:00:14. > :00:18.Hello and welcome to the programmes. Today we have live coverage from
:00:18. > :00:23.the Sinn Fein Ardeche which is taking place in Castlebar in County
:00:23. > :00:29.Mayo. With me is Professor Rick Wilford and Queen's University and
:00:29. > :00:36.in Castlebar for us, our political editor, Mark Devenport. An
:00:36. > :00:46.interesting venue first of all? First of all, good afternoon, I
:00:46. > :00:52.
:00:52. > :00:56.should say. We're here in the Royal Theatre in a Castlebar. It is a
:00:56. > :01:01.venue, Sinn Fein have moved their Ard Fheis from a Dublin to Belfast
:01:01. > :01:06.and last year we were in Killarney. They brought about 2000 people with
:01:06. > :01:09.them to the venue here. They started last night and Martin Rogan
:01:09. > :01:15.has made the first of a couple of speeches. He was talking about
:01:15. > :01:18.being proud of his Irish identity and wanting people to be more
:01:18. > :01:22.straightforward enough not challenging him on that. I should
:01:22. > :01:28.say that later in the course of the Ardeche, there is a vote on a
:01:28. > :01:34.motion calling for Alex Attwood to rename the Royal Exchange Shopping
:01:34. > :01:40.Centre in north Belfast. It will be interesting if I pass that motion
:01:40. > :01:45.in the Royal Theatre here! Not much gets past you, it is of course the
:01:45. > :01:50.afternoon, not the morning. Tell me, is this a drive on the part of Sinn
:01:50. > :01:54.Fein to go after the rock boat in the south because back in the day,
:01:54. > :02:00.these conferences used to be focused on the mansion house in
:02:00. > :02:04.Dublin? Yes, it is part of the emphasis that they are an all
:02:04. > :02:11.Ireland party, they will move things around. At conferences, you
:02:11. > :02:14.do tend to get a certain amount of investment coming into the area.
:02:14. > :02:19.People staying on to see the sights and spending money in hotels so
:02:19. > :02:22.they have decided they will move it around, not just bringing it up to
:02:22. > :02:28.Belfast from Dublin and back again, they are pushing it around again.
:02:28. > :02:33.Also, they will be pushing -- touching on some local issues such
:02:33. > :02:37.as oil and gas reserves and the exploitation all feature, given
:02:37. > :02:42.that we have had some controversy over that issued here in County
:02:42. > :02:47.Mayo. No doubt next year somewhere else in Ireland will get its turn.
:02:47. > :02:52.Just to be clear, but the big leader's speech actually happened
:02:52. > :02:57.outside our time, it is later this evening? Yes, Gerry Adams will be
:02:57. > :03:03.speaking later on this evening. We have a special programme where we
:03:03. > :03:07.we'll we'll be bringing the speech to viewers tomorrow. He happens
:03:07. > :03:15.eight because he is clashing with Rory McIlory, that is a clash of
:03:15. > :03:21.the giants, isn't it! On this one occasion, the golfers have won out
:03:21. > :03:28.so Sinn Fein will have to hold on. I am actually joined by one of the
:03:28. > :03:32.delegates here, Conor Murphy of Sinn Fein. We're waiting for Mary
:03:32. > :03:37.Lou McDonald to come onto the platform but before she does, what
:03:37. > :03:41.you see as the essential theme of this conference? I think the themes
:03:41. > :03:46.are, given we are an all Ireland party, we have different issues
:03:46. > :03:51.north and south, the main themes are about reconciliation, trying to
:03:51. > :03:58.get more delivery from Stormont and then that the economy where we're
:03:58. > :04:04.dealing with so than politics. There are something like 300
:04:04. > :04:11.motions with a wide variety. The central themes will be about the
:04:11. > :04:17.economy and the continuing peace building and reconciliation.
:04:17. > :04:21.are obviously an absentia list MP, one interesting development this
:04:21. > :04:26.year is that we have the Labour spokesman for Northern Ireland here,
:04:26. > :04:32.that is the first, isn't it? It is, as far as I know. He was made very
:04:32. > :04:36.welcome last night. He was promoted by Martin McGuinness as a
:04:36. > :04:40.representative of the British government. He has been to all of
:04:40. > :04:45.the party conferences from the northern parties so or so is the
:04:45. > :04:49.last. I challenged him afterwards and he enjoyed the event very much.
:04:49. > :04:56.Changed times because the big news event of the week has been the
:04:56. > :05:05.death of Baroness Thatcher. In the old days, Irish republicans did not
:05:05. > :05:09.mix. There was the IRA's attack on her - your thoughts on all of that?
:05:09. > :05:14.I think Martin McGuinness are put it well, we are not about
:05:14. > :05:17.celebrating the death of anyone, to be honest. Others pointed it out
:05:17. > :05:23.clearly that Margaret Thatcher might have passed on and her
:05:23. > :05:29.influence in terms of politics died 15 or 20 years ago. Thatcherism is
:05:29. > :05:33.alive and well, put in the state in the south and right across Britain.
:05:33. > :05:37.The austerity policies are the real Thatcherite approach to things so
:05:37. > :05:41.that legacy continues to be opposed so it's not about the personality
:05:41. > :05:45.and it will not feature in the conference as well. It is not a
:05:45. > :05:52.cause for celebration. Those interested in politics should
:05:52. > :05:56.continue to oppose a Thatcherite approaches from government. Last
:05:56. > :05:59.night Martin McGuinness in his speech was talking about Unionists
:05:59. > :06:03.being inward looking and representing more of a threat to
:06:03. > :06:08.the process than a dissidence - an overstatement, surely, given that
:06:08. > :06:11.the dissidents are working on a tax which may cost people their lives?
:06:11. > :06:16.He made strong reference to the dissidents as well and repeated
:06:16. > :06:20.very strongly our opposition to them. He also offered a dialogue to
:06:20. > :06:24.them to try and get some sense into their approach because it is
:06:24. > :06:27.clearly leading no one anywhere. I think it quite clearly, unionists
:06:27. > :06:30.do need to be reminded of the fact that they are in government and
:06:30. > :06:36.they should want to be in government and it is not something
:06:36. > :06:40.a reluctance for some of them. The real question has arisen, since the
:06:40. > :06:46.flags issue in December, is that of leadership within Unionist
:06:46. > :06:49.communities. People need to be told that this is where we are, this is
:06:49. > :06:53.a power-sharing process, part of the Good Friday Agreement, this is
:06:53. > :06:56.as good as it gets for Unionism, rather than simply being in it as
:06:56. > :07:01.if you are a reluctant partner and somehow giving the impression that
:07:01. > :07:05.you may end up in the old Stormont of the Forties, Fifties and Sixties.
:07:05. > :07:10.That will not happen and people need to be told clearly, this is a
:07:10. > :07:14.shared space with a shared political arrangements. Things are
:07:14. > :07:17.changing, Belfast is not a unionist city anymore and people need to be
:07:17. > :07:22.clear of their own constituency and that is the point that Martin
:07:22. > :07:27.McGuinness was making. If Unionists want to put their heads in the sand,
:07:27. > :07:31.that really is leading us to a difficult place. We were making a
:07:31. > :07:34.joke about the royals Theatre but some Unionists might say, if
:07:34. > :07:39.republicans were less belligerent about flags and identity, maybe
:07:39. > :07:44.Unionist wouldn't be so defensive. We are reflecting the new reality
:07:44. > :07:48.that Belfast is not be used city. The flag is flying on designated
:07:48. > :07:54.days and all I would wish is that the flag never flew at all or that
:07:54. > :07:58.the Irish flag flew so it is a compromise, not belligerence.
:07:58. > :08:01.Unionists need to wake up to the reality that this is 2013, the old
:08:01. > :08:09.state they had in the North has gone and is gone for ever. They
:08:09. > :08:18.would be better to getting down to working out practical arrangements.
:08:18. > :08:22.Back now to the studio. Mary Lou McDonald's not making it onto the
:08:22. > :08:32.platform in the time that we had expected. Things are running behind
:08:32. > :08:36.a little bit. We will go back to the conference in a moment or two.
:08:36. > :08:41.Interesting to pick up on what Conor Murphy was talking about,
:08:41. > :08:44.this tough critique, and we will see what Martin Rogan has had to
:08:44. > :08:49.say in a moment, a tough critique of the Unionist position on
:08:49. > :08:54.devolution? Surprised or not that that seems to be coming up as a
:08:54. > :09:02.theme in his conference? I am not surprised and certainly somebody
:09:02. > :09:06.who is sad enough to habitue it Parliament Buildings, the
:09:06. > :09:12.atmosphere is not poisonous but it is certainly Sark and what I think
:09:12. > :09:17.Martin McGuinness was saying in his speech about the damage has been
:09:17. > :09:19.brought by Unionists within the Executive is indicative of a really
:09:19. > :09:24.quite stressed relationships there are at the moment between the two
:09:24. > :09:31.major parties. What about the fact that this conference is taking
:09:31. > :09:36.place in Castlebar, it is the Taoiseach's back yard? Presumably
:09:36. > :09:41.there is no coincidence in that? One would be disingenuous not to
:09:41. > :09:46.make that assumption. Probably a very deliberate choice of venue,
:09:46. > :09:52.partly because of that it is his backyard but also that Sinn Fein is
:09:52. > :10:01.very keen to grow its rural vote where it is much less strong in
:10:01. > :10:06.rural areas than in urban areas of Ireland. I think there is a riskier
:10:06. > :10:09.in holding it here because Catholics in rural areas tend to be
:10:09. > :10:13.more conservative on a whole range of issues, not least abortion and
:10:13. > :10:20.abortion is on the agenda for debate in the conference. I think
:10:20. > :10:24.they are simply going to keep to the views that they will not go for
:10:24. > :10:31.a pro-choice position, they will hold fast to the argument that when
:10:31. > :10:38.a woman's life is in danger, in no circumstances, and of course it is
:10:38. > :10:41.the point of the context in to the young Sri Lankan woman who died as
:10:41. > :10:48.a consequence of miscarrying and not being permitted an abortion
:10:48. > :10:57.last year. I think that is going to... What political parties
:10:57. > :11:05.Tenterden this issue is to allow a free vote because it is an issue.
:11:05. > :11:10.When they moved to block their amendment, they are the ones who
:11:10. > :11:17.moved it and blocked that amendment that was being levelled by the SDLP
:11:17. > :11:22.and the DUP. I think on this issue, they are not going to allow a free
:11:22. > :11:28.vote but it doesn't sound well with his perception of Sinn Fein as a
:11:28. > :11:36.Democratic Centre, to allow its members, whether in the Assembly or
:11:36. > :11:42.Doyle, to have a free vote. But it is an issue that orchestrates some
:11:42. > :11:46.risks, a clash between the rural and urban island. Urban island
:11:46. > :11:53.tends to be more liberal on this issue whereas rural areas are more
:11:53. > :11:57.conservative. Didn't expect change. We will go back now to Mark
:11:57. > :12:01.Devenport and here hopefully live from the conference very shortly.
:12:01. > :12:06.We referred back to the Martin McGuinness interview, let us hear
:12:06. > :12:14.from him at who brought delegates up to speed with the peace process
:12:14. > :12:20.when he made his contribution on the conference floor earlier today.
:12:20. > :12:24.It always seems impossible until it is done, so said the former South
:12:24. > :12:29.African President, Nelson Mandela. Why he was clearly talking about
:12:29. > :12:36.the great struggle for liberation in such Africa, his words are as
:12:36. > :12:44.relevant to those of us here involved in 40 years of unbroken
:12:44. > :12:49.struggle. Impossible, undeliverable, not words part of their vocabulary
:12:49. > :12:53.because the other the people who do, the people who achieved and we are
:12:53. > :12:58.a bit deliverers. Politics for us is not about gaining political
:12:58. > :13:03.strength, just for the sake of it. Politics for us is about how we use
:13:03. > :13:08.that strength and we're the only political party in the state
:13:08. > :13:12.putting forward a sensible and coherent alternative to the the old
:13:12. > :13:21.politics of austerity introduced by Fianna Fail and followed by the
:13:21. > :13:25.coalition. Being in government is about making choices. Which impact
:13:25. > :13:33.directly on people's lives. I say that as somebody who jointly leads
:13:33. > :13:38.a coalition. We chose not to have water charges. The government here
:13:38. > :13:42.made a different choice. We support free universal health care, the
:13:42. > :13:48.government here made a different call. We chose to invest hundreds
:13:48. > :13:55.of millions in a new school bolts to stimulate the economy and boost
:13:55. > :13:58.the construction industry. We chose to break from Westminster and
:13:58. > :14:05.protect the educational maintenance allowance payments of young people
:14:05. > :14:10.in education, and we refused to raise student fees. There are
:14:10. > :14:14.countless other examples of choices we chose to make, be it investment
:14:14. > :14:19.in new sports stadiums, the development of the long Kesh site
:14:19. > :14:24.which will see the are you A S opened up their operation in a few
:14:24. > :14:27.weeks' time and of course the building of the peace building and
:14:27. > :14:33.conflict resolution centre which also will begin within a few short
:14:33. > :14:40.months. The rates relief scheme for small businesses, are a desperate
:14:40. > :14:45.and health, and that within the constraints we were quiff. Don't be
:14:45. > :14:50.fooled by the efforts of some who claim as they do not have any
:14:50. > :14:56.choice in the decisions that they make. Everyone in government has
:14:56. > :14:59.choices to make. John O'Dowd in education it made the choice to
:14:59. > :15:04.invest �one and 80 Millen in new schools. But that is only part of
:15:04. > :15:10.the picture. What we are about an education is raising standards and
:15:10. > :15:14.ensuring that every child reaches their full potential and in two
:15:14. > :15:20.recent surveys, the standard of primary education in the North came
:15:20. > :15:26.out top of all the country's -- countries in the English-speaking
:15:26. > :15:31.world. I would like to think that my stint as education minister,
:15:31. > :15:41.Caitriona Ruane's stint as education minister allowed John's
:15:41. > :15:48.
:15:48. > :15:55.stint as Education Minister made It isn't -- it is appropriate to
:15:55. > :15:59.appeal to Unionists on this issue. It is not credible for them to
:15:59. > :16:04.complain about educational under- achievement in the Protestant
:16:04. > :16:08.working class and then stand up and defend the very system of academic
:16:08. > :16:13.selection at 11 which delivers this. People living in those areas also
:16:13. > :16:17.need to make their voices heard. Does mainstream Unionism really
:16:17. > :16:23.represent your views on this and a raft of other issues? So, I also
:16:23. > :16:31.wish to commend to the efforts of our agriculture minister who had to
:16:31. > :16:41.deal with -- you had to deal with recent unprecedented snow and other
:16:41. > :16:43.
:16:43. > :16:48.whether issues. Her action helped alleviate the hardship. It has been
:16:48. > :16:56.particularly encouraging to see people from a traditional Unionist
:16:56. > :17:02.backgrounds embracing the language. Unionist people taking a lead. It
:17:02. > :17:08.is time for the irrational opposition to the Irish Language
:17:08. > :17:12.culture which some adopt to come to an end. One that not, I wish to
:17:12. > :17:20.extend an invite to all here and watching at home to visit Derry
:17:20. > :17:28.this year as we celebrate it as a city of culture. I look forward to
:17:28. > :17:34.the festival taking place in Derry. The junior minister has been taking
:17:34. > :17:40.the lead in working with the survivors of institutional abuse
:17:40. > :17:45.which took place in the 26 counties and also in the north. I appeal to
:17:45. > :17:49.any survivors who have not yet felt able to contact the inquiry to do
:17:49. > :17:53.so. You have a right to justice and you have a right to have your voice
:17:53. > :17:59.heard. As Deputy First Minister, I am absolutely committed to
:17:59. > :18:02.achieving justice for all of them. In the coming months, we will
:18:02. > :18:12.review the operation of political institutions. We will consider all
:18:12. > :18:17.
:18:17. > :18:22.proposals which have a potential to improve effectiveness. We will look
:18:22. > :18:28.at the size of the Assembly and joint working from north to south.
:18:28. > :18:31.We will look at a new Confederation of local councils. We will look to
:18:31. > :18:36.formalise local power-sharing arrangements for the first time.
:18:36. > :18:39.Those who hark back to majority rule or believe that the job of
:18:39. > :18:42.government ministers in the North is to deliver for one section of
:18:43. > :18:49.the community will find no comfort in the prospect of the changes that
:18:49. > :18:53.lie ahead. Inclusive of tea and power-sharing are the bedrock of
:18:53. > :19:01.the political institutions in the north. Any proposals for change
:19:01. > :19:05.will be meticulously produced against both. Enhancing and
:19:05. > :19:15.building confidence in these institutions must be better for
:19:15. > :19:15.
:19:15. > :19:21.everyone. The principles of equality must be fully embraced. As
:19:21. > :19:25.I said last night, I was absolutely unimpressed by the recent meeting I
:19:25. > :19:31.had with David Cameron. He had no answers on the mess his government
:19:31. > :19:35.has made on the important issue of corporation tax and had even less
:19:35. > :19:40.to say on the issue of what has been known as welfare reform.
:19:40. > :19:46.Welfare reform is a misnomer for what is taking place under this
:19:46. > :19:51.Westminster Government. What we are witnessing is an attack on the most
:19:51. > :20:01.vulnerable, the sick, the disabled, those out of work, because of the
:20:01. > :20:06.coalition's policies when their cabinet is packed full of
:20:06. > :20:10.millionaires. There being made to pay for the excesses of the tax
:20:10. > :20:14.dodgers and bankers. Sinn Fein that will resist the onslaught on the
:20:15. > :20:19.most vulnerable. We will not tolerate the introduction of a
:20:19. > :20:29.bedroom tax. We will deploy it a petition of concern if this is
:20:29. > :20:35.
:20:35. > :20:38.brought to the floor in the Assembly. We will not allowed the
:20:38. > :20:45.erosion of the rights of women to be diminished. We will ensure that
:20:45. > :20:49.they are treated as equal partners at all times. We will campaign to
:20:49. > :20:53.ensure people are paid a living wage, rather than having to depend
:20:53. > :20:57.on the state to ensure the quality of life. The way the British
:20:57. > :21:02.Government has approached this issue raises an important point for
:21:02. > :21:08.all of the Executive parties. Quinine to have a proper and open
:21:08. > :21:13.debate. It has become increasingly obvious to me that the idea of
:21:13. > :21:20.parity with a Westminster doesn't work for people in the north. And
:21:20. > :21:25.not in any grand political way, but in the practical reality of what
:21:25. > :21:29.works in the south-east of England does not work in the north-east of
:21:29. > :21:35.Ireland. Let us have that debate in a sensible and rational way, and
:21:35. > :21:39.come to a consensus among ski parties in the Executive to chart a
:21:39. > :21:43.new way forward. There are real and significant challenges facing our
:21:43. > :21:50.Executive in the time ahead, but I come from the school of thought
:21:50. > :21:58.that believes that no Toland is insurmountable. -- 0 challenge is
:21:58. > :22:04.insurmountable. We are up for real challenge. I have offered a
:22:04. > :22:09.dialogue with those Republicans who are opposed to our strategy. You
:22:09. > :22:19.may have heard on the news that last night in dairy guns and
:22:19. > :22:20.
:22:20. > :22:24.explosives, designed to plunge our society back to the past, have been
:22:24. > :22:30.recover to -- recovered. I am thankful that no lives were lost.
:22:30. > :22:35.My message to people is that we have to continue to support peace.
:22:35. > :22:41.And what to make one of her observation. Every now and again,
:22:41. > :22:45.you will see these so-called Republicans parading. Now and again
:22:45. > :22:52.you will see them on television. Most times, people are very
:22:52. > :23:00.interested to see who is there. I also look, like everybody else. I
:23:00. > :23:06.CVs 50-year-old people and 40-year- old people, and 35 ago people. And
:23:06. > :23:16.I don't recognise most of them. You know what I wonder? I wonder where
:23:16. > :23:37.
:23:37. > :23:40.they were when there was a war. I have also sought dialogue with the
:23:40. > :23:45.Orange Order in advance of the marching season. I wrote to them
:23:45. > :23:48.six months ago. I have yet to receive a reply. I wrote to them in
:23:48. > :23:53.the aftermath of then issuing a public statement saying that they
:23:53. > :23:58.had not had any difficulty with any Orange Lodge in the north of
:23:58. > :24:04.Ireland engaging with local residents' groups. That was last
:24:04. > :24:13.year. My information tells me that not one Orange Lodge has even made
:24:13. > :24:18.any attempt whatsoever to have dialogue are to show respect for
:24:18. > :24:23.local communities in the north. I repeat my calls today to the Orange
:24:23. > :24:27.Order and to those so-called Republicans, to make it clear that
:24:27. > :24:32.there are no closed doors to my office for any section of society.
:24:32. > :24:37.I can defend the position that I come from. I can defend the people
:24:37. > :24:42.that I represent. And I can defend the decisions that people like
:24:42. > :24:49.Gerry Adams and myself took over the course of the last 20 years to
:24:49. > :24:56.try to move this country forward. I am absolutely confident. Have they
:24:56. > :25:02.got the confidence to come into a room with us? Sadly, this are --
:25:02. > :25:07.thus far, but has not been the case. I am confident in the future of
:25:07. > :25:11.this island. I'm confident in our ability to construct new
:25:11. > :25:15.relationships and build a new republic based on equality. That is
:25:15. > :25:20.the work of Republicans in the here and now. More and more people, I
:25:20. > :25:28.believe, are sharing a revision of the future. Those people now need
:25:28. > :25:37.to take the next step and join with us in a peaceful and democratic
:25:37. > :25:44.journey to Irish reunification. Martin McGuinness addressing Sinn
:25:44. > :25:52.Fein's Ard Fheis this morning. We will discuss some of the detail of
:25:52. > :26:00.what he had to say with my panellist and our reporter. Our
:26:00. > :26:03.Political Editor sport to Gerry Adams this morning. I think Martin
:26:03. > :26:09.McGuinness was making the point that people need to be in
:26:09. > :26:14.government because they want to be in government. Pretending that they
:26:14. > :26:24.are not part of power Shane -- power-sharing arrangements just
:26:24. > :26:24.
:26:24. > :26:34.does not stand up. The biggest danger to the political process
:26:34. > :26:36.
:26:36. > :26:41.comes within the political process. These small and in sequential --
:26:41. > :26:51.inconsequential issues will not bring down the process. People
:26:51. > :26:51.
:26:51. > :27:00.would say that Sinn Fein were opposed to the flag dispute.
:27:00. > :27:07.compromised. Imagine the headline that Sinn Fein at vaults for a
:27:08. > :27:17.Union flag to fly. That was the only option in terms of change.
:27:18. > :27:22.went for a compromise. It was legally approved by the council.
:27:22. > :27:32.The point that has to be made, and have made this numerous times, when
:27:32. > :27:36.
:27:36. > :27:39.some of these small groups who killed British soldiers are British
:27:39. > :27:46.police officers, Martin McGuinness stood shoulder to shoulder with
:27:46. > :27:51.Peter Robinson. He made it clear that this behaviour was totally and
:27:51. > :27:59.absolutely unacceptable. That is what we look to in terms of making
:27:59. > :28:08.politics work. Asserting the power of politics over anything else.
:28:08. > :28:14.Sinn Fein have been having some discussions with loyalists. Of
:28:14. > :28:22.those talks that you are involved in a broader and involving the PUP?
:28:22. > :28:28.I don't want to issue detailed on any of that. Our party has been
:28:28. > :28:36.engaged in what was probably wrongly called out reach. That is
:28:36. > :28:46.an awkward sort of turn. I would refer to it as dialogue. I will
:28:46. > :28:46.
:28:46. > :28:51.refer to it in my presidential address that people living in
:28:51. > :28:55.disadvantaged working-class backgrounds have more in common
:28:56. > :29:00.with Unionists than they might think. The problems are not going
:29:00. > :29:07.away. We need to listen to each other. Sometimes people talk at
:29:07. > :29:15.each other. We need to listen and take heed of what is being said.
:29:15. > :29:21.You are marking 30 years as Sinn Fein President. Do you have a date
:29:21. > :29:27.of when you are thinking of handing the baton on to someone to
:29:27. > :29:35.concentrate on your grandchildren or your teddy bear and rubber duck?
:29:35. > :29:42.My grandchildren are a great joy. The party and I will consider a
:29:42. > :29:49.date in due time. In terms of you all iron -- All Ireland priorities,
:29:49. > :29:53.is that the economy and how does Sinn Fein propose to heal island's
:29:53. > :30:03.great economic wars? Would you be at oppose to rates in Northern
:30:03. > :30:13.Ireland Cammack it is not similar because -- in Northern Ireland?
:30:13. > :30:14.
:30:14. > :30:20.is not similar. It is not the responsibility of the tax payers to
:30:20. > :30:28.massage the debt because of our wrong-headed approach of government.
:30:28. > :30:36.We end up with duplicate challenges and opportunities because we are an
:30:36. > :30:46.All Ireland party. The issue of tackling sectarianism requires us
:30:46. > :30:47.
:30:47. > :30:55.to open up dialogue on social and economic issues. That is a key
:30:55. > :31:02.priority. It is all about the economy as someone famously said.
:31:02. > :31:06.We need to try and understand that from a republican perspective the
:31:06. > :31:12.economy should serve the citizen. Not the other way around. One moral
:31:12. > :31:22.issue which has been controversial is abortion. Are you expecting any
:31:22. > :31:27.shift in your policy here? I am not. Our position on this is a long
:31:27. > :31:34.settled issue going back 20 years. It is very straightforward. We're
:31:34. > :31:39.not a pro-abortion party. We have a position which understands that
:31:39. > :31:45.there needs to be medical certainty and protection for women who were
:31:45. > :31:54.in danger. The people have spoken and have said that there should be
:31:54. > :31:58.legislation for that. It will be discussed as it was last year. The
:31:58. > :32:08.position was reinforced last year. For thank you. $$CLEAR
:32:08. > :32:12.
:32:12. > :32:16.Back now to the conference with Mark Devenport and Mary in a gold.
:32:16. > :32:20.From the party president to the party vice-president, I am joined
:32:20. > :32:24.by a Mary Lou McDonald who has come off the platform. Discussing their
:32:24. > :32:28.whether Sinn Fein is consistent now and South when it comes to the
:32:28. > :32:33.economy. Sometimes you are accused of implementing cuts in the north
:32:33. > :32:39.but opposing them in the south. You are in opposition so you can oppose
:32:39. > :32:43.whatever the government suggests? suppose you could, but we do two
:32:43. > :32:46.things - our first job in opposition here in the south is
:32:46. > :32:50.obviously to hold government to account, to represent the people
:32:50. > :32:55.that affect us to the best of our ability but also to bring forward
:32:55. > :32:58.alternatives and we do that too and the balance the two. On the issue
:32:58. > :33:03.of the Northern souther, this alleged difference or divide, it
:33:03. > :33:12.has to be borne in mind that in the north of the country, the Assembly
:33:12. > :33:14.and Executive don't have a fiscal powers. So to a large extent, the
:33:14. > :33:19.administration is limited in respect of the kinds of choices
:33:19. > :33:23.that have been made and I think for what it is worth, the Executive has
:33:23. > :33:27.sought to protect the most vulnerable but they do it in
:33:27. > :33:31.circumstances where they don't have the full range of economic tools
:33:31. > :33:36.that for instance the southern administration has and I think very
:33:36. > :33:42.often when that criticism is levelled at us, very deliberately,
:33:43. > :33:46.southern opinion formers choose to misrepresent the situation as
:33:46. > :33:51.though the southern government was in the same position as the
:33:51. > :33:55.Executive. They are not, they have far more options and they clearly
:33:55. > :34:01.have a greater degree of sovereignty in their grasp, not
:34:01. > :34:05.withstanding the fact that we're here and we against austerity north
:34:05. > :34:09.and south. We are for jobs and investment and we're absolutely
:34:09. > :34:13.consistent in that. In the last election, you had a perfect storm
:34:13. > :34:19.in as much as Fianna Fail went into meltdown and you picked up gains
:34:19. > :34:23.there. Fianna Fail are making a comeback in opinion polls recently,
:34:23. > :34:27.you are looking to get back into the Labour Party's territory here?
:34:27. > :34:34.We're looking to do our job and we're looking to build a support
:34:34. > :34:38.base, why wouldn't we? Very often I think people are excited about a
:34:38. > :34:44.moment in time in respect of any political party, they write them
:34:45. > :34:54.off or they took them up. Politics is cyclical and politics is am
:34:54. > :34:58.living phenomenon to and all the time we have to ensure that higher
:34:58. > :35:02.-- or a ticket and and we want support from wherever it comes.
:35:02. > :35:05.Abortion is always a controversial issue, some delegates believe there
:35:05. > :35:09.should be a freedom of conscience clause, do you support that? No I
:35:09. > :35:15.don't, we have had many debates on this issue over the years. We have
:35:15. > :35:20.a settled position to protect the lives of women and to protect
:35:20. > :35:23.medics, that is our position. The debate that and once we come to a
:35:23. > :35:28.decision, that is the Sinn Fein decision and we stand behind it.
:35:28. > :35:31.Gerry Adams wouldn't give me a date for leaving the leadership, he is
:35:31. > :35:38.30 years into the job. Should he decide to call it a day and
:35:38. > :35:44.concentrate on the family, when he beat in the running? I will not be
:35:44. > :35:50.giving you did either. On the subject of leadership, in good time
:35:51. > :36:00.we will settle those matters. Gerry Adams is doing a great job. That's
:36:01. > :36:01.
:36:01. > :36:07.all from Castlebar in County Mayo. Back to the studio.
:36:07. > :36:09.Rick Wilford is still with me. Let us go back to the Martin Rogan as a
:36:09. > :36:14.presentation to the Ard Fheis and that interview that Mark Devenport
:36:14. > :36:18.did that Gerry Adams. We're clear from what he had to say that the
:36:18. > :36:24.petition of concern will be raised by Sinn Fein on the floor of
:36:24. > :36:27.Stormont if the issue of the so- called bed and tax? This is one of
:36:27. > :36:32.the policies the UK government is introducing, they collared the
:36:32. > :36:36.spare room subsidy. What Sinn Fein is saying is that they are throwing
:36:36. > :36:41.down the gauntlet to the other parties. In effect, challenging
:36:41. > :36:43.them to oppose the petition that is designed to block any idea that the
:36:43. > :36:48.so-called bedroom tax will be applied in Northern Ireland. I
:36:48. > :36:52.think that it is putting up to the other parties. What about the
:36:52. > :36:56.economics of Sinn Fein, there is a challenge for the party here in
:36:56. > :37:00.dealing with economic policy on an all Ireland basis, we have two
:37:00. > :37:04.separate governments, one of which Sinn Fein is involved in, one of
:37:04. > :37:11.which it is in opposition to? can be a struggle because on the
:37:11. > :37:15.one hand, there can be the opposition in this house and they
:37:15. > :37:21.can oppose a variety of proposals that the current administration on
:37:21. > :37:28.to introduce. They are designed to tackle the austerity but it is
:37:28. > :37:33.hitting those who are perhaps less able to their becoming of tackling
:37:33. > :37:36.it. It has been given an added. Because yesterday in Dublin, the
:37:36. > :37:40.finance ministers of the EU were meeting and they were having to
:37:40. > :37:44.grapple with the possibility that Cyprus is going to come forward and
:37:44. > :37:52.ask for more money, Slovenia seems to be teetering on the banks of
:37:52. > :37:55.being unable to sustain growing and repaying loans there. So this gives
:37:55. > :38:01.some motive power to Sinn Fein's determination with its economic
:38:01. > :38:04.project which is to tackle austerity, to adopt a more
:38:04. > :38:09.Keynesian policy, Martin Rogan has talked about infrastructure
:38:09. > :38:13.investment in the North as opposed to the lack of it in the South Sobe
:38:13. > :38:17.it is that demand management side of it that they are interested in
:38:17. > :38:21.to stimulate the economy were as governments in Ireland and indeed
:38:21. > :38:29.in Britain, too, are much more concerned with battling down on
:38:29. > :38:35.welfare and government spending. Jim Prior, secretary of state under
:38:35. > :38:40.Margaret Thatcher caused by administration, he said they were
:38:40. > :38:43.all chances week extend that to Sinn Fein. Just a brief word about
:38:43. > :38:48.some of the things Martin Rogan is didn't actually address, which he
:38:48. > :38:52.may have done - he didn't talk about the Good Friday Agreement 15
:38:52. > :39:02.years on, the Border pulled or the passing of Mark Thatcher? I find
:39:02. > :39:02.
:39:02. > :39:06.the last not surprising because it she had come up at all, but
:39:06. > :39:09.interestingly, the border poll was at the top of the agenda for Sinn
:39:10. > :39:14.Fein earlier in the year and the latter part of last year. No
:39:14. > :39:17.mention of that and no target date. Not even a token acknowledgement
:39:17. > :39:21.that it is 15 years of the Good Friday Agreement, I did find that
:39:21. > :39:28.my only surprising. 30 years of Gerry Adams in charge, interesting
:39:28. > :39:34.to see if he is still there in 10 years. We would go there. That is
:39:34. > :39:38.it from all of us on this programme, the Sinn Fein president Gerry Adams
:39:38. > :39:41.makes his leader's speech at 8:30pm tonight. To lead to catch up on
:39:41. > :39:45.that, we have another programme tomorrow at 6:00pm on BBC Two where