:00:33. > :00:36.Good evening. Welcome to Stormont Today.
:00:36. > :00:39.Coming up on tonight's programme: We look at some potential changes
:00:39. > :00:42.at Stormont's top table. Could this be the last time we see Sammy
:00:42. > :00:45.Wilson as Finance Minister? And is the SDLP about to change its only
:00:45. > :00:48.Minister in the Executive? And as police warn an illegal drug could
:00:48. > :00:52.be linked to the deaths of eight people, the Health Minister calls
:00:52. > :00:59.for action. The community and very often the people in this House are
:00:59. > :01:01.fed up with judges treating criminals with kid gloves. And it
:01:01. > :01:03.may be the end of term, but our political correspondent, Martina
:01:03. > :01:06.Purdy, was happy to stay after class.
:01:06. > :01:10.It's the final week of Stormont before the summer break and there's
:01:10. > :01:13.been a bit of an end of term feel up here all day. There's also much
:01:13. > :01:16.chatter about the probability of some movement at the top table.
:01:16. > :01:22.Before the end of the week there could be two new faces on the
:01:22. > :01:27.Executive. With me to discuss that, our political correspondent,
:01:27. > :01:31.Martina Purdy. There could be potentially quite a bit of movement
:01:31. > :01:34.on the executive There has been speculation about a couple of
:01:34. > :01:40.Ministers, for example, Sammy Wilson in the Department of Finance.
:01:40. > :01:44.He's supposed to leave in the next few weeks and be replaced by his
:01:44. > :01:47.parliamentary assistant. It's no surprise because when he appointed
:01:47. > :01:50.him Finance Minister in 2011 he indicated it would be a two-year
:01:50. > :01:56.appointment. At the same time he indicated there would be a mid-term
:01:56. > :02:01.review of staff, and he suggested that Edwin Poots after awhile -
:02:01. > :02:06.after midterm, could be replaced by Jim Wales, the MLA for South Down.
:02:06. > :02:12.Funnily enough we're not expecting him to take over health at the same
:02:12. > :02:14.time Simon Hamilton takes over finance. He could step into the job
:02:14. > :02:20.of parliamentary assistance and read himself into the health job,
:02:20. > :02:24.but so far, he's bearing up stoically. I rang him to ask, is it
:02:24. > :02:28.likely you're going to be moving? He said he was happy to serve. He
:02:28. > :02:32.hasn't heard anything but was happy to serve in whatever capacity the
:02:32. > :02:36.party want him to. I think there is fevered speculation - I don't think
:02:36. > :02:40.that's overstating it, about the future of the Environment Minister
:02:41. > :02:44.Alex Atwood. Alex Atwood, it's no secret, wasn't meant to be there
:02:44. > :02:48.much longer, and we have been hearing in recent days his
:02:48. > :02:51.departure is imminent. The question is who is going to replace him as
:02:51. > :02:58.Minister of the environment? The name we consistently have been
:02:58. > :03:00.hearing is Joe Burn, MLA for West Tyrone. I am hearing it's fairly
:03:00. > :03:07.controversial appointment inside the party because there are those
:03:07. > :03:10.who think it should be Patsy McGlone, who performed well in by-
:03:10. > :03:15.elections, that he's the best person to take over, but I am told
:03:15. > :03:18.he's made up his mind it will be burn. I think he wants to show Joe
:03:18. > :03:22.Burn appreciation for his contributions to the party over the
:03:22. > :03:26.years. I am hearing the Belfast councillor Nicola Maland will be
:03:26. > :03:33.the new Special Advisor to the Environment Minister. A file
:03:33. > :03:37.thought, the assembly is finishing. The final one is tomorrow we
:03:37. > :03:40.haven't seen the legislation brought forward perhaps we'd
:03:40. > :03:44.anticipated. No, it will be September at the earlier before we
:03:44. > :03:48.see the Education Bill, there to create new education structures.
:03:48. > :03:51.There is also the welfare reform Bill, pulled by the Social
:03:51. > :03:55.Development Minister in April no. Sign of it coming back on to the
:03:55. > :03:59.table, and that is causing problems we heard from Sammy Wilson today.
:03:59. > :04:03.He said there could be huge costs associated with this bill if it
:04:03. > :04:09.isn't passed by next January. He pointed it's costing the Treasury
:04:09. > :04:14.millions of pounds a month in lost savings and I think patients could
:04:14. > :04:17.wear out there. Thank you very much. So, we may not be seeing as much of
:04:17. > :04:20.Sammy Wilson in the future, but he was right in the middle of things
:04:20. > :04:23.today. The Finance Minister told the Assembly the total cost of the
:04:23. > :04:26.G8 summit in Fermanagh was �80 milliion. The figure came as Mr
:04:26. > :04:33.Wilson announced the redistribution of millions of pounds of Stormont
:04:33. > :04:40.finances. Departments submitted bids totaling �179 million in
:04:40. > :04:43.respect of resource expenditure and �233.2 million in terms of capital
:04:43. > :04:47.expenditure. Mr Speaker, there's been much focus on the cost of the
:04:47. > :04:51.G8 event. I have to say the most important thing that we
:04:51. > :04:56.successfully delivered - safe and secure event, and for that, I give
:04:56. > :05:03.my sincere thanks to the PSNI. Of course, this event did not come for
:05:03. > :05:08.free, and whitest the UK Government picked Up the majority of the costs
:05:08. > :05:15.the executive also picked up some funding. Security-related costs now
:05:15. > :05:19.stand at approximately �75 million. However, some �60 million or costs
:05:19. > :05:27.which the UK Government has agreed to cover - and that leaves a
:05:27. > :05:30.balance of �14.5 million, which the Executive agreed to allocate to DOJ.
:05:30. > :05:34.In addition to the policing and security-related costs there were
:05:34. > :05:41.additional costs registered by some departments including DRD and
:05:41. > :05:44.Health. This amounted to some �5.1 million and funded roads and
:05:44. > :05:48.improvements around Enniskillen, a publicity campaign to maximise the
:05:48. > :05:52.economic benefits of the event and pressure on the Fire and Rescue
:05:52. > :05:54.Service. Mr Speaker, we must recognise that the G8 event has the
:05:54. > :06:01.potential to generate huge economic benefits for Northern Ireland. That
:06:01. > :06:04.is why the event will be followed by an investment conference in the
:06:04. > :06:09.autumn. Of course we'll not know the full economic benefits for
:06:09. > :06:15.years to come. However, a recent report by Barclays estimated there
:06:15. > :06:17.could be significant net economic benefits in the short run with
:06:17. > :06:21.potential for greater long-term benefits for Northern Ireland.
:06:21. > :06:25.Pending further consideration of all options toond ensure that
:06:25. > :06:29.valuable time is not lost, the executive has agreed the Regional
:06:29. > :06:33.Development Minister can proceed with the MacElfield bypass project
:06:33. > :06:39.- this scheme costing around �40 million will address a key
:06:39. > :06:43.bottleneck on our roads network and the Executive's pro-active approach
:06:43. > :06:46.sends a clear message of confidence to our construction sector at this
:06:46. > :06:49.difficult. It's the anticipated work on the ground will start in
:06:49. > :06:55.the autumn of next year. I know that before the G8 happened, there
:06:55. > :06:59.was considerable doubt expressed as to its benefits to Northern Ireland,
:06:59. > :07:02.the cost there was going to be, and you always had the begrudgers and
:07:02. > :07:08.the naysayers and the whingeers and the negative people looking for the
:07:08. > :07:13.bad news story from it. I think - it has now been universally
:07:13. > :07:22.accepted that first of all, we put on a good show. The weather even
:07:22. > :07:27.helped us, for goodness sake. It was the safest and the most secure
:07:27. > :07:32.G8 and there have already been benefits from it in terms of the
:07:32. > :07:36.publicity. My question is how long will this take until its
:07:36. > :07:40.completion? Well, first of all, I am glad the member has welcomed the
:07:40. > :07:42.statement. I know both his and my party received some criticism
:07:42. > :07:47.because we didn't support the populist motion that had been
:07:47. > :07:53.brought forward to the Assembly a couple of weeks ago calling for the
:07:53. > :08:00.funding of the MacElFed bypass in this particular year, and of course,
:08:00. > :08:04.the reason for that as he'll well know, is money cannot be spend on
:08:04. > :08:08.the Macrofeld bypass in this particular year. There is still the
:08:08. > :08:11.vesting process to be done, the procurement process, and that's why
:08:12. > :08:18.I have said in this statement that we would expect work to begin in
:08:18. > :08:22.autumn of next year. Can he ensure this House that the cast costs that
:08:23. > :08:27.went into the G8 project would be able to be used in future policing
:08:27. > :08:31.operations and this wasn't just a one-off cost, that there will be a
:08:31. > :08:34.long-term benefit to the police for what they bought? Some of the
:08:35. > :08:39.expenditure was for capital equipment, surveillance equipment,
:08:39. > :08:43.drones, et cetera, which don't disappear after the G8 has gone and
:08:43. > :08:46.are not redundant after the G8 is over, and that would be capital
:08:46. > :08:52.equipment which would be available to the police, and therefore should
:08:52. > :08:55.be part of the normal budget. Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson.
:08:55. > :08:58.The Minister for Health was asked how his Department is responding to
:08:59. > :09:01.reports that at least eight deaths could be linked to an illegal drug
:09:01. > :09:03.currently in circulation. Edwin Poots said emergency departments
:09:03. > :09:10.are equipped to deal with drug cases, but communities, he said,
:09:10. > :09:14.need to stand up to the dealers. First of all, Mr Deputy Speaker, I
:09:14. > :09:17.am very concerned to hear there have been a number of sudden deaths
:09:17. > :09:21.across Northern Ireland that may be linked to drugs use. I would like
:09:22. > :09:27.to begin by passing on my condolences to anyone who has lost
:09:27. > :09:30.a loved one or a friend in these difficult circumstances. It is
:09:30. > :09:34.important to stress that investigations into these deaths
:09:34. > :09:40.are ongoing, and we do not know at this stage that they're drug
:09:40. > :09:43.related or what, if any, substance is involved. There's bad batch of
:09:43. > :09:47.drugs out there, whether they're illegal or legal that are killing
:09:47. > :09:51.our people, so can you give us as much information as you possibly
:09:51. > :09:57.can and let us know even some of the symptoms that the people need
:09:57. > :10:00.to be looking out for? And as our A&E departments made aware of the
:10:00. > :10:04.symptoms so if somebody does present themselves, then they're
:10:05. > :10:09.actually brought through the system quicker? Staff in our emergency
:10:09. > :10:13.departments are trained and equipped to deal with a wide range
:10:13. > :10:18.of scenarios, including people who have taken drugs - people who have
:10:18. > :10:22.taken drugs overdoses and so forth. It may be possible that these drugs
:10:22. > :10:28.have been bought off the internet, but it's probably unlikely, given
:10:28. > :10:32.the fact that there was a number of people died in one particular area,
:10:32. > :10:37.so there's a whole range of areas we need to be looking at and the
:10:37. > :10:40.message just needs to keep going out that if you haven't been
:10:40. > :10:44.prescribed drugs by your GP, obtained from a pharmacist, you
:10:44. > :10:49.shouldn't be taking them. Would he agree that those profiting from
:10:49. > :10:54.this are profiting with the death and the lives and indeed the ill
:10:54. > :10:57.health it is caution to many of our young and indeed other aged groups.
:10:57. > :11:04.People don't sell drugs for the good of a community. People sell
:11:04. > :11:08.drugs because they can make profits. Huge profits by selling drugs, and
:11:08. > :11:12.they don't occur for the individuals that they sell the
:11:12. > :11:15.drugs to, whether they can afford them, whether it has an impact upon
:11:15. > :11:20.their families, what hurt it does, what harm it does or what damage it
:11:20. > :11:26.does, and that's why I'm saying very, very clearly today that
:11:26. > :11:29.communities need to hand these people over. They are poisoning our
:11:29. > :11:34.own community. And I also drive a very important
:11:34. > :11:38.message home today to our judges and our courts that when the
:11:38. > :11:41.communities stand up to these people - because it isn't very easy
:11:41. > :11:45.to do because they're nasty and violent individuals very often -
:11:45. > :11:48.that when the communities stand up to these people, that they will
:11:49. > :11:52.stand shoulder to shoulder with these people and give them
:11:52. > :11:55.appropriate sentences and not some slap on the wrists because the
:11:55. > :11:59.community and very often the people in this House are fed one judges
:11:59. > :12:02.treating criminals with kid gloves. The gloves were certainly off when
:12:02. > :12:05.it came to the subject of the former Maze Prison site at a
:12:05. > :12:08.meeting of the OFM/DFM Committee last week. While the First and
:12:08. > :12:11.Deputy First Minister were taking questions, it was the DUP's Jimmy
:12:11. > :12:16.Spratt who made headlines after he referred to opponents of a proposed
:12:16. > :12:19.peace building as "nutters". The Maze, however, wasn't the only
:12:19. > :12:23.issue generating heat, as we can see in this week's look at
:12:23. > :12:26.committee business. In relation to the first matter about planning, I
:12:26. > :12:33.have read some of the hoo-haw in the newspapers, and you know, how
:12:33. > :12:40.people have managed to twist for political purposes the nature of
:12:40. > :12:44.what was being sought in terms of the planning - I - I have been in
:12:45. > :12:49.many parts of the world where I have spoken to people who are
:12:49. > :12:55.looking to invest in Northern Ireland and have been put off by
:12:55. > :13:00.our planning experiences, and it is internationally recognised that
:13:00. > :13:02.Northern Ireland has a poor planning outcome, and if you have
:13:02. > :13:05.that out in the international community, there has to be a
:13:05. > :13:09.message that goes out to the international community to say,
:13:09. > :13:14.things have changed, and I believe that that's the kind of message
:13:14. > :13:17.that'll be sent out by what we have done. I have to say I think there's
:13:17. > :13:22.been a lot of scare-mongering over the course of the debate that we
:13:23. > :13:28.have had in the Assembly in the course of this week, and I think it
:13:28. > :13:34.was for political grandstanding purposes, no question or doubt
:13:34. > :13:37.about it whatsoever, and it came basically from a Minister who has
:13:37. > :13:42.always protected his own independence from the Executive.
:13:42. > :13:47.He's not a team player. It's someone who has his own political
:13:47. > :13:51.agenda, and even during the course of the debate - and I concur with
:13:51. > :13:57.everything Peter said in relation to the arguments that were made
:13:57. > :14:03.about this being a land grab by OFM DFM - it's absolutely nothing of
:14:03. > :14:08.the sort. I sit here as a member for the valley, and Maze Prison is
:14:08. > :14:12.right in the middle of my constituency. When I say when I
:14:12. > :14:15.canvass now, there is no opposition to the Maze. The Ministers have
:14:15. > :14:19.said that the people of Northern Ireland not only voted with the
:14:19. > :14:22.ballot box but they voted with their pockets. Thousands of them
:14:22. > :14:28.paid money to go into the Maze. Nobody dragged them in. You're
:14:28. > :14:33.talking about Lagan Valley. It is in my area, and the jobs that it
:14:33. > :14:38.brings for all of Northern Ireland put us on the world stage. Let's
:14:38. > :14:43.not conflate the development of the Maze site. We need to look forward,
:14:43. > :14:47.chair, on how we're moving Northern Ireland forward and the Maze is a
:14:47. > :14:50.vehicle for that. We can either all get onboard or... Mr Chairman you,
:14:50. > :14:54.can't get away with that argument you're attempting to put forward,
:14:54. > :15:00.which is not to mistake the development of the site with the
:15:00. > :15:05.position of the retained buildings or other - the Peace Building
:15:05. > :15:09.centre. That's an inaccurate and you know a totally wrong position
:15:09. > :15:13.to adopt. The decision to place the Peace Building centre had already
:15:13. > :15:16.been taken. The decision to retain the buildings had already been
:15:16. > :15:21.taken. Those were facts that couldn't be changed unless there
:15:21. > :15:27.was going to be a Damascus Road experience on the part of Sinn Fein
:15:27. > :15:31.and the SDLP for that matter. don't want to get bogged down in
:15:31. > :15:36.this, but - I think some of your interventions, like calling the
:15:36. > :15:41.people who are against the Peace Building - the centre of the Maze -
:15:41. > :15:48.calling them nutters I don't think is helpful. I didn't say that.
:15:48. > :15:55.heard you. Point of order. You made reference to a word - I was
:15:55. > :15:59.speaking to my colleague, and you made reference to - as an
:15:59. > :16:04.independent chair something totally out of context in terms of what was
:16:04. > :16:12.said, so I want you to apologise to me for doing that. It's the usual
:16:12. > :16:17.way that you try to spin things on the media and everything else to
:16:17. > :16:21.suit your own agenda. I certainly was not calling anybody in this
:16:21. > :16:25.room or indeed people who have opposition to the Maze nutters, so
:16:25. > :16:31.get your facts right before you try to spin and make statements in the
:16:31. > :16:41.future, and if you have any guts at all, you'll apologise for not
:16:41. > :16:47.independently chairing the meeting at that point. I know what you said,
:16:47. > :16:50.Jimmy. Well, let's see - Jimmy Spratt and Mike Nesbitt
:16:50. > :16:53.differing on the course of events there but Hansard, in the end,
:16:53. > :16:56.sided with Mr Nesbitt. It was a busy day for Sammy Wilson today,
:16:56. > :16:59.who also faced Members during Question Time. The Minister locked
:16:59. > :17:02.horns with Sinn Fein over his fiscal policy, but before that he
:17:02. > :17:08.was asked about potential changes to the defamation law in Northern
:17:08. > :17:11.Ireland. I've no plans to initiate a review of the law of defamation
:17:12. > :17:15.of present with the passing of the Defamation Act 2013. There have
:17:15. > :17:19.been a number of far-reaching changes in the law and in England
:17:19. > :17:22.and Wales, and it's my view that what we should do - and it would be
:17:22. > :17:25.prudent to see how those changes work through before we make any
:17:25. > :17:28.decision how we want to progress that issue here in Northern Ireland.
:17:28. > :17:34.I think what we have to avoid is following the Westminster
:17:34. > :17:39.legislation - we have to strike the right balance for here in relation
:17:39. > :17:47.to the balance between freedom of speech and a private gap and not
:17:47. > :17:50.allow the gap to be exploited by poor journalism. The point I would
:17:50. > :17:54.make to the member, and indeed, this was recognised by the Minister
:17:54. > :17:58.when this issue was discussed in the House of Lords is it was up for
:17:58. > :18:01.devolved administrations to look at the situation in their own
:18:01. > :18:06.localities then make decision about that. There is no question about
:18:06. > :18:09.suppressing freedom of speech. Before this act went through,
:18:09. > :18:13.people were free to express themselves and newspapers were free
:18:13. > :18:18.to carry stories, so somehow or another, as a result of this act
:18:18. > :18:22.going through and us not implementing this act, freedom of
:18:22. > :18:26.speech is being suppressed in Northern Ireland is just a lot of
:18:26. > :18:30.nonsense. I would love to be able to say to the member - because I am
:18:30. > :18:34.sure she'd love this answer - that when it comes to the net fiscal
:18:34. > :18:36.balance report, we just plucked the figure out of the air and say,
:18:36. > :18:41."There it is" and stick it down on paper.
:18:41. > :18:46.These are not figures that are made up. These are figures which are
:18:46. > :18:50.subject to a degree of rigour, to a degree of international scrutiny,
:18:50. > :18:57.and therefore, wriggle as they will, Sinn Fein will never be able to
:18:57. > :19:04.make the case that somehow or other we owe money to the rest of the UK
:19:04. > :19:08.rather than we get a positive flow of money from the Treasury to
:19:08. > :19:15.Northern Ireland and therefore that is the value of being British and
:19:15. > :19:17.part of the United Kingdom. Minister, all of this is a
:19:17. > :19:21.distraction from the simple fact that there is no statement of
:19:21. > :19:27.revenue here in the north. The figures we have are not comparable
:19:27. > :19:31.to those in Scotland. Can the Minister outline how and when he
:19:31. > :19:35.plans to provide accurate figures? I know Sinn Fein would love to wish
:19:35. > :19:39.away the billions of pounds which come from the Exchequer to Northern
:19:39. > :19:43.Ireland in their pursuit of their political objective, but even the
:19:43. > :19:49.fairies wouldn't believe that, and I don't think their own supporters
:19:49. > :19:52.believe it, and the fact that 25% of their own voters now wouldn't
:19:52. > :19:57.vote for a united Northern Ireland is an indication that they haven't
:19:57. > :20:03.even sold the story to their own voters. If the Minister were to
:20:03. > :20:08.find that he again had sufficient spare time to go back to marking
:20:08. > :20:16.economic papers, what mark would he anticipate giving Sinn Fein on
:20:16. > :20:18.their economic submissions? I don't know if there is a grade set low
:20:18. > :20:22.enough! Sammy Wilson, in typically robust
:20:22. > :20:25.form during what could well be his last time at the despatch box as
:20:25. > :20:27.Finance Minister. And voices were also raised during a debate this
:20:27. > :20:30.afternoon over a motion tabled by the SDLP's Conall McDevitt urging
:20:30. > :20:38.more North/South co-operation. We'll hear from him in a moment,
:20:38. > :20:41.but first here's a flavour of the debate. East-west cooperation, like
:20:41. > :20:47.making these institutions work is not something we do because we have
:20:47. > :20:49.to. It's something we do because we know we need to and we want to.
:20:49. > :20:54.Northern Ireland is Constitutionally within the United
:20:54. > :20:57.Kingdom. Let's be clear on that fact, and whilst I believe Mr
:20:57. > :21:00.McDevit and Mr Bradley are endeavouring to do some political
:21:01. > :21:04.grandstanding with this motion, they have got to be mindful
:21:04. > :21:10.attempts to bring about a united Northern Ireland are failing
:21:10. > :21:13.miserably. Members will note that the amendment does not take issue
:21:13. > :21:20.with practical, pragmatic, mutually beneficial, cross-border
:21:20. > :21:25.cooperation. What it does take issue with is the squander in
:21:25. > :21:29.respect of the elaborate north/south arrangements. It is
:21:29. > :21:33.true that there are improved working relationships between
:21:33. > :21:37.Stormont and the Doyle. That is to be welcomed. However, that is
:21:37. > :21:41.mainly down to the important changes within the Belfast
:21:41. > :21:44.agreement, specifically, the removal of articles two and three
:21:44. > :21:48.and the principle of consent. Unionist reaction to the SDLP
:21:48. > :21:54.motion calling for further north/south cooperation. The motion
:21:54. > :21:58.passed comfortably. I am joined by the MLA who tabled it. It was
:21:59. > :22:04.comfortable, 52 votes to 37, but the House was divided down the
:22:04. > :22:09.middle, wasn't it? Funnily enough, unionism is divided within itself
:22:09. > :22:14.because two members took what I think was the right decision and
:22:14. > :22:18.supported it. There is no threat. We're just saying a long overdue of
:22:18. > :22:24.north/south cooperation should be published. In fact, the review will
:22:24. > :22:29.deal with lot of the problems raised by Unionists. He says he has
:22:29. > :22:33.no problem with practical, pragmatic, mutually beneficial
:22:33. > :22:38.cooperation, but he does have a problem with overly elaborate
:22:38. > :22:46.north-south relations, and that's what he think exists. Two thing
:22:46. > :22:49.points to make, someone the north- south institutions have a - by the
:22:49. > :22:51.people of the Good Friday Agreement. They're not stripped down. There's
:22:51. > :22:55.very efficient approach to the cooperation. The money that is
:22:55. > :23:00.invested is more than recovered either in inward investment or
:23:00. > :23:05.cooperation through trade, in tourism numbers. Tourism Ireland is
:23:05. > :23:10.held up by the DUP Minister herself. She was a great success. She was
:23:10. > :23:17.only just last week congratulating tourism in the House over the work
:23:17. > :23:20.it did over the G8. You mentioned the Narrow Water Bridge. That was
:23:20. > :23:24.divisive. It was because people chose to make it so. I think the
:23:24. > :23:27.problem some politicians - it is a minority of this House, and I think
:23:27. > :23:31.it's a growing minority in the sense it's getting smaller, if you
:23:31. > :23:36.know what I mean, seemed to see politics where it doesn't exist.
:23:36. > :23:40.That is just good news for the peninsula and the South Morns. It's
:23:41. > :23:45.great news for the tourism of the coast. It's fantastic news for the
:23:45. > :23:49.economic development of the area, and also, it has a huge symbolic
:23:49. > :23:53.importance - the first bridge across a border waterway in Ireland
:23:53. > :23:57.since partition - it says it all. We'll leave it there, Conall
:23:57. > :24:00.McDevitt. Thank you very much. Did the Northern Ireland experience
:24:00. > :24:03.inspire world leaders to engage in talks with the Taliban? That was
:24:03. > :24:06.one question put to the Deputy First Minister when he took the
:24:06. > :24:12.floor in Question Time earlier, with the G8 fallout also remaining
:24:12. > :24:21.high on the agenda. After the south of Ireland, the United States is
:24:21. > :24:28.our second largest export market with 533 million pounds in export
:24:28. > :24:33.sales ending up to March 2013, so any action taken for lower tariffs
:24:33. > :24:36.between the US and EU can only help us expand our market export further
:24:36. > :24:44.into the United States. We recognise that as the global
:24:44. > :24:51.economy becomes freer and much more open, it must benefit developed and
:24:51. > :24:56.developing nations alike. Trade must not be one nation's success at
:24:56. > :25:00.the pension of another. Would the First Minister agree with me that
:25:00. > :25:03.the time that's been spent by the leaders of the world in Northern
:25:03. > :25:08.Ireland - it was more than coincidental after they returned
:25:08. > :25:17.home, they decided that it would be better for the leaders to talk to
:25:17. > :25:24.the Taliban, therefore, saving lives in Afghanistan? Well, far be
:25:24. > :25:28.it from me to involve myself in US foreign policy, but I have to say,
:25:28. > :25:34.I did find it encouraging that given that we have been receiving
:25:34. > :25:37.reports over the course of the last three years - and direct
:25:37. > :25:41.conversations have been taking place between the United States
:25:41. > :25:46.administration and the Taliban. Now the direct talks appear to be on
:25:47. > :25:50.the horizon in the not-too-distant future. Anything that has been done
:25:50. > :25:55.to resolve conflict anywhere in the world will always be welcomed by
:25:55. > :25:59.ourselves, and indeed, we are in much demand ourselves because many
:25:59. > :26:02.representatives from all of the parties in this Assembly have
:26:02. > :26:10.travelled to many of the world's travel spots at the invitation of
:26:10. > :26:15.others, so I think, from my perspective, it's a positive
:26:15. > :26:21.development, and the hope has to be that it leads to an end of conflict,
:26:21. > :26:28.violence and death. As the member will be aware, the publication of
:26:28. > :26:34.the MacLease report into to the Maglin laundries - and about Tex
:26:34. > :26:41.peeciouss and the situations of the women who lived in them. We
:26:41. > :26:44.appointed a Senior Civil Servant to draw up a paper in regard to the
:26:44. > :26:49.Magnin Laundries so as to inform us what actions we might take. We
:26:49. > :26:53.received that report at the end of last week and intend to give
:26:53. > :26:57.serious consideration to the options. Can I ask the Minister in
:26:57. > :27:01.light of the compensation scheme announced, what plans they have to
:27:01. > :27:06.make a similar compensation scheme here? Could I just say to the
:27:06. > :27:12.member just in light of the answer I have just given her, it would be
:27:12. > :27:15.a bit premature for me before we'd do the scoping-out exercise to look
:27:15. > :27:19.at those suggestions that have come forward, but we have just received
:27:19. > :27:24.the report and really we're very mindful, as I said, of the callous
:27:24. > :27:27.treatment of those people who were in those types of institutions.
:27:27. > :27:31.Indeed, myself and a junior Minister met with some of the
:27:31. > :27:35.peoples who were the victims, the survivors, and there were
:27:35. > :27:39.horrendous stories they told. So we'll give very, very careful
:27:39. > :27:42.thought. We don't want to rush to judgment. We'll give very careful
:27:42. > :27:45.thought once we read report and some of the recommendations that
:27:45. > :27:49.the scoping exercise has brought forward. Jennifer McCann, the
:27:49. > :27:53.Junior Minister Martina Purdy has rejoined me with a few thoughts.
:27:53. > :27:59.Quickly, we were talking to Conall McDevitt. He put forward his
:28:00. > :28:04.proposal on north-south cooperation, won comfortably. What happens now?
:28:04. > :28:09.I think this motion was about putting the pressure on Sinn Fein
:28:09. > :28:14.and embarrassing the party for failing to build on the north-south
:28:15. > :28:20.bodies that were introduced in 1998. We expect there will be
:28:20. > :28:23.negotiations in the coming months so north-south bodies could be in
:28:23. > :28:26.the mix. Jim Alastair taking the traditional view that we shouldn't
:28:26. > :28:32.build on these bodies and they're not good for the union. Also, that
:28:32. > :28:34.keeps the pressure on the DUP, but in some ways they're symbolic for
:28:34. > :28:38.Nationalists but don't necessarily allow Nationalists to work the
:28:38. > :28:42.system any better or do more deals. Without the bodies there is no
:28:42. > :28:48.accountability and nothing to stop a Sinn Fein Minister from hanging
:28:48. > :28:52.up the force and doing a deal with a Dublin Minister. Thank you very