22/01/2012 Sunday Politics Northern Ireland

Good afternoon and welcome to the Sunday politics. George Osborne

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 44 seconds

wants Britain to play its part to In Northern Ireland bombs in

Apology for the loss of subtitles for 44 seconds

Londonderry to the shine off the Bombs in Londonderry took the shine

off the launch of a new tourism strategy so can N I 2012 and the

Titanic signature project achieve the step-change promised by its

architects? Hello and welcome to Sunday Politics in Northern Ireland.

Might studio guests this week our from the Sinn Fein and their

opponents. In terms of people who have not yet been brought to

justice over these bombs, we seem to have this time after time

following big incidents and that throughout the Troubles of the

police not doing a particularly effective job if you're can

statistics. You have to ask what the police were trying to achieve

during the Troubles. They had to hold their line and try to keep the

lid on things. I have a good deal of sympathy with that. We can

indeed do better and there is a huge degree of frustration. If you

study republicanism and there is always what they would call a

militaristic tendency in it. We should not assume that the

militaristic wing will ever go away so we do need to focus on that.

the events of Friday and the press conference that was given yesterday,

is that uncomfortable viewing for Sinn Fein? I do not think so. I

think we will leave these matters to the courts. I would not really

call into question the judgment of the courts and second-guessed them.

We want to improve our courts and policing and Prison Service. The

last thing I would say is that I think as we move forward the war is

over. I think we are moving into a period when the police have become

entrenched. I would like to think of a time when there is no violence

even from these micro groups is close at hand. I would not be quite

so pessimistic about deaths. will discuss that a bit further. --

pessimistic about the best. -- this. There is a school of thought in

Government and business that says build it and they will come. There

it is. The Titanic signature project. Undoubtedly many will come

particularly in this the one hundredth year of the sinking of

the Titanic. But will become insufficient numbers to give

Northern Ireland the boost it needs? This man is the head of the

tourist board. Surely he is feeling the pressure of expectation?

think in terms of the regeneration of Belfast and the regeneration of

Northern Ireland there has never been a better opportunity. Largely

due to the recession the number of overseas visitors has been falling.

Figures for 2011 have not yet been published. Between January and

September over one million people came here, an all-important 343,000

were on holidays. That was 12 % down than on the previous years.

The tourist board says 833,000 extra visitors will come here and

more than 3,500 jobs will be created. This type of project is

something that will draw people to Belfast. We should not forget that

deep tourist has anywhere else in Europe to choose from. They will

only come here if there is something special to visit.

areas of disadvantage and need and high unemployment are concentrated

in north and west Belfast. In order for people to benefit from that

huge public investment we need to have a transport system.

Titanic Quarter has to be seamlessly connected with the city

centre. Belfast cannot risk having different quarters across the city

which do not connect. It is not easy for tourists or local people

to get around. There are just over 300 people currently working on the

side but there -- the job is already done. The grand opening

will be in April. Titanic Foundation predicts that around

306,000 people each year will visit the building. They need 290,000

visitors each year to break even. But the poll thought the long-term

future of the building will be doubtful. We must raise our game

and be confident about ourselves. The Audit Office report cannot have

helped. I think it is wrong of any organisation to come out and knock

a project out before it has even opened its doors. A Rugby player

once said he did not do doubt, I think it is time for Northern

Ireland to stop doing doubt. Joining us now is the enterprise

minister. Let's deal with some of the points raised in the film.

Jennifer McCann was concerned about infrastructure. I think it is

important to get the infrastructure right. That is why we are working

right across Government to make this possible. The Department of

regional development will be key. Also, in some of our other key

events this year including the Irish Open. It is very important

that we work across Government to make sure that everything is in

place for the tourists when they come to Northern Ireland.

opening is not that far away. The Titanic launched is even closer.

Nothing will beat down in time for the actual anniversary. I do not

know what you mean, it will be in place. In terms of infrastructure.

We have already invested a huge amount of money in the tourism

industry across Northern Ireland. You will see us coming together as

a Government and Executive to take advantage of the local opportunity

which has been presented to us. What I was seeing in the Assembly

is that everybody needs to grasp this opportunity and make a

difference for Northern Ireland in 2012. You think those figures, 12 %

down last year, will increase this year? Those figures are incorrect.

I put out a press statement on January fest this year welcoming

the fact we had increased our figures by 6% over the same period

as last year, January to September. I am not quite sure where she is

getting her figures. I know we have increased the number of visitors

who have come to Northern Ireland and our revenue spend which is up

in the region of 20%. Were we just not quicker off the mark in terms

of some of these projects? That is what the Audit Office report has

said. I beg your pardon? The audit office said they had difficulty

with the timeline that we had taken, it deficiencies in governance and

project planning. I was actually very bemused by the Audit Office

report because some of the things they were seeing do not stand up to

scrutiny. They say they are concerned in relation to the number

of visitors we are concerning, it is the same number of visitors that

the Belfast Zoo gets annually. Blue I cannot see how this project which

is based on a global brand could not attract the same amount or more

visitors. In relation to the point made by Jennifer McCann and she

made it in the Assembly last week as well about the fact this was a

project situated in the east of the city and how would it impact on the

rest of the city? When we held a joint jobs via West Belfast City

Council last October half of the people who registered were from

west Belfast. I think people are grasping and we just need to get

all of our politicians to grasp the opportunities that are there as

well. What sort of jobs are recreating he didn't -- within the

tourism industry? Should we be looking more at creating

entrepreneur's who will create new industries? Of course it is both.

At the moment the tourism industry supports around 40,000 jobs in

Northern Ireland. We want to see that increase. We believe it can

increase right across Northern Ireland. When we are talking about

events such as the Samuel Beckett Festival in Enniskillen, that will

bring new jobs. There will be a huge amount of interest in the city

of Culture. We do want more entrepreneur's and innovators but

we also want more people involved in the tourism industry because

this is not just about jobs but changing perceptions of Northern

Ireland. How do you do that when we have things like bombs in

Londonderry? We cannot be deflected by those who would seek to drag us

back to the past. I was very pleased with the event we had last

week to say to Great Britain which is our largest market for tourists,

that Northern Ireland has changed, it is a confident place and we want

you to visit us. Look at all of the events and the products we have for

you. I was pleased with that event and I hope we can build on it to

bring those tourists back over to Northern Ireland particularly in

this huge year for us. How do we deal with the dissident threat and

the impact of their actions in terms of bringing tourists to

Northern Ireland? I do not think we make it our priority. I think we do

the job of setting out our tourism stall. I think we should not be

distracted by the threats. These groups are getting out to try and

destroy events. I think the Titanic building will be a time -- stunning

success. If you look at the wonderful book in time art museum -

- do behind. The local people embrace that. Bilbao now loves that

art museum. The second thing I think about tourism is how we

convince people that in Belfast we want 22.4 million overnight

visitors, we have to convince people that it will improve their

lives, we will provide jobs which will make an impact. Our tourism

product cannot just be the Titanic building. We can have a museum in

Belfast in the Crumlin Road jail. It is all to play for in my view.

take it you have all of these other projects under consideration but

you do not have all of your eggs in one basket? One of the strengths

about tourism is that it is a product that happens right across

Northern Ireland so whether you are in the Lakes or in County Armagh or

in the Sperrins you can partake of the beauty which is Northern

Ireland. I have made it one of my priorities to build up the tourism

sector right across Northern Ireland and not just in D major

cities. Of course deeply a huge role in attracting tourists into

Northern Ireland but when they are here it is important we have things

right across the country for people to see and do. The point is that

the Royal Portrush Golf Club is one of the best on Planet Earth. We

cannot move that to West Belfast because it is an area of high

unemployment. We should celebrate the fact we have one of the best

courses in the world and get on with it. Should we make sure there

is private money going into that so that public money can be spread

around? We have joined up common sense Government that recognises if

you are going to have a Titanic project not everyone is going to

benefit from it so other departments are involved. They're

our jobs creation and tourism in terms of bringing the Irish Open to

Royal Portrush. That goes across a number of Government departments. I

also agree with the minister that it is time to be confident. I

reserve the right to scrutinise and criticise where necessary but also

too pleased where appropriate. We should be confident about Northern

Ireland going forward. We will leave it there. Thank you for

joining us. Now for a our regular look at things in the 60 seconds.

Stars came out in London this week to help promote a new image of

Northern Ireland but back home in Derry the old image returned with a

bang. Two bombs went off causing damage close to the city centre.

The damage these devices will have done to the reputation of the city

cannot be understated. Lord Trimble attacked the present Ulster

Unionist leader with the rejection of the Tories. He is entitled to

his opinion. Another relationship in Stormont was also under pressure.

While for at least one of his colleagues changes to pre-school

education was in flopped. I could come down there and kiss them but

it is probably inappropriate! to see there is still some

opportunity for us you were out there on the hill. Your party

leader does seem to spend a lot of time on the back foot defending

things? It is only 16 months since 1,000 people turned up for the

leadership vote. He got a massive mandate. The biggest in modern

Ulster Unionist history, bigger than Lord Trimble. Leading from the

front, the way it has transpired is that he has to defend what he has

said and it does seem on occasions a bit of foot in mouth. In politics

it is very important to communicate and often that means telling them

and telling them again. He is safe in leadership in your view?

Absolutely. There have been lots of issues at Belfast City Council, in

terms of tourism and looking forward, how do you think we can

sell Belfast as a city that is comfortable and comparable to other

British cities? Belfast has a lot to offer. 60% of tourists who come

here are a cultural tourists. We need to provide them a product to

come and visit. We have to tackle the high levels of joblessness.

Over 30 years we have failed to do that. Next month we will launch a

�150 million capital investment programme. We want to try to sort

out a lot of work in the neighbourhoods. People have not