08/03/2018 The View


08/03/2018

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It's all about the money tonight.

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Finally, a big budget boost

from the Tory-DUP deal.

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But is there a downside?

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And, as a judge rules

the decision to block legacy

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funding was unlawful,

what happens next?

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Welcome to The View.

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Tonight, a day for

balancing the books.

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The Secretary of State has included

an extra £410 million of the money

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from the DUP deal in her budget.

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But the pill in that

sugar-coating is a big rise

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in domestic rates here.

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We'll dive into the numbers

with former Stormont Finance

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Minister Mairtin O Muilleor former

Alliance leader David Ford,

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and the SDLP's Claire Hanna.

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And, talking money, Enda McClafferty

has been looking into party

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planning in Ballymena.

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The chief executive came back to me

and told me that this was not a DUP

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dinner.

You wouldn't need to be a

rocket scientist to find out what

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this did not was.

-- what this is

dinner was.

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And, back in Commentators' Corner,

Professor Deirdre Heenan

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and Newton Emerson.

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Hello.

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After considerable uncertainty

as to whether or not it

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would even happen today,

the written statement

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on the budget finally came

through late this afternoon.

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For the second year in a row, it's

been handed down by Westminster -

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but this time around,

there was the small matter

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of a £400 million boost

from the Tory-DUP deal to add

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to the mix.

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We'll get reaction from

the politicians in just a moment.

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But first, our Business

Correspondent, Julian O'Neill,

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has been crunching the numbers,

and he's with me now.

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Was it broadly as expected?

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I think it was largely speaking,

Mark. The DUP money aside, it feels

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very much like last year's budget in

respect of health and education

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being prioritised. They get extra

money, and they get an increase

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which covers the rise in the rate of

inflation. That's not to say that

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they won't feel huge spending

pressures in the course of the next

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financial year. Other departments

are less fortunate. They get rises

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which don't cover the rate of

inflation, and some actually see a

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real terms

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freeze in cash allocations, or

indeed a reduction. So, I think we

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will not feel much of a difference

compared to previous years. And

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certainly I think many of us will

still be driving through potholes in

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the course of old working week.

We

have had £400 million of extra money

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as part of this deal.

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Where does the £400 million money

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from the Tory-DUP deal fit?

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This is new money, even though we

knew it was coming. £20 million of

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that game last financial year, but

now we have the arrival of a

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significant amount of money, £410

million. Half of it will be used for

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infrastructure projects like roads.

There will be £80 million split

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between education and hospitals, to

help ease pressures. Now, we were

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looking at a fairly bleak financial

situation in December. The word from

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the Department of Finance today is

that this DUP money has not made it

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quite as bleak, although we are

still very much living in tough

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times in terms of public spending.

Given that that's the case, it is

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interesting to note that there is

very little by way of revenue

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raising in this budget.

Yes, the

big, tough decisions, which was

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attached out in the scenario by the

Department of Finance before

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Christmas.

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-- which were sketched out. Things

like reintroducing prescription

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charges and higher education fees,

they have not been acted upon. I am

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led to believe they will be

revisited in the next financial

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year. What we do have this year, a

significant thing aside from the DUP

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money, and that is a significant

inflation -- inflation-busting hike,

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this is a return of devolution in

2007, the rise in the Stormont

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regional rate has always tracked

deflation. This at 4.5% is

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significantly above that and goes

well beyond what James Brokenshire

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did last year, when he introduced a

regional rate increase of 1.6%. This

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is 4.5%. I think the Secretary of

State is putting down something of a

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market here, it's symbolic, and

perhaps pointing to next year's

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budget, signalling that if there is

no devolution than some other tough

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financial decisions may have to be

made in respect of revenue.

Here is

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an interesting little point to end

on.

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You've been told tonight

that there was quite a bit

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of manoeuvring behind the scenes

to pull any announcement

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about MLAs' pay today.

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Which we had been expecting.

Make no

bones about it, there was to be an

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announcement today about the budget,

but that was also to be accompanied

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by a statement from the Secretary of

State in the House of Commons which

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would have covered MLA pain. Now, at

the 11th hour, those two events

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became detached, and what we got

today was the budget alone. And I'm

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led to believe that the reason for

that was to allow the DUP to get

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some headlines out of the budget

which weren't going to compete, or

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be overshadowed by any announcement

on MLA pay, which will come next

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week.

Some people might say that

with the Tory-DUP deal delivering

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for the DUP today.

Well, certainly

it suggests that there was

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absolutely no doubt at all that the

initial plan was for the Secretary

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of State to make a statement in the

House of Commons today. That did not

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happen, and we're hearing it has now

been rescheduled for Monday.

Julian,

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thank you very much indeed. We may

well come back to you throughout the

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course of the programme.

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Thanks, Julian.

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Let's hear what the

politicians make of it all.

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With me are former Finance Minister

Mairtin O Muilleoir,

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former Justice Minister David Ford,

and the SDLP's Claire Hanna.

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Both the DUP and the Ulster

Unionists declined to take part

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in our studio discussion.

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Mairtin, let me come to you first of

all. Julian has outlined where the

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extra money is going to be spent,

Key infrastructure payments, health

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and education. No big changes as far

as revenue raising our concern. How

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is that not good news in a difficult

economic climate?

It's amazing that

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the DUP are not here to defend this.

Why they are not here, it is a tough

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budget. Inflation is racing ahead at

3%. Therefore, any increase to any

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department needs to be at least 3%

to stand still. Seven departments,

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in government, they have a reduction

in their budget going forward. This

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is not a budget for growth or

development. You know, when the DUP

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said they have this wonderful deal

with the Tories, and the price of

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course is that they didn't have

rights to Irish speakers -- the

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denial of rights to or is because.

But when they said that they were

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getting the additional money, some

of us were naive enough to think it

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would be additional money, but they

plugging the gap in the budgets are

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still being cut. The wonderful money

from the DUP is now being used to

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plug the gaps.

That is not how the

DUP with the. Sinn Fein said you

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would not accept direct rule at any

price. Here is a budget opposed by

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the Secretary of State at

Westminster, an individual act of

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direct rule, and there is nothing

you can do about it.

I don't think

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they with their pretend that the

budget for health is enough, health

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needs 6% to stand still. In this

deal, it's still only 2%. This is in

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direct rule, but we all

understand...

It was an act of

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direct rule today.

We understand

that public services need to

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continue and budgets need to be set.

We are relaxed about that.

Fall of

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the fuss and sabre rattling that

Sinn Fein was engaged in, at the end

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of the day, here is a budget imposed

by a British liquid of state, and

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you are compliant.

What I will say

is this -- British Secretary of

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State. We need the British - Irish

intergovernmental conference to come

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together. That is what the

constitution says, we need to bring

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back together.

There is still no

sign of it.

I'm content that the

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next step forward in terms of

working through this political

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crisis and joint stewardship will be

this conference.

Went?

The sooner

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the better. Well, we can't make

progress without that. So, if the

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limbo is to be...

But we made

progress today.

We can't make

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progress on this political film

eight, the denial of rights for the

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British - Irish intergovernmental

conference -- this political

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stalemate.

You of course failed to

set a budget when Sinn Fein help

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finance portfolio. Last April, Sammy

Wilson, a former Finance Minister,

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called you a political coward for

dodging responsibility as Finance

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Minister to present a budget to the

Executive for debate.

I'm in the

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studio, where is the DUP? The

Finance Minister can't present a

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budget to Assembly. We didn't have

an agreement with the Executive

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because the Executive collapsed.

You

could have brought it to the

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Executive table for it to be

discussed?

No, the DUP were obsessed

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with RHI. We didn't have an

agreement in government. The Finance

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Minister cannot present a budget.

That's what the failure is. Why did

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government fail? It was a failure of

the DUP.

Sammy Wilson says the

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reason the Assembly was brought down

by Sinn Fein was your desire to

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avoid unpopular decisions.

When he

said it was about RHI and

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power-sharing, Sammy Wilson should

be here to say it and defend this

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tough budget. That's what it is, it

is not a budget for growth and

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investment. It will not provide home

for the homeless or solve the

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universities places crisis. It was

signed up by the DUP.

David Ford,

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just Okore Phi one point, but a

budget have been brought to the

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Executive table for discussion? --

just one point. The blog without the

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agreement

of the person is that

under by Defence Minister. The rule

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takes about six meetings to get

something onto the order paper.

It

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would have been tricky?

It would.

What do you hope of today's budget

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proposals, is at the best we could

have hoped for in difficult

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circumstances?

There is a real

requirement that we seek strategic

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decision-making, issues that are

creating difficulties addressed,

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what is about rather than what is

effectively a rolling on budget.

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Last year we had a kind of Tory

budget based on DUP and Sinn Fein

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ministers failing to make strategic

decisions, this year the Tories have

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failed to make strategic decisions

entirely on their own. We have huge

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inefficiencies in public services.

The crossover pavilion Evian schools

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post-16 -- Effie and schools. There

are a range of issues which simply

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aren't being addressed. Until we

address them, we will continue to be

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living with trying to play catch up,

trying to make the best of what

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we've got as opposed to making

strategic decisions, some of which

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will be unpopular in the short-term

but will actually allow long-term

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decision-making.

What about revenue

raising? That was something which

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could have been... Jolyon has talked

us through it, there were various

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options for consideration. Apart

from a number of issues of reference

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is about revenue raising in that

paper

were pretty meaningless in

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terms of the value it would have

produced compared to the public

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difficulty in getting them through.

For example, getting rid of free

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prescriptions sounds good but it

actually brings in very little

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revenue.

It brings in very little

revenue and a lot of it is taken up

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with administering, there are

difficulties. That may be needed as

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we look at at well, if we were to

ever implement the reforms to

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health, that's the kind of things we

might need to look at. There is also

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good deterrent factor of people

taking prescription is too easily,

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which has been suggested by some

people. The

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people. The reality is, and people

currently don't see value for money

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because of the inefficiencies in the

system.

Claire Hanna, could it be

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worse under the circumstances?

Actually, we haven't seen the

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detail, we have a lot more questions

than answers.

It was a pretty short

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statement.

Absolutely, nobody had

the opportunity to ask questions,

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the last session of Stormont was

pretty opaque in terms of questions

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about the budget, but even Tory

backbenchers are asking about the

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lack of opportunity...

You had a

briefing earlier in the week was

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glad we had a conversation, but as

far as I'm concerned it political

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cover

it was, as I call it, the kids

tables, the smaller parties, there

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is due process even in that. The

bigger parties had conversations.

We

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had no conversations. This is a

Tory-DUP budget.

Did you know what

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was going to be in it before the

written statement before the House?

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We had the same briefing that every

party received from the finance

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officials before Christmas and a

response to the consultation after

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Christmas, but we had no say

whatsoever in this, and if we had we

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would have been arguing.

The bottom

line is, the last day in 14 months

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is left, certainly we need a budget,

departments need clarity and how

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they are going to spend so they can

spend

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spend effectively, we are not

turning Dinos Arpad additional money

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but there is no understanding about

who is making the political

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decisions. Last year's budget,

whilst it was presented from

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Westminster, everybody was clear it

was laid down on the basis of the

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budget that the previous Executive

did not issue. Who is making the

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decisions? The extra money,

delighted we are to have it, but for

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infrastructure, what oil building

and where? £20 million extra for

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targeting social need, that could be

spent for almost any department.

In

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the DUP can say that it has returned

£410 million.

It isn't their money,

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it is taxpayers money.

It is money

the DUP negotiated over and above

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other money due to come.

That is not

to say the rest of us don't have an

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entitlement.

Everybody is going to

benefit from that is the case but

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the point is people are entitled to

know and it is a breach of the

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spirit of power-sharing Gasper that

this is worse than direct rule

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because when Sammy Wilson showboat

it on Twitter how he was going to

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see Treasury, the Good Friday allows

for traditions, and they have their

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fingerprints all over this budget.

Are we all going to benefit or will

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this plug some of the short term

issues without actually dealing in

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the long term meaningful way with

addressing the problems of public

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services in Northern Ireland? We

might get through this year but we

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won't get the benefit if we don't

have proper scrutiny as to how the

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money is spent, in a strategic way,

as opposed to spending more on

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services than we ought to.

And a bit

of false eye on the part of Sinn

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Fein and yourself today. Whenever

you complain about the 4.5 increase

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in domestic rates, you wanted to

portraits up, you wanted to scrap

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the cup.

I do believe that if we're

going to have increase across the

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board, those with the broader

shoulders have to carry more weight.

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So today's increase isn't OK?

I

believe that increases on the public

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should be means tested. The more

money you have, the more you

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contribute, it is a basic principle

of fair government.

People in big

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houses don't is a serious have a lot

of money.

We had revenue imposes,

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and we make sure those who couldn't

afford didn't pay. 4.5 shouldn't be

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across the board. Those struggling

wake-up today knowing inflation is

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hitting them and now they have rates

above inflation.

Part of the point

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is people can understand rates hike

if they know what it is going to do.

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This is a ticket overbudget, it is

cut-and-paste and nobody will see

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any improvement in their services.

Let's pause this because in the

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meantime it was funding for legacy

inquests which was making all the

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headlines.

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A judge ruled that

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Arlene Foster's decision to block

it was "unlawful and flawed".

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Sir Paul Girvan said the former

First Minister was wrong to think

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she could postpone the decision

until an overall political

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agreement on dealing

with the past was reached.

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Our Political Editor,

Mark Devenport, asked the DUP's

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Sammy Wilson for his reaction

to the verdict.

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When we deal with the past, we deal

with it in a fair and balanced way,

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and that one particular aspect of

the past is not examined while other

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parts of the past or ignored. And

that was... That will remain our

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position but I don't want to comment

on the judgment itself.

Should the

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government heed the government's

advice and release the money now?

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That would be a decision for the

government to make. But we will...

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We want to see that dealing with the

past, being dealt with in a fairway,

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where it isn't seen that in the one

particular aspect of the past is

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investigated. We have got a lot of

hurt people in Northern Ireland and

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I think they expect to see fairness

and balance in a way in which we do

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with the past.

Sammy Wilson talking

to us. David Ford, you adjusters

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minister at Stormont, what do you

make of this ruling?

There is a

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certain amount of personal pleasure

that I worked with the lord chief

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justice and the DOJ worked hard to

put together a plan which would have

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commenced the process of speeding up

legacy inquests. It wouldn't have

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dealt with all of them but it was to

get the process under way. I took

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that paper to the Executive, Arlene

Foster refused to table it for

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political reasons and we now have a

clear decision from the High Court

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that was unlawful. That legacy

inquests 's should have been speeded

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up by the provision of extra money.

That is what we wanted to do, that

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is what the Lord Chief Justice

wanted to do. And it was rejected

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for purely political reasons by

Arlene Foster.

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Arlene Foster.

And the Department is

now request during the provision of

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additional funding for legacy

inquests and this can't be postponed

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until an outcome to a political

agreement is resolved. Do you think

0:19:530:19:56

the government should now go ahead

and release the money?

It would

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appear the Secretary of State should

release the money. There is also the

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issue as to the role of the

Department of Justice in the absence

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of a minister. The normal rule was

when ministers had set a direction

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of policy, the civil service

continues to work on that. The

0:20:140:20:18

direction of policy I said was

absolutely clear that the money

0:20:180:20:22

should be provided, should be

requested from the Treasury from the

0:20:220:20:26

money promised by David Cameron and

the DOJ should work with the

0:20:260:20:31

Judiciary Committee police and other

relevant agencies to speed up the

0:20:310:20:34

inquest process. That is something

which is now set, as a ministerial

0:20:340:20:40

direction, and which I trust civil

servants will continue through.

0:20:400:20:44

Mairtin O Muilleoir, Sammy Wilson

asked about this earlier today and

0:20:440:20:46

he says it is up to the government

to release the money or not. That

0:20:460:20:51

seems to indicate the DUP would not

object, which is a possible shift in

0:20:510:20:55

the party's position. If it is that,

would you welcome such a

0:20:550:21:00

development?

I think it is

appalling, and you're showing what

0:21:000:21:05

the price of this Tory-DUP deal is,

that the Lord Chief Justice who has

0:21:050:21:10

vigorously independent, not in the

pocket of any party, he made an

0:21:100:21:14

appeal that we resolve this issue

which causes hurt and pain, the

0:21:140:21:20

British didn't fulfil their

commitment but today to explain that

0:21:200:21:25

away, we have Sammy Wilson on the TV

justifying the unlawful actions of

0:21:250:21:32

the former first Minister and the

judgment of the courts. And sitting

0:21:320:21:36

in judgment now, almost godlike,

over whether or not people will have

0:21:360:21:44

access to the truth.

He was

explaining the DUP's position.

0:21:440:21:48

Arlene Foster made her position

clear which is she didn't believe

0:21:480:21:51

the release of the legacy inquest

funding was balanced. She wanted to

0:21:510:21:56

see it as part of a wider package.

This is why it is appalling because

0:21:560:22:01

Sammy Wilson didn't explain why

Arlene Foster...

Isn't the case Sinn

0:22:010:22:05

Fein has reached agreement with the

government to see 35mm is released

0:22:050:22:10

over five years? That was meant to

be part of the deal. Doesn't look

0:22:100:22:15

like it'll happen any time soon so

should the money be forthcoming

0:22:150:22:20

ASAP?

Remove the politics from it.

The British government made the

0:22:200:22:24

commitment to the Lord Chief

Justice, 35 million over a period of

0:22:240:22:28

years, that money should be

released, and we did have an

0:22:280:22:32

understanding with the British that

they would make sure that happen.

0:22:320:22:35

The deal collapsed because the DUP

could not consummate. Release the

0:22:350:22:41

money and remove it from the

political arena entirely. Let people

0:22:410:22:45

have their inquest.

Do you agree?

Week welcomed the ruling people have

0:22:450:22:52

been waiting for. It was

mean-spirited by Arlene Foster to

0:22:520:22:56

use it as a bargaining chip. Every

time the government and the two big

0:22:560:23:00

parties get into a room, what's

provided for victims is stripped out

0:23:000:23:05

and the political will isn't there

and in my mind, they are covering up

0:23:050:23:10

for each other. It is a bad taste in

people's mouths.

Do you anticipate

0:23:100:23:15

developments in?

We should have

bitten his arm off if he said he

0:23:150:23:21

could have resolved this problem

with £5 million, that money should

0:23:210:23:25

be released, and it will build

trust, create virtuous circles...

0:23:250:23:29

You have to blame Sinn Fein for

this.

Final question... You can't

0:23:290:23:34

blame Sinn Fein.

Final question, do

you think £35 million over five

0:23:340:23:41

years would sort this issue out once

and for all?

I suspect it would be

0:23:410:23:46

more than 35mm is for all the cost

is associated with inquests. The

0:23:460:23:51

important point I put was not that

it was going to resolve the issue

0:23:510:23:55

entirely by get the process under

way, it was going to prove the

0:23:550:23:58

concept as to how we would proceed

to do the full job.

Thanks, folks,

0:23:580:24:02

for coming in to join us.

0:24:020:24:05

The Local Government Auditor

is to be asked to investigate claims

0:24:050:24:08

that £1,500 of rate-payers' money

was used to sponsor

0:24:080:24:10

a table at a DUP dinner.

0:24:100:24:11

The party may also be asked

to refund the cash paid by Mid

0:24:110:24:14

and East Antrim Council.

0:24:140:24:15

The DUP has insisted the dinner,

which was attended by the

0:24:150:24:18

Environment Secretary Michael Gove

in September, was not

0:24:180:24:20

a party fundraiser.

0:24:200:24:21

But a letter released under

a Freedom of Information Request,

0:24:210:24:23

and seen by the View,

has raised questions

0:24:230:24:25

about how the money was paid,

as Enda McClafferty now reports.

0:24:250:24:33

He is the MP who just loves to

network.

This is my office, this is

0:24:350:24:40

where I work.

Rubbing shoulders with

ministers.

I've a nice view

0:24:400:24:47

photographs. I had dinner with

Michael Gove.

That happened last

0:24:470:24:53

year when the Environment Secretary

joined the MP at dinner in this

0:24:530:24:58

hotel at Ballymena. It was billed as

a is this community dinner and

0:24:580:25:04

amongst those who sponsor the table

was the local council. Despite

0:25:040:25:08

questions raised at the time the DUP

always insisted it was not a party

0:25:080:25:12

fundraiser. Does a letter from Ian

Paisley's office to the Council

0:25:120:25:17

chief executive released through a

Freedom of information request

0:25:170:25:19

suggest otherwise? In it, Ian

Paisley asked the council boss to

0:25:190:25:24

make the check for £1500 for a table

payable to the hotel hosting the

0:25:240:25:29

dinner. But not to send it there.

And this is where Ian Paisley wanted

0:25:290:25:36

the cheque sent, to an address on

Church Street in Ballymena. And it

0:25:360:25:42

-- as it turns out it is the DUP

offices. This is the councillor who

0:25:420:25:47

obtained the letter through the

Freedom of information request. She

0:25:470:25:50

says the K the states this was Ian

Paisley's annual constituency

0:25:500:25:55

dinner.

I find it very alarming

because we questioned and I

0:25:550:25:59

personally question the chief

executive around the details of this

0:25:590:26:03

dinner and I seek clarity. They told

me it was not DUP dinner.

Here's

0:26:030:26:10

what happened she tried to raise it

in the chamber this week.

I'm going

0:26:100:26:16

to speak, regardless of whether

you'll my microphone. I will speak.

0:26:160:26:22

I've correspondence which makes it

clear... Order, order, order! You

0:26:220:26:29

cannot speak on the matter.

Unfortunately, my microphone was

0:26:290:26:32

switched off. I wanted to see

clarity about what the chief

0:26:320:26:37

executive new and what the DUP

what's they knew as well and

0:26:370:26:42

following this we will be going to

the local government auditor said

0:26:420:26:46

this can be investigated further.

Ian Paisley wasn't up for talking

0:26:460:26:49

about that and about here is someone

who was there and who interviewed

0:26:490:26:52

the guest speaker. Did it feel like

a DUP fundraiser for him?

It didn't

0:26:520:26:59

feel that way to me. It wasn't

presented that way to me. It was a

0:26:590:27:03

business constituency dinner hosted

by the MP Ian Paisley, something he

0:27:030:27:08

does on a regular basis. He was

hosting it.

What checks did council

0:27:080:27:17

officials make before handing over

that money? Which asked that

0:27:170:27:20

question and this was the response.

0:27:200:27:22

I don't think the council have

handled this well at will. It has

0:27:480:27:52

been very ambiguous. We were told it

was the North Antrim business

0:27:520:27:56

community event but it wasn't Ian

Paisley constituency dinner

0:27:560:28:00

supported by in Paisley himself.

I

think there are big questions. It is

0:28:000:28:06

disgraceful the way the ratepayer

and councillors have been treated.

0:28:060:28:10

We've suffered massive job losses.

Our rates have been increased by

0:28:100:28:15

2.95%.

We asked the DUP for a

response to the councillor 's

0:28:150:28:19

concerns but they don't reply. Ian

Paisley, though, has since hosted

0:28:190:28:25

another dinner, attended this time

by the former minister Priti Patel.

0:28:250:28:30

She, too, is now on his wall. But

this time the local council said no

0:28:300:28:34

thanks when invited to sponsor a

table.

0:28:340:28:38

Enda McClafferty reporting.

0:28:380:28:39

Let's hear what tonight's

commentators make of

0:28:390:28:40

what we've been discussing.

0:28:400:28:41

Deirdre Heenan and Newton

Emerson are with me.

0:28:410:28:45

Let's talk about the budget first

bowl. Nugent, any surprises as far

0:28:450:28:51

as you're concerned?

No, I think

it's a mistake for the other parties

0:28:510:28:55

to complain about the budget when

it's really one of the things that

0:28:550:28:58

we don't have to complain about. The

real issue this budget reveals is

0:28:580:29:03

that the DUP, having screwed up the

best deal on unionism could possibly

0:29:030:29:07

have got at Stormont, has retreated

to the Westminster comfort zone for

0:29:070:29:11

the duration, and this has given it

a great headline to start that. The

0:29:110:29:15

debate

0:29:150:29:20

debate that we were having about the

Stormont talks has flipped

0:29:200:29:22

immediately around to the budget as

if the catastrophe of the past month

0:29:220:29:25

has been forgotten, and now we're

arguing about alleged Tory hostility

0:29:250:29:27

and the nit-picking details of

finance, when the real problem is

0:29:270:29:30

that this budget is a breach of the

1999 act, it is completely outside

0:29:300:29:34

the terms of the Good Friday

Agreement. This is the different

0:29:340:29:39

between the two other patch up

budgets. It is unambiguously direct

0:29:390:29:43

rule. We have been tipped into this

limbo and nobody seems to care.

Did

0:29:430:29:47

the DUP not say tonight, we have

delivered an extra £410 million for

0:29:470:29:53

everyone in Ireland has blogged it

would be churlish to say, we don't

0:29:530:29:57

need money. We need the money.

On

the other hand, it flies in the good

0:29:570:30:03

face of good government. There is no

accountability, no transparency, no

0:30:030:30:08

consultation. We don't know what

this money is going to be spent on.

0:30:080:30:12

We are told infrastructure,

education and health. We don't know

0:30:120:30:15

where is the political direction for

this. In health, we are told it is

0:30:150:30:20

going to implement the report. We

don't have the structures in and

0:30:200:30:24

systems in place to implement this.

The civil servants that we have are

0:30:240:30:28

risk averse. Listening to the RHI on

it daily basis, they are going to be

0:30:280:30:33

more risk averse. The idea that they

are going to lead a programme of

0:30:330:30:39

transformation is quite frankly

ridiculous. It will be keep the ship

0:30:390:30:43

going, steady the ship, as you work,

keep the show on the road. But we

0:30:430:30:46

will not get a programme of

transformation, there is no

0:30:460:30:50

strategic direction, and we

absolutely need strategic direction,

0:30:500:30:54

particularly in health and

education.

They didn't want any

0:30:540:30:58

announcement on MLAs' play to take

the gloss off this announcement --

0:30:580:31:02

MLAs' pay.

This is the big launch

effectively of their new Westminster

0:31:020:31:08

period, as Arlene Foster has

effectively said, Stormont can't

0:31:080:31:11

come back this side of Brexit,

really, what it looks like, given

0:31:110:31:15

the timetable of these negotiations.

With a Tory deal but can run on

0:31:150:31:19

until perhaps the end of the decade,

they are sitting back and thinking,

0:31:190:31:23

we'll see what else crops up. They

don't have any other options, they

0:31:230:31:26

have walked away from the best

possible outcome they could have

0:31:260:31:29

had. They are going to simply sit

back and Westminster, see how they

0:31:290:31:33

can operate things from there and

see what they can make of Brexit.

0:31:330:31:41

And in the meantime, we have been

left with neither direct rule nor

0:31:410:31:44

devolution. And no particular

urgency, it seems, to resolve that

0:31:440:31:45

conundrum.

For some long as the

confident and supply arrangement

0:31:450:31:50

continues at Westminster, the DUP is

in a pretty powerful position and

0:31:500:31:53

today proves it.

I don't know that

they are in a powerful position.

0:31:530:31:57

They are enjoying the position that

they are in, but it could go at any

0:31:570:32:01

time, it could be short lived. We

have a fragile Conservative

0:32:010:32:04

government. They don't have that

much power leveraged. The

0:32:040:32:11

interesting thing is, yes, they have

delivered a budget and the money but

0:32:110:32:15

we are still in a political vacuum.

We don't have direct rule devolution

0:32:150:32:19

and we have no ministerial

direction. We have nobody there to

0:32:190:32:23

make the decisions to spend the

money. Well done them for bringing

0:32:230:32:27

the money, but if it can't be

delivered in the way it's needed, so

0:32:270:32:30

what.

Let's talk about legacy just

to close. You confident that legacy

0:32:300:32:36

inquest funding could be

0:32:360:32:42

inquest funding could be released

sooner rather than later?

Not

0:32:450:32:46

necessarily. I think you have to

bear in mind that traditional

0:32:460:32:48

reviews are police actions, and

losing a traditional -- judicial

0:32:480:32:50

review doesn't mean that you have

broken the law, the Government has

0:32:500:32:53

stalled this for decades and

Stormont has ignored judicial review

0:32:530:32:55

is completely.

He directed them to

look at it again stop your civil

0:32:550:33:02

servants are averse to breaking the

law.

When Martin O'Neill said that

0:33:020:33:07

legacy should not be a political

issue, it is. It is still in the mix

0:33:070:33:12

of all the other and soft issues at

Stormont.

Deirdre, final. Log one

0:33:120:33:17

might hope that this decision may

embolden the Secretary of State.

0:33:170:33:24

James Brokenshire talked about

consultation and September last year

0:33:240:33:27

and we are still waiting on it. One

may hope that this may give Arlene

0:33:270:33:32

Foster the cover to say, I'm going

to move it on and do it so boy

0:33:320:33:38

interesting thoughts, thanks both

very much indeed for joining us

0:33:380:33:40

tonight.

0:33:400:33:41

Thanks, both.

0:33:410:33:42

That's it from The View

for this week.

0:33:420:33:44

The Sunday Politics is here

at 11:35am on BBC One as usual.

0:33:440:33:47

And, as International Women's Day

draws to an end, let's close

0:33:470:33:50

with some familiar faces

from the local political world.

0:33:500:33:52

Bye-bye.

0:33:520:33:59

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0:33:590:34:04

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