:00:00. > :00:00.The Irish language has been thrust front and centre
:00:07. > :00:10.of this election campaign, as Arlene Foster insists there'll be
:00:11. > :00:16.Tonight on The View, I'll be asking Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill how
:00:17. > :00:40.she plans to do business with unionists after March 2nd.
:00:41. > :00:44.Arlene Foster predicted a brutal campaign, but how does Sinn Fein
:00:45. > :00:47.plan to counter her dismissal of an Irish Language Act
:00:48. > :00:50.and her comparison of republicans to crocodiles?
:00:51. > :00:59.Can Michelle O'Neill work with Mrs Foster after the election?
:01:00. > :01:13.Sinn Fein could not support Arlene Foster in the executive office while
:01:14. > :01:16.the investigation is ongoing. And her colleagues said, put manners on,
:01:17. > :01:21.is that appropriate? No. Also tonight: As the UK moves closer
:01:22. > :01:24.to triggering Article 50 after the lastest Commons vote,
:01:25. > :01:27.the Alliance Party accuses Unionist parties of undermining
:01:28. > :01:28.the institutions here. Plus, what happens when a White
:01:29. > :01:39.House news conference goes awry? When it comes to these decisions the
:01:40. > :01:44.Constitution gives our President lots of power.
:01:45. > :01:46.And doing their own show-and-tell in Commentators' Corner,
:01:47. > :01:52.Professor Deirdre Heenan and Newton Emerson.
:01:53. > :01:55.James Brokenshire would not be acceptable as a chair
:01:56. > :01:58.for negotiations after the Assembly election in March,
:01:59. > :02:02.says Sinn Fein's leader at Stormont, Michelle O'Neill.
:02:03. > :02:07.And she has insisted that Arlene Foster cannot take up a post
:02:08. > :02:09.in the Executive Office before the inquiry into RHI
:02:10. > :02:13.I spoke to Ms O'Neill earlier, and I began by asking her why
:02:14. > :02:17.Sinn Fein walked away from the Assembly when she was
:02:18. > :02:19.trying to form a policy to tackle the very real
:02:20. > :02:35.Absolutely the reason that the Assembly collapsed was because the
:02:36. > :02:40.DUP had orchestrated the RHI scandal. That is not acceptable. You
:02:41. > :02:43.cannot have corruption at the heart of Government. You cannot have an
:02:44. > :02:49.arrogant approach to some sections of society. People who are only
:02:50. > :02:52.interested in governing for some, that is not good Government, that is
:02:53. > :02:56.not what the Good Friday Agreement was about. That was about integrity,
:02:57. > :03:03.equality, respect, delivering for all our citizens. That's the
:03:04. > :03:09.Assembly has collapsed is all about RHI. I have listened to the DUP in
:03:10. > :03:19.the last couple of days. The executive has fallen because of RHI.
:03:20. > :03:24.We will talk about that in a moment but did issue of growing waiting
:03:25. > :03:31.lists, asking for support from other party leaders, that you can leave it
:03:32. > :03:34.promised not to the permanent Secretary of the Department of
:03:35. > :03:38.Finance, to release this money, effort is not an Agreement after the
:03:39. > :03:44.election for the Assembly to get up and running again. Of that was
:03:45. > :03:47.necessary and people who are dependent on a decent health service
:03:48. > :03:53.are losing out. It is your actions that has led to that. It is our
:03:54. > :03:57.actions that have brought the executive down because of corruption
:03:58. > :04:00.at the heart of Government. You cannot take big decisions about the
:04:01. > :04:03.health service, the education service or any other service of
:04:04. > :04:07.people do not have integrity in institutions and those people that
:04:08. > :04:16.are delivering services. In my seven month since I became Health
:04:17. > :04:18.Minister, all cross-party support, the health service needs
:04:19. > :04:22.transformation. I have already set out the planned how we're going to
:04:23. > :04:26.do that. We had cross-party support. One of the plans I set out was to
:04:27. > :04:31.publish a waiting list plan because waiting lists are not acceptable. We
:04:32. > :04:35.need to tackle those issues. We need to tackle the causes of what is
:04:36. > :04:46.wrong in the health service. But the is the otherness scenario is because
:04:47. > :04:51.of RHI and for other reason. You have written to the other party
:04:52. > :04:55.leaders asking for their support. Because of the transformation to fix
:04:56. > :04:59.the root causes, the reason I wrote to them to put on public record
:05:00. > :05:02.their support for dealing with the waiting list issue because that is
:05:03. > :05:05.what they have all signed up to. There was widespread support for the
:05:06. > :05:08.transformation journey we have embarked on an health, I am
:05:09. > :05:13.committed to that both personally and politically. It is to happen.
:05:14. > :05:16.Health service that is more support, they are under pressure, we need to
:05:17. > :05:21.deal with the meeting that issue, that is what good Government and
:05:22. > :05:24.leadership is. To see all those hard decisions that need to be taken
:05:25. > :05:27.across education or any of those public services, people need to have
:05:28. > :05:31.confidence in the people taking the decisions, the electorate will take
:05:32. > :05:35.a decision on the 2nd of March. People decide if they want to have
:05:36. > :05:39.an executive that is wedded to the principles of the Good Friday
:05:40. > :05:42.Agreement, which is always about integrity, respect and equality and
:05:43. > :05:46.Government. Will you be able to work with Arlene Foster if your two
:05:47. > :05:50.parties are returned as the largest parties after the election? It is
:05:51. > :05:56.from the to decide who the DUP will choose to read them. Letters Arlene
:05:57. > :06:01.Foster. We cannot presume to the electorate will return. Our party
:06:02. > :06:05.will come into negotiations wanting to bring us into the modern era and
:06:06. > :06:10.deal with marriage equality, the language act, all those things. Can
:06:11. > :06:13.you work with Arlene Foster on those issues? In terms of forming an
:06:14. > :06:16.executive we need a fundamental change. If the DUP are the largest
:06:17. > :06:20.party we will need a fundamental change and a step change from them,
:06:21. > :06:24.their attitude, it would have to be about delivering for all citizens or
:06:25. > :06:32.not. They are not we cannot go into Government. Arlene Foster could not
:06:33. > :06:36.take up the position while there is a RHI scandal and investigation
:06:37. > :06:40.ongoing. Are you saying you could not work with Arlene Foster in a new
:06:41. > :06:47.executive before the results of the public inquiry are made public? Yes,
:06:48. > :06:50.that is what I am saying. RHI is a scandal that needs completely
:06:51. > :06:54.investigated and no right minded person could support Arlene Foster
:06:55. > :06:58.to go into the joint office of first and Deputy First Minister. You will
:06:59. > :07:02.not work with Arlene Foster in the executive until we know the
:07:03. > :07:07.conclusions of the public inquiry, which could be at least six months?
:07:08. > :07:10.There is no possibility of a return to the Assembly, and a devolved
:07:11. > :07:14.administration, until the end of this year, is that what you are
:07:15. > :07:18.saying? That is not correct. There is a possibility to return to the
:07:19. > :07:23.executive and institutions and have a functioning executive, with the
:07:24. > :07:27.other parties want to step up, if DUP was to turn up in terms of
:07:28. > :07:32.delivering for all citizens, on the basis of equality, respect and
:07:33. > :07:38.integrity. Only saying you should decide who will lead the DUP? Know I
:07:39. > :07:42.am not saying that. That is for them to decide. I am saying Sinn Fein
:07:43. > :07:46.could not support Arlene Foster in the executive office whilst the
:07:47. > :07:49.investigation is ongoing. You said any right-thinking person would not
:07:50. > :07:51.put themselves forward to any potential executive Rollo is a
:07:52. > :07:57.shadow of a cloud hanging over them. That is about Arlene Foster, you are
:07:58. > :08:00.saying Arlene Foster is off-limits in terms of playing a role in the
:08:01. > :08:08.executive with Sinn Fein until we know for sure that she has been
:08:09. > :08:14.cleared by a public inquiry. We have never... She says she has done
:08:15. > :08:17.nothing wrong. Martin asked her to step aside for a period of four
:08:18. > :08:19.weeks because of the potential investigation, that could have
:08:20. > :08:24.produced a preliminary report. That fat little kid then, why not now? We
:08:25. > :08:34.are not good to have a preliminary report. -- if that was OK then, why
:08:35. > :08:38.not know. Tried to keep the scheme ongoing,
:08:39. > :08:44.who withheld information from partners and Government. This
:08:45. > :08:47.election is about integrity. You have known about RHI for a long
:08:48. > :08:51.time. Martin McGuinness knew about the difficulties back in last
:08:52. > :08:56.February but Sinn Fein did nothing about it. Let us be clear, as soon
:08:57. > :08:59.as Sinn Fein knew about the difficulties, Sinn Fein said that
:09:00. > :09:03.down within a matter of days. That is a matter of fact. As soon as the
:09:04. > :09:07.head of the Civil Service came to Martin McGuinness and said there
:09:08. > :09:12.were problems, with in days of the scheme was shut down, Sinn Fein took
:09:13. > :09:21.action. Your colleague Michelle Gildernew said put manners on Arlene
:09:22. > :09:27.Foster, was she right to use that language? No, that is not
:09:28. > :09:30.appropriate. That is too far. I am interested in integrity and respect.
:09:31. > :09:36.Have you admonished Michelle Gildernew for using that language? I
:09:37. > :09:40.have spoken to her. That is not language I would choose. Then the
:09:41. > :09:43.last number of weeks and months the DUP have treated the public with
:09:44. > :09:47.disrespect and arrogance. I do not want anybody like that in team. If
:09:48. > :09:51.you are in public life you have a job to be a leader. That means to
:09:52. > :09:57.produce of an uncomfortable situations. To step out of your
:09:58. > :09:59.comfort zone. It is about making sure we deliver first-class public
:10:00. > :10:04.services. Politics is about the will to want to change things. If you do
:10:05. > :10:08.not like things, step up and dry to fix it. That is who I am. I have
:10:09. > :10:15.taken on the mantle of Martin McGuinness. I want the Assembly to
:10:16. > :10:18.work, I want to do with the health service issues, the economy,
:10:19. > :10:22.everything else. That is what politics is, that's who I am, that
:10:23. > :10:26.is what Sinn Fein are about. Politics is also the art of
:10:27. > :10:29.compromise so if Arlene Foster is retiring and if the DUP says she
:10:30. > :10:33.continues to be the leader, and you are going to have to deal with her
:10:34. > :10:36.whether you like it or not, and if all the other parties say they would
:10:37. > :10:39.like to see devolution up and running again sooner rather than
:10:40. > :10:44.later, you have got a problem. Can you work with Arlene Foster? I ask
:10:45. > :10:47.that off the back of some of the comments she has made recently
:10:48. > :10:53.Richey has said there will never be an Irish language act, where DUP
:10:54. > :10:55.members have talked about crocodiles, those holding,
:10:56. > :11:02.nationalists = villages, there has been colourful language fired across
:11:03. > :11:08.the electoral airwaves in the last number of weeks. Do you think this
:11:09. > :11:11.possible given all that is said and done in recent days, weeks and
:11:12. > :11:15.months for you to work meaningfully and Government with Arlene Foster in
:11:16. > :11:20.future, if that is what the electoral besides you need to do? If
:11:21. > :11:27.Arlene Foster is leader of the DUP, and you are assuming the electorate
:11:28. > :11:30.will return... I made that qualification. Sinn Fein will come
:11:31. > :11:32.to negotiations with their willingness to negotiate things. It
:11:33. > :11:39.is in the public interest to do that. We have an election because of
:11:40. > :11:46.the RHI scandal, that issue has to be dealt with. I have said that
:11:47. > :11:49.before, nobody should go forward for that office if they have that
:11:50. > :11:59.clothes hanging over them. That is her choice. Bitterness of choice.
:12:00. > :12:02.You know our Sinn Fein Stormont leader, he became a leader in
:12:03. > :12:06.January, but it is not quite clear how that process worked. But looks
:12:07. > :12:10.more like a coronation than an open and transparent election. That is
:12:11. > :12:19.not that damage credibility as the leader? It does not. I am so
:12:20. > :12:22.honoured and privileged to take on the role from Martin McGuinness and
:12:23. > :12:27.to lead our party into the selection and into the future. It is a
:12:28. > :12:30.tremendous honour for me and I will come at it with such energy, I will
:12:31. > :12:35.carry on the great work from Martin McGuinness, why I was chosen not an
:12:36. > :12:41.issue. We did not see democratic principles at work in your
:12:42. > :12:45.appointment as your party's leader in the north, Eileen Foster said you
:12:46. > :12:52.were installed by Gerry Adams and you will be instructed by him in
:12:53. > :12:55.future, you are his puppets, he is your boss. Gerry Adams as party
:12:56. > :12:59.President of Sinn Fein, that is no secret. He has asked me to take on
:13:00. > :13:04.the role of leader. Martin McGuinness has passed on the mantle.
:13:05. > :13:11.Gerry Adams at any other political leader made an appointment as other
:13:12. > :13:15.leaders do. It was endorsed. I am comfortable with it. You have been
:13:16. > :13:19.specific about the cost associated with sorting out the waiting list
:13:20. > :13:24.issue, ?31.2 million. How much would it cost and an Irish language act?
:13:25. > :13:26.There has had a lot of scaremongering in relation to the
:13:27. > :13:30.issue. I do not have a cost that does not believe any reply have
:13:31. > :13:34.heard. It is a key issue, how can you not cost of that? If you look at
:13:35. > :13:38.where we are at in society, whether the Irish language, marriage
:13:39. > :13:41.equality, we are the only part of these islands that has not put
:13:42. > :13:46.forward legislation on these issues. We are a society that is backward
:13:47. > :13:49.looking because of unionism. I am talking about the cost of permitting
:13:50. > :13:52.an Irish language act, opponents say it could cost hundreds of millions
:13:53. > :13:56.of pounds, you should be able to lead that that by saying it will
:13:57. > :14:02.cost extra load of money but you cannot give me a figure. We have
:14:03. > :14:08.looked at Scottish language act, for example, it was nobody knew that
:14:09. > :14:13.sort of cost. Give me some idea of a figure. Let me tell you this. Last
:14:14. > :14:16.week we saw the DUP trying to deflect from the fact that the
:14:17. > :14:22.election is about the RHI scandal. It is not about the Irish language
:14:23. > :14:25.act, it is about the RHI scandal. You have made that point. People
:14:26. > :14:28.understand that. But the Irish language act as an issue you have
:14:29. > :14:33.talked about. You want to see an Irish language act. Is that a red
:14:34. > :14:38.line. You do not draw red lines on any issue. I would like you to be
:14:39. > :14:44.drawn on whether it is a principal or not. An clear on the issue of
:14:45. > :14:48.Arlene Foster and suitability to be First Minister at a time when the
:14:49. > :14:53.RHI issue has not been resolved and the judge has not reported as far as
:14:54. > :14:56.public inquiry is concerned. You should be equally clear about the
:14:57. > :15:02.Irish line with Jack, how much would it cost to implement? The Irish
:15:03. > :15:04.language act, the Bill of Rights, the legacy issues, they are key
:15:05. > :15:16.issues in this election. So you must have costed them? This
:15:17. > :15:18.is a wispy block by the DUP before and whenever legislation comes
:15:19. > :15:27.forward we would look at the minister who tabled the situation so
:15:28. > :15:31.it would be pretty hard to cost. You should be able to put a figure to
:15:32. > :15:34.it. I don't think it is an unreasonable question to get some
:15:35. > :15:37.sense of whether or not your political opponents have actually
:15:38. > :15:41.got it right and it will cost a lot of money or whether your analysis is
:15:42. > :15:47.that it would cost a lot less and if it is a lot less to should be able
:15:48. > :15:51.to give me a figure. Our political opponents, the DUP, I tried to scare
:15:52. > :15:56.about the Irish Language Act and Boxer said. Evidence shows that when
:15:57. > :16:04.Scotland voted on a Scottish Irish -- Scottish language act it didn't
:16:05. > :16:13.cost much. How much did it cost? Don't you know? The British
:16:14. > :16:17.government if it committed to an Irish Language Act it could do so
:16:18. > :16:22.and it could finance it. Don't let anyone distract from the fact that
:16:23. > :16:25.this is about the RHI scandal. James Brokenshire recently said the
:16:26. > :16:33.current system is not working and we are in danger of seeing the past
:16:34. > :16:38.reborn. Can he be an honest broker in the elections? No. If you look at
:16:39. > :16:43.his actions to date, if you look at his comments in relation to British
:16:44. > :16:46.soldiers receiving immunity and how he is ignoring the views of the
:16:47. > :16:49.people in the North who want to stay in the European Union and if you
:16:50. > :16:53.look at his one-sided than partisan views on a lot of things I don't
:16:54. > :16:58.believe James Brokenshire is an honest broker, no, I don't. Does
:16:59. > :17:04.that mean you would have to bring in some external facilitator to hold
:17:05. > :17:11.those talks together? It would absolutely be preferable. The
:17:12. > :17:13.British government and the Irish government Arco guarantors of the
:17:14. > :17:16.Good Friday agreement and they have a job to step up to the plate. The
:17:17. > :17:20.British government have banded to the DUP for the last number of years
:17:21. > :17:24.to each negotiation and tried each failure to implement the issues that
:17:25. > :17:27.they signed up to. We can't have British government who is only
:17:28. > :17:31.interested in one section of the society. If you are going to be a
:17:32. > :17:34.leader, be a leader for everybody. That is who am.
:17:35. > :17:37.Michelle O'Neill talking to me earlier, and on next week's
:17:38. > :17:39.programme I'll be speaking to the DUP leader, Arlene Foster.
:17:40. > :17:43.Now, what are we to make of last night's rejection by unionist MPs
:17:44. > :17:46.of an SDLP attempt to ensure the government takes on board
:17:47. > :17:48.the Good Friday Agreement during forthcoming Brexit negotiations?
:17:49. > :17:50.The UUP says it received assurances from the British government
:17:51. > :17:53.that the agreement will not be affected, but the Alliance Party
:17:54. > :17:55.says the situation is deeply worrying and leaves the institutions
:17:56. > :18:03.Lord Empey and Stephen Farry from both parties join me now.
:18:04. > :18:10.Welcome to you both. Thank you for joining us. Lord Empey, you are
:18:11. > :18:13.concerned enough to seek assurances from government that the Good Friday
:18:14. > :18:17.agreement will not be affected, why not vote for an amendment that could
:18:18. > :18:22.have locked it into the Bill? We have been working at this for a long
:18:23. > :18:27.time. Back in September we produced our own, the only party that has
:18:28. > :18:31.produced a vision for Northern Ireland outside the EU, even the
:18:32. > :18:33.executive has not produced one. We went to see Brexit Department
:18:34. > :18:40.ministers before Christmas and we went to see, I spoke to David Davis,
:18:41. > :18:44.the Brexit secretary on Tuesday and the Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson
:18:45. > :18:48.on Wednesday. We have a meeting on 22nd April with the Brexit ministers
:18:49. > :18:56.from Downing Street to follow this up. We have been doing a lot of work
:18:57. > :19:00.to ensure the border remains open and that the governments remain
:19:01. > :19:07.committed to the agreement and I got an answer. Did you get the
:19:08. > :19:10.assurances? I got the man that got them on Hansard because earlier this
:19:11. > :19:17.month I asked the Minister a question on these very issues and I
:19:18. > :19:24.got absolute clarity. Do you just hope you can ensure? Boris Johnson
:19:25. > :19:28.gave me a one word answer, yes. The question was Will you ensure there
:19:29. > :19:32.is an open border as it currently stands, and will you ensure that
:19:33. > :19:38.there are commitments under the Belfast agreement that are met. He
:19:39. > :19:43.said that in front of 80... The negotiations haven't even started!
:19:44. > :19:47.He said it in front of 80 other people in the Prime Minister has
:19:48. > :19:51.said it in the House of Commons and I think we should not contemplate
:19:52. > :19:54.two separate issues here. He is prejudging the outcome of the
:19:55. > :19:58.negotiations. He is not in a position to give you a guarantee. It
:19:59. > :20:03.is the government of the United Kingdom 's decision that there will
:20:04. > :20:06.not be a hard border. The Prime Minister has said it, the Brexit has
:20:07. > :20:13.said it -- the Brexit secretary has said that the Foreign Minister has
:20:14. > :20:15.said it. It would never get through Parliament has anything else. But
:20:16. > :20:20.they can't tell you exactly the nature of the border. We know it
:20:21. > :20:24.will not be concrete and barbed wire border. The Irish ambassador came to
:20:25. > :20:29.speak to the Northern Ireland affairs committee on Wednesday this
:20:30. > :20:33.week and he made it clear that the governments were committed, both of
:20:34. > :20:40.them, to ensuring that there was no damage done to the agreement as a
:20:41. > :20:44.result. Are you reassured? Certainly not. There are two sides to any
:20:45. > :20:49.border so the perspective of the European Union will be important in
:20:50. > :20:55.this. They will not want Congress and barbed wire either. We could
:20:56. > :20:57.hear the phrase about no returns to the borders of the past but it means
:20:58. > :21:03.nothing. There is no reassurance on what the border will look like. You
:21:04. > :21:08.are not reassured by the comment from Boris Johnson which was enough
:21:09. > :21:12.Lord Empey? Or the experts say that if the UK leads the customs union
:21:13. > :21:17.which is our current stated exec -- objective you cannot avoid customs
:21:18. > :21:21.border and that has to be a physical check, there are country of origin
:21:22. > :21:26.issues that have to be checked and they have to be physical. You cannot
:21:27. > :21:28.do it through electronic means. You want recognition of the special
:21:29. > :21:31.circumstances in Northern Ireland and you want guarantees put in
:21:32. > :21:37.place. What does that mean precisely? We want some sort of
:21:38. > :21:41.special status for Northern Ireland which is a special relationship with
:21:42. > :21:44.the European Union and I believe that can be... Special status for
:21:45. > :21:48.Northern Ireland rather than the island of Ireland? There may be
:21:49. > :21:53.special measures that need to be put in place for the island as a hold.
:21:54. > :21:58.At the moment Northern Ireland have voted to remain with in Europe and I
:21:59. > :22:01.believe special status can be made with the Good Friday agreement and
:22:02. > :22:05.the principle of consent. There are issues that we remain on the right
:22:06. > :22:10.side of the customs union and part of the single market and the four
:22:11. > :22:14.freedoms and we have access to funds and European funds but the wide
:22:15. > :22:17.apart around this issue is the Good Friday agreement and the
:22:18. > :22:23.reassurances that have been given in that regard. They do not stand up to
:22:24. > :22:26.scrutiny. The issues are that the structures of the Good Friday
:22:27. > :22:28.agreement may continue but that fails to understand that the
:22:29. > :22:32.European Union and the joint membership of the UK and Ireland
:22:33. > :22:37.behind that give effect to the Good Friday agreement because we have the
:22:38. > :22:41.east-west and north-south relationship in tandem. Brexit means
:22:42. > :22:47.putting up barriers. Someone will lose in this regard and it has
:22:48. > :22:51.political implications. Are you worried that this would be the
:22:52. > :22:56.dangerous uncoupling of the union? Of course it well, it's nonsense.
:22:57. > :22:59.The biggest economic, political and social link that we have is with the
:23:00. > :23:02.rest of the United Kingdom and I know Stephen 's party is not
:23:03. > :23:06.committed to the union, they are diagnostic about it, but that is the
:23:07. > :23:10.point. It is the most important unit and if you go down the road of
:23:11. > :23:14.special status it is Gerry Adams speak for moving us one more step
:23:15. > :23:17.out of the United Kingdom. Northern Ireland voted a certain way and the
:23:18. > :23:30.referendum but it was a UK referendum and we accept the result.
:23:31. > :23:32.It also means that if you try and keep us locked in some bizarre
:23:33. > :23:35.mechanism to keep us in the United Kingdom, what happens if the UK goes
:23:36. > :23:38.and does new trade deals with other countries? As a Unionist, if you are
:23:39. > :23:40.concerned about the best interest of the people of Northern Ireland in
:23:41. > :23:44.these new circumstances, if it can be proven that the best interests
:23:45. > :23:47.are represented by a closer relationship between Northern
:23:48. > :23:51.Ireland and the Republic of Ireland, what would you have to fear from
:23:52. > :23:55.that? It doesn't mean the end of the union, just redefined relationship
:23:56. > :23:59.on the island of Ireland. The European Union is a union of member
:24:00. > :24:03.states. You are either in a state or you are not. Sinn Fein and others
:24:04. > :24:08.want to make Northern Ireland into effectively a protectorate and that
:24:09. > :24:12.is the worst possible position for us to be in. The Republic isn't
:24:13. > :24:16.interested in this sort of thing at all. They want, and the two
:24:17. > :24:20.governments are working extremely closely together, and they are
:24:21. > :24:23.ensuring that they are going to solve these problems. There is a
:24:24. > :24:31.unanimous political will across all parties. The worst possible outcome?
:24:32. > :24:34.Brexit affects all the people of Northern Ireland, when a Unionist,
:24:35. > :24:39.nationalist or a whole mix and range of different identities. It was a UK
:24:40. > :24:47.wide referendum but Northern Ireland is not as British, we are in a very
:24:48. > :24:50.particular place and there are anomalies in Northern Ireland.
:24:51. > :24:56.Anyone born he has an automatic right to be an Irish citizen so
:24:57. > :24:59.European Union citizen and we have a very integrated economy. Real damage
:25:00. > :25:03.will be done to our economy in the context of a hard Brexit. What is
:25:04. > :25:07.important is we decouple the concept of special status from the National
:25:08. > :25:11.desire for a united Ireland. Special status is something that should
:25:12. > :25:15.appeal right across the political spectrum. It is a pragmatic response
:25:16. > :25:19.to the problems we are facing and can be entirely consistent with the
:25:20. > :25:23.principle of consent. We have to appreciate that the Good Friday
:25:24. > :25:30.agreement is a balanced settlement. Strand won the internal dynamic and
:25:31. > :25:35.also the east-west is also an synchrony. Brexit upsets all of that
:25:36. > :25:38.and it is potentially very serious. At the moment people through the
:25:39. > :25:41.European Union, can trade north and south and east and west and get
:25:42. > :25:46.through their lives as they see fit. Brexit means putting in place a form
:25:47. > :25:49.of barrier somewhere that creates winners and losers and zero choice
:25:50. > :25:54.for some people and that is not the underlying spirit of what the
:25:55. > :26:02.agreement actually meant. Where will the barrier be? It may not be a
:26:03. > :26:05.concrete and barbed wire frontier between North and South but there
:26:06. > :26:08.will have to be a frontier. Where do you think it will be? First of all,
:26:09. > :26:11.in respect of what Stephen has just said, the most important trading
:26:12. > :26:16.relationship we have is with the rest of the United Kingdom. We have
:26:17. > :26:24.strong links with the Republic but they pale into insignificance
:26:25. > :26:28.compared with our links. Cut adrift? Absolutely not. We are committed and
:26:29. > :26:33.one of the people who set up the bodies such as tourism Ireland, this
:26:34. > :26:36.trying to link the Brexit with the destruction of the institutions of
:26:37. > :26:42.the Belfast agreement is a very dangerous road to go down. Get back
:26:43. > :26:46.to the point. Where will the border be? If it does not run through Derry
:26:47. > :26:53.and Strabane and ran to Newry, will it be on the Scottish ports? UK and
:26:54. > :26:57.GB airports? We have pursued that with the government and we were told
:26:58. > :27:01.under no circumstances would they contemplate any internal borders
:27:02. > :27:09.within the United Kingdom. Where will it be? Electronically we can do
:27:10. > :27:14.a lot because invoices have to be generated, vehicles can be
:27:15. > :27:20.bar-coded, the Republic can change its border processes. That will not
:27:21. > :27:25.solve all of the problems, it might contribute to some of it. I am not
:27:26. > :27:30.finished. The public and is too great controls itself on its own
:27:31. > :27:37.ports. Why shouldn't have to do that? The Republic wants to ensure a
:27:38. > :27:40.open border and they are our strongest allies in the European
:27:41. > :27:45.Union and we will also ensure intelligence sharing between the two
:27:46. > :27:51.countries. There are ways in which, lots of ways in which we can do
:27:52. > :27:56.that. How do you respond to that? Ireland cannot separate themselves
:27:57. > :27:59.from the rest of the European Union. The Irish Republic can't go
:28:00. > :28:06.unilateral in terms of having a differential border with the rest of
:28:07. > :28:14.the European Union. You want us to adopt the euro? That used to be your
:28:15. > :28:17.policy. What Brexit is doing is deciding whether it is better to
:28:18. > :28:23.stay economically with Great Britain or the Republic of Ireland and the
:28:24. > :28:25.European Union and it is a false choice and we should look to do
:28:26. > :28:28.Let's hear what Deirdre Heenan and Newton Emerson make
:28:29. > :28:45.Good to see you. Let us go back to the top of the programme and talk
:28:46. > :28:50.first of all about Michelle O'Neill and her interview. She is now the
:28:51. > :28:54.party was Maxtor want leader. What did you make of her performance
:28:55. > :28:59.tonight? That is the first time I have heard Sinn Fein give a specific
:29:00. > :29:02.red line on any of these negotiations, about Arlene Foster 's
:29:03. > :29:06.tenure and even that red line this time limited. The enquiry will take
:29:07. > :29:11.about six months and that is projected. Gerry Adams has already
:29:12. > :29:16.said that he considers corruption, to be an issue that is being dealt
:29:17. > :29:20.with just by the existence of the enquiry so Sinn Fein has set itself
:29:21. > :29:24.a target here that will resolve itself. Everything else is totally
:29:25. > :29:28.up in the air and we must bear that in mind. The alleged corruption she
:29:29. > :29:33.mentioned several times in the interview. She was crystal clear
:29:34. > :29:39.about what Sinn Fein will accept and not accept about Arlene Foster 's
:29:40. > :29:40.role in an executive or outside an executive unless and until she is
:29:41. > :29:53.cleared by the public enquiry. She was clear and many in the DUP
:29:54. > :29:58.will be spitting feathers. You would love to be a fly on the wall and
:29:59. > :30:05.Arlene Foster's front room. I would. She talked a lot about leadership.
:30:06. > :30:08.Integrity. She said she would be a leader for all of the citizens. I
:30:09. > :30:20.think she is coming across or depicting herself. Arlene Foster
:30:21. > :30:25.comes across as belligerent, insular, but as she is more affable,
:30:26. > :30:32.saying this is about the future, and I am quite sure they will be reeling
:30:33. > :30:37.against that the election. Importantly as well, the future is
:30:38. > :30:43.starting to shape up, as Sinn Fein sees it, letting DUP twist in the
:30:44. > :30:51.wind for six months I would take the rest of the issues to the British
:30:52. > :30:54.Government. She said James Brokenshire cannot be an honest
:30:55. > :30:58.broker in future negotiations and tonight he has said he is not
:30:59. > :31:03.contemplating any other outcome but a resumption of devolved partnership
:31:04. > :31:06.Government. Yes, but she would say that, because it has been partisan.
:31:07. > :31:09.It would have been more interesting if she had said something different.
:31:10. > :31:14.I thought it was interesting that she was willing to slap down
:31:15. > :31:18.Michelle Gildernew and see that type of language was not acceptable to
:31:19. > :31:21.did not want to get into that kind of slanging match. In the past that
:31:22. > :31:26.they have been smoothed over but was clear that is not the type of party
:31:27. > :31:30.that she wants to read. What did you make of what she had to say about
:31:31. > :31:33.the Irish language act? She could not or would not put a figure on it
:31:34. > :31:42.at all in terms of what it might cost? That is not good preparation.
:31:43. > :31:46.What struck me, Gerry Adams has this raised with the Irish Government,
:31:47. > :31:50.the Irish Government has raised this at the Brexiter conference with
:31:51. > :31:55.Theresa May, it is becoming clear that they know they will not get
:31:56. > :32:00.this past the DUP saw the ball to score over the DUP's head. She said
:32:01. > :32:05.it was not a red line but she had already pointed out that Arlene
:32:06. > :32:08.Foster as leader was a red line. There are many different kinds of
:32:09. > :32:12.Irish language act. They are going to have to get something and be
:32:13. > :32:15.ankle to have to go to London to get it. They are not the did tie
:32:16. > :32:20.themselves in knots before it is to see what it will look like and how
:32:21. > :32:22.much it will cost. There is no detail about how much it will cost
:32:23. > :32:27.but that is a realisation that people are interested in health,
:32:28. > :32:31.education, the economy, and they are the key issues, and she was try to
:32:32. > :32:36.focus on those. She has attempted to leave the Health Ministry on
:32:37. > :32:40.autopilot. That would also tie in with the idea of a six-month hiatus,
:32:41. > :32:50.civil servants can sign the checks, the DUP heads can explode while she
:32:51. > :32:56.runs to London. What did you make of this, if talks are not successful,
:32:57. > :33:00.it gives a Green light to release ?31.2 million, she seems to be
:33:01. > :33:05.suggesting. It is meaningless. It is a promissory note. The reality is
:33:06. > :33:08.health needs radical transformation. This is a sticking plaster to
:33:09. > :33:13.address our waiting list issue that should have been addressed long
:33:14. > :33:16.before now. The report is out over six months and absolutely nothing
:33:17. > :33:20.has happened. That is dressed up as doing something when in fact we have
:33:21. > :33:25.been sitting on our hands watching the problem getting bigger as months
:33:26. > :33:29.go past. It does not mean anything. Interested to hear with Arlene
:33:30. > :33:33.Foster has two C in response, hopefully she will be on the
:33:34. > :33:37.programme next week, Michelle O'Neill said tonight she did not
:33:38. > :33:41.want to trade insults but what she said about Arlene Foster, will it be
:33:42. > :33:42.winding? It will and there is no question of the DUP coming into
:33:43. > :33:47.this. That is all for now. Join me for Sunday Politics
:33:48. > :33:49.at 11.35am here on BBC One, when I'll be talking to the leader
:33:50. > :33:53.of the Ulster Unionist Party, we leave you with Melissa McCarthy's
:33:54. > :33:57.brilliant impersonation of White House spokesman,
:33:58. > :33:59.Sean Spicer. If only all news
:34:00. > :34:18.conferences were like this! Settle down, settled down. I want to
:34:19. > :34:24.ask about the travel ban on Muslims. The travel ban is not a ban which
:34:25. > :34:32.makes it a ban. You just call that a ban. I am using your words. You
:34:33. > :34:36.treat it if the ban were announced with a one-week notice... Exactly.
:34:37. > :34:41.You just said that. He is quoting you.
:34:42. > :34:48.It is your words. When it comes to these decisions, the Constitution
:34:49. > :34:55.gives our President lots of power. The key adviser. Our President will
:34:56. > :35:01.not be deterred.