:00:27. > :00:29.Hello, and welcome to the programme. Coming up this week: As the
:00:29. > :00:34.Assembly agrees a programme for Government, we ask the parties if
:00:34. > :00:37.it's all plain sailing from here on in. In this month of remembrance we
:00:38. > :00:43.meet the MLA who went into politics on the death of her husband in
:00:43. > :00:49.Afghanistan. And a reflection on the end of Ian Paisley's days in
:00:49. > :00:52.the pulpit. So hallelujah! After months of
:00:52. > :00:55.delay and procrastination, the Assembly has agreed a Programme for
:00:55. > :00:57.Government. It's a wide-ranging document covering everything from
:00:57. > :01:07.child poverty to local Government reorganisation. But is it a
:01:07. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:12.blueprint for action or a list of aspirations. Let's find out.
:01:12. > :01:16.Arlene Foster, first of all, let's look at the economy. It's obviously
:01:16. > :01:20.the priority. You're talking about creating 25,000 jobs. A chief
:01:20. > :01:24.economist of the Northern Bank has said in the current international
:01:24. > :01:28.climate, creating jobs is virtually impossible. Where are you going to
:01:28. > :01:32.get that many from? I think it's important you look back at our last
:01:33. > :01:36.programme for Government targets and despite the fact we had very
:01:36. > :01:41.difficult circumstances in Northern Ireland, we were able to exceed
:01:41. > :01:46.those targets. So we're the victim of ouron own success. 25,000,
:01:46. > :01:48.though? It was in or around the 25,000 mark. We felt the need to
:01:48. > :01:51.stretch ourselves over this programme for Government targets.
:01:51. > :01:54.We have set out clearly where we believe those jobs will come from.
:01:54. > :01:56.They'll come from our own companies here in Northern Ireland. They'll
:01:56. > :02:00.come from foreign and direct investment. They'll come from
:02:00. > :02:04.business start-ups, and they'll come from our Jobs Fun, which was
:02:04. > :02:09.set up after the April Budget. That Jobs Fund is there to try to boost
:02:09. > :02:13.business, to try to help people to create jobs and indeed to try to
:02:13. > :02:17.tackle issues such as youth unemployment. John O'Dowd, we're
:02:17. > :02:21.enjoying - that's the wrong word - we're suffering the highest
:02:21. > :02:25.unemployment since 1967. There are 60,000 people claiming unemployment,
:02:25. > :02:30.one in five young people. Against that background, you might create
:02:30. > :02:34.25,000, but you're probably going to lose a lot more. Banks have
:02:34. > :02:38.their role to play. Citizens stepped up to the mark, bailed out
:02:38. > :02:41.the banks, and the expectations were the banks would restart the
:02:41. > :02:45.economy. We have senior economists in our banks saying it would be
:02:45. > :02:50.impossible to create any jobs going into the future. I find that deeply
:02:50. > :02:54.depressive. I see it as a signal that the banks... Some would say
:02:54. > :03:00.realistic. No, politicians have a role in this society. Banks and
:03:00. > :03:04.other financial institutions have their role. The support programme
:03:04. > :03:09.from central Government into local firms drawing in foreign investment,
:03:09. > :03:12.added to that we need banks to step up to the mark and play their part.
:03:12. > :03:15.Alex Atwood, there are jobs supposed to be going in the public
:03:15. > :03:20.sector - tens of thousands of jobs the unions are talking about. Again,
:03:20. > :03:23.is it going to be a net loss, even if you do create 25 huh?
:03:23. > :03:27.certainly agree with the sentiment you need to reach high because the
:03:27. > :03:30.experience of Government over the last number of years is we haven't
:03:30. > :03:34.achieved all we should have that there would be Ministers in
:03:34. > :03:37.Government and not in power, that we would have a weak, not a strong
:03:37. > :03:41.Government. But if we're going to really shape the next four or five
:03:41. > :03:44.years, we need to fill in some of the other gaps in the programme for
:03:44. > :03:48.Government, which is virtually silent on how we're going to
:03:48. > :03:53.integrate the north and southern economies and the Health Service.
:03:53. > :03:56.These are the big issues, imaginative issues, bold and daring
:03:56. > :04:00.stra strategies that is going to drive forward an economic strategy.
:04:00. > :04:05.So you think fixing your own place first is not the way to go about it.
:04:05. > :04:08.No, we need to fix the economies of these islands, and the economy of
:04:08. > :04:13.this island is bursting with opportunity to do more on the work
:04:13. > :04:16.site. Yes, 25,000 is ambitious. Yes, it may be overly ambitious. I think
:04:16. > :04:22.we should challenge ourself, but if we're prepared to do it in terms of
:04:22. > :04:26.jobs within the North, then what can we do if we challenge ourselves
:04:26. > :04:30.about economic and health strategies on the island of
:04:30. > :04:34.Ireland? It is barely mentioned, John. Transport, health, the
:04:34. > :04:40.economy - all are areas of mutual cooperation and benefit. Without
:04:40. > :04:44.specific policies, it talks about developing those areas. There is an
:04:44. > :04:47.intertwining theme in the doctrine - the east-west relationship
:04:47. > :04:53.recognises the importance of the economic driver across the island.
:04:53. > :04:56.It does, but 40% of all money on the island is spent on health. If
:04:56. > :05:00.the governments north and south can't interrogate that figure and
:05:00. > :05:03.do better in reducing the amount we spend on health and protect
:05:03. > :05:07.services and jobs, then we're letting down the people of this
:05:07. > :05:12.island, and that document does not fulfil those ambitions. Do you
:05:12. > :05:15.share that view? I think the document's long on aspiration and
:05:16. > :05:19.relatively short in terms of implementation, but it is Erica
:05:19. > :05:22.Whymanly stages yet. It's going out for a three-month consultation.
:05:22. > :05:26.We're modestly pleased we'll be able to put some ideas forward in
:05:26. > :05:29.the last number of months and some of those have been incorporated.
:05:29. > :05:33.But the real proof in the pudding would be in the eating. It's grand
:05:33. > :05:38.to say we'd like to do this and that. One year from now, will we be
:05:38. > :05:42.looking at delivery? That's the key message for all of us. We need to
:05:42. > :05:46.start delivering. Steven Friar is saying it's too little too, late,
:05:46. > :05:51.too slow, too timid, no grand vision. I think we have to be
:05:51. > :05:56.judged over what happens in the four or five-year life span of the
:05:56. > :06:03.Assembly. I think it's a good document, not perfect. It reflects
:06:03. > :06:06.the coalition. We all have our fingerprints on it. We are in very
:06:06. > :06:10.challenging time, but it's important we do focus on the
:06:10. > :06:14.economy as the central issue, and the people will not forgive us if
:06:14. > :06:17.we just go for nice, easy, soft targets. We have to be bold.
:06:17. > :06:20.think it's important as well. We're talking about one document. There
:06:20. > :06:23.are actually three documents issued today. I think it's important to
:06:23. > :06:26.reflect on because that we have the Programme for Government. We have
:06:26. > :06:29.an investment strategy for the next ten years and our economic strategy
:06:29. > :06:33.looking forward to 2030. There's lot of work that went into all of
:06:33. > :06:36.these documents. Speaking about the economic strategy, it's based on
:06:36. > :06:39.research. It is based on consultation that took place
:06:39. > :06:43.earlier. I think it is a good document because of the fact that
:06:43. > :06:46.everybody has inputted into the document, including all of my
:06:46. > :06:51.Ministerial colleagues. I agree. I make this point - I think your
:06:51. > :06:56.document is the best of the three. I mean that. Most sincerely, folks!
:06:56. > :07:00.Fully. I think the scholarships are some very good ideas going forward.
:07:00. > :07:04.But surely you have to agree that given the level of child poverty in
:07:04. > :07:08.the north, we have moved away from trying to half child poverty on one
:07:08. > :07:12.hand and eradicate it on the other and having very warm, meaningless
:07:12. > :07:17.strategies to deal with it. That is not good enough. Those are the sort
:07:17. > :07:21.of issues that over the next six months you, I and all of us can
:07:21. > :07:25.turn around for the benefit of everybody. This is the important
:07:25. > :07:28.point Steven was making. We could have agreed words on a page two
:07:28. > :07:31.weeks after the election, but would it have been tangible? I think
:07:31. > :07:36.these documents are tangible. I think as the First Minister said in
:07:36. > :07:42.the House today what we want to see is deliverence. Words mean nothing.
:07:42. > :07:47.Looking at the last programme for Government, the OFM DFM agreed it
:07:47. > :07:51.had only reached 45% of its - I beg your pardon - that 45% of its
:07:51. > :08:01.objectives had not been reached. That's not a good augur for this
:08:01. > :08:01.
:08:01. > :08:08.next programme, is it? I think we had a flagging democracy. In the
:08:08. > :08:12.future, we won't be judged - what has been seen through these last
:08:12. > :08:15.number of months and indeed the economic development strategy is
:08:15. > :08:21.some colleagues around the table have found is what's easier to
:08:21. > :08:24.produce a press release than it is the programme for Government and a
:08:25. > :08:28.meaningful one. That's what the parties around the executive
:08:28. > :08:33.working positively have done. Alex produced a draft document in April
:08:33. > :08:37.and walked away from it when they refused to back up their own
:08:37. > :08:42.commitment. The paper agreed by the executive last night was to move
:08:42. > :08:45.forward on the basis of 11 counts of a more modern, efficient,
:08:45. > :08:49.democratic process for local Government council. Are you
:08:49. > :08:56.smarting on that one? You wanted 15? Let's deal with the first point.
:08:56. > :09:02.Let's deal with the first point that John made. In April 2009, the
:09:02. > :09:05.SDLP published New Priorities in Difficult Times. A meeting three
:09:05. > :09:10.weeks ago of the budget review group of the executive had taken
:09:10. > :09:13.that document and was trying to adopt and move forward 12 proposals.
:09:13. > :09:17.How much stronger the Northern Ireland economy and budget would be
:09:17. > :09:21.if the parties around this table two years ago had taken the advice
:09:21. > :09:25.and moved forward in that way? Let's deal with the 11 issues...
:09:25. > :09:30.Let's deal with the RPA. Let's. On the floor of the Assembly this
:09:30. > :09:34.morning, Peter Robinson at 11.45am said, "When things change, we need
:09:34. > :09:38.to respond to the circumstances of our time." Things have changed even
:09:38. > :09:43.in the last three months when it comes to RPA because the council
:09:43. > :09:48.leaderships - managers and representatives - have come forward
:09:48. > :09:50.of proposals of �570 million over 25 years. If that doesn't say to
:09:50. > :09:54.politicians and to the Ministers around this table - if it doesn't
:09:54. > :09:58.say to them circumstances have changed and that we need to
:09:58. > :10:04.change... You're now happy with 11 since yesterday? Well, what's
:10:04. > :10:08.happened is that the programme for Government - the draft programme
:10:08. > :10:12.for Government, not approved by the Assembly, a draft has gone out for
:10:12. > :10:15.consultation, and the preferred model from most of the parties is
:10:15. > :10:20.11. I think the best argument will prevail. Why do I think that?
:10:20. > :10:23.Because last night during course of the executive meeting, all the
:10:23. > :10:30.colleagues endorsed my proposal to put a legal ban on double jobing
:10:30. > :10:34.even though six months ago the DUP voted against that and even when
:10:34. > :10:42.the DUP were arguing... executive agreed to move forward on
:10:43. > :10:48.the legislation to the 11 model? The executive agreed to that?
:10:48. > :10:54.good argument will prevail. They brought it to 11? In order again
:10:54. > :10:57.have good argument and the best argument to prevail... Stephen.
:10:57. > :11:01.This debate illustrates the real challenges and expectation people
:11:02. > :11:07.have over the Assembly. This has been bouncing around since 2002.
:11:07. > :11:13.People have accused us of dragging our feet over it. Things like
:11:13. > :11:17.Cohesion for Skills and Integration are big issues. If the executive
:11:17. > :11:23.can actually go through those - we have made progress on a number of
:11:23. > :11:27.those in the past few days, then we actually have a real track of
:11:27. > :11:30.delivery, Tuition fees - those are real matters. Since the election,
:11:30. > :11:35.the executive has delivered upon those.
:11:35. > :11:37.What about building schools? The last programme for a Government
:11:37. > :11:41.promised something like �715 million to be built in capital
:11:41. > :11:46.projects for schools. That was one of the objectives that was not
:11:46. > :11:50.achieved, so what is the future on that front in this coming
:11:50. > :11:55.programme? The reality is this - the Tories came to power, took 40%
:11:55. > :11:57.of our Capitol Building programme and took it away, so we can't build
:11:57. > :12:01.schools unless you have money. We have had discussions with the
:12:01. > :12:05.executive. I intend to meet the Minister finance in the weeks ahead.
:12:05. > :12:09.We do have money for capital builds in the years ahead, and you'll also
:12:09. > :12:13.be aware we have set out a programme where we'll look at area-
:12:14. > :12:22.based planning for schools, so we know it is there for generations to
:12:22. > :12:27.come. We don't have sufficient money to build all the schools.
:12:27. > :12:31.Raising �450 million from selling assets - it was aLeigh eluded to
:12:31. > :12:35.the next programme will look at what can be done on that front. But,
:12:35. > :12:39.again, that's a source of income that's gone? I am faintly
:12:39. > :12:43.disappointed by the conversation we're having here because we are
:12:43. > :12:46.trying to deal with the reality, very difficult financial situation
:12:46. > :12:50.going forward. We're talk about people's jobs and lives, about what
:12:50. > :12:53.can be done to help things. There are particular issue, whether
:12:53. > :12:56.you're talking about fuel poverty, schools or whatever - the key point
:12:56. > :13:00.about this document is it's a draft document. It's based on information
:13:00. > :13:04.and consultation, and we're going to have to find a way of making it
:13:04. > :13:07.work, but it does require all of us, you know, to deal with fact and
:13:07. > :13:11.reality. There is no point in trying to blame somebody else for
:13:11. > :13:14.the mess we're in. We've got to deal with it ourselves and find a
:13:14. > :13:18.way forward. That means facing up to the problems that face our
:13:18. > :13:23.society. That is trying to find some money at the moment? There
:13:23. > :13:27.will be hard decisions that have to be taken, but I do think that
:13:27. > :13:31.people have to make an argument about if you want to invest in
:13:31. > :13:34.something, whether it's schools or more apprenticeships or more help
:13:34. > :13:37.for the economy, then you have to make an argument to the people of
:13:37. > :13:40.Northern Ireland that says if we need more money, if we're going to
:13:40. > :13:44.transfer it from one area to the other, then you're going to have to
:13:44. > :13:48.buy in with us and say... One of the points made by the trade unions
:13:48. > :13:53.and one of the criticisms of the programme is this is an acceptance
:13:53. > :13:57.of the Tory-Lib Dem coalition's plans. There are two things to that.
:13:57. > :14:01.Ia agree with what he's saying. We're in very harsh circumstances,
:14:01. > :14:05.and we really do have to show best form going forward. That should be
:14:05. > :14:10.the judge of everything we say as Ministers or an executive. But I do
:14:10. > :14:14.worry about some of the content of this programme. The proposal you
:14:14. > :14:21.can move 114,000 working-age benefit claimants into employment
:14:21. > :14:26.by March 2015 is very - has got tones of us implementing Tory
:14:26. > :14:30.welfare policy, and... Yes, in a moment. And the other thing is this,
:14:30. > :14:35.the Scottish Government has exempted its local Government
:14:35. > :14:40.pension contributors from any pension increase, has exempted them.
:14:40. > :14:44.I argued for that at the executive four or five weeks ago and was
:14:44. > :14:47.overruled, yet the Scottish Government has adopted the very
:14:47. > :14:53.approaches I have adopted here that are proposed in the north. That's a
:14:53. > :14:58.way of working through with unions in order to protect those...
:14:58. > :15:01.know in particular youth unemployment, people economically
:15:01. > :15:04.inactive, is probably the biggest issue facing society. It's a crisis.
:15:04. > :15:09.We have to have ambitious targets. We have a similar target in the
:15:09. > :15:13.past... There must be based on some reality... Which was met. We're now
:15:13. > :15:17.pushing ourselves even further, as you would expect us to do. This is
:15:17. > :15:27.not about introducing the UK Welfare reform. That is separate
:15:27. > :15:31.
:15:31. > :15:36.debate that an executive Assembly They need to contribute to society
:15:36. > :15:40.and have opportunities. I want to bring you in here. The last
:15:40. > :15:43.programme for Government had 90,000 to move in to skills and therefore
:15:43. > :15:49.I think it's only right that we move ahead in relation to this
:15:49. > :15:53.economic strategy and programme for Government to 114, but can I say,
:15:53. > :15:58.basil mentioned we needed to make sure we moved ahead and whatever we
:15:58. > :16:04.did had an implication across the piece. Look at what we are doing
:16:04. > :16:08.into putting double glazing into every executive housing house.
:16:08. > :16:12.That's construction work and the other benefit is energy efficiency
:16:12. > :16:16.and making sure the people can reap the benefit and that is joined-up
:16:16. > :16:21.Government and I welcome that. I very much think that there is more
:16:21. > :16:25.we can do in that realm. Throughout the programme for Government it
:16:25. > :16:29.talks about tackling inequality and it not only talks about it, but
:16:29. > :16:34.sets a programme which should do that. We talk about assisting those
:16:34. > :16:38.communities that have been left behind for generations. But the
:16:38. > :16:41.reality is that we as an executive have limited economic leaders to
:16:41. > :16:49.work with and I think the trade union leadership may not recognise
:16:49. > :16:56.it. They need to work with us to assist us to get the leavers that
:16:56. > :17:01.we require. We have the opportunity as an executive five weeks ago not
:17:01. > :17:05.to impose pension increases on 44,000 people, who are part of that,
:17:05. > :17:10.but the executive in Northern Ireland decided to do that and the
:17:10. > :17:14.Scottish Executive has decided against it. Secondly, we have
:17:14. > :17:20.challenging targets to get people back into work, but it's very, very
:17:20. > :17:27.strong view when we sign up to move 114,000 people out of benefit into
:17:27. > :17:32.work we are signing up to the Tory manifesto. From benefits into
:17:32. > :17:37.training, which is much different from benefits into work. Briefly,
:17:38. > :17:41.if you can. The British Government is taking 300 million out of the
:17:41. > :17:48.executive budget in relation to pensions. I too opposed it, but
:17:48. > :17:58.until there is an alternative then opposition won't help. You said no
:17:58. > :17:58.
:17:59. > :18:02.John Bunyan's moral tale, The Life and Death of Mr Badman, isn't much
:18:02. > :18:07.read now, but it remains a useful title for a preacher, of the kind
:18:07. > :18:09.that once gripped this place in its merciless throttle. Ian Paisley,
:18:10. > :18:17.retiring at last from ministry, has often used Bunyan's character to
:18:17. > :18:19.reinforce his cry of "you're doomed unless you be saved". Many of his
:18:19. > :18:24.cowed flock followed him into the power-sharing he'd always painted
:18:24. > :18:29.as a false paradise of dupes and rogues. So maybe late
:18:29. > :18:32.respectability has begun to mist over his own history. Long before
:18:32. > :18:38.turning into Mr Kindly, Ian Paisley sharpened his tongue in the service
:18:38. > :18:43.of his fearsome God. He roared at street corners, in the halls of
:18:43. > :18:45.Stormont, Westminster, Strasbourg and his pulpit. Thanks to his
:18:46. > :18:48.church's nifty website you can listen to sermons back to the
:18:49. > :18:55.1960's, when the idle curious, lost for entertainment, used to turn up
:18:55. > :18:58.in the Ulster Hall to be guldered at among the pious. He used Mr
:18:58. > :19:01.Badman recently, the tale of the man headed straight for hell from
:19:01. > :19:09.the outset, and half a century ago, to bad-mouth ecumenical clerics and
:19:09. > :19:14.any politician who urged reform of unionist Ulster. In a combustible
:19:14. > :19:18.age, Ian Paisley was always on hand to make things worse. There were
:19:18. > :19:23.sermons that didn't just chill the blood, but set it boiling. The
:19:23. > :19:27.website doesn't foreground those. He's the Reverend Right Honourable
:19:27. > :19:32.Lord Bannside now, full of years, laden with honour he gives nobody
:19:32. > :19:34.else. But he made his name as a voice of hate. In the 60s, he
:19:34. > :19:41.howled down Terence O'Neill, the would-be liberal Stormont Prime
:19:41. > :19:44.Minister, for conceding civil rights. He was still at it when
:19:44. > :19:47.Brian Faulkner was thrown by his horse outside a free presbyterian's
:19:48. > :19:55.house - "the man that said that I was a doctor of demons, the mills
:19:55. > :19:58.of God grind slow but they grind exceeding small." And when Margaret
:19:58. > :20:04.Thatcher signed the Anglo-Irish Agreement he prayed - "Oh, God, in
:20:04. > :20:07.wrath, take vengeance upon this wicked, treacherous, lying woman".
:20:07. > :20:12.He howled his congregations into dread and made their flesh creep by
:20:12. > :20:15.telling them church-going couldn't save them. In June 1968, he told
:20:15. > :20:20.them, "If you died now upon that seat, God would say you were a
:20:20. > :20:25.wicked person." The slightest criticism has always outraged him,
:20:25. > :20:28.but in his pulpit he trashed reputations. In that sermon 43
:20:28. > :20:34.years ago he used the Life and Death of Mr Badman to pillory a
:20:34. > :20:37.recently dead publican. He named a home-place, he described a funeral.
:20:37. > :20:42.In his gilded late run, there's scant enough mention of the damage
:20:42. > :20:47.he did. And now he's stepping down from ministry, or so he told his
:20:47. > :20:51.congregation last Sunday, to write his memoirs. They'll make some
:20:51. > :20:54.laugh, he says, and others blush. Ian Paisley does not blush, but
:20:54. > :21:04.there will be none of the speeches or the sermons that made those he
:21:04. > :21:09.
:21:09. > :21:15.could not cow see him as Mr Badman. The thoughts of fin concon. --
:21:15. > :21:18.Fionnuala O'Connor. In this month of remembrance we meet a DUP mla
:21:18. > :21:23.who got involved in poll tibgdz following the death of her husband
:21:23. > :21:29.in action in Afghanistan. -- politics, following the death of
:21:29. > :21:35.her husband in action in Afghanistan. I am an army wife and
:21:35. > :21:40.now a widow and the mother of two gorgeous girls. The catalyst was
:21:40. > :21:44.the death of my husband in August 2009. When you are informed of your
:21:44. > :21:50.husband's death, within 24 hours you are told that his wages have
:21:50. > :21:54.been stopped and if they don't live to midday we get half a day's wages.
:21:54. > :21:58.You go through the funeral and while the regiment support is
:21:58. > :22:01.extraordinary and they are there, the support from the MoD just isn't
:22:01. > :22:09.there and things like finances, when you have no wages coming in is
:22:09. > :22:13.a huge and important issue. My husband was serving and he had
:22:13. > :22:18.extraordinary heavy casualties. I was seeing very young widows in
:22:18. > :22:21.desperate need and I thought I've been an army wife for 22 years and
:22:21. > :22:26.I know the system and maybe now is the time I need to speak up,
:22:26. > :22:30.because I was amazed that no-one had raised the issues before. My
:22:30. > :22:36.local MP is Jeffrey Donaldson and at Mark's funeral there were lots
:22:36. > :22:41.of MPs and MLAs and the Secretary of State turned up and a few days
:22:41. > :22:45.after the own one who came to knock on my door to see if they could
:22:45. > :22:50.help was Jeffrey Donaldson. He said we could speak to people who could
:22:50. > :22:53.do something about this and change it for others. I don't believe we
:22:53. > :22:59.will every completely solve all the problems in Afghanistan and I don't
:22:59. > :23:02.even know if it's our job to try to sort out all their problems, but I
:23:02. > :23:09.know while the guys and women are out there, it's up to us to support
:23:09. > :23:16.them. When I returned back home to Northern Ireland, after spending 17
:23:16. > :23:21.years in Germany and in England, I looked at the political scene and I
:23:21. > :23:26.wondered who to vote for. I looked at all the parties carefully and
:23:26. > :23:29.what they were offering and I contacted the DUP and I have seen
:23:29. > :23:33.how Peter Robinson was trying to move the party forward into a new
:23:33. > :23:40.Northern Ireland. We spent five weeks before the election
:23:40. > :23:46.canvassing and a lot of it in our area was education. Education is
:23:46. > :23:49.huge for the transfer test and this school getting sixth form status
:23:49. > :23:59.and the rebuilding of new schools, it's very important to the people
:23:59. > :24:03.
:24:03. > :24:08.in this area. A success for me would be the education system being
:24:08. > :24:11.child-led, lots of people still want a transfer test and children
:24:11. > :24:14.shouldn't be penalised because of academic, but we need to look at
:24:14. > :24:18.the best way forward and people in Northern Ireland still want the
:24:18. > :24:23.grammar schools and they still have some very, very good high schools,
:24:23. > :24:29.as we do in my local constituency here. We just need to see how we
:24:29. > :24:33.can sort out the academic transfer test. Where it meets the needs of
:24:33. > :24:37.the children. For me to get that done, and for the party to achieve
:24:37. > :24:42.that within four years, would be a resounding success, but I'm a
:24:42. > :24:49.realist and I know we need to look for compromise, but we must not
:24:49. > :24:52.compromise the children. Brenda Hale there. The BBC's viewers and
:24:52. > :24:59.listeners, broadcasters and politicians have been mourning the
:24:59. > :25:01.passing of Sean Crummey. He was the voice of the folks on the hill
:25:02. > :25:06.which poked ridicule at life in Stormont, but also featured for a
:25:06. > :25:13.while on Hearts and Minds, when he gave us a look watt what was going
:25:13. > :25:17.on behind the pictures in the news headlines. We are here today for
:25:17. > :25:22.serious business. We take our responsibilities very seriously. We
:25:22. > :25:29.are aware of course of the criticism that has come our way,
:25:29. > :25:34.criticism that we are always joking and carrying on, but those days are
:25:34. > :25:38.gone. Yes, the Chuckle Brothers are no more. We are important
:25:38. > :25:43.politicians and in future we will be showing the gravitas appropriate
:25:43. > :25:47.to our post as first and Deputy First Minister. Well, I have to say
:25:47. > :25:56.I'm very proud of these two gentleman. They have promised me
:25:56. > :26:02.that they will no longer engage in silly school-boy behaviour and -
:26:02. > :26:07.LAUGHTER Oh, good grief. How many chairs
:26:07. > :26:10.were you looking to buy, Gordon? Probably 12 at the outset, but I
:26:10. > :26:16.might take the whole lot if you give me a good price. Look, I could
:26:16. > :26:22.throw in the table maybe as well, but I've other people interested.
:26:22. > :26:26.That table is exactly what I've been looking for. Look at the
:26:26. > :26:30.craftsmanship. Ian, let's pretend we are still friends because there
:26:30. > :26:35.are some big-wigs here, OK? I'll try, but it's very difficult.
:26:35. > :26:45.one opposite me is Martin McGuinness and the one opposite you
:26:45. > :26:46.
:26:46. > :26:50.is Ian Paisley. Cheers, Bertie. I need a word. What is it? I don't
:26:50. > :26:57.know you dad, I know of you. Let's go and talk to these people. Do you
:26:57. > :27:00.want a hand, big pan? No, I do not. If I can negotiate with you people,
:27:00. > :27:06.I can negotiate some steps! LAUGHTER
:27:06. > :27:11.Very good. Shall I talk first? I'll do the talking, you're a sight.
:27:11. > :27:14.There is no malice here. Right, I wish to object in the strongest
:27:14. > :27:20.possible terms to the dress code being adopted by the Deputy First
:27:20. > :27:26.Minister. Who is going to take him seriously dressed like that? Well,
:27:26. > :27:30.I believe that this sort of casual attire can actually be very helpful
:27:30. > :27:34.in creating a more relaxed atmosphere at executive level. If
:27:34. > :27:40.he objects to the colour of the tank hp top, I'm prepared to be
:27:40. > :27:46.flexible. -- tank-top, I'm prepared to be flexible. Is that acceptable?
:27:46. > :27:49.No, you are a fashion disaster. say a fond fair well to a man of
:27:49. > :27:59.genuine talent, always a pleasure to work with. We'll be back next
:27:59. > :28:06.
:28:06. > :28:12.week. I hope you'll join us. Goodbye. I need a really good
:28:12. > :28:16.discuss about politics. My wife says she likes a man to be
:28:16. > :28:22.sensitive, so she must love Peter Robinson, you only have to mention
:28:22. > :28:26.prison without getting the words Her Majesty's in front of it, he'll
:28:26. > :28:32.throw a feet. Hundreds of shops and pubs are closing, but as long as