:01:26. > :01:35.Our top ministers finally get face time with the Prime Minister - who
:01:36. > :01:36.
:01:36. > :39:02.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 2246 seconds
:39:02. > :39:10.gives Fermanagh the G8 summit. Join Hello and welcome to Sunday
:39:10. > :39:12.Politics in Northern Ireland. Soaking up the applause from the
:39:12. > :39:14.party faithful, Peter Robinson sets out plans to woo new members,
:39:14. > :39:17.including Catholics. As budget negotiations stall in Brussels,
:39:17. > :39:20.what will the stalemate mean for peace funds here? The economist
:39:20. > :39:23.Mike Smyth sets out the difficulties ahead. And with their
:39:23. > :39:33.take on events, Liam Clarke of the Sunday Times and Denzil McDaniel of
:39:33. > :39:37.
:39:37. > :39:39.The DUP has undergone many changes in the past few years. It's become
:39:39. > :39:42.Northern Ireland's biggest party, it's gone into government with Sinn
:39:42. > :39:45.Fein and it's attracted members and voters from other unionist parties.
:39:45. > :39:47.But it has never attracted into its ranks a representative from the
:39:47. > :39:50.cross-community Alliance Party. As our Political Correspondent, Gareth
:39:50. > :40:00.Gordon, reports from the annual conference, that may be about to
:40:00. > :40:08.
:40:08. > :40:14.The annual conference appears to grow year on year. This is not a
:40:14. > :40:24.party in need of resuscitation. One problem for parties that have grown
:40:24. > :40:25.
:40:25. > :40:31.so quickly is to keep that momentum going. Enter this man. He was at
:40:31. > :40:40.councillor for the Alliance Party. Yes, the Alliance Party. Have you
:40:40. > :40:49.left the Alliance Party because of their support for our that issue?
:40:49. > :40:54.It is something that is incompatible with my beliefs.
:40:54. > :41:02.have some very good friends here and I have been invited to the
:41:02. > :41:07.conference to look around. Are you considering joining? Yes, I am.
:41:07. > :41:11.a member yet, but for the party leader that is just a new detail.
:41:12. > :41:16.Over the past decade we have gone from strength to strength, not by
:41:16. > :41:21.closing our doors, but welcoming in all those who share out Lucan
:41:21. > :41:28.values. And let me say, tantalisingly, we are not finished
:41:28. > :41:32.bringing people into the party yet. The party is also keen to show it
:41:32. > :41:37.is listening to those already in the ranks. Mr Robinson spoke again
:41:37. > :41:43.of attracting Catholics, that means toning down some of the All
:41:43. > :41:52.cimbalom -- symbolism and rhetoric, but not completely. If no longer
:41:52. > :41:58.can Sinn Fein be allowed to have it all ways. Going to the Parliament
:41:58. > :42:05.periodically to it let sectarian speeches be spied a debt. Pick up
:42:05. > :42:11.their expenses by doing nothing. It is time for Parliament to act with
:42:11. > :42:18.the situation and we will be making sure they do that once and for all.
:42:18. > :42:22.As a former director of publicity for the UUP, this man had never
:42:22. > :42:29.attended a conference before. What did he think? I could not have come
:42:29. > :42:34.here 10 years ago comfortably. I would not have been invited onto
:42:34. > :42:39.their platform of far a panel discussion. I have enjoyed it,
:42:39. > :42:48.there is a sense of excitement that I have not seen at a party
:42:48. > :42:55.conference. And so say all of them. As they clapped and cheered, this
:42:55. > :42:58.man responsible for making it happen.
:42:58. > :43:00.Gareth Gordon reporting. After his speech, Peter Robinson spoke to our
:43:00. > :43:08.Political Editor, Mark Devenport, who asked first about Mr Robinson's
:43:08. > :43:16.opposition to a border poll. think everybody knows what the
:43:16. > :43:21.outcome of a border poll would be in Northern Ireland. Why would we
:43:21. > :43:27.carry this out when we know everyone is content to remain in
:43:27. > :43:33.the United Kingdom. It will take the focus away from other problems
:43:33. > :43:37.they are facing. You say your critics within Sinn Fein regard you
:43:37. > :43:41.talk about changing the system instalment wrongly as summer tent
:43:41. > :43:51.to go back to the 1930s. What are you looking for or what you think
:43:51. > :43:59.
:43:59. > :44:04.is realistically achievable? -- Stormont. I think we need to change
:44:04. > :44:11.the length of some of these processes. On top of that I am
:44:11. > :44:16.comfortable with the idea of advocating for a proper official
:44:17. > :44:23.opposition. At the moment we don't have such an opposition. But there
:44:23. > :44:28.the SDLP and Ulster Unionists, if they are not content that they can
:44:28. > :44:31.make a valuable contribution in the Executive, then I would not stop
:44:31. > :44:37.them from building into the competition. I would facilitated in
:44:37. > :44:43.terms of resources being made available. We have had a lot of
:44:43. > :44:48.arguments about the opposition. Sinn Fein is sceptical about it. Do
:44:48. > :44:53.you think changes will be cutting down the numbers and Parliament?
:44:53. > :44:57.will see the answer to that very soon. We have committed ourselves
:44:57. > :45:00.to bring our proposals before the end of the year. So in the next few
:45:00. > :45:06.weeks we will be getting down to the hard work of bringing forehead
:45:06. > :45:11.a final document on the issue. I think we have a ludicrous situation
:45:11. > :45:16.where people say they want to get into opposition went for all
:45:16. > :45:19.intents and purposes they are an opposition now. They are happy to
:45:19. > :45:24.have ministerial positions and take other benefits from that. When
:45:24. > :45:28.there is a hard to decision to be made, we see dust from their heels.
:45:28. > :45:37.If they want to be mature members of an Executive, that is the best
:45:37. > :45:41.way. They they cannot make that commitment, the alternative is
:45:41. > :45:45.there for them. I gather that potentially we may be hitting a
:45:46. > :45:50.similar debate about civil service pension reform in the next few days
:45:50. > :45:55.that you were not able to agree in the Executive? There was no
:45:55. > :46:01.argument in terms of the content. That was already agreed by the
:46:01. > :46:06.Executive. I think we know the financial consequences if we were
:46:06. > :46:09.to reach parity in terms of their pensions. The only argument will be
:46:09. > :46:18.about what process we should go through in order to have that
:46:18. > :46:22.result. Whether it should be an Assembly vault. And their
:46:22. > :46:32.consequences of having a slower process. That will be the
:46:32. > :46:39.
:46:39. > :46:48.discussion. Rather than the content. -- vault. How seriously are you
:46:48. > :46:53.considering running two candidates? We are considering it. It is a
:46:53. > :47:00.matter for the internal party machine to consider. I have made it
:47:00. > :47:06.clear my support for Diana, I think she has done as if -- a fantastic
:47:06. > :47:12.job in Europe. Whether we put a second candidate in is something
:47:12. > :47:22.the party Executive will decide. You made it clear that you're not
:47:22. > :47:23.
:47:23. > :47:31.convinced by their reconciliation Chatterjee -- strategy for the
:47:31. > :47:35.Executive. In terms of the consent, the first deputy and I are on the
:47:35. > :47:43.same place. They are some issues that the SDLP are looking at and
:47:43. > :47:47.they should be given the time to do that. I have indicated my patient
:47:47. > :47:52.to get this out. There is further work they can be done with party
:47:52. > :47:58.leaders. We have made a good job. There were parties that were there
:47:58. > :48:04.for most of the time and for political reasons I think we have
:48:04. > :48:07.decided they want to distance themselves. I do not think the
:48:07. > :48:12.electorate will take account way. This is an important issue, it is
:48:12. > :48:22.right we get a strategy that people can buy into it. I do not think the
:48:22. > :48:26.
:48:26. > :48:29.ball take timely one people saying -- taking a solo stance. -- vote.
:48:29. > :48:35.With me now are Liam Clarke of the Belfast Telegraph and Denzil
:48:35. > :48:42.McDaniel of the Impartial Reporter. You heard what Mr Robinson had is
:48:42. > :48:51.in there. Any surprises? She has continued with reaching out to the
:48:51. > :49:01.community. But what he does not talk about is that he is also that
:49:01. > :49:02.
:49:02. > :49:06.-- delivering on a fundamental issue. A -- that does not come into
:49:06. > :49:12.it. That is there to keep some people online for the reaching out
:49:12. > :49:19.staff. What you make about this pitch to bring more Catholics into
:49:19. > :49:27.the D L P? Is that achievable? Is it something that Party can move
:49:27. > :49:32.on? I think there were mixed messages on that yesterday. I
:49:32. > :49:38.thought there was some flag-waving from the leader as well. That is a
:49:38. > :49:42.real danger. He did talk at great length. There is great surprise
:49:42. > :49:47.that someone from the Lions party may join the party. I think it is a
:49:47. > :49:51.huge step to think the Catholics were joined the party as well. It
:49:51. > :49:54.was significant he mentioned the border poll because it is a big
:49:54. > :50:00.step to imagine that Catholics may feel comfortable in the United
:50:00. > :50:05.Kingdom at the moment. But will they vote? The significance is if
:50:05. > :50:09.we get a border poll, the mechanism will say it happens every seven
:50:09. > :50:15.years. And week are then in a debate for the future of Northern
:50:15. > :50:22.Ireland. What about the motion from the Alliance Party being tempted
:50:22. > :50:30.perhaps to join the DUP? They hint was strong that this is a move that
:50:30. > :50:35.he might make? Yes, it was. He said he might stay as an independent.,
:50:35. > :50:41.at that case what was he doing there? He said his friend and I
:50:41. > :50:46.them. It was a sign of changed times. I agree it will be hard to
:50:46. > :50:52.get Catholics in with the current position. It was interesting when
:50:52. > :50:58.Peter Robinson repeated he would facilitate opposition. That is
:50:58. > :51:03.where he will target members. will be interesting to see that
:51:03. > :51:10.happen. Do you get a sense that that is a move politically that is
:51:10. > :51:20.do it all? I think it is. It is as a prize in this sounds that I do
:51:20. > :51:26.
:51:26. > :51:28.not know the man. -- a surprise. For now, thank you very much indeed.
:51:28. > :51:31.Could the British government's insistence on an EU budget freeze
:51:31. > :51:34.put our next tranche of European peace money in jeopardy? The Ulster
:51:34. > :51:37.unionist MEP, Jim Nicholson, has warned that the Peace and
:51:37. > :51:39.Reconciliation Fund is in grave danger of not being extended past
:51:39. > :51:43.2014. Since 1995 Northern Ireland and the Irish border counties have
:51:43. > :51:53.benefited from around �1.35bn in funding. The current Peace III
:51:53. > :52:03.
:52:03. > :52:08.programme is due to end next year. How much do think that funding is
:52:08. > :52:14.hanging in the balance? Their British Prime Minister wants a
:52:14. > :52:20.freeze and the budget in real terms. It is under some pressure. However,
:52:20. > :52:25.I remember the circumstances of the last negotiation, it was very much
:52:25. > :52:30.last-minute decision. It was done well after the final negotiations.
:52:30. > :52:38.I have a feeling that this and, everything is agreed invisible in
:52:38. > :52:45.Brussels, it will probably be signed off after the main
:52:45. > :52:48.negotiations over. I am not as pessimistic as gem is. He says that
:52:48. > :52:53.the political well does not seem to be there on the part of the UK
:52:53. > :52:57.Government. It wants this freeze on the European Union budget, it is
:52:57. > :53:02.not prepared to make they ask for Northern Ireland to get the special
:53:02. > :53:08.funding. He says the UK has got to step up to the players. Yes, I
:53:08. > :53:12.think the UK has to indicate the desire to have the package. That is
:53:13. > :53:17.part of the negotiation. I do not think people expect Mr Cameron to
:53:17. > :53:27.achieve a freeze in real terms. The question is what kind of work will
:53:27. > :53:27.
:53:27. > :53:31.run can he get? -- wiggle room. That is the thing. How much can he
:53:31. > :53:36.stand over making the case for Northern Ireland when there are
:53:36. > :53:41.other areas in the European Union where the need is at least as great,
:53:41. > :53:49.if not even significantly greater? That is a difficult one. In the
:53:49. > :53:54.context of a huge budget of a trillion Euros, the peace package
:53:54. > :53:59.is not really terribly vague. What we're looking at here in the
:53:59. > :54:04.negotiation is about the big-ticket items, about the British rebate,
:54:04. > :54:07.about major cohesion funding and structure of funding. And the way
:54:07. > :54:17.these things tend to be negotiated is the big items are negotiated for
:54:17. > :54:18.
:54:18. > :54:23.us, then the devil is in the detail. The officials work that out. My
:54:23. > :54:27.assumption as a peace package is agreed out invisible. A final
:54:27. > :54:33.discussion will be around the size of it rather than whether there
:54:33. > :54:38.will be one are not. In the overall budget, it is a small budget. For
:54:38. > :54:44.Northern Ireland it is a significant amount of money.
:54:44. > :54:48.Accessing those funds under at peace funding programme would have
:54:48. > :54:55.as significant impact on community groups across the country? It's
:54:55. > :55:04.certainly would. It is perhaps not widely acknowledged, but their role
:55:04. > :55:13.the European Union has played, cannot be understated. We should
:55:13. > :55:18.understand it is an important package. What impact with it have
:55:18. > :55:23.any a place of work and her manner? I think there are high hopes that
:55:23. > :55:31.the programme will happen. People need it happened. I think you could
:55:31. > :55:36.be argued that over the various projects, the real peace building
:55:36. > :55:41.has taken place on those projects long grassroots level. There are
:55:41. > :55:46.community groups that have benefited from it. I heard this
:55:46. > :55:50.morning an interesting discussion about a project where victims were
:55:51. > :55:56.able to tell their stories, which was vitally important. There are
:55:56. > :56:01.many projects that need to continue. Those are rural projects that
:56:01. > :56:05.Denzel is talking about. There are City projects, whether it is in the
:56:05. > :56:13.north-west are Belfast, there are equally important to those groups?
:56:13. > :56:18.Absolutely. There are some big- ticket items and there. I do not
:56:18. > :56:22.have a says that we are not going to have a programme, or what might
:56:23. > :56:29.happen is that the amount that has been expected might be reduced,
:56:30. > :56:39.depending on the outcome of the negotiations. What's -- what you
:56:40. > :56:41.
:56:41. > :56:50.make of the idea of a pleading? are in a recession. European money
:56:50. > :56:57.has been useful. There are some things the Executive finds
:56:57. > :57:01.difficult to agree on. I think it would be a bad effect of we did not
:57:01. > :57:06.get it and I think Europe would like to hold us up as an example of
:57:06. > :57:13.conflict that could be sold. You are right, it is time we got past
:57:13. > :57:21.the poor us, the handouts. It will take a year or two yet. Do you feel
:57:22. > :57:28.uncomfortable about that? It is not a pleading. What have the European
:57:28. > :57:33.is done for us? Quite a lot. 1.3 5 billion euros of funding. Look
:57:33. > :57:37.across the border and we see and new roads network. This is money
:57:37. > :57:43.coming into bills society here. It is vital work they should continue.
:57:43. > :57:51.It has been short-term. What would you call it? Brussels has done more
:57:51. > :57:58.for us here. Since Britain joined the European Union, the commission,
:57:58. > :58:02.we have received more or. The Treasury has netted it off. My
:58:02. > :58:09.feeling is we will have a programme and it will be something of a
:58:09. > :58:19.similar scale, spread over a longer period of time. So you're answer is
:58:19. > :58:20.
:58:20. > :58:25.quite a lot? Quite a lot. If our national Government decided to keep
:58:25. > :58:28.the money. They said they would spend it here anyway. We notice
:58:28. > :58:33.that south of the border because the infrastructure was so poor
:58:33. > :58:40.until the late 1980s. We will find out in due course. Many community
:58:40. > :58:50.groups Bobby sitting with their fingers crossed in the meantime. --
:58:50. > :58:51.
:58:51. > :58:54.will be. Now for the week in 60 Seconds - with Martina Purdy.
:58:54. > :58:58.Our top ministers finally get face time with the Prime Minister, who
:58:58. > :59:08.gives Fermanagh the G8 summit. have decided the right place to
:59:08. > :59:12.hold it is right here And wait for it - Jim Wells'
:59:12. > :59:19.apology for offending a Sinn Fein minister and her advisor. You are
:59:19. > :59:28.going to have a long wait. What Ann Travers whose sister was
:59:28. > :59:30.murdered by the IRA had to say about its murder campaign.
:59:31. > :59:33.The price of discrimination, Protestant Alan Lennon is awarded
:59:33. > :59:43.�150,000, after a Sinn Fein minister Conor Murphy failed to
:59:43. > :59:57.
:59:57. > :00:01.appoint him. My individual role as That was a Freudian slip there.
:00:02. > :00:09.Marina Purdie with the making 60 seconds. I do not know what Stephen
:00:09. > :00:14.Agnew was hinting at there. Let's talk about the G8. You're newspaper
:00:14. > :00:20.broke the story and scoot everybody as far as everybody is concerned.
:00:20. > :00:23.You are able to say we told you so. The difference -- question is what
:00:23. > :00:33.difference will it make when these world leaders appear in Fermanagh
:00:33. > :00:34.
:00:34. > :00:42.in June? It used set aside and look at the G8 issue, these world
:00:42. > :00:46.leaders, will they make a difference? It is vital for a
:00:46. > :00:52.summer like Northern Ireland tizzy this massive scale of an event
:00:52. > :00:58.coming, it will showcase for a man and Northern Ireland. Do you think
:00:58. > :01:04.it will have a big impact on the community of a man and a wall of
:01:04. > :01:08.Northern Ireland? Your paper was saying this could be a �100 million
:01:09. > :01:17.bonus for the county? I didn't do that one. But they are adding up
:01:17. > :01:22.the effect on hotels and restaurants. If the town will be
:01:22. > :01:27.fooled when the holiday season has not started. Will they chase the
:01:27. > :01:36.protest to account as well? I think traders are canny enough to go for
:01:36. > :01:41.either. They will spread across to Donegal and Sligo as well. I think
:01:41. > :01:44.the big thing for us will be for people halfway across the world who
:01:44. > :01:51.still think we're a bit like the Ritz, they will seek that the G8