think it is worth their while to come into the chamber.
:58:26. > :58:36.Allstate announces hundreds of jobs. The first Balmoral Show at the
:58:36. > :58:47.
:58:47. > :58:52.guests, Liam Clarke and Mike Smyth. The TV has a bill on special
:58:52. > :58:57.advisers, which comes up tomorrow. That should be interesting, and we
:58:58. > :59:06.have some amendments as well. TUV bill has been successful even if
:59:06. > :59:10.it doesn't pass because Sinn Fein have already enlisted advisers for
:59:10. > :59:16.answering questions for Sammy Wilson. There is only one Sinn Fein
:59:16. > :59:21.adviser who will be affected, Paul Kavanagh, who is the only one
:59:21. > :59:30.working in that capacity. The STL P are trying to amend it so that he
:59:30. > :59:36.wouldn't be affected. -- STL P. talked to the Minister about agra
:59:36. > :59:44.food, we talked about jobs and investment, word is that fit in the
:59:44. > :59:50.broader economic picture? It is all about this issue of how do we reach
:59:50. > :59:56.our potential. The potential exists in the agri- food strategy, but we
:59:56. > :00:02.really have to up our game. On the wider economy, one thing that has
:00:02. > :00:07.been bothering me is that the fiscal relationship with London is now a
:00:07. > :00:13.constraint on the future development of Northern Ireland. The Scots