18/10/2012 The View


18/10/2012

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On The View tonight, a double first. It's the first time on the

:00:27.:00:31.

programme for the First Minister, Peter Robinson. Is all well around

:00:31.:00:38.

the executive table? Sinn Fein take a position, knowing we will act

:00:38.:00:43.

responsibly. Will today's adoption ruling mean gay couples can now be

:00:43.:00:48.

considered as adoptive parents. wanted to form a family. Sadly the

:00:48.:00:50.

Northern Ireland Assembly don't seem to think it is a right we

:00:50.:00:56.

should be able to have. With their thoughts on all of that, two new

:00:56.:01:06.
:01:06.:01:08.

recruits to our commentary team who will talk NEETs, plebs and culture.

:01:08.:01:12.

No fewer than four local ministers met Treasury officials in London

:01:12.:01:17.

this afternoon to give a final push to their plan to cut corporation

:01:17.:01:20.

tax here. The First Minister, Peter Robinson, led the delegation. In

:01:20.:01:24.

just a moment we will hear his thoughts on how the executive's

:01:24.:01:29.

case was received. If talking could do it, corporation tax would have

:01:29.:01:39.
:01:39.:01:46.

If the Government is serious about helping us to re-balance the

:01:46.:01:50.

economy in Northern Ireland, this has to be regarded as an issue of

:01:50.:01:55.

great importance. It would be a game-changer. It would be an

:01:55.:02:00.

elevating element if we had the power to set a lower level of

:02:00.:02:05.

corporation tax. While some progress has been made in practise

:02:05.:02:08.

and the implementation timetable, I remain concerned about the cost.

:02:08.:02:12.

would like to see it happen. We don't yet know whether it's going

:02:12.:02:22.
:02:22.:02:28.

Well, when the First Minister came into The View studio a short time

:02:28.:02:33.

ago, I asked him first for his thoughts on how today's discussions

:02:33.:02:38.

had gone. We got down to three issues where there was not overall

:02:38.:02:41.

agreement and the Prime Minister will have to make a choice between

:02:41.:02:46.

the position we were advocating and the position the Treasury was

:02:46.:02:49.

advocating. What are the issues which need to be resolved? There

:02:50.:02:54.

are issues which relate to mechanisms for adjusting it in

:02:54.:03:00.

future years. There are issues relating to secondary impact.

:03:00.:03:05.

Issues that would be whether income tax, VAT, national insurance

:03:05.:03:09.

contributions, should be taken into account. That could be quite a lot

:03:09.:03:14.

of money, literally up to �100 million, over a period of time. You

:03:14.:03:20.

know, there are a number of things which need to be resolved in

:03:20.:03:23.

relation to profit-shifting, where we have a view, the Treasury has a

:03:23.:03:29.

view, needless to say our view would make it better for Northern

:03:29.:03:32.

Ireland. How close are you concerned to the figures? There

:03:32.:03:37.

have been all kinds of wild estimates as to what the cost might

:03:37.:03:41.

be to Northern Ireland plc. Raising to �700 million a year - what is

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your bottom line on that, in simple terms? Obviously it would be unwise

:03:47.:03:51.

to say what my bottom line was, in terms of where we would be trying

:03:51.:03:56.

to encourage the Prime Minister to go. What I can say is, it depends

:03:56.:04:06.

on the mechanism you use. You might start on Treasury figures, in the

:04:06.:04:09.

�300 million-�400 million mark. If they use the mechanism the Treasury

:04:09.:04:14.

wants to use it could go up to �700 million within the next ten to 15

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years. The Secretary of State, in her first television interview,

:04:18.:04:21.

sitting in that seat, said she would be a persuader for this

:04:21.:04:28.

development. Is that how she played it today? I think her and her

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predecessor have been supportive. They have been speaking to the

:04:32.:04:34.

business community in Northern Ireland. They know how much it

:04:34.:04:41.

needs. They can see the impact that we are undergoing the recession. I

:04:41.:04:46.

went to the meeting today, through the Belfast Telegraph, on the table,

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to give them a sense of the difficulties, where it was

:04:50.:04:55.

indicating the very sectors that were down by a considerable

:04:55.:04:58.

percentage. If it was right when the Prime Minister came to Northern

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Ireland when we had a lower level of unemployment, it must be more

:05:03.:05:07.

right that we have the issue address, that we have our economy

:05:07.:05:11.

rebalanced. If you had to call it one way or another, do you think

:05:11.:05:14.

this will happen or not? I'm not going to call it. We've done our

:05:14.:05:18.

work. It is now with the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister

:05:18.:05:24.

indicated very stoutly during the election campaign that he was

:05:24.:05:29.

balancing the economy. He's had his ministers expand a considerable

:05:30.:05:33.

amount of time and energy. Officials have been working on it

:05:33.:05:36.

for years. I hope that is the road they will take. There were four

:05:36.:05:41.

ministers representing the Executive, three from the DUP, one

:05:41.:05:44.

from Sinn Fein, the Deputy First Minister. Were you all singing off

:05:44.:05:50.

the same song sheet today? Completely. We have at all of those

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meetings. We recognise it is advantage taigous. It has to be

:05:54.:05:57.

done in the context of something which is affordable. All of us were

:05:57.:06:00.

arguing the same case during the course of today. It is interesting

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to hear you say that. It seems there are other areas of policy

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where you are not necessarily singing off the same song sheet.

:06:07.:06:13.

You have been notably, may I suggest, outspoken about your Sinn

:06:13.:06:18.

Fein partners recently. How difficult are relations on the

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wider political landscape between you and Martin McGuinness? We're

:06:22.:06:27.

both very politically mature. We know how to deal with these issues.

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We come from very different political ideologies. I had to

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manage them when Sinn Fein, in my view outrageously, came to the

:06:39.:06:44.

Assembly to get one of my ministers sacked. I had to deal with Sinn

:06:44.:06:49.

Fein, having allowed the Welfare Reform Bill to go from the

:06:49.:06:53.

executive into the Assembly and then decided they were going to

:06:53.:06:57.

oppose it in the Assembly. I have to manage those issues. I don't

:06:57.:07:03.

think it was unreasonable I should comment. You said in a speech to

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DUP members that the fear often paralyses reform. I had mentioned

:07:11.:07:16.

welfare reform in those reforms. I recognise that all of us in the

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political spear have to look around us in terms of where everybody else

:07:22.:07:26.

is placing themselves. You can get to the stage where you are caught

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in the head lights if you are increasingly looking over your

:07:31.:07:35.

shoulder and afraid to act because of the position somebody else might

:07:35.:07:45.
:07:45.:07:45.

adopt. Is -- are they WAGing -- wagging the dog? It would be easy

:07:45.:07:53.

for my party to say we don't like welfare reform. We're opting out.

:07:53.:07:57.

We're going to vote against it - people would not blame us. That is

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not the responsible thing to do because it would have a damaging

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impact. Sinn Fein take a position, knowing we will act responsibly,

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therefore they can act irresponsibly on the issue. There

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is you in acting that you would find it easier to deal directly

:08:12.:08:16.

with Sinn Fein on these issues - Sinn Fein, the republican party,

:08:16.:08:21.

and the SDLP is sticking a stick in the spoke of the wheel, if you

:08:21.:08:28.

like? Well, the immyation there is that the SDLPf they were the larger

:08:28.:08:32.

party would be behaving in that way. They wouldn't. They would know that

:08:32.:08:35.

if the position they adopted because they are a small party,

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that it would be totally irresponsible. It would have ended

:08:39.:08:43.

up with us costing �200 million. It would have meant that jobs could

:08:43.:08:47.

have been lost. We would have had people who are looking for money

:08:47.:08:51.

from the social fund who would not be able to get it. That would have

:08:51.:08:56.

been irresponsible thaifplt would not do that if they were the -- if

:08:56.:09:01.

they would not do that if they were the larger party. Both in the

:09:01.:09:04.

attempt to have Nelson dismissed and the fact they did not stand

:09:04.:09:08.

with us to do the responsible thing and allow the Bill to go into

:09:08.:09:13.

committee. What was it all about? We are agreed on what changes are

:09:13.:09:16.

needed to the bill. Our argument is you have a better chance of getting

:09:16.:09:20.

it working the Government and getting it in committee. Have you

:09:20.:09:24.

told Martin McGuinness that? told him at the Executive and

:09:24.:09:27.

elsewhere. Time will prove whether I am right or whether they were

:09:27.:09:30.

right. That will be judged on the basis of whether we can get the

:09:30.:09:34.

changes by working the Government. You have to work alongside Martin

:09:34.:09:38.

McGuinness TDUP has to work alongside Sinn Fein. When you talk

:09:38.:09:44.

to him, do you look at him as an ally or an enemy? When we are

:09:44.:09:48.

bringing forward policy, obviously we have to put forward our

:09:48.:09:52.

positions and see what common ground there is. And you know, I

:09:52.:09:56.

don't believe that if you set the Conservative and Labour party down

:09:56.:09:59.

and say you have to work together - I don't believe they would have

:10:00.:10:03.

done as well as we have. What do you make of the arrival of the

:10:03.:10:08.

Marie Stopes clinic today and the attendant furore which has come

:10:08.:10:11.

with it? I don't see the need for the clinic. They are not offering

:10:11.:10:14.

something which is not available from our services within the NHS.

:10:14.:10:18.

Do you accept that the clinic has the right to be here? If it

:10:18.:10:21.

operates within the law they have the right to open? They have the

:10:21.:10:25.

legal right to be here, providing they do work and operate within the

:10:25.:10:29.

law. I think we have seen one of the failings is there is not really

:10:29.:10:33.

a process for properly monitoring that. That is something we have to

:10:33.:10:37.

look at. The Attorney General has offered to the Justice Committee to

:10:37.:10:40.

assist in any investigation it might wish to commence into the

:10:40.:10:44.

arrival of the clinic. Did that surprise you? Did you know about

:10:44.:10:47.

that in advance? I didn't know about it in advance. John has

:10:47.:10:52.

indicated he would not do it on an official capacity. We cannot

:10:52.:10:56.

curtail people who are doing something outside their official

:10:56.:11:00.

duties. He would, the letter he wrote to the chee today was on his

:11:00.:11:05.

headed note paper. The letter he wroteed on his headed note paper

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said it would not be on an official capacity. So long as there is no

:11:12.:11:16.

conflict that would not be a problem. If there is a conflict

:11:16.:11:21.

then there would be a problem. interesting thing is that in that

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letter he invited the committee to commence an investigation. Yes. I

:11:25.:11:30.

suppose any of us are entitled to argue. Is that a personal view, or

:11:30.:11:34.

is that his view as Attorney- General? It may not be different to

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the extent that the Attorney- General in Northern Ireland is not

:11:37.:11:41.

a member of the Government. It is not someone who is controlled by

:11:41.:11:44.

the Government. The Attorney- General is an independent

:11:44.:11:49.

individual, who has stat Tory responsibilities. He is the primary

:11:49.:11:56.

law officer in Northern Ireland? His role is to give us advice as an

:11:56.:12:00.

Executive. He has an important role. I suspect, he like the rest of us,

:12:00.:12:05.

would look back and say, look there is a gap here, we have a clinic who,

:12:05.:12:09.

under present circumstances would not be monitored and should be.

:12:09.:12:12.

I cannot let you go without asking you about your political future.

:12:12.:12:15.

You have indicated you will not stand for Westminster again.

:12:15.:12:20.

There's going to be another Assembly election in 2015 or 2016,

:12:20.:12:27.

dependant on what is decided. You are 63 now. Do you intend to lead

:12:27.:12:34.

the DUP into that next election? That is my intention. You would be

:12:35.:12:44.
:12:45.:12:50.

66, 67 for a five-year term. Still to come: the knifes are out

:12:50.:12:56.

at Westminster as MPs debate the price of razor blades. There's more

:12:56.:13:02.

important things than that. It's a trivial matter really.

:13:02.:13:07.

It has come to be known as the gay adoption ban, but in fact the ban

:13:07.:13:12.

on couples adopting children here also applies to heterosexual

:13:12.:13:16.

couples that aren't married, an exclusion exclisive to Northern

:13:16.:13:18.

Ireland. The Human Rights Commission launched a legal

:13:18.:13:22.

challenge to overturn the ban and this morning a judge ruled in its

:13:22.:13:26.

favour. Good evening to you, thank you for

:13:26.:13:32.

joining us tonight. Can I ask you first of all, how confident were

:13:32.:13:38.

you that you would win this case? Well, we are very glad we won the

:13:38.:13:41.

case of course, but we were quietly confident going into the courtroom

:13:41.:13:46.

this morning. We had strong arguments based on the best

:13:46.:13:49.

interests of the child. 2,500 children in Northern Ireland in

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care, many of whom cannot get adoption because there's too tiny a

:13:54.:14:00.

pool of adoptive parents. That is a compelling case and it was

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bolstered by strong arguments of non-discrimination, that had been

:14:06.:14:10.

looked at by the House of Lords, the Supreme Court as it then was,

:14:10.:14:15.

back in 2008. It made strong arguments, which we reflected into

:14:15.:14:21.

the court in Belfast, so we were confident. It is Serge a very

:14:21.:14:24.

complicated and controversial issue. Chris Page has been examining

:14:24.:14:29.

what's at stake. -- it is certainly a very

:14:29.:14:32.

complicated and controversial issue. One of the most serious and

:14:32.:14:35.

sensitive decisions anyone will ever take, whether to adopt a child.

:14:35.:14:39.

The adoption laws here are different to the rest of the UK in

:14:39.:14:45.

that the legislation says you can only adopt as a couple if you are

:14:45.:14:49.

married. John O'Doherty is director of the Rainbow Project, which works

:14:50.:14:54.

on behalf of the gay community. He wanted to adopt a child with his

:14:54.:14:58.

partner, but couldn't because of the legal situation. I wanted to

:14:58.:15:05.

create a safe home, a long-lasting home for a child. I wanted to form

:15:05.:15:09.

a family and a lifetime bond that would always be there. You don't

:15:09.:15:14.

necessarily get that with foster caring. We wanted to form a family

:15:14.:15:17.

and sadly the Northern Ireland Assembly don't seem to feel that's

:15:17.:15:22.

a right we should be able to have. If his relationship with his

:15:22.:15:26.

partner wasn't legally recognised either of them could apply to adopt

:15:26.:15:30.

as individuals, regardless of their sexuality, but people in civil

:15:30.:15:35.

partnerships can't adopt at all. This expert on family law says it

:15:35.:15:38.

is one of the major differences between civil partnerships and

:15:38.:15:48.

marriages. To most people the Civil Partnership Act will give sim sex

:15:48.:15:53.

couples the same rights as married couples, pensions and property, but

:15:53.:15:59.

under this partnership, the adoption laws. That's one of the

:15:59.:16:02.

issues which led the Human Rights Commission to challenge the law in

:16:02.:16:05.

the High Court and today Mr Justice Treacy ruled in the commission's

:16:05.:16:12.

favour. He said same sex couples in a civil partnership suffer unjust

:16:12.:16:16.

final discrimination when compared to individual members of an

:16:16.:16:20.

opposite sex couple, who can apply to adopt. The present law has been

:16:20.:16:24.

in place since 1987. This have been some unsuccessful plans to change

:16:24.:16:29.

it in recent years. In 2006 under direct rule the Department of

:16:29.:16:33.

Health completed a review of adoption legislation. It found that

:16:33.:16:37.

the law was outdated and made a number of recommendations,

:16:37.:16:42.

including that same sex and unmarried couples should be able to

:16:42.:16:46.

adopt. But it was clear there would be strong opposition to that. 2010

:16:46.:16:51.

proposals were put out to consultation, 95% of the responses

:16:51.:16:55.

were opposed to extending adoption to gay and unmarried couples. In

:16:56.:16:59.

2010 the executive agreed new legislation, which did not include

:16:59.:17:04.

opening up adoption to gay couples. But the Bill never made it to the

:17:04.:17:09.

floor of the Assembly. The Ulster Unionist MLA Tom Elliott has two

:17:09.:17:12.

adopted children. He wants the law to be reformed but believes there

:17:12.:17:19.

are more pressing issues than the debate around same sex couples.

:17:19.:17:23.

and large the vast amount of queries about adoption isn't about

:17:23.:17:29.

being able to adopt for same sex couples or heterosexual or married

:17:29.:17:33.

couples, but it is about getting the children placed as soon as

:17:33.:17:36.

possible. It is about ensuring that those children get the best start

:17:36.:17:41.

in life that's reasonably possible and not about who the adoptive

:17:41.:17:45.

parents are. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots, says she not convinced

:17:45.:17:49.

that today's judgment is in the best interests of some of the most

:17:49.:17:53.

vulnerable children. He is urgently appealing the ruling, with, he says,

:17:53.:17:57.

a heavy heart, because he fears it may delay further any plans for new

:17:57.:18:04.

adoption legislation. He says that is overdue already. What for you

:18:05.:18:08.

are some of the main findings of today's judgment? There are a

:18:08.:18:12.

number of very important findings here today. The first is that it is

:18:12.:18:15.

in the best interests of children to open up this pool of potential

:18:16.:18:21.

adoptive parents. Secondly, and just as important, the judge

:18:21.:18:24.

reaffirms what we passionately believe that nobody has a right to

:18:24.:18:29.

adopt. A child has a right to have the best possible opportunity and

:18:29.:18:33.

chance for the future. It always has to be built around the child

:18:33.:18:36.

That context the judge found that the discriminatory practises in

:18:36.:18:40.

Northern Ireland were in violation of the European Convention on Human

:18:40.:18:43.

Rights and they would have to change. He said why is it that

:18:43.:18:47.

every married couple, every married couple, is potentially considered

:18:47.:18:52.

suitable for adoption and not a single unmarried couple can ever be

:18:52.:18:55.

so considered? He said that was irrational and illogical. Had this

:18:55.:19:02.

is a very important finding. Those are very strong words, very clear

:19:02.:19:05.

the judgment from Mr Justice Treacy today, but obviously it's a

:19:05.:19:08.

complicated issue as far as legislation is concerned. We know

:19:08.:19:12.

that the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, is planning an urgent appeal

:19:12.:19:18.

of today's judgment. Where does that leave the legislative process?

:19:18.:19:23.

Well, it is a very early indication of an appeal. We were taken aback

:19:23.:19:27.

today. Normally we would have respected a little more time and

:19:27.:19:30.

reflection before any such announcement. The Minister is

:19:30.:19:35.

perfectly entitled to appeal, but the case isn't over yet, as the

:19:35.:19:38.

judge has to indicate what remedies he is going to order. So we have an

:19:38.:19:43.

announcement of an appeal before we know what the judge will be

:19:43.:19:48.

ordering, and it's a complex case. The judgment require as lot of

:19:48.:19:52.

reflection. I hope Mr Poots will consider this business of an appeal,

:19:52.:19:57.

so that we don't block access for adoption for all of these kids in

:19:57.:20:02.

care. Does that mean that the new legislation on abortion, which is

:20:02.:20:06.

in embryonic form at the moment, on adoption, does that mean white have

:20:06.:20:09.

to take onboard today's ruling, that legislators would have to

:20:10.:20:12.

elect to that effect? The difficulty is that we know, or we

:20:12.:20:16.

think, that a majority of people at Stormont wouldn't necessarily agree

:20:16.:20:20.

with today's judgment. Today's finding is on the basis that the

:20:20.:20:23.

rules in Northern Ireland are inconsistent with the international

:20:23.:20:26.

human rights obligations of the United Kingdom. And that they have

:20:26.:20:31.

to comply. So yes, the requirements to comply with human rights law is

:20:31.:20:34.

as valid in Belfast as it is in London. We'll work with the

:20:34.:20:38.

Assembly and the executive to try to make sure this is kept at the

:20:38.:20:42.

forefront of everybody's intention, just as we do on all the other

:20:42.:20:46.

bills. But it's a clear conflict isn't it between the views,

:20:46.:20:56.
:20:56.:20:57.

potentialry, -- potentially of legislators and the politicians?

:20:57.:21:04.

don't know, I'm optimistic we'll be able to assist, support and help

:21:04.:21:09.

the legislature. Can I ask you finally for your views on the

:21:09.:21:14.

ongoing debate, which has been re- opened, with the opening of the

:21:14.:21:17.

Marie Stopes clinic Belfast? What's your organisation's position on

:21:17.:21:22.

that debate? We only will ever take a position, act on a matter, where

:21:22.:21:26.

we see an issue of a violation of the United Kingdom's international

:21:26.:21:30.

human rights obligations. Right now in the Marie Stopes case we see no

:21:30.:21:35.

issue of that kind, and we are not involved. We don't have a position.

:21:35.:21:39.

So you haven't engaged in that debate and don't have a position on

:21:39.:21:43.

that debate? That's correct. Thank you.

:21:43.:21:49.

We hear a lot about rising food and fuel prices, but another spiralling

:21:49.:21:56.

cost is exercising some of our politician. In fact it is annoying

:21:56.:22:00.

three MPs so much that they've raised an early day motion on the

:22:00.:22:07.

matter. It is the cost of razor blades.

:22:07.:22:12.

I make them last four months. I don't probably look as clean-shaven

:22:12.:22:17.

as I should do. They are pretty dear considering how ubiquitous

:22:17.:22:21.

they are. Everyone needs them. you do feel whenever you have to

:22:21.:22:28.

hand over the money? I rarely do, as you can tell. They are boosting

:22:28.:22:33.

the price too. I don't think that from the factories they are coming

:22:33.:22:38.

at the same price. It is just too much. A couple of days now without

:22:38.:22:43.

shaving. Plus I shave the head as well, so the blades don't last too

:22:43.:22:47.

long. Do you think this is the sort of thing that MPs should be raising

:22:47.:22:52.

in the House of Commons? Not really. There are more important things

:22:52.:22:57.

than that to raise. I think it's a trivial matter really. It is

:22:57.:23:01.

ridiculous. If I was in the market there during the week just to see

:23:01.:23:11.
:23:11.:23:13.

what price they were, the ones that I want. I couldn't believe it.

:23:13.:23:16.

profefrs are taking a well earned rest for the next couple of weeks,

:23:16.:23:23.

but joining our team of regulators are PR Sheila Davidson and former

:23:23.:23:29.

journalist turned commentator Paul McFadden. Welcome to The View. Paul,

:23:29.:23:35.

fist of all, we heard from Peter Robinson. Did anything he had to

:23:35.:23:40.

say catch your attention? A number of things. I enjoyed his poker face

:23:40.:23:46.

when he refused to reveal his bottom line on the Corporation tax.

:23:46.:23:50.

You asked him about his determination to continue leading

:23:50.:23:54.

the DUP. He didn't quibble with this, that he would be 6 or 67

:23:54.:23:59.

years of age at the next election, which thoughts he is 63 now and he

:23:59.:24:03.

expects this executive to go the whole way. Maybe that's one thing

:24:03.:24:07.

to look out for. In terms of his spat with Sinn Fein, the kind of

:24:07.:24:10.

language we heard being used by the First Minister was not the kind of

:24:10.:24:15.

language we expect to hear from partners, good partners in any

:24:15.:24:19.

healthy form of government, but that is where we are at. I just

:24:19.:24:26.

wonder was it something to do with the fact he was speaking in west

:24:26.:24:30.

Tyrone and in an adjacent constituency to Mid Ulster, where

:24:30.:24:36.

we'll have a by-election in the not too distant future. Maybe he is

:24:36.:24:39.

thinking along those lines rather than flagging up a serious spat

:24:39.:24:46.

with Sinn Fein. I will say this briefly, in terms of Sinn Fein

:24:46.:24:51.

being panicked by the SDLP, I think that would have surprised the SDLP,

:24:51.:24:56.

it what have surprised Sinn Fein and white have astonished Alex

:24:56.:25:01.

Attwood. Sheel larks what about the First Minister's comments on

:25:01.:25:08.

Corporation tax. Do you think it is going to happen? As a betting woman

:25:08.:25:11.

I think it is absolutely going to happen. David Cameron has already

:25:11.:25:14.

indicated privately to business people in Northern Ireland that we

:25:14.:25:18.

can expect a good announcement at some point in the future. Somebody

:25:18.:25:23.

said today that that is possibly the case and I think the First

:25:23.:25:27.

Minister and the rest of the team know that this is going to happen.

:25:27.:25:32.

They are no negotiations on the amount of money, but the biggest

:25:32.:25:36.

debate is this whole Scottish aspect. If Scotland were to go the

:25:36.:25:40.

same route as we are asking for, it would cost them �2 billion a year,

:25:40.:25:44.

so they are never going to want to get the kind of deal on Corporation

:25:44.:25:49.

tax that we need. I think that's why it is going to go ahead here.

:25:49.:25:54.

OK. Paul, let's talk about your moment of the week, what leapt out

:25:54.:25:59.

for you? It was the announcement and it ties in with what Sheila was

:26:00.:26:03.

talking about, the latest unemployment figures. You mentioned

:26:03.:26:06.

Mr Cameron's recognition of the need to rebalance the economy. Our

:26:06.:26:08.

unemployment figures yesterday showed that the number of people

:26:08.:26:13.

out of work here is going up. In the UK elsewhere it is going down.

:26:13.:26:17.

The Government I think needs to try something different to try and

:26:17.:26:21.

address that disparity. Corporation tax might give Mr Cameron the

:26:21.:26:25.

excuse to try something different here, but the fact that we've got

:26:26.:26:30.

one in five of our 18 to 24-year- olds out of work, it is appalling.

:26:30.:26:34.

It's a big challenge to our politicians. Sheila, that ties in

:26:34.:26:37.

with your moment of the week. Absolutely. It is not something

:26:37.:26:42.

that everybody is going to know about, but they should. We had four

:26:42.:26:46.

young people from Northern Ireland go to the House of Lords yesterday

:26:46.:26:52.

and spoke to MPs and peers. They were articulating in the most

:26:52.:26:55.

emotional and wonderful way the young people at the margins of our

:26:55.:26:59.

society here what could be done did help them and to help them develop

:26:59.:27:05.

and get jobs. That's reality of the figures. That's the human story of

:27:05.:27:09.

it. Do you think politician heard something in that they hadn't heard

:27:09.:27:13.

before? I think they did. Our young people need to understand they can

:27:13.:27:19.

engage with politicians and they can tell their stories. The

:27:19.:27:26.

politicians don't always hear it and they welcome it. The tweet the

:27:26.:27:34.

week. David Cameroon. It is not a typo. I'm going to call a

:27:34.:27:39.

referendum among Tory MPs as to whether Andrew Mitchell is going to

:27:39.:27:49.
:27:49.:27:50.

stay or go. I'm going to call it a "plebiscite". This guy a is a

:27:50.:27:54.

Teflon toff. That's a parody Twitter account, not the real one.

:27:54.:28:04.
:28:04.:28:15.

Shael larks your tweet. I hesitate, That's the real Eamonn Mallie, not

:28:15.:28:20.

the parody. It is very funny. Paul? Next week, it is the launch of the

:28:20.:28:26.

programme for UK city of culture 2013 and Derry, it is something

:28:26.:28:31.

that has had its problems recently but it is of huge importance to the

:28:31.:28:35.

north-west, to Derry and the whole of the north. We saw the

:28:35.:28:40.

celebrations when it was announced. There's a lot of work to be done.

:28:40.:28:49.

But it's getting there. Sheila? Mine is the Include Youth More Than

:28:50.:28:54.

A Job. It is about young people and business getting engaged. That's

:28:54.:28:59.

going to be a very important debate. Enjoy that. We'll see you again

:28:59.:29:04.

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