:01:40. > :01:43.difficulties. Ivan Lewis will join us live from Dublin. And joining me
:01:44. > :01:47.to share their thoughts on all of that are the author and commentator
:01:48. > :01:49.Susan McKay and the BBC's former Ireland correspondent, Denis
:01:50. > :01:52.Murray... With elections on both sides of the border just months
:01:53. > :01:55.away, Sinn Fein's annual conference was well-timed to rally the party
:01:56. > :01:58.faithful. But despite the upbeat mood in the conference hall, the
:01:59. > :02:01.problems facing the party in Northern Ireland were never far
:02:02. > :02:14.away. Martin McGuinness called on those he described
:02:15. > :02:17.away. Martin McGuinness called on Wexford... Welcome to Wexford and
:02:18. > :02:22.the sunny south-east, but not very often this weekend. The rain was so
:02:23. > :02:28.persistent at one stage that there was concern that the river might
:02:29. > :02:32.flood, so pardon the unintended pun, but at the ard fheis, Sinn Fein was
:02:33. > :02:39.hoping to persuade floating voters in advance of the elections in May I
:02:40. > :02:46.have is of the elections. There was an orange alert for the weather.
:02:47. > :02:48.Orange alert was another theme throughout the conference
:02:49. > :02:53.proceedings. The ard fheis took place in the Wexford Opera house and
:02:54. > :02:57.delegates heard the Deputy First Minister criticised the Unionist
:02:58. > :03:03.parties for their failure to reach an agreement with nationalists on
:03:04. > :03:09.the Haass proposals. He said the Unionist parties were dancing to the
:03:10. > :03:13.Orange Order's tune. The current difficulties are real and they are
:03:14. > :03:19.not insurmountable. My commitment and the commitment of Sinn Fein to
:03:20. > :03:23.the process and to the institutions is absolute. The ard fheis heard
:03:24. > :03:27.Martin McGuiness say that the issues could not be drawn out until after
:03:28. > :03:32.the May elections, while Gerry Adams offered to meet the Orange Order to
:03:33. > :03:37.discuss their concerns. Delegates were optimistic that there would be
:03:38. > :03:42.an agreement with the DUP. We can all agree it would be better if the
:03:43. > :03:46.Executive were working in a coordinated fashion in terms of
:03:47. > :03:51.addressing the issues they are failing to address at the moment.
:03:52. > :03:55.The DUP need to realise that communities are moving on without
:03:56. > :03:58.them. They are moving ahead of the Executive in terms of delivering on
:03:59. > :04:05.cross-border issues, communities working together and the DUP need to
:04:06. > :04:10.catch up. Grassroots unionism understand that there is a situation
:04:11. > :04:15.in government and that some point somebody will have to blink and I
:04:16. > :04:19.think the DUP will have to realise from their own grassroots that the
:04:20. > :04:22.ordinary people in the six counties want a government to do the
:04:23. > :04:35.ordinary people in the six counties criticised in the media and by
:04:36. > :04:40.politicians, mainly in the Republic, following a programme on the
:04:41. > :04:52.Disappeared and questions about passing on information about his
:04:53. > :04:54.brother, a convicted child rapist. The ard fheis rallied around him. A
:04:55. > :04:57.relentless campaign of vilification against Gerry Adams in this State is
:04:58. > :05:02.a disgrace and it shoots stop immediately. Of those who were not
:05:03. > :05:08.even born when Gerry Adams became leader, want him to stay on. When
:05:09. > :05:14.Gerry Adams puts his name forward, they will elect him President. Will
:05:15. > :05:18.you make him President for life? I am not sure that the rules will
:05:19. > :05:24.allow for that, but I am certain that each time it Gerry Adams
:05:25. > :05:32.contests for the position, we will vote him in. The ard fheis ended
:05:33. > :05:34.without a song from the fat lady, but with lots of applause for the
:05:35. > :05:40.tall, slim, bearded man. Shane Harrison reporting from Wexford. Our
:05:41. > :05:43.Political Editor, Mark Devenport, has been speaking to the Sinn Fein
:05:44. > :05:46.President, Gerry Adams. He began by asking him about Sinn Fein ruling
:05:47. > :05:49.out re-negotiation of the Haass proposals when surely that's
:05:50. > :05:58.precisely what's going on at Stormont? We should be doing our
:05:59. > :06:03.best as political leaders, who ever we represent, to serve all of the
:06:04. > :06:10.people and the fact is these issues are not going away. We have to deal
:06:11. > :06:15.with the past, we have to deal with issues of identity and contentious
:06:16. > :06:22.parades and we will deal with them. There is a process of change
:06:23. > :06:26.underway and sometimes it strikes me that it is quite difficult to be a
:06:27. > :06:33.Unionist leader, because they come from a history of no, never, no
:06:34. > :06:38.surrender and now they have to embrace equality and embrace other
:06:39. > :06:40.qualities which are almost foreign to the Unionist philosophy. All they
:06:41. > :06:52.can do is delay, but they to the Unionist philosophy. All they
:06:53. > :06:58.state has gone, the 2.5 parties state in this state has gone, so
:06:59. > :07:01.changes happening. If there is not a dealer by the time of the elections,
:07:02. > :07:08.have you got any other alternative? dealer by the time of the elections,
:07:09. > :07:13.We will continue to make process and engage with all sectors of society,
:07:14. > :07:19.I actually think that the Unionist leaders are well behind were popular
:07:20. > :07:24.opinion, including popular Unionist opinion, while they may reflect the
:07:25. > :07:30.elitist or committed political core that we all work with, you but you
:07:31. > :07:35.have to see beyond that and Martin McGuiness said quite wisely to
:07:36. > :07:40.Michael Nesbit, if you have got 90% of A.D. , then close the deal. We
:07:41. > :07:49.are uncomfortable with aspects of this, we would argue that it could
:07:50. > :07:53.be strengthened in certain aspects, but you cannot in this negotiation
:07:54. > :07:59.get it the way you want. This will not be the Ulster, Don't, it is
:08:00. > :08:08.going to be a compromised -- covenant. The British Government
:08:09. > :08:11.needs to make it clear, the Irish government has said it wants to see
:08:12. > :08:19.this implemented, the British Government needs to do the same. Do
:08:20. > :08:23.you think it David Cameron was wise to big that speech calling for
:08:24. > :08:26.people in England, Wales and Northern Ireland to make their
:08:27. > :08:34.voices known in relation to Scottish independence? That is his business.
:08:35. > :08:38.We decided to stay out of the debate on Scotland because that is a matter
:08:39. > :08:44.for the people of Scotland. The affairs of this island are matter
:08:45. > :08:48.for the people here. He is the British Prime Minister, he will say
:08:49. > :08:53.whatever he says. I made a point to one of your colleagues, and I will
:08:54. > :09:02.make a broader point, the use to be a British Empire, now we are it.
:09:03. > :09:12.That is what it has been reduced to, almost from ruling the
:09:13. > :09:15.That is what it has been reduced to, support the union that it would be
:09:16. > :09:19.there for ever, the North was described as being as British as
:09:20. > :09:25.Finchley, but that has gone. People need to wake up, it has gone. The
:09:26. > :09:28.union is now conditional, one of the big achievements of the Good Friday
:09:29. > :09:34.Agreement is that it is a matter for the people to decide and we want to
:09:35. > :09:37.urge that debate here, whatever the people of Scotland do, that is a
:09:38. > :09:46.matter for them, but the debate here, we want to encourage that. You
:09:47. > :09:51.said that the UK is hanging by a thread, if Irish republicans were
:09:52. > :09:57.two to -- to take some encouragement from Scotland, is the reverse true,
:09:58. > :10:05.if there is a no vote, it may have a negative impact on your campaign for
:10:06. > :10:09.border poll. No, there is an integrity to the awful negative
:10:10. > :10:14.impact of British Government rule on our island. I say that with respect
:10:15. > :10:18.to people from the Unionist tradition who have a sense of
:10:19. > :10:24.Britishness, or whatever, about their right to that and their
:10:25. > :10:28.identity, no one can argue that British Government involvement in
:10:29. > :10:33.our affairs on partition or the development of sectarianism or all
:10:34. > :10:37.of the divisions, we talk about the last 30 years of conflict, which
:10:38. > :10:43.thankfully is behind us, but think back over the centuries. It has
:10:44. > :10:48.never been good for us. Those people within unionism who are sitting back
:10:49. > :10:53.now and saying, will we have another summer like last year? Will we have
:10:54. > :10:59.idiots running around the city centre with union flags around
:11:00. > :11:05.them, besmirching their own flag and breaking the law and inflicting
:11:06. > :11:09.sectarian pressure upon small communities or can we not just be
:11:10. > :11:14.like people everywhere, that we welcome this summer, or we can all
:11:15. > :11:19.relax and have a good time? Martin McGuiness made clear that he has no
:11:20. > :11:21.intention of putting himself forward to succeed you as party President,
:11:22. > :11:35.will the next leader to succeed you as party President,
:11:36. > :11:40.party President, I did so reluctantly. At that time, I did say
:11:41. > :11:46.that I thought that the party President should come from the
:11:47. > :11:51.south. We have such a range of talented people. Do you still think
:11:52. > :11:59.the party President should come from the South? Yes, but I am mindful
:12:00. > :12:04.that there is no contest for the party leadership at the moment. It
:12:05. > :12:08.is entirely hypothetical. When it comes to the time when the party has
:12:09. > :12:14.to choose another party President, they will do so and what they will
:12:15. > :12:24.have, it which they did not have in my day, is a range of people, both
:12:25. > :12:30.men and women from Donegal to Wexford, across the country, of
:12:31. > :12:35.bright intelligent, smart and very energetic people and what we all
:12:36. > :12:40.share, all the different ages that we have, we still share and idealism
:12:41. > :12:45.and have an energy and commitment. Thank you. Gerry Adams talking to
:12:46. > :12:48.Mark Devenport in Wexford. Joining me now are the BBC's former Ireland
:12:49. > :12:53.Correspondent, Denis Murray, and the commentator Susan McKay... You're
:12:54. > :12:58.both welcome. Sinn Fein made the point repeatedly over the weekend
:12:59. > :13:04.that it is an all island party, but this was a speech for two quite
:13:05. > :13:08.different electorates. It was almost like two speeches and the vast bulk
:13:09. > :13:13.of it was for the audience in the Irish Republic. I covered in ard
:13:14. > :13:17.fheis for years and the bulk of the speech was always about the
:13:18. > :13:23.struggle, about the North, about that question. Now, it is almost
:13:24. > :13:28.despite Gerry Adams's insistence on an all island party, it is almost
:13:29. > :13:32.like you do not have to talk about Northern Ireland, it is resolved.
:13:33. > :13:38.The Republic is where Sinn Fein can increase the vote. There was that
:13:39. > :13:42.line in the speech, offering to reach out to the Orange Order and
:13:43. > :13:44.meet the leadership to discuss identity, but over and above that,
:13:45. > :13:59.meet the leadership to discuss the Orange tradition, been an
:14:00. > :14:05.important part of our history. He is making the right noises, but when he
:14:06. > :14:08.says about idiots in his speech. The people who are doing that, you may
:14:09. > :14:16.see them as that, but that passion goes very deep with them. Is it
:14:17. > :14:22.about setting out his stall for further growth in the Republic? Sinn
:14:23. > :14:26.Fein is on the rise in the Republic and they will do better and better
:14:27. > :14:32.for the meantime, but they underestimate the resilience of
:14:33. > :14:37.Fianna Fail. They have the biggest appeal of those least likely to
:14:38. > :14:42.vote. They are popular with young men, working-class young men, they
:14:43. > :14:46.are unpopular with women and middle-class voters. They are going
:14:47. > :14:50.to have to work on that constituency and obviously Mary Lou McDonald
:14:51. > :14:56.would make a huge difference if she was leader. Is that looking more
:14:57. > :15:05.likely? Gerry Adams is terribly damaged. He has looked damaged.
:15:06. > :15:12.Because he is there among the faithful, but certainly he is
:15:13. > :15:15.damaged. If he talks about a toxic culture in relation to issues like
:15:16. > :15:20.child abuse, it will not wash because the party has been shown to
:15:21. > :15:28.have a toxic culture itself in that regard. He does need to go for the
:15:29. > :15:31.party to have a wider appeal. He is hopeless on economic issues in the
:15:32. > :15:37.Republic. Mary Lou McDonald has performed strongly on that. It must
:15:38. > :15:41.be said that the party did back the disastrous Fianna Fail bank
:15:42. > :15:50.guarantee which underlies so much of the economic crisis in the Republic.
:15:51. > :15:53.Thank you both for now. The Shadow Secretary of State, Ivan Lewis, is
:15:54. > :15:56.meeting the Tanaiste, Eamonn Gilmore, in Dublin today. On a
:15:57. > :15:58.recent trip to Belfast, Mr Lewis warned that three years of
:15:59. > :16:01.consecutive elections could lead to a period of 'timidity or political
:16:02. > :16:03.paralysis' in Northern Ireland. Reacting to the failure of the Haass
:16:04. > :16:05.talks to break the deadlock Reacting to the failure of the Haass
:16:06. > :16:19.me now Reacting to the failure of the Haass
:16:20. > :16:23.joining us. You are due to meet Eamon Gilmore later today, you were
:16:24. > :16:30.at the ard fheis over the weekend. You have been critical of the
:16:31. > :16:35.Tories's handling of politics here, what would you do differently if you
:16:36. > :16:40.were in charge? Flags parades and the past are issues which are
:16:41. > :16:43.outstanding issues connected with the peace process. If you looked at
:16:44. > :16:48.the evolution of the peace process, every stage of that process, the UK
:16:49. > :16:52.and Irish governments have been heavily engaged, directly meeting
:16:53. > :16:56.the parties, trying to help find common ground. The parties must
:16:57. > :16:59.maintain leadership but that lack of engagement we have seen,
:17:00. > :17:04.particularly from the UK Government has come home to roost with the
:17:05. > :17:10.failure to reach agreement in relation to Haass. Theresa Villiers
:17:11. > :17:14.disputes that, she says she is engaged and waiting to step in if
:17:15. > :17:22.requested to do so. Eamon Gilmore made a similar point. I have been in
:17:23. > :17:26.this job for five months and every Northern Irish politician I have met
:17:27. > :17:31.has talked about, clearly, the sense of the Secretary of State who is
:17:32. > :17:36.disengaged. When have we seen David Cameron make any comments about the
:17:37. > :17:42.Haass talks? In the end, of course it is right that we must allow
:17:43. > :17:44.devolution to work, we must encourage Northern Ireland parties
:17:45. > :17:51.to take responsibility, but the issues we are focused on our
:17:52. > :17:56.directly, issues connected with the peace process and if you look at the
:17:57. > :18:00.past, the UK Government is massively central to dealing with the past in
:18:01. > :18:05.Northern Ireland, as is the Irish government. If you look at any
:18:06. > :18:08.outcome from Haass, there will be financial implications, in terms of
:18:09. > :18:12.any new infrastructure required to deal with the past, there will be
:18:13. > :18:20.legislative issues, in terms of devolving -- getting rid of the
:18:21. > :18:24.Parades Commission. The British and Irish government have direct
:18:25. > :18:35.involvement. Are you saying that you would have called all of
:18:36. > :18:38.involvement. Are you saying that you paternalistic that we would be
:18:39. > :18:43.calling in the parties, we would have been having over a long period
:18:44. > :18:46.of time intensive discussions. They would have been private and
:18:47. > :18:52.discreet. We would be trying to identify the common ground. Last
:18:53. > :18:56.week, the Secretary of State did an interview where she said there would
:18:57. > :19:00.be some resources potentially available to make any agreement on
:19:01. > :19:05.the past work. Prior to that, she said there would be no resources.
:19:06. > :19:10.Subsequently she said she had been misquoted and would still be no
:19:11. > :19:14.resources. There is even a lack of clarity. The Prime Minister has been
:19:15. > :19:21.absent entirely from the discussions. What is perhaps not
:19:22. > :19:27.helpful to moving forward is to have an end to the bipartisan approach,
:19:28. > :19:32.to have a shadow Secretary of State sniping at the Secretary of State
:19:33. > :19:36.who says she is doing her best? It is not me who arrived in Northern
:19:37. > :19:39.Ireland and talked about the disengagement of the UK Government,
:19:40. > :19:44.it is all the political parties who feel the same. If they all feel the
:19:45. > :19:49.same, they are either involved in a conspiracy or telling the truth. Of
:19:50. > :19:57.course on questions of security and many other issues, not welfare and
:19:58. > :19:59.jobs and growth, but on security, we will maintain our bipartisan
:20:00. > :20:03.approach. Can I ask you about the Ballymurphy families who have had
:20:04. > :20:08.their demand for an independent panel backed by the Taoiseach in
:20:09. > :20:15.Dublin? The families are waiting for a meeting with David Cameron, where
:20:16. > :20:18.do you stand on that demand? I shall certainly be meeting them for the
:20:19. > :20:23.first time next week in Belfast. There are questions to answer, I
:20:24. > :20:27.will certainly meet with them and engage with them and clarifying our
:20:28. > :20:34.position on the nature of any enquiry, but of course, David
:20:35. > :20:42.Cameron should meet with the families. Ivan Lewis, thank you.
:20:43. > :20:44.Now, let's pause for a look back at the week in politics in sixty
:20:45. > :20:56.seconds, with Gareth Gordon... the week in politics in sixty
:20:57. > :21:05.not get your way, is this a resignation matter? I think you are
:21:06. > :21:10.straying beyond the remit. Should Protestants learn the Irish
:21:11. > :21:15.language? I believe it is part of a republican agenda. Eventually they
:21:16. > :21:19.will try and make it the same as English. In a free country, people
:21:20. > :21:24.are entitled to learn whatever language they wish and to practice
:21:25. > :21:29.whatever language they wish. Has the GAA done enough to calm fears over
:21:30. > :21:35.the new Casement Park? There are things we could have done better. I
:21:36. > :21:39.take responsible a day for that. Does the Education Minister O one of
:21:40. > :21:44.his critics an apology? Because I would not write to him, because I
:21:45. > :21:51.wrote to the permanent Secretary, that he should punish me. There are
:21:52. > :21:55.many injustices throughout the world and meeting him on the latter is not
:21:56. > :22:01.one of them. Gareth Gordon reporting. Denis Murray and Susan
:22:02. > :22:08.McKay are still with me... Picking up there, what is the perspective
:22:09. > :22:11.from Dublin on this spat between the Secretary of State and Ivan Lewis
:22:12. > :22:16.about how much the British Government and Irish government
:22:17. > :22:20.should or should not be involved in the political dialogue regarding
:22:21. > :22:24.Haass at the moment? The Irish government is nervous about dealing
:22:25. > :22:27.with criticising unionism and since that unionism is clearly responsible
:22:28. > :22:34.for the failure of the Haass talks to be agreed at this point, that is
:22:35. > :22:38.difficult for them. Eamon Gilmore has indicated that he will support
:22:39. > :22:43.trying to get the proposals implemented, but in a timid way. I
:22:44. > :22:48.think it will be seen as welcome that the shadow Secretary of State
:22:49. > :22:53.is saying things, pointing out the dithering that Theresa Villiers has
:22:54. > :22:57.done. She has been a week Secretary of State. Your thoughts, Dennis? The
:22:58. > :23:03.way the talks ended was of State. Your thoughts, Dennis? The
:23:04. > :23:06.pleasant. Richard Haass meant his deadline. Tony Blair kept
:23:07. > :23:19.pleasant. Richard Haass meant his problems. I do not see how you
:23:20. > :23:22.revive those in any meaningful way until after the elections and then
:23:23. > :24:07.you're into the marching season.