:00:10. > :00:16.Days of talks abroad as to the point where government cannot be formed.
:00:17. > :00:19.Code an historic Coalition between Fianna Fail and First Minister --
:00:20. > :00:40.Fine Gael be on the cards? Is a game of political poker
:00:41. > :00:46.continues we will hear from both parties. Can a working government
:00:47. > :00:49.merge and will Irish voters find themselves back in the polling
:00:50. > :00:53.booths sooner than they might have expected? On the day that the
:00:54. > :00:58.Stormont Finance Committee published its interim findings on the sale of
:00:59. > :01:04.the NAMA loan but, we will hear from Mick Wallace who first raised
:01:05. > :01:12.concerns about the deal in the Dail. They would not have initiated
:01:13. > :01:16.investigations if all I had to say on the matter was pure speculation.
:01:17. > :01:22.Also tonight, north of the border with the Assembly election campaign
:01:23. > :01:25.just weeks away, we ask what price the politics of fear? Sinn Fein will
:01:26. > :01:29.consider themselves lucky if they come back with the said number of
:01:30. > :01:36.seats. This is about trying to frighten French unionist voters. As
:01:37. > :01:40.if that is not enough, I will be joined by George Hook and Irish
:01:41. > :01:44.Times columnist, Una Mullaly. Hello from Dublin, where politics
:01:45. > :01:46.is the topic on just The Dail's newly-elected TDs tried
:01:47. > :01:50.and failed today to put a working government in place -
:01:51. > :01:52.as had been widely expected - so the question remains: what,
:01:53. > :01:55.precisely, happens next? We'll hear from representatives
:01:56. > :01:58.from Fianna Fail and Sinn Fein in just a moment - but first,
:01:59. > :02:01.what do people on the streets of Dublin make of their politicians'
:02:02. > :02:04.attempts to form a new government? I set off this morning
:02:05. > :02:16.to find out... I think Enda Kenny has forgotten
:02:17. > :02:21.about rural Ireland and as a result of that, he deserves to lose his
:02:22. > :02:26.position as Taoiseach. How would you feel about the possibility of
:02:27. > :02:32.another election? Hopefully not. Times are tough but they are getting
:02:33. > :02:39.better. I hope everything is getting better. What should be dictated by
:02:40. > :02:43.the rights of the Irish people and that should be paramount. Do you
:02:44. > :02:47.think it is possible for the parties to work together in a grand
:02:48. > :02:51.Coalition? I do not think there is any reason why they should not work
:02:52. > :02:56.together, philosophically there are very similar when you strip back
:02:57. > :03:00.everything else and it is just an accident of history that there are
:03:01. > :03:04.two centre parties still here, but from the point of view of Fianna
:03:05. > :03:21.Fail, they will leave themselves open to a threat of Sinn Fein
:03:22. > :03:25.having a resurgence of the opposition side. I think they will
:03:26. > :03:27.struggle to form a strong government, but I think they have no
:03:28. > :03:28.choice, they have to try their hardest. People want to move
:03:29. > :03:28.forward. The views of people on the streets
:03:29. > :03:31.of central Dublin this morning. With me now to talk
:03:32. > :03:34.through the options on the table are Fianna Fail's Lisa Chambers
:03:35. > :03:36.and Sinn Fein's Peadar Toibin. We did invite Fine Gael to send
:03:37. > :03:40.someone to talk to us tonight, but we were told
:03:41. > :03:45.no-one is available. You're both welcome. Thank you for
:03:46. > :03:49.joining us. Lisa Chambers, it is your party leader, Micheal Martin
:03:50. > :03:53.prepared to enter a Coalition with Fine Gael? It is early days. There
:03:54. > :03:57.seems to be a narrative that it has to be done as quickly as possible
:03:58. > :04:03.and that is not the case. It is the first day of sitting there we have
:04:04. > :04:06.time and we need to put the right government together. This Dail
:04:07. > :04:11.represents an opportunity for change. We have the election for a
:04:12. > :04:15.Taoiseach and no one was elected. We will be back again in a couple of
:04:16. > :04:20.weeks and in that period we will be discussing it with other parties.
:04:21. > :04:25.The only way that the mathematics works, realistically is for the two
:04:26. > :04:29.biggest parties to form some kind of Coalition, no matter how you look at
:04:30. > :04:35.it, the other numbers do not stack up. That is not correct, you could
:04:36. > :04:39.have a minority government. It is not the only option. As much as the
:04:40. > :04:44.other parties would like to push that to happen, today was day one of
:04:45. > :04:48.sittings and we have time to discuss it. We are focused on political
:04:49. > :04:53.reform and the reforms we want to bring through and the reason for
:04:54. > :04:57.that is if we can bring those through using consensus, before we
:04:58. > :05:03.concentrate the power in the hands of a few, people do not want that.
:05:04. > :05:08.They do not want the historic thing of one dominant party overseeing
:05:09. > :05:15.everything, three hours or more debating legislation. Are you ruling
:05:16. > :05:23.out a formal Coalition with Fine Gael? I cannot rely about. I am only
:05:24. > :05:27.one member of the team. How are party works, we have to convene a
:05:28. > :05:31.special meeting if there is a possibility of a Coalition. If that
:05:32. > :05:36.opposition is presented, a Coalition with anyone, we would have to hold a
:05:37. > :05:42.ballot. I do not see our membership voting. I cannot answer on the half
:05:43. > :05:47.of them or the party, I am one of 18. Peadar Toibin, at the end of the
:05:48. > :06:00.day, a grand Coalition, is that what will happen? There is a question
:06:01. > :06:02.available. It is either a Coalition or another election. There is not a
:06:03. > :06:04.cigarette paper or difference between the parties, there is an
:06:05. > :06:08.anomaly of history which separates the two. There is a courtship
:06:09. > :06:12.happening. For many of the members, it would be unseemly for the two
:06:13. > :06:17.parties to get it together to quickly, they will wait a period of
:06:18. > :06:22.time before they do that. The problem is, why there is an hiatus
:06:23. > :06:27.in the chamber, there are a number of crisis is outside the chamber,
:06:28. > :06:30.hundreds of thousands of people are having their health care delayed
:06:31. > :06:32.because of the problems in the health service and there are
:06:33. > :06:41.hundreds of thousands of people looking for a house in this country
:06:42. > :06:43.and now they are looking at the parties saying that Leinster house
:06:44. > :06:46.will be closed for the next number of weeks. We need to make sure that
:06:47. > :06:49.the reality of peoples lives outside the chamber is reflected by the
:06:50. > :06:54.rhetoric inside the chamber and that is why they need to sort this out
:06:55. > :06:59.soon. It is also possible for Sinn Fein to play a more proactive and a
:07:00. > :07:05.more positive role in this because you have ruled out any of working
:07:06. > :07:11.with Fianna Fail, but if you look at the numbers, it is short of 79 but
:07:12. > :07:17.if you get some independents you might be able to put together a
:07:18. > :07:23.workable administration. We would grab government with both hands. You
:07:24. > :07:28.did not do well at the election. The premise of your first question was
:07:29. > :07:35.about numbers, but unfortunately, the truth is that there is an
:07:36. > :07:40.ideological block from us entering a Fianna Fail government. Right from
:07:41. > :07:44.the start of this stage, there has been a rotation of governments, it
:07:45. > :07:48.is been either Fianna Fail are Fine Gael and they worry that if they
:07:49. > :07:53.were to get together, that that would be the end of the process and
:07:54. > :07:58.that we would change politics in the south and that there would be the
:07:59. > :08:01.centre-right coalescing as one block and then are left alternative as the
:08:02. > :08:06.other block and that is the real worry. Fianna Fail and Fine Gael
:08:07. > :08:10.want to control government and opposition but they cannot have it
:08:11. > :08:16.both ways. How do you respond to Peadar Toibin when he says there is
:08:17. > :08:19.not a cigarette paper between the policies of the parties? One of the
:08:20. > :08:24.paper said you're divided by your similarities. That is one opinion
:08:25. > :08:31.and I would reject that. If that was the case, the two parties would not
:08:32. > :08:36.exist. They are different. That is not necessarily to do with policy.
:08:37. > :08:40.There are major differences, our membership base is different. Our
:08:41. > :08:45.membership informs our policies. There is still a government in
:08:46. > :08:48.place. There is not chaos, we have a caretaker government and it will
:08:49. > :08:52.continue to do its work and any pressing matters will be dealt with
:08:53. > :09:02.in the chamber. This idea that we need to form a government quickly
:09:03. > :09:05.because it will fall apart is not correct. There are significant
:09:06. > :09:07.people like Eamon O Cuiv, here is the grandson of Eamon de Valera and
:09:08. > :09:10.he has his opinion and might be other members of your party, whose
:09:11. > :09:13.the people have spoken and the numbers suggest this is what we have
:09:14. > :09:16.to do and we will have to get on with that because more than anyone
:09:17. > :09:21.else, the Irish people want stability. The numbers suggest to
:09:22. > :09:25.myself and others that what people want is a collective government
:09:26. > :09:29.where everyone has a voice, not just the larger parties, that the smaller
:09:30. > :09:32.parties play a role. You need enough of the larger parties to make the
:09:33. > :09:50.figures were. This idea from Sinn Fein, we went
:09:51. > :09:53.into the election saying they would not go into government unless they
:09:54. > :09:55.were the largest party and they knew they would not be. They are
:09:56. > :09:57.absolving themselves from any responsibility. If you care about
:09:58. > :10:00.the issues, you should say you are open to talking. That is a direct
:10:01. > :10:02.attack on Sinn Fein. Before the election Micheal Martin said that
:10:03. > :10:04.Sinn Fein were not ready for government and Fine Gael said the
:10:05. > :10:08.same thing. There is an ideological chasm between ourselves and Fianna
:10:09. > :10:11.Fail that cannot be bridged. If we were the largest party and we were
:10:12. > :10:15.confident we will have our hands on the steering wheel and then possibly
:10:16. > :10:20.we could take the risk, but we know for a fact in the history of the
:10:21. > :10:31.state, the smaller parties do not control the ideological direction of
:10:32. > :10:33.governments and it would be wrong for us, having said to our
:10:34. > :10:36.electorate that we would not go into government as a junior party. Your
:10:37. > :10:38.critics say that Sinn Fein is adopting a cynical position, sitting
:10:39. > :10:40.on the sidelines hoping visit two parties will come together and
:10:41. > :10:45.praying that the Coalition fails and that further down the line you will
:10:46. > :10:51.benefit. We are hungry for government, there is no doubt about
:10:52. > :10:57.that and if there are policies that Fianna Fail and Fine Gael develop,
:10:58. > :11:02.around water charges, housing and health that are progressive, we will
:11:03. > :11:06.have no problem in supporting those but today, we asked for Fianna Fail
:11:07. > :11:10.to support a motion that we would have a debate on Irish water on the
:11:11. > :11:14.22nd of March and despite Fianna Fail coming to the election saying
:11:15. > :11:19.that they wanted to get rid of Irish water, they refused us the
:11:20. > :11:23.opportunity to have a debate. Is the answer another election as soon as
:11:24. > :11:27.possible? That will arguably clear they are, through the numbers up in
:11:28. > :11:29.the air and see what comes down. No guarantee would solve the problem
:11:30. > :11:42.but there is a possibility that is what
:11:43. > :11:45.you would like? Ideally we would like to be in government, but the
:11:46. > :11:47.reality is, the people have spoken and they have provided these two
:11:48. > :11:50.blocks with the necessary figures for government. To throw that back
:11:51. > :11:53.for another election would not be logical. If it does not work, and
:11:54. > :11:57.election has to happen. Is that what you are about in Fianna Fail,
:11:58. > :12:01.squeeze the life out of Enda Kenny and then have another election and
:12:02. > :12:05.hope that your upward trajectory continues? I do not want another
:12:06. > :12:09.election but at least we are participating in talks in an attempt
:12:10. > :12:13.to form a government. To come to the table and say we would not negotiate
:12:14. > :12:22.on the basis of it does not suit us, which is what Sinn Fein are saying,
:12:23. > :12:25.that is very destructive and can I clarify in terms of the water issue,
:12:26. > :12:28.it was not a denial of the debate, there was a set agenda for the next
:12:29. > :12:32.meeting that was agreed beforehand to try and be effective, we also put
:12:33. > :12:36.forward proposals that would like to be heard and they were not included
:12:37. > :12:42.and there will be later and that was the consensus of the entire house.
:12:43. > :12:45.This idea that we need to control the narrative and agenda, it is
:12:46. > :12:48.about collaboration, working together.
:12:49. > :12:50.Stay with me, please - but I want to broaden the discussion
:12:51. > :12:53.at this stage - and today, Stormont's Finance Committee
:12:54. > :12:54.published the findings of its investigation into Nama's
:12:55. > :12:58.It was the Independent TD from Wexford, Mick Wallace,
:12:59. > :13:01.who first raised the issue in the Dail - and this morning
:13:02. > :13:07.he agreed to talk to me in his Dublin office...
:13:08. > :13:18.I raised it at leaders questions nine times in the last eight months.
:13:19. > :13:24.I have met with nine answers and the Lyall and cover-up. That is from the
:13:25. > :13:30.Irish government. -- denial. Michael Noonan did not see fit for NAMA to
:13:31. > :13:38.be placed under scrutiny by the Northern Ireland committee. That
:13:39. > :13:42.shows a lack of interest in transparency and accountability on
:13:43. > :13:47.the part of the arid government. The electorate have not forgotten in
:13:48. > :13:53.Southern Ireland that in 2011, one of the reasons that Fine Gael and
:13:54. > :13:58.Labour did well was that they promised to do things differently in
:13:59. > :14:05.manners of governance. Sadly, nothing changed.
:14:06. > :14:14.made some dramatic claims about the sale of Nama. Do you now concede
:14:15. > :14:20.that there was no money earmarked for a politician or political party?
:14:21. > :14:24.I do not concede that. I have insisted all along that I don't have
:14:25. > :14:27.all the answers but I insist I have a lot of questions that people are
:14:28. > :14:31.refusing to answer is that the only way we look we will get those
:14:32. > :14:36.answers is through a truly independent commission of enquiry.
:14:37. > :14:47.But should be stocked with some people from outside the country will
:14:48. > :14:52.stop Ireland is a very small island. There... Many aspects of how we do
:14:53. > :14:56.business, we need and in truly independent enquiry. People no
:14:57. > :15:02.longer believe what Nama say. They no longer believe the manner in
:15:03. > :15:10.which the Government as defended them. You have produced no evidence,
:15:11. > :15:16.no hard evidence to prove that anyone in particular was involved in
:15:17. > :15:20.any kind of corrupt practice. We are short of paper proof. We understand
:15:21. > :15:27.what has happened. Unfortunately at the moment there are too many of the
:15:28. > :15:33.players involved who have a vested interest in staying quiet. Paper
:15:34. > :15:37.proof is evidence. Yes and there is people who have it, but I don't have
:15:38. > :15:43.it in my possession. I have seen enough to note that all is not well.
:15:44. > :15:46.I do not claim to have all the answers but there are serious
:15:47. > :15:53.questions to be asked and we have huge problems. The National Crime
:15:54. > :15:57.Agency in Britain and the securities and exchange in New York would not
:15:58. > :16:03.have initiated investigations if all I had to say on the matter was pure
:16:04. > :16:09.speculation. Can we now expect further revelations from you in the
:16:10. > :16:18.Dail naming names of people you believe were involved in corrupt
:16:19. > :16:23.practice? Yes. There is not a week goes by where more jigsaw pieces
:16:24. > :16:28.don't fall into place. We don't have the full picture yet but we are
:16:29. > :16:35.getting there. We are putting pressure on some people to put their
:16:36. > :16:45.names to their claims. We do need people who have a financial interest
:16:46. > :16:52.in staying silent. We need to smoke them out and put pressure on them to
:16:53. > :16:54.tell the truth. We need to be -- bring some transparency and
:16:55. > :17:00.accountability to the full working of Nama and the business sector
:17:01. > :17:05.north and south of the border. You mentioned that the US authorities
:17:06. > :17:07.are investigating and you're pleased with the way those investigations
:17:08. > :17:12.are continuing. Are you also confident that the UK's National
:17:13. > :17:16.Crime Agency will get to the bottom of what is going on? Only yesterday
:17:17. > :17:21.I met the National Crime Agency here again, for the second time. I have
:17:22. > :17:28.no reason to believe that they are not taking it seriously. I will be
:17:29. > :17:34.very interested in seeing what they come up with. I believe they are
:17:35. > :17:39.making progress. I am not for a second presuming that the National
:17:40. > :17:44.Crime Agency are not going to do a good job. I am hopeful that they
:17:45. > :17:49.will, but we oversee have to wait and see. Just finally, are you
:17:50. > :17:53.saying today as the 32nd Dail meets for the first time in Leinster house
:17:54. > :17:58.just beside where we are sitting this morning, that you are as
:17:59. > :18:03.committed as you ever were to trying to get to the bottom of what
:18:04. > :18:07.happened and to ensuring that those who are responsible in any kind of
:18:08. > :18:16.vile in the sale of this loan book are brought to book by what they
:18:17. > :18:19.did? If the new government does not initiate a truly independent
:18:20. > :18:24.commission of enquiry then no one should believe another word out of
:18:25. > :18:30.them. The majority, Fianna Fail called for an enquiry, Sinn Fein
:18:31. > :18:33.called for an enquiry, the majority of independence called for an
:18:34. > :18:36.enquiry. The only ones in the last government who didn't want an
:18:37. > :18:42.enquiry or so they said were Fine Gael and labour. There would not be
:18:43. > :18:45.a new government without some of the people who were looking for an
:18:46. > :18:58.enquiry and if they do not initiate an enquiry, then they have no
:18:59. > :19:01.credibility. Lisa Chambers, if any new government has credibility he
:19:02. > :19:07.says they need to take on this Nama issue, will a proper enquiry into
:19:08. > :19:12.gnome into Nama be a condition to any deal with Fine Gael? Fianna Fail
:19:13. > :19:19.are calling for an independent commission because there are answers
:19:20. > :19:24.-- questions to be answered. Eh? Will forever hang over this if we do
:19:25. > :19:29.not investigate and if we have allegations of this nature, if there
:19:30. > :19:35.is a suggest and the taxpayer is not compensated or if there is any wrong
:19:36. > :19:38.doing, if any advisers, this needs to be investigated. It is
:19:39. > :19:43.disappointing that Nama did not cooperate with Stormer. We have at
:19:44. > :19:47.the moment is a partial investigation. It started south of
:19:48. > :19:50.the border and Nama is within the jurisdiction. If we don't
:19:51. > :19:54.investigate we can never be quite sure what happened and I think
:19:55. > :20:04.deputy Wallace raises some worrying points. Peadar Toibin, is it's not
:20:05. > :20:12.the case that your party took its eye off the ball, where was Sinn
:20:13. > :20:17.Fein on this? Through the whole process, we had a situation where
:20:18. > :20:22.information was alleged to come from the office of Peter Robinson and
:20:23. > :20:26.others and were not being countersigned by automating is at
:20:27. > :20:31.the time. There are clearly wasn't -- Martin McGuinness. That clearly
:20:32. > :20:35.wasn't the joint Executive procedures that would normally
:20:36. > :20:38.happen. That is disputed. Yes, I appreciate this. In this state we
:20:39. > :20:45.have suffered from insiders and outsiders for many years. The bank
:20:46. > :20:50.bailout for example would be insiders, was a problem here where
:20:51. > :20:57.Irish assets were being sold to insiders as well. Now we have Nama,
:20:58. > :21:02.where hundreds of millions... It is nothing to do with the DUP, I am
:21:03. > :21:07.talking about Sinn Fein, they took their eye off the ball. A sale of
:21:08. > :21:10.the Nama loan book went ahead and Sinn Fein was not paying attention.
:21:11. > :21:18.That is untrue. That is what your critics say. If you listen to
:21:19. > :21:22.members of Sinn Fein, you will see that we have spent the latter number
:21:23. > :21:31.of months very focused on a forensic fashion in trying to bring Michael
:21:32. > :21:40.Noonan... His refusal as Mr Fevre financed to make sure Obama stops
:21:41. > :21:47.the full -- Nama. His decision to forge ahead with the new sale to
:21:48. > :21:50.Cerberus is a disgraceful decision and the fact that now he won't go in
:21:51. > :21:54.front of the Finance Committee in the north, the fact that he will
:21:55. > :21:59.have an investigation by the FBI by the security and exchange committee,
:22:00. > :22:05.the ANCA, keep Finance Committee in the North yet in the South or they
:22:06. > :22:10.will say is if you have any ideas bring them to the committee and
:22:11. > :22:16.maybe... I want a yes or no answer, Michael Wallace wants to clear a
:22:17. > :22:21.fully independent investigation into the Nama sale, you would support
:22:22. > :22:24.that? We put it on the table today that it should be one of the first
:22:25. > :22:33.things discussed, this government reviews did today. And that is
:22:34. > :22:38.non-negotiable? It is an accurate reflection -- inaccurate reflection
:22:39. > :22:42.but that is a different discussion, you put forward motions, so did we,
:22:43. > :22:47.they were not taken today for procedural reasons. In future you
:22:48. > :22:52.want to see that? We have called for this. Thank you very much, both of
:22:53. > :22:56.you. Well from a place where they can't
:22:57. > :22:59.form a voluntary coalition to a place where coalition
:23:00. > :23:01.is mandatory - Northern Ireland, The First Minister, Arlene Foster,
:23:02. > :23:04.reacted angrily this week when she was accused of playing
:23:05. > :23:07.the politics of fear. She'd suggested that unionists
:23:08. > :23:09.should throw their support behind the DUP to ensure Martin McGuinness
:23:10. > :23:11.doesn't become First Minister. In reply, Mr McGuinness told this
:23:12. > :23:14.programme he isn't concerned about the issue -
:23:15. > :23:24.as our Political Correspondent, Mrs Arlene Foster, the First
:23:25. > :23:29.Minister. Last January Stormer got a new First Minister and maybe a new
:23:30. > :23:33.spirit of togetherness as well. I will do all that I can to change the
:23:34. > :23:38.political culture of this place but I cannot change it alone we can only
:23:39. > :23:43.do it by working together. Many people have said to me, how will you
:23:44. > :23:48.work with Arlene Foster? I said, if you can work with Ian Paisley and
:23:49. > :24:01.Peter Robinson, you can work with anybody...
:24:02. > :24:09.One can wish upon a star, who can make the wish come true... Since the
:24:10. > :24:15.St Andrews agreement, the largest party of the largest designation,
:24:16. > :24:19.unionist or nationalist, provides the First Minister, but it is
:24:20. > :24:23.largely symbolic, in reality the positions are equal. But these
:24:24. > :24:27.symbols matter, especially to unionists. The issue re-emerged at
:24:28. > :24:32.the weekend when Arlene Foster told her party, make no mistake, this
:24:33. > :24:36.election is very close. A swing of only two builds of every hundred to
:24:37. > :24:40.Sinn Fein would see Martin McGuinness becoming next First
:24:41. > :24:46.Minister. She added, that would be bad for unionism and bad for
:24:47. > :24:51.Northern Ireland. But when this political... Called it the politics
:24:52. > :24:56.of fear he got an unexpected response. A number of people have
:24:57. > :25:04.been giving their impressions. She came back and asked had anybody
:25:05. > :25:07.heard the full speech? They said no. She seemed exasperated we were
:25:08. > :25:11.talking about the commentary on her speech. I'm surprised at the time
:25:12. > :25:19.she took, I am surprised that she replied. The First Minister in a
:25:20. > :25:26.public space that bad, but she would actually use that kind of emotion.
:25:27. > :25:30.Last week as she unveiled a new mural in East Belfast, she still
:25:31. > :25:35.steamed defensive. Martin McGuinness was the first person talking about
:25:36. > :25:40.the largest party, then Mike Nesbitt, but when I raised the
:25:41. > :25:44.issue, all of a sudden it is a huge story. Pointing out the reality of
:25:45. > :25:47.the situation is not a huge story. I went on to talk about Wi-Fi
:25:48. > :25:55.priorities and I am disappointed no one is talking about that but that
:25:56. > :26:00.is politics. If the worst kinky past and they became the largest party,
:26:01. > :26:05.she faint, what with the DUP do? We're not planning for that. We are
:26:06. > :26:11.planning for a continuing the good work that we started. But what if it
:26:12. > :26:17.happened? I do very much... This observer says Sinn Fein are in no
:26:18. > :26:20.position to challenge just yet. It is not credible to suggest Sinn Fein
:26:21. > :26:25.are on the verge of overtaking the DUP. We know that their vote in the
:26:26. > :26:33.North has told. They did not have a good Westminster election last year.
:26:34. > :26:36.In North Belfast they are only running two candidates. In Fermanagh
:26:37. > :26:43.and South Tyrone they made a bit of a mess of it. In West Belfast...
:26:44. > :26:48.They... Sinn Fein will consider themselves lucky if they come back
:26:49. > :26:51.with the same number of seats. It is about trying to frighten fringe
:26:52. > :26:55.unionist voters who are sitting on the fence between the UUP and the
:26:56. > :27:01.DUP, trying to persuade them to stick with the DUP. So what do other
:27:02. > :27:05.unionists make that? It is disappointing. It might also be
:27:06. > :27:09.presumed arrogant to assume that it has to be her or Martin McGuinness.
:27:10. > :27:13.It is the same old, same old and this project fear. We won't be
:27:14. > :27:17.playing that game and don't think the public are interested. They
:27:18. > :27:20.understand that the DUP and Sinn Fein are in bed together by their
:27:21. > :27:25.own choice and do they care who sleeps on the left or the right?
:27:26. > :27:29.They are interested on a Deputy First Minister and First Minister
:27:30. > :27:33.who delivers results. Martin McGuinness could hardly seem less
:27:34. > :27:37.concerned. I am very philosophical about how elections are flawed.
:27:38. > :27:41.Everybody will find their own corner and everybody wants to be the
:27:42. > :27:45.largest party. Sinn Fein is no different but I am on the public
:27:46. > :27:50.record as saying if we did become the largest party I would offer to
:27:51. > :27:53.the DUP that we change the title is from First Minister, Deputy First
:27:54. > :28:09.Minister to joint Falls should leave it at that.
:28:10. > :28:23.# It takes to, baby, to make a dream come true... Back to the coalition
:28:24. > :28:32.building. We felt duty bound to find a panel that packs a punch. I am
:28:33. > :28:37.George Hook, Irish Times columnist Una Mullaly and academic Claire
:28:38. > :28:46.McGing. Nice to have you on board. A grand coalition, Una Mullaly, is it
:28:47. > :28:51.a workable option? One of the weird things at the moment, the
:28:52. > :28:59.speculation is just that. No one knows what is going on. No one in
:29:00. > :29:03.the party know where things stand at the moment. The other option would
:29:04. > :29:07.be a minority Fine Gael government which would probably Peter along for
:29:08. > :29:12.a short while and inevitably end up in another election in 12 months or
:29:13. > :29:19.something like that. It is really hard to know and ideological it Fine
:29:20. > :29:25.Gael and Fianna Fail are extraordinarily similar. It would
:29:26. > :29:29.benefit Sinn Fein as leaders of the opposition but it is a weird limbo
:29:30. > :29:35.situation that I think even the parties themselves are still trying
:29:36. > :29:40.to get their heads around. I think any speculation or guessing really
:29:41. > :29:54.is just that at this stage. In the future maybe things will be clearer.
:29:55. > :30:00.Politicians just parrot what the spin doctors told them to say. They
:30:01. > :30:04.are not dealing with the issue. At least you have three independent
:30:05. > :30:10.people looking at the issue. The first thing about this is that it is
:30:11. > :30:15.definitely one respect and very important respect, for the first
:30:16. > :30:20.time in the history of Ireland we have left and right divide. We have
:30:21. > :30:26.people who represent the have-nots and we have people who represent the
:30:27. > :30:30.house. The people who represent perhaps our Fianna Fail and Fine
:30:31. > :30:35.Gael with 93 seats between them, if they have a Coalition, the
:30:36. > :30:39.government will last for five years. These politicians parrot and it
:30:40. > :30:44.drives me insane, we want to do what is right for the country and we want
:30:45. > :30:48.to do what is right for the people, what they want to do is play
:30:49. > :30:52.politics. The reason Fianna Fail does not want to go into core
:30:53. > :30:57.mission is that they are afraid of Sinn Fein being the most powerful
:30:58. > :31:02.party in the Coalition -- in opposition. Sinn Fein will not go
:31:03. > :31:07.into Coalition with anyone, why would you go into Coalition with
:31:08. > :31:13.someone who has a zombie economic policy that would implode within
:31:14. > :31:20.months? Therefore, all they are all doing, Enda and Fine Gael would
:31:21. > :31:26.happily go in to Coalition with the loony party if he got to be
:31:27. > :31:31.Taoiseach. What you have at the moment is pure political chicanery,
:31:32. > :31:36.the two centre parties get together and give us a stable government, I
:31:37. > :31:42.do not believe a word of this claptrap about on the doorsteps,
:31:43. > :31:48.people told us that they wanted Dail raw form. They said we want
:31:49. > :31:52.homelessness fixed. We want more money in our pockets, we want to
:31:53. > :32:00.know what will happen to all these major issues that affect our lives.
:32:01. > :32:05.Does that mean that after the shadow boxing is over, some kind of deal
:32:06. > :32:12.will be put together? The numbers are there. Between the two then they
:32:13. > :32:17.have 94 seats, but there is an issue that the media is dissed regarding
:32:18. > :32:24.and that is the fact that any deal between the parties will have to go
:32:25. > :32:27.to the Fianna Fail membership. There is still guarantee that unless
:32:28. > :32:35.Fianna Fail were able to get a very good deed and an equal partnership.
:32:36. > :32:40.It's science like Enda is offering a good deal, a rotating Taoiseach
:32:41. > :32:47.position, a 50 slash 50 split of Cabinet positions. Fianna Fail may
:32:48. > :32:51.be traditional on this. We have moved on from Civil War politics but
:32:52. > :32:56.in some respects, those politics remain and there is no guarantee
:32:57. > :33:03.that grassroots membership will go for this anyway. The other option
:33:04. > :33:10.mooted is the idea of a Fine Gael minority backed by Fianna Fail which
:33:11. > :33:15.would give Fianna Fail immense power, as soon as their opinion or
:33:16. > :33:21.support takes, they can go like that. It is very hard to know what
:33:22. > :33:28.territory we are in. I think you are right. It is often that the Times
:33:29. > :33:33.most like each other find the most links to fight about and I think
:33:34. > :33:37.that is what we are seeing. In terms of rotating Taoiseach, I do not
:33:38. > :33:43.think that would happen. I do not see the leaders of the parties
:33:44. > :33:46.wanting to share that of power, or give up that power, if the numbers
:33:47. > :33:50.are there and if the media want it and if people want that, it does not
:33:51. > :33:59.matter when these parties really do not like each other. That is what it
:34:00. > :34:04.comes down to. The Progressive Democrats and Fianna Fail, the
:34:05. > :34:12.leader is absolutely hated the sight of each other and back government
:34:13. > :34:18.worked. This idea... They are tiny party, you're not talking about the
:34:19. > :34:25.big dogs. In the Irish Times, they said it was like watching two rhinos
:34:26. > :34:29.trying to mate. It is an ugly getting together of something. The
:34:30. > :34:34.word different, a small party versus the two big ones, the optics in
:34:35. > :34:37.terms of the centenary, finally these two parties come together,
:34:38. > :34:42.they talk about people wanting a stable government, yes they do but
:34:43. > :34:46.they do not necessarily want a Fianna Fail and Fine Gael
:34:47. > :34:49.government. I do not think Irish people want a government backed
:34:50. > :34:57.Conservative. They are absolutely do, more than 50% of the people
:34:58. > :35:01.voted for it! Huge chunk of the parish electorate have abandoned the
:35:02. > :35:08.party system and that is why the independents have done so well --
:35:09. > :35:20.Parish electorate. Obviously Labour have been decimated and the Green
:35:21. > :35:24.Party -- Irish. If they were existing TDs, they would have been
:35:25. > :35:27.elected if they stood as independence, they covered
:35:28. > :35:32.themselves with the figleaf of social democracy. They were a new
:35:33. > :35:36.party they got three seats. We will not resolve that issue and there is
:35:37. > :35:41.a lot of spectating to be done over the next few weeks. I want a word
:35:42. > :35:47.with Claire McGing about quotas, you have written about this and you
:35:48. > :35:50.think they are significant. For our audience, very quickly, talk us
:35:51. > :36:00.through what happened and why you think it was so important. In 2012,
:36:01. > :36:04.the Fine Gael Coalition had to run at least 30% women or men candidates
:36:05. > :36:12.or lose state funding and that is what we were dealing with. The
:36:13. > :36:19.outgoing Dail had 27 women TDs, the new Dail had 35 women TDs, 22%, that
:36:20. > :36:24.is a significant increase in one election. There are other factors
:36:25. > :36:26.besides quotas, there has been training for women candidates, and
:36:27. > :36:32.national conversation around bringing in more women but they seem
:36:33. > :36:39.to have worked. Is there a lesson in this for Northern Ireland? There is.
:36:40. > :36:41.I do not think the quota will be something in the North in the near
:36:42. > :36:46.future but I think there is scope for parties to implement similar
:36:47. > :36:50.measures on a voluntary basis. Quick word in just a second but we have
:36:51. > :36:57.had a statement in from NAMA after that interview with Nick Wallis and
:36:58. > :37:03.I want to bring it to people watching at home, a spokesperson
:37:04. > :37:08.said that NAMA is accountable to the rafters. Any claims to the contrary
:37:09. > :37:13.are entirely without foundation and the spokesperson said that in a
:37:14. > :37:17.statement to the PAC which addressed previous claims that the chairman
:37:18. > :37:22.referred to them as a serious misrepresentation of the facts,
:37:23. > :37:28.utterly disingenuous, stretching credulity, implausible and totally
:37:29. > :37:31.unrealistic. A quick word about NAMA, Mick Wallace said there should
:37:32. > :37:37.be an independent investigation, will that happen? Perhaps. I think
:37:38. > :37:43.it probably should happen. Whatever the answers are, Mick Wallace is
:37:44. > :37:47.right to ask questions. At the very least, there is a perceived lack of
:37:48. > :37:51.transparency from the public perspective. Nonsense interview. You
:37:52. > :37:58.are asked him what evidence have you got, he said none. The rest of the
:37:59. > :38:05.interview was irrelevant. Interestingly, the Sinn Fein TD said
:38:06. > :38:09.that it was disgraceful that the PAC chairman said that.
:38:10. > :38:11.That's it from The View for this week.
:38:12. > :38:15.Join me for coverage of the SDLP conference on Saturday evening at 8
:38:16. > :38:17.o'clock on BBC2 - and Sunday Politics is at 11.35
:38:18. > :38:21.But we leave you with a look at some of the highlights of today
:38:22. > :38:23.and a little reflection from the past.
:38:24. > :38:45.There is all with a great buzz on the first day of term. -- always.
:38:46. > :38:50.The great thing to remember when voting in Ireland is get there
:38:51. > :38:56.early, otherwise you will probably find that some another's voted in
:38:57. > :39:12.your name. Who would want or expect it to be different.
:39:13. > :39:17.and I'm the health correspondent for BBC News NI.
:39:18. > :39:20.In a week, I can cover a whole range of stories -