:00:31. > :00:33.will not shy away from making decisions. They will sometimes be
:00:33. > :00:37.controversial but decisions I believe will ultimately deliver a
:00:37. > :00:40.better health service. That was the pledge from the Health Minister as
:00:40. > :00:42.he took up post two years ago. Today he apologised for the way
:00:42. > :00:45.controversial social care decisions have been handled and summoned the
:00:45. > :00:49.heads of the five trusts to an emergency meeting at Stormont. We
:00:49. > :00:52.ask is Edwin Poots still in control of the Department of Health? Also
:00:52. > :01:00.tonight. Belfast's Lord Mayor wants to party instead of parade to mark
:01:00. > :01:04.the end of his year in office. Is he right? I think anything that
:01:04. > :01:09.attracts young people into the city centre is a good thing. Not to knock
:01:09. > :01:12.the old, but I think it brings an influx in, not only a good thing.
:01:12. > :01:15.We'll hear the thoughts of our commentators on the big stories of
:01:15. > :01:25.the week. And you can, of course, follow the programme on Twitter.
:01:25. > :01:25.
:01:25. > :01:28.That's @BBCtheview. Edwin Poots has spent the day on a crusade of damage
:01:28. > :01:31.limitation trying to quell the public outcry over proposals by
:01:31. > :01:34.healthl trusts to close residential care homes. He says he's sorry for
:01:34. > :01:36.any distress caused to elderly people, but blames the trusts for
:01:36. > :01:38.the disastrous handling of the proposed changes. Our Political
:01:38. > :01:48.Correspondent, Martina Purdy, reports on the politics of the
:01:48. > :01:49.
:01:49. > :01:54.healthcare row. This is one of the residential care homes facing
:01:54. > :02:00.closure. It's not the first time it's made the headlines. Back in
:02:01. > :02:05.2009, the trust is marketed for closure, leaving the health minister
:02:05. > :02:11.facing fierce criticism. In fact, one of the Minister 's fiercest
:02:11. > :02:16.critics was the day you PM LA, Edwin Poots, here he is in the assembly
:02:16. > :02:24.insisting he had got it wrong. hear what the residents say, because
:02:24. > :02:28.they are the people who are most important. And here he is pro
:02:28. > :02:35.testing. But now he's in charge, perhaps the issue doesn't seem so
:02:35. > :02:44.black-and-white. As Minister, the measure he sent out is of a new
:02:44. > :02:49.approach, trans forum care is right. Proposal recommends proposing to
:02:49. > :02:56.close half the residential homes here. It's what one social policy
:02:56. > :03:04.expert calls apolitical awkward moment. I think the Minister was
:03:04. > :03:11.guided by political thinking that there would be votes in resisting
:03:11. > :03:17.the closures of these facilities. he's got logic on his side now?
:03:17. > :03:22.People emphasised the realities to him. Indeed, with the elder
:03:22. > :03:26.population set to rise sharply, cost is one of the factors driving the
:03:26. > :03:29.Minister 's policy. But it's not the only one says a former trust
:03:29. > :03:35.chairman, who last year was sacked by the minister over target
:03:35. > :03:40.failings. It's expensive to keep elderly folks in residential homes,
:03:40. > :03:46.and as one as Wallace, a lot of them are run down, so the alternative
:03:47. > :03:51.seems to be for them to keep people in their own homes as long as
:03:51. > :03:55.possible. For some people, it's a good idea. If you ask elderly people
:03:55. > :04:00.what they would like in the future, it's obvious they want to stay in
:04:01. > :04:05.their own home, but will it be safe for them to stay in their own home?
:04:05. > :04:10.We have to look at how we provide service, not a third World approach
:04:10. > :04:16.will you get 50 minutes four times a day under the minimum for people.
:04:16. > :04:21.Supported housing is key to plan. This elder resident has their own
:04:21. > :04:25.front door but also access to 24-hour help. The problem, claim
:04:25. > :04:31.critics, is there's a shortage of these developments. Critics say
:04:31. > :04:35.that's not the only problem. Now most of the are proposing to close
:04:35. > :04:39.all they care homes, there will be more pressure on the private sector
:04:39. > :04:47.to as sectors struggle to profit on the amount the NHS pays per
:04:47. > :04:52.resident. Transforming care is right, but I don't think that means
:04:52. > :04:57.every residential home should be closed. You can't put all your eggs
:04:57. > :05:06.into the private sector basket. It's a risk. This academic agrees there
:05:06. > :05:10.are risks. The government need to be sure that the spaces that are lost,
:05:10. > :05:18.as NHS facilities closed down, are actually filled by the private
:05:18. > :05:23.sector. At the moment, contractors are, at best, breaking even. They
:05:23. > :05:28.are under a huge set of pressures over the past few years. But in
:05:28. > :05:34.terms of the overall policy, he has this advice for the Minister.
:05:34. > :05:43.would say stick with it. It's a logical policy. Don't realise
:05:43. > :05:53.ambitions to provide quality care by maintaining the residential care
:05:53. > :05:54.facilities operated by the NHS. Easier said than done. In a highly
:05:54. > :05:57.charged environment, as elderly residents and their relatives
:05:57. > :06:01.expressed their distress. That suggests to me those people have not
:06:01. > :06:06.been engaged, happened been consulted properly, don't feel they
:06:06. > :06:10.are being listened to and are afraid and that's unacceptable. It's not
:06:10. > :06:14.acceptable to frighten older people. The amount of upset at being
:06:14. > :06:18.communicated to my office is significant. There has been
:06:18. > :06:22.speculation that the trust, frustrated by funding gaps, are
:06:22. > :06:30.putting the pressure is back on the Minister by maximising closures. But
:06:30. > :06:35.others say it's nonsense. I don't think the trusts are out to get the
:06:35. > :06:38.Minister. I believe the health board is doing this with the support of
:06:38. > :06:45.the Minister. Whatever the truth, others have their own theories on
:06:45. > :06:47.what the Minister will do next. We're looking at U-turn. Amid the
:06:47. > :06:52.turmoil, the chair of the health committee is demanding clarity from
:06:52. > :06:57.the Minister. He made a statement, number of weeks ago in the
:06:57. > :07:00.assembly, 50% will close within five years. He needs to challenge the
:07:01. > :07:03.trust because they don't seem to be taken on board his vision. It
:07:03. > :07:09.doesn't seem as the trusts are listening to what the Minister says
:07:09. > :07:14.all in charge. Martina Purdy reporting. The man in the eye of the
:07:14. > :07:16.storm, the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, is with me now. Thanks for
:07:16. > :07:21.joining us. Let's pick up on that point at the end. Edwin Poots, who's
:07:21. > :07:25.in charge of this situation, the trusts or you, the Minister?
:07:25. > :07:32.trusts are the people who implement things on the ground. We set policy
:07:32. > :07:36.and they carry it out. The policy that is in place here that deals
:07:36. > :07:42.with all this is transforming care. We went to public consultation on
:07:42. > :07:47.that and received over 90% support. What we wear proposing is to do care
:07:47. > :07:52.in a different way for elderly people. We want more independence,
:07:52. > :07:56.supported living, give them the support they need. And the
:07:56. > :08:00.implementation of it, I have to say the trusts have carried out a way in
:08:00. > :08:03.which it's been damaging to transforming care and that's why I
:08:03. > :08:07.will bring them in to see me tomorrow and a deal with these
:08:07. > :08:10.issues with them. But wasn't the trusts' decision to nominate these
:08:10. > :08:15.homes for closure a direct response to the policy being pushed by your
:08:15. > :08:23.department? It was too close residential homes. There was no
:08:23. > :08:28.policy like that. You said 50% in five years. Yes, and that what
:08:28. > :08:33.happened anyway. There's a turnover in our homes and that turnover takes
:08:33. > :08:37.place. Naturally. Those homes would have become rundown in terms of the
:08:37. > :08:40.numbers are people that were in them and we could have done this without
:08:40. > :08:46.causing the pain and distress which has been caused to elderly people.
:08:46. > :08:49.That is one of the things which most annoys me at this moment in time,
:08:49. > :08:56.the distress caused to elderly residents. We will talk about that
:08:56. > :09:00.in a moment or two. 50% you say you didn't know about the 100%, that
:09:00. > :09:06.three of the trusts have announced but we have three trusts taking the
:09:06. > :09:14.same decision at the same time. I'll leave you read that as coincidence?
:09:14. > :09:16.Well, I can tell you what I know. Last Wednesday night, we became
:09:16. > :09:21.aware the Northern Trust reporting their proposals forward the next
:09:21. > :09:29.day. I wasn't aware of the Severn Trent until it was happening, and
:09:29. > :09:36.the Western trust. Why not?I don't believe they are implement and
:09:36. > :09:40.policy. They didn't check with your office? They notified me the night
:09:40. > :09:44.before. Doesn't say much for the way they regard you that they didn't
:09:44. > :09:48.bother to discuss what your reaction might be to such a deviation from
:09:48. > :09:51.your policy in transforming care, not to discuss it with you. That's a
:09:51. > :09:59.matter for them to answer but when I became aware of what was being
:09:59. > :10:06.proposed, over the past few days, I have been horrified at how it is
:10:06. > :10:11.translated. Whenever I see elderly people on TV, it's so distressing, I
:10:11. > :10:15.can't be satisfied with that in fermentation. That's why I will call
:10:15. > :10:21.the trusts and bring them to me and see the way they have gone about
:10:21. > :10:26.this. They didn't consult to, they made the decision. What are you
:10:26. > :10:29.going to do about it now? Will you tell them they can't pursue these
:10:29. > :10:35.closures and you're not satisfied and you are the Minister and they
:10:35. > :10:39.can stop at 50% or will you just let them go ahead? I will back them
:10:39. > :10:45.close 100%. I will state that now. We will have a discussion tomorrow.
:10:45. > :10:52.I've given them instructions to meet the older persons Minister as to how
:10:52. > :10:58.they handle elderly people and take some advice from her about how
:10:58. > :11:03.things should be done. What exactly going to happen? You will call the
:11:03. > :11:07.trusts together, sit them down and say precisely what to them? It'll
:11:07. > :11:11.probably be the directors of elderly care and I will say to them
:11:11. > :11:17.transforming elderly care is something which received 90% of
:11:17. > :11:21.public support in the consultation, overwhelming support the assembly
:11:21. > :11:27.and transforming care identifies 50% plus of homes will go over three to
:11:27. > :11:31.five year period. And they have overstepped the mark in looking to
:11:31. > :11:36.close 100% of homes in a short period of time. That's the first
:11:36. > :11:39.time they said they'd overstepped the mark. You said that now gone
:11:39. > :11:43.further but you're now saying they've overstepped the mark and
:11:43. > :11:49.you're going to that clear? Yes, they have damaged the transforming
:11:49. > :11:55.your care in what they have done, because elderly is a key section of
:11:55. > :11:58.it. We are putting a �50 million into the elderly in the last three
:11:58. > :12:05.years, identified further funding increases over the next year,
:12:05. > :12:07.looking at 3 million additional pounds for rehousing, which will
:12:08. > :12:12.allow frail elderly people who have to go into hospital to be able to go
:12:12. > :12:17.back home with support. These are key things and important things in
:12:17. > :12:20.transforming care and doing what needs to be done, developing
:12:20. > :12:24.multidisciplinary teams. Closing houses people are living in is a big
:12:24. > :12:28.issue for them. What I find fascinating in all of this,
:12:28. > :12:33.Minister, you have been forced to react to the public outcry at the
:12:33. > :12:36.triple whammy of three trusts announcing 100% closures. You are
:12:36. > :12:39.reacting to that, not to the policy because when the Northern trust made
:12:39. > :12:49.its announcement, nearly ten days ago on Monday last week, there
:12:49. > :12:51.
:12:51. > :12:55.they were over stepping the mark. Was the statement on Tuesday
:12:55. > :12:59.morning? They were going further than transforming your care. I was
:12:59. > :13:05.interviewed after the proposals were put forward and I said I thought
:13:05. > :13:11.they were going further than transform transforming care. It has
:13:11. > :13:19.taken you a while to realise the scale of the public outcry? In terms
:13:19. > :13:27.of how it was being handled I wasn't aware of how it was being
:13:27. > :13:31.implemented. It's a damning indictment of your position, you say
:13:31. > :13:34.as Minister I wasn't aware of what is happening. You are either in
:13:34. > :13:38.charge or you don't know what is happening and you are not in charge.
:13:38. > :13:42.You are telling our viewers tonight is that you didn't know what was
:13:42. > :13:46.happening. You are the Minister you didn't know what was happening?
:13:46. > :13:51.Absolutely wrong. I can't be in every residential home and every
:13:51. > :13:56.hospital and every ward of every hospital overseeing. Nobody is
:13:56. > :14:03.asking that. They are asking for a proper communication process with
:14:03. > :14:06.the Trusts? I could not be expected to be in every home. That is...
:14:06. > :14:10.not suggesting that for a second. I don't think anybody has suggested
:14:10. > :14:15.that. You didn't seem to know they were about to make the announcement.
:14:15. > :14:19.When they made the announcement you didn't have an idea of how it would
:14:19. > :14:23.be communicated to the people affected by it. There is an argument
:14:23. > :14:26.you should have known what was happening an Programme
:14:26. > :14:30.Implementation Board to clarify the chain of command on the trance
:14:30. > :14:35.forming your care policy was put in place. You were at the top of that
:14:35. > :14:40.chain of command. You were to be reported on a weekly basis by your
:14:40. > :14:44.permanent secretary. Why did that not happen? What we were told was
:14:44. > :14:49.that older residents would be told of the proposals that was going to
:14:50. > :14:53.the Board. How that was actually done is a different matter. That is
:14:53. > :14:57.a question I will ask tomorrow. One of the things I will be raising with
:14:57. > :15:00.them is how this has been handled. How people have communicated with
:15:00. > :15:04.elderly people. Why elderly people have been distressed as a
:15:04. > :15:09.consequence of that communication. Those things will be done, let us be
:15:09. > :15:14.absolutely clear. Is it embarrassing to you that two of your fellow party
:15:14. > :15:19.members in the town of Limavady, Gregory Campbell and gorge Robinson
:15:19. > :15:24.have set up a petition to save Thackeray Place, one of the
:15:24. > :15:30.residential homes nominated for closure by the Western Trust?
:15:30. > :15:35.would it be an embarrassment when I'm supporting 50% and there is
:15:35. > :15:40.proposal to close all the homes in a Trust area. Your party colleagues
:15:40. > :15:45.are taking a different tact to you? Why would they take a different tact
:15:45. > :15:50.to me. You going to sign the petition? I'm not suggesting that
:15:50. > :15:54.100% of homes should be closed. The Trust suggested that. Why would I
:15:54. > :15:59.have an issue with colleagues in any area supporting a residential home
:15:59. > :16:02.in their area. That is not an issue for me at all. Do you believe you
:16:02. > :16:09.have the full support of the First Minister and the Deputy First
:16:09. > :16:12.Minister in the way you handled the situation? I have the full support
:16:12. > :16:16.of the Assembly. We took the issue to the floor of the Assembly. We
:16:16. > :16:21.identified what we wanted to do. I haven't deviated from that. If
:16:21. > :16:26.others have that is a matter I have to deal with. The Trust pulled the
:16:26. > :16:30.rug from under Edwin Poots? The rug will soon get under my feet if it
:16:30. > :16:36.has been out fr a short time. taken you long enough? I don't
:16:36. > :16:40.think. You don't think you have been slow to act to this crisis? I have
:16:40. > :16:43.reacted quickly to tell people it's an unsatisfactory situation I will
:16:43. > :16:50.bring people to me to explain themselves and we will deal with
:16:50. > :16:54.this matter. You were quick to flex your muscle when you dismissed the
:16:54. > :17:00.former Chairman of the Northern Trust, Jim Stewart last December,
:17:00. > :17:07.today we have seen the Chief Executive officer of the same trust
:17:07. > :17:13.Sean Donaghy being moved aside. When Jim Stewart went you said, "he fell
:17:13. > :17:18.short of standards expected of one in miss -- his post", could the same
:17:18. > :17:21.be said of you? I don't think. We had private issues were being put
:17:21. > :17:26.into the public media. That wasn't the role of the Chairman of the
:17:26. > :17:30.Trust. We have taken decisions over the course of the last few days, in
:17:30. > :17:34.relation to the Northern Trust to turn that Trust around. It's
:17:34. > :17:38.important we make those decisions and we are strong on this. That
:17:38. > :17:42.Trust has been failing in a number of areas. You have been damaged by
:17:42. > :17:46.this? In terms of this process I think the Trusts have been damaged.
:17:46. > :17:51.They have damaged their own credibility. You have not been
:17:51. > :17:57.damaged? There has been a focus of attention on myself. I know what you
:17:57. > :18:01.think about the Trust. Has this been your worse week in politics?
:18:01. > :18:06.hasn't. You have had worse weeks?I can deal with this issue and get on
:18:06. > :18:11.top of this issue. We will provide better care for the elderly. Provide
:18:11. > :18:14.better options for the elderly. We should be identifying how do we
:18:14. > :18:20.provide the best possible care for elderly population. That is
:18:20. > :18:27.something I will not lose direction on what so ever. For how much longer
:18:27. > :18:32.will you be the Health Minister? as long as myth First Minister...
:18:32. > :18:41.Has it foreshortened your stay in the Executive? You will have to ask
:18:41. > :18:44.the First Minister. I haven't heard of it if it is the case. Thank you
:18:44. > :18:47.While it's clearly been a busy time for the Health Minister, it's also
:18:47. > :18:50.been pretty hectic for our health correspondent, Marie-Louise
:18:50. > :18:53.Connolly. What do you make of what the Minister has had to say? What
:18:53. > :19:00.impresses me the most is that the Minister consistently arguing that
:19:00. > :19:04.he did not know what the Trusts were going to do. As a journalist I find
:19:04. > :19:08.that hard to believe when we are communicating between the Department
:19:08. > :19:11.of Health and the health trusts and waiting on statements from the
:19:11. > :19:16.health Trusts we are told it is coming because it has to be signed
:19:17. > :19:22.off by someone in the Department. There is a very close line of
:19:22. > :19:26.communication between the two. It is very hard to believe that the Trusts
:19:26. > :19:30.made such a significant decision and a consistent decision. They were
:19:30. > :19:34.singing off the same hymn sheet without the Minister hoping. Trouble
:19:34. > :19:40.do you think Edwin Poots is in as Health Minister tonight? Is he in
:19:40. > :19:44.trouble? Yes, I think he is. He is in trouble because the health
:19:44. > :19:50.portfolio is the most significant of all the portfolios in the Executive.
:19:50. > :19:53.It shares the biggest slice of the budget cake and dealing with the
:19:53. > :19:57.most emotive issues that the health department or any of the departments
:19:58. > :20:01.come across you are dealing with life-and-death issues. Health
:20:01. > :20:08.impacts on every voter. It has become a political issue. We saw
:20:08. > :20:11.that today by both the Deputy and First Minister stepping it. It's no
:20:11. > :20:15.longer a health problem, it's a political problem. What can be
:20:15. > :20:19.learnt from the events of the past 24-hours? Everything else that is
:20:19. > :20:23.going to come from transforming your care, it will be a lot better
:20:24. > :20:27.managed, better choreographed. This has been a PR disaster for the
:20:27. > :20:31.Department of Health. In particular for the Health Minister. I think
:20:31. > :20:35.this has to be a big test for the Executive, let us face it, they
:20:35. > :20:39.don't like making unpopular decisions. Look what happened with
:20:39. > :20:43.water charges. Are they going to have the courage to see their
:20:43. > :20:47.convictions through? Will they follow this policy through? It's a
:20:47. > :20:52.policy that has been in the making for three to five years. Will they
:20:52. > :20:56.pull the plug because of bad publicity? I don't think so. It's
:20:56. > :21:00.not a surprise he didn't want to be drawn on his future as Health
:21:00. > :21:04.Minister tonight on this programme. Could this be a reason for him to be
:21:04. > :21:08.moved out of his position sooner rather than later? We know he will
:21:08. > :21:12.be moved, we know, it might it be next week instead of next month?
:21:12. > :21:18.think it could be. Talking on the public reaction today we have heard
:21:18. > :21:23.quite a lot of public furore saying this is not good enough. Let's face
:21:23. > :21:27.it, it impacts on all of us where we will spend the latter part of our
:21:27. > :21:31.lives. It is a vote loser. Is it a vote winner? The question we have to
:21:31. > :21:35.be asking tonight, can the Minister do enough to turn this situation
:21:36. > :21:40.around? Also, what it highlights, is the lack of opposition within
:21:40. > :21:50.Stormont. The lack of scrutiny, the lack of challenging going on. It was
:21:50. > :21:53.a lot different when his prescissor was in the seat. Thank you.
:21:54. > :21:57.Now, something completely different. Given a choice which would you
:21:57. > :21:59.prefer, a party or a parade? Well, this year the Lord Mayor of
:22:00. > :22:03.Belfast, Gavin Robinson, has gone for the party option headlined by
:22:03. > :22:13.Matt Cardle to mark the end of his term in office.
:22:13. > :22:16.
:22:16. > :22:23.Good idea or will you be hankering done this before? They haven't done
:22:23. > :22:28.that before. There is a lot of people in the city, not just younger
:22:28. > :22:33.people who aren't interesting in that. Maybe for everyone. Can you do
:22:34. > :22:38.a parade and a concert? Like a parade that ferns with a concert?
:22:38. > :22:46.might attract more people to the venue and more people might learn
:22:46. > :22:49.about it than offering public official event. It might be better.
:22:49. > :22:54.Anything that attracts young people into the city centre is a good
:22:54. > :23:01.thing. Not to knock the old, if it brings an influx that is only a good
:23:01. > :23:03.thing for the city centre. Something for the young ones then.
:23:03. > :23:12.With me now our commentators, Professor Pete Shirlow from Queen's
:23:12. > :23:15.University and Sam McBride from the Newsletter. Let us talk about the
:23:15. > :23:22.issue of the week the health story and the handling of that. You looked
:23:22. > :23:28.at what the Minister said and here what marry Louise had to say. How a
:23:28. > :23:33.Big problem is this for the Minister and his Department? It's enormous
:23:33. > :23:38.problem with a Minister being as contrite as he was today. His
:23:38. > :23:43.performance on Talk Back he realised people were furious at this. He held
:23:43. > :23:49.his hands up as high as he could say, I'm with you on this. Whether
:23:49. > :23:52.this is enough to overturn the public anger, I'm not sure. I think
:23:52. > :23:58.the central problem that he has is that he campaigned against pretty
:23:58. > :24:03.much what he is doing now, as we saw on the clip earlier. It's very
:24:03. > :24:07.difficult, I think, to make a credible case for closing care homes
:24:07. > :24:11.when you have been photographed campaigning against it. Many of the
:24:11. > :24:15.things that Edwin Poots has done as Health Minister have been bold and
:24:15. > :24:21.gone against the populous line the Executive has tended to take. He has
:24:21. > :24:24.tried to listen to what the health profession penaltiesals have said in
:24:24. > :24:28.centralising bigger and better hospitals. It's difficult to see how
:24:28. > :24:32.he can push aheaded with this particular policy. It seems as if it
:24:32. > :24:38.has snuck up on them That was the point when you interviewed him
:24:38. > :24:41.there, the question you asked about how did you not know? There was an
:24:41. > :24:47.inadequate answer to that. The policy is not wrong. It's clearly
:24:47. > :24:52.this has been a Hiroshima, it hit all of a sudden. No real reason or
:24:52. > :24:55.explanation. What we know about the NHS is you have to have confidence
:24:55. > :25:00.in it, confidence as a patient and confidence in the people who
:25:00. > :25:04.administer it. Also with those in political power. That is the centre
:25:05. > :25:08.core system that is the NHS which is public confidence. Do you think he
:25:08. > :25:13.will stay or go? I think... There have been rumours that even before
:25:13. > :25:19.that perhaps he would stay because Peter Robinson was impressed with
:25:19. > :25:22.his performance and Jim Wells will be pushed back longer. If it's
:25:22. > :25:29.damaging Peter Robinson he will not be too long in moving him out of the
:25:29. > :25:33.way. We will talk about your moment of the week. Statistics leapt out
:25:33. > :25:38.from the page? Yesterday at the health committee the issue about
:25:38. > :25:42.27,000 appointments were missed over two years by consultants on leave.
:25:42. > :25:48.I, work out at 50 to 60 per day. There is a problem with people
:25:48. > :25:51.turning up for appointments etc, if we a situation where consultants,
:25:51. > :25:55.the question was asked yesterday in the Assembly, is this because they
:25:55. > :26:02.are doing private work? The other factor that came out of this, the
:26:02. > :26:05.private consultants are six times more productive when they work in
:26:05. > :26:09.the private consultancy than in the NHS. The people in the
:26:09. > :26:12.private-sector are working in the NHS. That was part of their
:26:12. > :26:17.contract. There are questions to be asked there about why this is
:26:17. > :26:20.happening. Sam, your moment of the week? Slip of the tongue by Martin
:26:20. > :26:24.McGuinness in the Assembly earlier this week where he was meaning to
:26:24. > :26:29.say IFA, as in the Irish Football Association he said the IRA. It made
:26:29. > :26:39.people smile. Another look at what he said. I think the work that is
:26:39. > :26:41.
:26:41. > :26:50.happening within the IRA, sorry... Within the IFA... OH! Raised a few
:26:50. > :26:55.eyebrows? That laughster, genuine laughter from the unionist benches
:26:55. > :26:59.isn't something you would have seen years ago. There is a softening of
:26:59. > :27:06.their approach to Martin McGuinness and to some of those other
:27:06. > :27:11.controversial figures in the Sinn Fein benches. Your tweet of the
:27:11. > :27:21.Fein benches. Your tweet of the week? One about Boris Johnson. He is
:27:21. > :27:30.
:27:30. > :27:32.a genius irrespective of what your We have the picture. He slip slipped
:27:33. > :27:42.a "B" into the front of the Times. He was trying to get in the back
:27:43. > :27:43.
:27:43. > :27:47.door as it were. Looking ahead, Pete what do you look ahead to? On Sunday
:27:47. > :27:52.night I'm seeing The Specials. It reminds me that many of the issues
:27:53. > :27:58.we face today, collapsed property market, crisis in the welfare and
:27:58. > :28:04.health system are very rant 30 years later. Shall we have a quick
:28:04. > :28:10.reminder of the Special? We should do. You will take your son to this?
:28:10. > :28:16.This is interesting. The first time I saw them I was 15. My son is 15.
:28:16. > :28:21.When I saw them my arm was in a sling. My son's arm is in a sling.
:28:21. > :28:26.Both came from rugby injuries. There will be no contact socially
:28:26. > :28:30.throughout the night to destroy his teenage coolness. Absolutely.
:28:30. > :28:33.issue of the Maze Peace Centre will be crucial in the next weeks and
:28:33. > :28:38.months. Mounting anger among grassroots unionism. Difficult for
:28:38. > :28:41.Peter Robinson to keep it on track. Thank you very much.