Browse content similar to 10/09/2011. Check below for episodes and series from the same categories and more!
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Good evening and welcome to the Waterfront Hall in the heart of | :00:16. | :00:21. | |
Belfast. The Sinn Fein have chosen this as the venue for their annual | :00:21. | :00:27. | |
Ard Fheis or conference. It has been ringing to accents from around | :00:27. | :00:32. | |
the country. We will bring you Gerry Adams's keynote speech to a | :00:32. | :00:36. | |
packed court shortly, but first Mark Devenport, who has been here | :00:36. | :00:40. | |
since the event kicked off last night. Give us a sense of the | :00:40. | :00:45. | |
themes of the day. The main theme is that they are having the | :00:45. | :00:48. | |
conference in Belfast. That has been a novelty that has hit | :00:48. | :00:53. | |
everybody because we have been used to travelling to conferences in | :00:53. | :00:56. | |
Dublin and this is their first time North of the border. It has | :00:56. | :00:59. | |
symbolised the journey that the party has come on from the days | :00:59. | :01:04. | |
when they were more of a marginal force, the association with the IRA. | :01:04. | :01:09. | |
They are very much in the mainstream now. This happens at a | :01:09. | :01:13. | |
very confident time, when they are coming off election successes in | :01:13. | :01:18. | |
the South and the North. There has not been any rancour or open | :01:18. | :01:22. | |
division between different elements of the party, so it has been boring | :01:22. | :01:25. | |
for the political commentators but a dream for the political leaders. | :01:25. | :01:30. | |
They have a party that has been doing well and is looking towards a | :01:30. | :01:33. | |
future election potentially in the Irish presidential election. They | :01:33. | :01:37. | |
have been dropping heavier and heavier hints that they are poised | :01:37. | :01:42. | |
to enter that race. The devolution of policing and justice is seen by | :01:42. | :01:49. | |
many delegates as one of the peace process achievements of Sinn Fein. | :01:49. | :01:52. | |
There were warnings today that those at the top of policing were | :01:52. | :01:59. | |
trying to undermine their work so far. The Police Ombudsman has been | :01:59. | :02:03. | |
accused of overstaying his welcome. And he also spoke about Matt | :02:03. | :02:08. | |
Baggott and his record on investigations relating to the | :02:08. | :02:12. | |
Troubles. They are engaged with local communities in an honest | :02:12. | :02:16. | |
effort to promote safety and prevent crime. They need and | :02:16. | :02:22. | |
deserve support but the PSNI cannot have it both ways. The PSNI is not | :02:22. | :02:26. | |
responsible for the British legacy of pollution and oppression going | :02:26. | :02:30. | |
back generations, however Chief Constable Matt Baggott cannot | :02:30. | :02:37. | |
become complicit in covering up for that. When he attended the | :02:37. | :02:40. | |
investigation into the massacre, he dealt a blow to the new beginning | :02:40. | :02:44. | |
of policing. Not only was he wrong... | :02:44. | :02:54. | |
:02:54. | :02:55. | ||
Not only was he wrong in doing so, but we wonder why he defends the | :02:55. | :03:01. | |
indefensible. It is 40 years after the event. There are still those | :03:01. | :03:05. | |
are the old guard trying to return policing to the force within a 4th, | :03:05. | :03:15. | |
:03:15. | :03:17. | ||
period. Sinn Fein will not let that happen. -- with in a force. The | :03:17. | :03:24. | |
PSNI to constable has a responsibility to prevent the wrong | :03:24. | :03:30. | |
doings from the past to condemn a date the present. -- to contaminate | :03:30. | :03:35. | |
the present. The PSNI must cease to be a line of defence for past | :03:35. | :03:42. | |
wrongs. It is too late for our Hutchinson. Three, let me repeat | :03:42. | :03:49. | |
that, three separate damning reports have condemned his | :03:49. | :03:53. | |
leadership of the ombudsman's office. I believe in fully | :03:53. | :03:57. | |
accountable policing. Therefore I want the credibility of the | :03:57. | :04:01. | |
ombudsman's office to be restored. Mr Hutchinson is that the core of | :04:01. | :04:08. | |
the problem, therefore he is not the person to fix it. He has lost | :04:08. | :04:13. | |
the confidence of the community. If he is in any doubt, then let him | :04:13. | :04:19. | |
hear ripped from this Ard Fheis. He must go, he should go now. My oast | :04:19. | :04:23. | |
of the day was fairly relaxed, but as we heard from Jerry Kelly, it | :04:23. | :04:28. | |
was not all sweetness and light. The main problem is what you do | :04:28. | :04:32. | |
about the past. It has brought about this controversy in relation | :04:32. | :04:35. | |
to Mr Hutchinson and some harsh words for the chief constable, Matt | :04:35. | :04:39. | |
Baggott. Sinn Fein's big idea on this has always been an | :04:39. | :04:43. | |
international truth Commission, along the South African lines, with | :04:43. | :04:47. | |
UN involvement. He taught about that but admitted that their | :04:47. | :04:52. | |
opponents have not bought into bad idea. They are looking around for | :04:52. | :04:56. | |
something that might move this forward. They are talking about a | :04:56. | :05:00. | |
one-off Countrywide day of hope and transformation. That is an idea but | :05:00. | :05:03. | |
they know it will probably need more than that. There is a | :05:03. | :05:06. | |
piecemeal approach that has done damage to the police ombudsman's | :05:06. | :05:11. | |
office and that is not sustainable in the long term. How do you | :05:11. | :05:15. | |
compare this conference to other years? They have not got the big | :05:15. | :05:19. | |
decisions. Many past Sinn Fein conferences have been about do they | :05:19. | :05:23. | |
support the police, do they go into the peace process? They have made | :05:23. | :05:26. | |
most of their decisions and now they are trying to position | :05:26. | :05:30. | |
themselves. In another they are the dominant party but they are trying | :05:30. | :05:35. | |
to position themselves in the South as well. -- in the North they are | :05:35. | :05:39. | |
dominant. Some speakers have been celebrating their success in the | :05:39. | :05:44. | |
North with potential in the South. They have drawn their line, and | :05:44. | :05:49. | |
saying they are the main opposition in the South. At the Waterfront | :05:49. | :05:52. | |
Hall the Sinn Fein President Gerry Adams delivered his keynote speech | :05:52. | :05:56. | |
a while ago. Let's hear what he said. | :05:56. | :06:00. | |
I would like to welcome all of you here from all parts of our island | :06:00. | :06:10. | |
to the city. I want to welcome people from Canada and the USA. | :06:10. | :06:14. | |
This is an emotive time for people in New York, when we think of our | :06:14. | :06:20. | |
friends that died there in the attacks on September 11th. There | :06:20. | :06:25. | |
are want to welcome our guests from South Africa. From the Basque | :06:25. | :06:35. | |
:06:35. | :06:39. | ||
country and elsewhere. And all of those people watching at home. I | :06:39. | :06:43. | |
also welcome all the rest of our veterans. I want to extend, if I | :06:44. | :06:51. | |
may, in very special welcome, our guest representing the Palestinian | :06:51. | :07:01. | |
:07:01. | :07:10. | ||
Later this month, the Palestinian people will ask the United Nations | :07:10. | :07:15. | |
to recognise the state of Palestine. I call on the Irish Government to | :07:15. | :07:19. | |
support the Palestinian people and their demand to be a state and for | :07:19. | :07:29. | |
:07:29. | :07:34. | ||
independence. In August, 1971, a British Army | :07:34. | :07:42. | |
regiment took 11 people in my home. Five months later, in January 1972, | :07:43. | :07:51. | |
this same regiment killed 14 people in Derry, on Bloody Sunday. That | :07:51. | :07:55. | |
July it in West Belfast, they killed five more people. Shortly | :07:55. | :08:01. | |
after that they shot dead two people on the Shankill Road. And in | :08:01. | :08:09. | |
1973 they killed five meant. -- men. It is claimed that they killed 42 | :08:09. | :08:14. | |
citizens in disputed circumstances in the 20 months after internment. | :08:14. | :08:17. | |
Sinn Fein support the efforts of their loved ones, as we do all of | :08:18. | :08:27. | |
those seeking truth and closure. I would like to welcome the families | :08:27. | :08:37. | |
:08:37. | :08:44. | ||
and relatives that are here with us This city of Belfast has a proud | :08:44. | :08:49. | |
republican history. This is a city where United Irishmen and women | :08:49. | :08:53. | |
committed themselves to ending the connection with Britain. This is a | :08:53. | :09:03. | |
:09:03. | :09:05. | ||
city of proud, Protestant Republicans. This is a city where | :09:05. | :09:09. | |
working men and women were organised, and especially the women, | :09:09. | :09:19. | |
:09:19. | :09:43. | ||
against sweat stop conditions. -- He speaks Irish. So it is a big | :09:43. | :09:49. | |
date for Belfast republicans that the Ard Fheis is here. I have not | :09:49. | :09:59. | |
:09:59. | :10:00. | ||
gone away, you know. It is a big day for me, too. It is a big day | :10:00. | :10:04. | |
for me as a Belfast man, who was very humbled and proud to be | :10:05. | :10:11. | |
elected by the people. In the mid- 1960s, when I joined Sinn Fein, it | :10:11. | :10:16. | |
was a forbidden organisation. I was arrested for the first time in | :10:16. | :10:19. | |
Belfast city centre when I was about 17 or 18 for selling the | :10:19. | :10:24. | |
party newspaper. At that time, this was a one-party state, a police | :10:24. | :10:28. | |
state. It was run by a union is delete that controlled all the | :10:28. | :10:33. | |
institutions of Government. -- pianist en route. Discrimination | :10:33. | :10:38. | |
against Catholics was rife. The Special Powers Act was the order of | :10:38. | :10:47. | |
the day. Many of my generation spent their lives on trial on the | :10:47. | :10:57. | |
:10:57. | :10:59. | ||
prison ship in Belfast Lough and in the Belfast prisons. Others spent | :10:59. | :11:04. | |
decades in other prisons. Some went to early graves, and Sam Querrey | :11:04. | :11:12. | |
injuries to this day. -- some carry injuries the to this day. The state | :11:12. | :11:16. | |
of the British Government ruled supreme. Comrades, those days are | :11:16. | :11:26. | |
:11:26. | :11:31. | ||
And Unionism, as it comes to terms with this new reality, will be | :11:31. | :11:37. | |
liberated by it. The Orange state is no more. This Ard Fheis and your | :11:37. | :11:47. | |
:11:47. | :11:50. | ||
presence here is further proof of Under the old regime, the greatest | :11:50. | :11:57. | |
price was paid by working-class communities. Every expression of | :11:57. | :12:02. | |
Irish nurse was repressed. Unions were sold the pretence of privilege | :12:02. | :12:08. | |
but it could not be sustained. Not in this city, not anywhere. This is | :12:08. | :12:18. | |
:12:18. | :12:27. | ||
also the city of many heroes and And they include Bobby Sands, Joe | :12:27. | :12:35. | |
McDonnell and Kieran Doherty. 30 years ago, they, along with | :12:35. | :12:45. | |
:12:45. | :13:06. | ||
France's, Raymond, Patrick, Big Tom, They are the role models. They are | :13:06. | :13:14. | |
with us tonight. Laverty years ago some of them were still on the | :13:14. | :13:24. | |
:13:24. | :13:35. | ||
Neil Green and last for not least, Mary Doyle. | :13:35. | :13:45. | |
:13:45. | :13:46. | ||
Equipment to National Southern Tree is what motivates Sinn Fein. | :13:46. | :13:50. | |
Citizens have right, this includes the right to a home, job, access to | :13:50. | :13:55. | |
education, the health service on the right to a safe and clean | :13:55. | :13:59. | |
environment and civil liberties. This is what republicanism is about. | :13:59. | :14:03. | |
It is what freedom and real democracy is about. And there | :14:03. | :14:07. | |
wasn't a more important time for this for these core Republican | :14:07. | :14:13. | |
values. The Republic of Ireland are facing an economic crisis of such | :14:13. | :14:16. | |
magnitude it dominates all our lives. From the very old to the | :14:16. | :14:21. | |
very young. And the North British Government governs -- policy and | :14:21. | :14:24. | |
its fiscal control makes efforts to tackle the economic crisis more | :14:24. | :14:33. | |
difficult. It is a major challenge to the Assembly. In the south, half | :14:33. | :14:39. | |
a million people languish on the dole. College graduates joined the | :14:39. | :14:46. | |
unemployed. Construction workers, architects and solicitors. 575 | :14:46. | :14:53. | |
workers lost their jobs this week in the announcement of the media to | :14:53. | :14:59. | |
closure and the loss of another 130 jobs is another day of the stock -- | :14:59. | :15:03. | |
devastating blow. Thousands are leaving. Taking their skills, | :15:04. | :15:08. | |
enthusiasm and they used to other countries. Families have been | :15:08. | :15:12. | |
forced to choose between buying school books or paying mortgages. | :15:12. | :15:15. | |
The Irish people don't even have the right to make their own | :15:15. | :15:20. | |
decisions about how to handle this crisis. Irish economics of entry | :15:20. | :15:24. | |
has been handed over to the EU and the International Monetary Fund. | :15:24. | :15:33. | |
The job losses are mounting and still, Fine Gael and Labour plough | :15:33. | :15:38. | |
ahead of recapitalising the banks and cutting public spending. What | :15:38. | :15:43. | |
is the jobs plan? What kind of society will be left at the end of | :15:43. | :15:48. | |
this crisis if there is no public outline, no public energy body, no | :15:48. | :15:52. | |
post service, no forestry body? What kind of society will be left | :15:52. | :15:56. | |
when they have sold off essential state assets and the natural | :15:56. | :16:01. | |
resources for next to nothing to private interests. The Irish people | :16:01. | :16:06. | |
deserve better. They know it. That is why there is such a great desire | :16:06. | :16:10. | |
for a fundamental political change across this island. That is what is | :16:10. | :16:14. | |
most obvious in the six counties is the support given to the Executive | :16:14. | :16:19. | |
in the elections last May. People voted for change in the South also. | :16:19. | :16:27. | |
They voted against the disastrous policies. He voted against the EU, | :16:27. | :16:35. | |
IMF deal. They laugh that Fine Gael, and Labour -- elected Fine Gael | :16:35. | :16:41. | |
that they would honour the election promises. But the coalition parties, | :16:41. | :16:50. | |
once they were in, the Government's Building top election promises. | :16:50. | :16:56. | |
People are dismayed because instead of implementing their own stated | :16:56. | :17:03. | |
commitments, they get into implementing Fianna Fail policy. | :17:03. | :17:10. | |
Labour defence improvisation of unfair taxes and one day, Labour | :17:10. | :17:13. | |
tells us all there will be no cuts in social welfare and then on | :17:13. | :17:20. | |
another day there will be cuts to social welfare in the December | :17:20. | :17:25. | |
Budget. In fact, Fianna Fail and Labour are set to impose almost 4 | :17:25. | :17:34. | |
billion euros of these cuts. At the same time they are handing over 3 | :17:34. | :17:39. | |
billion euros to the Anglo Irish Bank. This year and every year for | :17:39. | :17:49. | |
:17:49. | :17:49. | ||
the next 10 years. He and Vinegar Hill expects people on a salary is, | :17:49. | :17:53. | |
people with special needs and senior citizens and the unemployed | :17:53. | :17:59. | |
to think this is fair. It is not, it is wrong. | :17:59. | :18:09. | |
:18:09. | :18:17. | ||
Sinn Fein wouldn't pay this 30 billion euros to Anglo-Irish. Then | :18:17. | :18:27. | |
:18:27. | :18:27. | ||
faction Fein wouldn't pay one sense to this bank. -- sense. | :18:27. | :18:31. | |
Her a better island is possible, it must be based on the rights of | :18:31. | :18:36. | |
citizens, on the needs of society on fairness and equality for stomp | :18:36. | :18:41. | |
Sinn Fein's recovery plan would use the main reserve in the national | :18:41. | :18:47. | |
pension reserve fund to introduce a multi-billion Euro jobs package. | :18:47. | :18:52. | |
Our plan to invest in schools and hospital buildings, broadband roll- | :18:52. | :18:55. | |
out and developing the agricultural food sector so we can grow our way | :18:55. | :19:05. | |
:19:05. | :19:18. | ||
Tens of thousands of families at this moment are in serious mortgage | :19:18. | :19:23. | |
distress. This problem cannot be left to the banks. The Government | :19:23. | :19:27. | |
has to act and the Government has to act now. The priority has to be | :19:27. | :19:32. | |
protect family homes. An independent distress mortgage | :19:32. | :19:35. | |
resolution body is needed with strong powers and a menu of options | :19:35. | :19:41. | |
to help those in greatest need. Anything else is unacceptable. And | :19:41. | :19:46. | |
Sinn Fein makes no bones about it. We will ask the wealthier citizens, | :19:46. | :19:52. | |
who will also benefit from the recovery, to contribute more. A | :19:52. | :19:56. | |
package of wealth taxes, taxes on profits and an end to tax | :19:56. | :19:58. | |
exemptions will bring in the revenue necessary to meet funding | :19:58. | :20:05. | |
needs. Sinn Fein will tackle public spending. But we will protect | :20:05. | :20:09. | |
social welfare, education and public health budgets. Sinn Fein | :20:09. | :20:13. | |
will go after hospital consultants who are among highest-paid in the | :20:13. | :20:18. | |
world. Will we will go after politicians and top civil servants | :20:18. | :20:28. | |
:20:28. | :20:28. | ||
are wages under pension lump sums. We will protect state assets. And | :20:28. | :20:34. | |
we will get a better deal on our natural resources. We will tell the | :20:34. | :20:38. | |
private bondholders, they must take the pain of their losses and the | :20:38. | :20:48. | |
:20:48. | :20:50. | ||
Irish taxpayer will carry them no longer. And we also tell the EU, | :20:50. | :20:56. | |
IMF that it's time for an New Deal. A deal that takes into account what | :20:56. | :21:06. | |
:21:06. | :21:17. | ||
the Irish people are able and Also, unlike the rest of them, Sinn | :21:17. | :21:22. | |
Fein has always argued the Irish people cannot enjoy democracy for | :21:22. | :21:25. | |
full independence as long as the majority are laws are made by | :21:25. | :21:30. | |
people who do not a let. We do not and we want to work with Democrats, | :21:30. | :21:35. | |
not with these big powers. We want to work with Democrats across the | :21:35. | :21:40. | |
Continent to build a Europe with equals. Were all states regardless | :21:40. | :21:45. | |
of their size, wealth or power respect one another sovereignty and | :21:45. | :21:48. | |
co-operate together in tackling the common problems of Europe and the | :21:48. | :21:54. | |
wider world. This party is opposed to further the use centralisation. | :21:54. | :21:58. | |
To challenge those in the Irish political establishment, who, | :21:58. | :22:02. | |
despite their battles are shamefully subservient to Brussels | :22:02. | :22:06. | |
and Frankfurt. When the Euro was introduced, Sinn Fein warned | :22:06. | :22:11. | |
against giving away the state's ability to make monetary policy. | :22:11. | :22:17. | |
I'm sorry to say this, we have been vindicated by disastrous | :22:17. | :22:21. | |
development since then. At the European common currency project, | :22:21. | :22:25. | |
the Euro, is in deep crisis and citizens have the right to know | :22:25. | :22:29. | |
what the Government is going to do. There is people also have the right | :22:29. | :22:33. | |
to know if the Government has a contingency plan if the currency | :22:33. | :22:41. | |
collapses. Fine Gael and Labour are not being honest. In the current | :22:41. | :22:45. | |
crisis, Sinn Fein warns against any attempt to hand over for economic | :22:45. | :22:55. | |
:22:55. | :22:57. | ||
power to the European Union. The raising and extending of taxes... | :22:57. | :23:02. | |
Goes to the very heart of our society is organised. It determines | :23:02. | :23:06. | |
the funding and quality of public services, the distribution and | :23:06. | :23:10. | |
redistribution of wealth. And these must be the Democratic prerogative | :23:10. | :23:15. | |
of the Irish people through their representatives in the Loloahi | :23:15. | :23:20. | |
Tapui and the Assembly. Isn't it ironic Sinn Fein campaigns for the | :23:20. | :23:24. | |
transfer of fiscal powers from London to Belfast. In Dublin these | :23:24. | :23:29. | |
same powers are given away to the EU by the Irish political | :23:29. | :23:34. | |
establishment. I want to commend the work of the outgoing President | :23:34. | :23:38. | |
and her husband. Next month, the people will enact the new President | :23:38. | :23:43. | |
of Ireland. By once again citizens in the north won't have the right | :23:43. | :23:48. | |
to vote. This must change. Citizens from all parts of Ireland must be | :23:48. | :23:54. | |
able to vote in presidential elections. An Irish citizens living | :23:54. | :24:02. | |
abroad Dr Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz - - Dr Ahmad Khaled Abdel Aziz as has | :24:02. | :24:06. | |
the same with many other states should also have the right to vote. | :24:06. | :24:16. | |
:24:16. | :24:18. | ||
The presidency is not the trophy of Across this island, more and more | :24:18. | :24:24. | |
people are looking to Sinn Fein for leadership. In my view, Sinn Fein | :24:24. | :24:28. | |
should support the nomination of a candidate to be President of | :24:28. | :24:38. | |
:24:38. | :24:43. | ||
Ireland. A candidate who is capable of winning the support of progress | :24:43. | :24:47. | |
of of opinion, who will reflect the broad, Republican spirits of the | :24:47. | :24:53. | |
Irish people at this time and the incoming President will continue | :24:53. | :25:00. | |
this matter. Last year saw electoral advances to Sinn Fein and | :25:00. | :25:03. | |
the one to thank everybody who entrusted their vote to us. I want | :25:04. | :25:07. | |
to ask everybody to support Paul Donnelly in the upcoming by- | :25:07. | :25:17. | |
:25:17. | :25:20. | ||
election. I want to congratulate all the senators and their families. | :25:20. | :25:25. | |
Me Sinn Fein is now the leading voice of opposition. We are | :25:25. | :25:29. | |
standing up for Ireland, we help put forward an alternative than we | :25:29. | :25:32. | |
will consistently and have consistently establish the bad | :25:32. | :25:38. | |
decisions of the Government. TD's have rained -- raised issues of | :25:38. | :25:42. | |
significance across the border, on every issue affecting everybody. | :25:42. | :25:47. | |
Let me say also in terms of what we are going to do in the upcoming | :25:47. | :25:51. | |
period. We will continue to fight on all of these issues. Unlike the | :25:51. | :26:01. | |
:26:01. | :26:13. | ||
others, we will do exactly what we I also want to congratulate all our | :26:13. | :26:22. | |
MLAs, councillors and Paul Muskie, the MP for West Belfast. | :26:22. | :26:32. | |
:26:32. | :26:59. | ||
Sinn Fein has lots of work to do in the time ahead. And it is for | :26:59. | :27:04. | |
certain we will continue to do all of that work. One of the things we | :27:04. | :27:08. | |
are focusing on and continue to focus on, is working with our | :27:08. | :27:12. | |
colleagues in the Executive to confront the sectarianism and | :27:12. | :27:22. | |
rural poverty to transform education and all of these other | :27:22. | :27:27. | |
matters which face down on people. But our vision of a new Ireland, of | :27:27. | :27:34. | |
the New Republic for the 21st century is pluralist, it is | :27:34. | :27:39. | |
inclusive and it is based on equality and citizens' rights. And | :27:39. | :27:48. | |
that new republic must be built by Catholic, President. That means we | :27:48. | :27:53. | |
have to reach out to the Unionists. We have to be patient, it means we | :27:53. | :27:58. | |
have to find common ground on which we can celebrate our differences as | :27:58. | :28:03. | |
diversity and as equals. And that's a personal priority for me and the | :28:03. | :28:11. | |
political priority for Sinn Fein and for the leadership. Partition | :28:11. | :28:15. | |
created two conservative states on this island led by two | :28:15. | :28:25. | |
:28:25. | :28:52. | ||
Conservatives only eats. -- Uniting Ireland, comrades, makes | :28:52. | :29:00. | |
economic sense, it makes political sense, it makes common sense. We | :29:00. | :29:06. | |
live in a wonderful country and our people of great people. Sinn Fein | :29:06. | :29:11. | |
has great trust in the people of Ireland. Sinn Fein's vision for of | :29:11. | :29:21. | |
:29:21. | :29:22. | ||
the future is based on hope. -- all of the future. I believe that there | :29:22. | :29:27. | |
are many people throughout this island who share our goals. There | :29:27. | :29:32. | |
are many people that want rid of outsiders ruling us, whether they | :29:32. | :29:39. | |
are from London, the IMF, all the EU. Many people want a real | :29:39. | :29:44. | |
Republic, a new republic, and this will require the very active | :29:45. | :29:49. | |
participation of citizens. So I am calling upon people to join Sinn | :29:49. | :29:56. | |
Fein. The British Government, Sinn Fein comes from that democratic | :29:56. | :30:01. | |
tradition that believes that the British Government has no right in | :30:01. | :30:05. | |
Ireland, never had any right in Ireland, and never will have any | :30:05. | :30:15. | |
:30:15. | :30:25. | ||
And the best thing that a British Government can do, and as we | :30:25. | :30:29. | |
continue with our strategy democratically and peacefully, I am | :30:29. | :30:34. | |
sure, the British Government will do this, and that is to leave. | :30:34. | :30:43. | |
Leave us to manage our own affairs. So Sinn Fein is clear, clear about | :30:43. | :30:49. | |
our strategy, our goals, the road map to the future, a better future. | :30:49. | :30:53. | |
And we have the spirit and the confidence to work with others to | :30:53. | :31:02. | |
achieve this. We go forward with confidence in | :31:02. | :31:08. | |
the future. Comrades, let us make history. And in the words of the | :31:08. | :31:18. | |
:31:18. | :31:19. | ||
blanket men. And when they said this, they were talking about the | :31:20. | :31:27. | |
people of Ireland, all our people, Catholic, Protestant and dissenter, | :31:27. | :31:37. | |
:31:37. | :31:49. | ||
when they said this. The HE SPEAKS That was Gerry Adams with his | :31:49. | :31:54. | |
keynote speech to the conference. With us now is Gerry Kelly, and the | :31:55. | :31:59. | |
education minister, John O'Dowd. Gerry Kelly, sum up the day and | :31:59. | :32:04. | |
yesterday for us. That is hard to do. It was a great conference. You | :32:04. | :32:09. | |
can see it there is a lot of conference. The momentum is going. | :32:09. | :32:13. | |
You can see a lot of young people at our conference. We are bringing | :32:13. | :32:18. | |
new people through. It is a vibrant party, a party going places. We | :32:18. | :32:23. | |
have a vision, Gerry Adams described that vision. There is a | :32:23. | :32:25. | |
great confidence in the whole party to move ahead and to bring it to | :32:26. | :32:30. | |
Belfast was a great move. It is a great boost not just for people of | :32:30. | :32:34. | |
Belfast but we are run All-Ireland party and it is great to bring | :32:34. | :32:41. | |
people here. What happens now in the presidential election? He has | :32:41. | :32:45. | |
triggered a debate throughout the party. They will have that debate | :32:45. | :32:55. | |
and they will make a decision, I suppose. If I was to make a opinion, | :32:55. | :33:00. | |
I am ambivalent, but you have to pick a big personality to do it. I | :33:00. | :33:04. | |
suppose in certain ways it will be important for us. You may lose a | :33:04. | :33:08. | |
personality from within the party if you do it from within the party | :33:08. | :33:14. | |
that maybe is needed in the party. But it is a huge challenge. We have | :33:14. | :33:18. | |
many other huge challenges. On balance, I think it is a very good | :33:18. | :33:23. | |
idea and we should pursue it. We have not thought about who that | :33:23. | :33:30. | |
could be. You have the education portfolio. You said in your speech | :33:30. | :33:34. | |
that no school would be able to stand alone in the delivery of | :33:34. | :33:38. | |
education. What did you mean by that? What I mean is that schools | :33:38. | :33:43. | |
have to break down barriers. They have to start working, not only | :33:43. | :33:46. | |
across schools in their neighbourhood, but across sectors. | :33:46. | :33:50. | |
I accept that many schools are doing this already and many | :33:50. | :33:54. | |
educationalists are leading the way in this field. But facing into the | :33:54. | :34:02. | |
future with the Budget we are faced with, I think there is a need to | :34:02. | :34:06. | |
create a new society, break down barriers and share power. Break | :34:06. | :34:11. | |
down the barriers and share education together. I will assist | :34:11. | :34:14. | |
you and support you in that journey as minister of education. That is | :34:14. | :34:18. | |
the call I was making in my speeches yesterday evening and | :34:18. | :34:22. | |
today. I accept that many are doing it but we need to step up the | :34:22. | :34:26. | |
momentum and the pace of change. is the biggest opponent to that | :34:26. | :34:34. | |
plan? -- who? I'm not going to lay out a list of obstacles. There are | :34:34. | :34:38. | |
many examples where this is happening and others where it is | :34:38. | :34:42. | |
not. I am not talking across religious barriers, but socio- | :34:42. | :34:47. | |
economic grounds as well. Are you talking about grammar schools? | :34:47. | :34:51. | |
many stand on their own. Many see themselves as part of the education | :34:51. | :35:00. | |
system and the community. That's -- let's not point to people. We will | :35:00. | :35:05. | |
play our part in a system to break down barriers and to start a new | :35:05. | :35:10. | |
beginning in education. But it is a big driver behind this, but also to | :35:10. | :35:16. | |
make change in society. -- budget is a big driver. Let's do it across | :35:16. | :35:20. | |
society and in our education system was stop what are you talking about | :35:20. | :35:26. | |
in practical terms? Sharing facilities? I will be making a | :35:26. | :35:30. | |
keynote speech to the Assembly about the future of education and I | :35:30. | :35:35. | |
will lay out my plans in more detail than. I am moving towards | :35:35. | :35:39. | |
the idea that we can no longer look upon schools as individual | :35:39. | :35:44. | |
institutions. They will have to play their part as a collective, as | :35:44. | :35:50. | |
a collective role within areas. It is across the rich divide, the | :35:50. | :35:54. | |
socio-economic divide. I want the schools and managing authorities to | :35:54. | :35:58. | |
come back to me as Minister of Education to say this is what they | :35:58. | :36:01. | |
believe they can do going into the future. This is not a paper | :36:01. | :36:07. | |
exercise. It is a radical change in education. I am not disrespect | :36:07. | :36:14. | |
thing, or looking to move away from face -- space-based or any other | :36:14. | :36:20. | |
type of education. I am not closing anybody down, but sharing resources | :36:20. | :36:24. | |
and working closely together. Surely some schools are going to | :36:24. | :36:29. | |
have to close because of empty places? The most important thing to | :36:29. | :36:33. | |
me is that we have a number of schools were young people leaving | :36:33. | :36:36. | |
schools are not treating their academic achievements. We are | :36:36. | :36:41. | |
failing many young people. Those schools will have to reach the | :36:41. | :36:44. | |
standards or I think they should close down. That is one of the | :36:44. | :36:48. | |
options available. What is also bearing down on us is finance. The | :36:48. | :36:54. | |
education budget is very difficult. Year one is bad, years two de four | :36:54. | :37:00. | |
are particularly difficult. We want to set out a plan to show to the | :37:00. | :37:05. | |
sector, to put some surety into the sector, that we have a plan. But | :37:05. | :37:09. | |
with everything, change will come. Some institutions that have been in | :37:09. | :37:15. | |
place for many years will no longer be there, in my opinion. That is | :37:15. | :37:19. | |
disappointing in many ways, but education is about educating young | :37:19. | :37:23. | |
people and not keeping education institutions open. So long as we | :37:23. | :37:26. | |
are improving our education system that then the hard decisions that | :37:26. | :37:31. | |
we take will be the right decisions. It could be said that your speech | :37:31. | :37:35. | |
was the only one that had some discord today with the comments | :37:35. | :37:39. | |
about Matt Baggott. I don't think it was discord. As the spokesperson | :37:39. | :37:43. | |
on policing my job is to tell the truth and I think that is what I | :37:43. | :37:47. | |
did in a short speech, which was repeated by a number of other | :37:47. | :37:51. | |
speakers later on. The fact is that the PSNI are not responsible for | :37:51. | :37:59. | |
the legacy of oppression over generations. Therefore, they should | :37:59. | :38:05. | |
not, and Matt Baggott as its head, should not defend the indefensible. | :38:05. | :38:11. | |
And especially in terms of the massacre 40 years ago, when it was | :38:11. | :38:14. | |
very clear that there was what I would call pollution during that | :38:14. | :38:23. | |
period. Why would you contaminate a new beginning to policing by trying | :38:23. | :38:32. | |
to defend something that you were only a child at the time, IOC Matt | :38:32. | :38:41. | |
Baggott was just a child. We have fought very hard. I do believe in | :38:41. | :38:44. | |
accountable policing, but it has to be accountable and we cannot have | :38:44. | :38:51. | |
Matt Baggott in the situation of disagreeing with an investigation. | :38:51. | :38:55. | |
He was not the one that did the investigation, it with the | :38:55. | :39:00. | |
ombudsman. Reconciliation was a big theme of this conference, yesterday | :39:00. | :39:07. | |
and today. Do some of the comments made about that sort of thing | :39:07. | :39:12. | |
contradict trying to reconcile the differences between Unionists and | :39:12. | :39:17. | |
nationalists? Absolutely not. I have my political views, and we | :39:18. | :39:22. | |
have our views about a national united Ireland. We think that is | :39:22. | :39:26. | |
the best resolution. Other people have different opinions. | :39:27. | :39:30. | |
Reconciliation is not that people come to the same decision | :39:30. | :39:33. | |
necessarily. It is the ability to deal with the opinions of other | :39:33. | :39:38. | |
people. We have a future together, reconciliation is making that | :39:38. | :39:42. | |
future together. And I think Reverend Latimer mentioned this | :39:42. | :39:47. | |
last night. People have different views of the past. I have said that | :39:47. | :39:52. | |
I have a view of what happened in the past and you may have a view of | :39:52. | :39:56. | |
that, but I do not necessarily have to convince you that your view is | :39:56. | :40:02. | |
wrong and mind is right but we have to both be able to articulate that. | :40:02. | :40:05. | |
Your big idea has been the international truth Commission. | :40:05. | :40:09. | |
Martin McGuinness acknowledged that Unionists have not bought into that. | :40:09. | :40:14. | |
How will you broker some agreement on this? I think that is a question | :40:14. | :40:21. | |
mostly for Unionists. If you talk about reconciliation and purpose in | :40:21. | :40:31. | |
:40:31. | :40:31. | ||
terms of truth, then perhaps he lien is the answer. The one thing | :40:31. | :40:35. | |
everybody agrees on is the issue of truth itself. People want to know | :40:35. | :40:43. | |
the truth. They have said as -- we have said that as Republicans we | :40:43. | :40:47. | |
will participate. But it has to be comprehensive and the state | :40:47. | :40:52. | |
authorities have to be honest. I don't really understand what the | :40:52. | :40:58. | |
resistance from the Unionist is. I was going to say that truth is | :40:58. | :41:03. | |
simple but it can be very complex. But everybody can agree to truth, I | :41:03. | :41:07. | |
think. We are putting that on the table. There are a number of | :41:07. | :41:12. | |
examples, I don't know how many. People were talking about 26 | :41:12. | :41:15. | |
different truth processes throughout the world. It may have | :41:15. | :41:20. | |
to be quite specific to hear but let's go and do it. Again and again | :41:20. | :41:24. | |
this legacy has come up. One of the things that annoyed me about it | :41:24. | :41:29. | |
recently at the ombudsman's office, was that it was used as an excuse. | :41:29. | :41:33. | |
We cannot do such and such because we have not dealt with the legacy. | :41:33. | :41:38. | |
Let's deal with the legacy. It cannot become an obstacle for | :41:38. | :41:43. | |
moving things forward. Art Sinn Fein more comfortable in opposition | :41:43. | :41:48. | |
in the South than they are in Government in the North? As a | :41:48. | :41:51. | |
political party we cede power across all of Ireland and I think | :41:51. | :42:01. | |
we are very effective. -- we seek power. Sinn Fail has led to the | :42:01. | :42:05. | |
opposition in the Dail. It is not about one or the other. We see our | :42:05. | :42:11. | |
roles as our mandate. In the North we have the mandate to be in | :42:11. | :42:14. | |
Government and in the South our mandate puts us forward as an | :42:14. | :42:19. | |
opposition party. They are two roles that I think complement each | :42:19. | :42:23. | |
other in many ways. Our politics are the same. We inspire to be in | :42:23. | :42:28. | |
power across the island of Ireland. That is what politics is about. | :42:28. | :42:32. | |
the South you have the luxury of sniping from the sidelines. But you | :42:32. | :42:35. | |
will have to implement cuts in education and jobs will go across | :42:35. | :42:40. | |
the public sector in the North. There is a slight difference. In | :42:40. | :42:44. | |
the South they have certain control over economic levers. They have now | :42:44. | :42:49. | |
handed them over to the EU and the IMF. But here we do not have the | :42:49. | :42:52. | |
economic levers to turn round and say how we will build a budget. We | :42:52. | :42:59. | |
have to deal with the Budget we are given. As a political party, I | :42:59. | :43:04. | |
believe that power is where we need to be. Thank you for joining us. | :43:04. | :43:08. | |
That is it from all of us at the Waterfront Hall. If you want some | :43:08. | :43:12. | |
more politics, join Mark Devenport on BBC Radio Ulster tomorrow at 9 | :43:12. | :43:16. |