:00:44. > :00:50.Coming up tonight: Should Stormont have a formal opposition? What about
:00:50. > :00:52.more speaking rights? A review on procedures was before the House
:00:52. > :00:58.today. Order, please. Order, please. The
:00:58. > :01:08.member's speaking rights have run out. May be the last sitting of the
:01:08. > :01:09.
:01:09. > :01:16.Assembly before the summer break, but the First Minister is sure about
:01:16. > :01:20.the way forward. Northern Ireland of the future will ab a society able to
:01:20. > :01:30.fulfil its real economic potential and lay permanent RAC Foundations
:01:30. > :01:33.
:01:33. > :01:43.for continued peace stability and prosperity. The Script has been
:01:43. > :01:49.
:01:49. > :01:52.written. Neither words must -- now the words must be translated into
:01:52. > :02:02.action. And Alex Kane joins me to look at
:02:02. > :02:27.
:02:27. > :02:34.the events of today and the Parliamentary year gone by. Most of
:02:34. > :02:38.us would agree that Stormont is far from, but can we really expect it to
:02:38. > :02:48.change substantially. In recent weeks we have seen the newest party
:02:48. > :02:49.
:02:49. > :02:56.complaining about speaking rights. Today the executive re Executive
:02:56. > :03:01.Review Committee reported on potential changes to the way
:03:01. > :03:04.Stormont operates. First the commentator Alex Kane is with me.
:03:04. > :03:10.What's the importance of the review discussed today? The interest was in
:03:10. > :03:18.the looking at the business of how the Assembly works. It goes to the
:03:18. > :03:22.review 16 years ago now when they wanted to change the mechanics after
:03:22. > :03:32.a number of years seeing how it works out. During that time...
:03:32. > :03:37.
:03:37. > :03:42.There's no consensus on most of the key issues nor on the need of having
:03:42. > :03:45.formal opposition Government like you do in Westminster. Even in terms
:03:45. > :03:52.of creating extra space and speaking rights, that hasn't been agreed
:03:52. > :03:58.either. There's no consensus. Sinn Fein have said they're very much
:03:58. > :04:02.against that. They're not only against the formal opposition, but
:04:02. > :04:12.against informal opposition. Even where consensus exists it's
:04:12. > :04:22.informal. At any time the executive party can say no you're not getting
:04:22. > :04:22.
:04:22. > :04:25.these rights. We've had this discussion about the possibility of
:04:25. > :04:29.an opposition, we know that John McCallister is bringing forward a
:04:29. > :04:36.Private Members' Bill on that very subject. Are you saying that you
:04:36. > :04:41.can't see it going anywhere? I think that Private Members' Bill is coming
:04:41. > :04:46.out in the next few bill. He's looking for a formal, funded,
:04:46. > :04:52.official opposition. Bearing in mind that the main parties in the
:04:52. > :04:58.executive seem incapable of reaching consensus of any of the key issues,
:04:58. > :05:04.but interestingly enough if you look at Jim McCallister, he managed to
:05:04. > :05:09.get that through. If he can get the public behind him, get the lobbying
:05:09. > :05:19.groups behind him, he may be able to make changes. As it stands at the
:05:19. > :05:26.
:05:26. > :05:33.minute, there is no support for opposition. What do you make of the
:05:33. > :05:40.fact that all of the causes for there to be an opposition seem to be
:05:40. > :05:43.coming from the Unionist benches - not all of the Unionist benches but
:05:43. > :05:53.from the Unionist benches? That's not surprising. Right at the
:05:53. > :05:57.
:05:57. > :06:02.beginning of the process there was a fear that opposition was going to be
:06:02. > :06:10.a way of squeeze squeezing Nationalists out of the process
:06:10. > :06:18.that. Was never going to happen. Sinn Fein and the SDLP will still be
:06:18. > :06:27.entitled to take the seats in the executive. More from you later.
:06:27. > :06:31.Alex, for now, thank you. All of the issues were considered in
:06:31. > :06:36.detail. Compare sons were inevitably made with other legislatures. The
:06:36. > :06:46.committee remain mindful of our unique circumstances and the fact
:06:46. > :06:51.changes whatsoever during the work in which the committee has
:06:51. > :06:54.undertaken. That's is not the approach of the Ulster Unionist
:06:54. > :07:02.Party. We think institutions must change. The Alliance Party has felt
:07:02. > :07:07.that there are four particular problems with the current system.
:07:07. > :07:12.Namely the institutionalation of sectarian division. The equality of
:07:12. > :07:17.votes with elected MLAs. The inability to adjust to political
:07:17. > :07:20.circumstances and the ability of political majorities to hold the
:07:20. > :07:26.process. We need to have an effective opposition in place
:07:26. > :07:32.because the last thing people want to see is some sort of bureaucratic
:07:32. > :07:36.system here in Stormont where most of the parties comprise 90% of the
:07:36. > :07:40.elected representatives, make up an executive where there is no
:07:40. > :07:46.challenge, no opposition apart from the odd written question about the
:07:46. > :07:50.cost of mint impeerials in the chamber, apart from that, there's no
:07:50. > :07:55.effect effective challenging opposition. I'm delighted that the,
:07:55. > :08:00.that you've come to try and let us get some speaking rights.
:08:00. > :08:09.THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. I want you to keep that campaign going. And
:08:09. > :08:12.keep on championing the cause of NI2 THE SPEAKER: Order please. The
:08:12. > :08:17.member's speaking rights have run out.
:08:17. > :08:27.John McCallister being cut short by the deputy Speaker John Dallat. Mr
:08:27. > :08:32.John McCallister and Sinn Fein's Pat Sheehan with me now. Did the debate
:08:32. > :08:36.this afternoon achieve anything afar as opposition is concerned? I'm glad
:08:36. > :08:46.you're giving me some speaking rights. I was disappointed that the
:08:46. > :08:47.report. I thought it was a real missed opportunity to actually, you
:08:47. > :08:50.know for people and parties that keep talking about opposition to
:08:50. > :08:53.actually more or less put their money where their mouth is. They
:08:53. > :08:57.failed to do that. With the report, yes, there's some difficult issues
:08:57. > :09:00.about designation but the principles of establishing the opposition to
:09:00. > :09:05.scrutinise the government and provide an alternative, I think the
:09:05. > :09:11.report clearly missed that part. main parties aren't enthusiastic.
:09:11. > :09:14.We'll hear why in a moment. Where does this leave your Private
:09:14. > :09:18.Members' Bill. It's dead in the water. I wouldn't be as pessimistic
:09:18. > :09:23.as you. The difference is this was a report that no-one was really forced
:09:23. > :09:30.to take up very hard and change positions. They didn't post
:09:30. > :09:32.themselves. The advantage of a Private Members' Bill will put the
:09:32. > :09:36.chance of tabling amendments, of making changes, of really putting it
:09:36. > :09:41.up to all the parties to say, if this is something you believe in and
:09:41. > :09:45.want to see in the Assembly, then get out and back it. What has Sinn
:09:45. > :09:49.Fein got to fear from the establishment of an opposition?
:09:49. > :09:52.don't have anything to fear at all. Parties are able to go into
:09:52. > :09:56.opposition now if they so wish. They can opt out of the executive, if
:09:56. > :10:01.they don't want to be in it. And provide opposition within the
:10:01. > :10:04.Assembly. The point is it wouldn't be a very effective opposition
:10:04. > :10:08.because they wouldn't be properly funded and they wouldn't have proper
:10:08. > :10:12.speaking rights. You have to remember the arrangements that we
:10:12. > :10:18.have were designed to suit the situation that we have here. The
:10:18. > :10:23.Professor when he was in giving evidence said the arrangements here
:10:23. > :10:29.must be seen as an organ organic whole. If you try to tinker around
:10:29. > :10:32.the edges or pick and mix, it will have a knock-on effect. To give you
:10:32. > :10:36.an example, if 30 MLAs went into opposition, they would be able to
:10:36. > :10:40.sign petitions of concern and block every single piece of legislation
:10:40. > :10:46.coming from the executive. So we be at stand still. That's just an
:10:46. > :10:50.example of how it wouldn't work. If we tinker with one bit it will have
:10:50. > :10:57.an effect somewhere else. The point. This is a very carefully balanced
:10:57. > :11:03.system that we've got in place with lots of checks and balances. If you
:11:03. > :11:07.unsettle it, it will grind to a stand still. The very example Pat
:11:07. > :11:10.used about the positioning, the one party that has abused most of the
:11:10. > :11:15.petition of concern is the biggest party in the Government, namely the
:11:15. > :11:18.DUP. Oppositions aren't there just to oppose everything. They're there
:11:18. > :11:21.to oppose things they don't agree with. If the Government brings
:11:21. > :11:26.something sensible they're not going oppose it for the sake of
:11:26. > :11:32.opposition. Are you happy for the debate to continue? Happy for John
:11:32. > :11:36.McCallister to table his Private Members' Bill and for that to be
:11:36. > :11:38.discussed? Absolutely. But what you have to remember, and this was clear
:11:38. > :11:42.in the evidence given to the committee during its review that we
:11:42. > :11:44.have the strongest system for scrutiny and holding Government to
:11:44. > :11:49.account of any of the political institutions on these islands.
:11:50. > :11:53.very much. The G8 summit may have been two weeks ago, but the benefits
:11:53. > :11:55.of hosting the international event are very much at centre of Northern
:11:55. > :11:59.Ireland's thinking. That's what the First Minister told the Assembly
:11:59. > :12:03.today as he revealed further details of the executive's plans to build a
:12:04. > :12:06.more prosperous society. It's important -- this important
:12:06. > :12:10.initiative contains measures to rebalance the local economy and
:12:10. > :12:14.secure a shared future for everyone in Northern Ireland. The Assembly
:12:14. > :12:18.will be aware that this package was in development offer the last
:12:18. > :12:24.two-and-a-half months and was only finalised just ahead of the G8
:12:24. > :12:26.conference. There have been some criticisms that the significant
:12:26. > :12:33.economic pact which affects the House and the executive was agreed
:12:33. > :12:43.without a statement to the Assembly. The facts are that the pact was
:12:43. > :12:44.
:12:44. > :12:47.subject to executive approval and indeed, the executive ratified it at
:12:47. > :12:50.the very next meeting following the G8 last Thursday and today, at the
:12:50. > :12:56.first available opportunity, I'm now in a position to provide members
:12:56. > :13:01.with the details. It is important to note that the measures in building a
:13:01. > :13:10.prosperous and united community are not a substitute for the executive
:13:10. > :13:14.aim in relation to corporation tax. The executive will therefore
:13:14. > :13:20.continue to push for corporation tax powers to help provide the necessary
:13:20. > :13:29.stimulus for economic growth. I believe, like the many hundreds of
:13:29. > :13:32.people who responded positively to the public consultation on this
:13:32. > :13:36.issue, that this measure above all others has the ability to deliver
:13:36. > :13:39.the necessary economic step change. Devolution of this power would allow
:13:39. > :13:46.the executive to meet its shared objective of rebalancing the local
:13:47. > :13:56.economy more quickly than if it was reline on the policy levers
:13:57. > :14:01.currently available alongside those outlined in this package. As members
:14:01. > :14:03.will be aware, the executive faces unique challenges in rebalancing the
:14:03. > :14:06.local economy and addressing disadvantage and continuing
:14:06. > :14:08.divisions. The current 100% assisted area status enables it to provide
:14:08. > :14:11.targeted support to a range of private seconder-led projects
:14:11. > :14:16.through Northern Ireland. For example, selective financial
:14:16. > :14:26.assistance provided but invest Northern Ireland has helped to
:14:26. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:50.promote over 3,000 new jobs here in the last three months alone. The
:14:50. > :14:56.package also contains measures for increased support for trade and
:14:56. > :15:03.investment and the executive is delighted bit Prime Minister's
:15:03. > :15:13.decision to return to Northern Ireland for the executive's G8
:15:13. > :15:15.
:15:15. > :15:25.investment conference in October. The world leaders came to Fermanagh
:15:25. > :15:35.
:15:35. > :15:43.several weeks ago. They admired a society that has been transformed.
:15:43. > :15:53.At the G8 Northern Ireland showed the world it is an increasingly
:15:53. > :16:02.
:16:02. > :16:12.outward looking society, open for businesses, focussed on improving
:16:12. > :16:14.
:16:14. > :16:24.the local economy. The economic and social pact that was unveiled by the
:16:24. > :16:27.Prime Minister in recent days is a potent symbol of the executive's
:16:27. > :16:32.vision. Under its custodianship and direction the Northern Ireland of
:16:32. > :16:34.the future will be a genuinely shared society able to fulfil its
:16:34. > :16:40.real economic potential and lay RAC Foundations for continued peace,
:16:40. > :16:47.stability and prosperity. The Script has been written and the words must
:16:47. > :16:51.be translated into action. I think anyone, even our pessimists in the
:16:52. > :16:57.press recognise that the G8 was successful in Northern Ireland
:16:57. > :16:59.terms. It is always difficult, though we will attempt to indicate
:16:59. > :17:04.by way of the report that will be carried out by the executive, the
:17:04. > :17:12.extent of the advantage to Northern Ireland in the longer term. At this
:17:12. > :17:17.point, we see it not just being beneficial in terms of the
:17:17. > :17:21.reputational enhancement that there is for Northern Ireland where people
:17:21. > :17:23.around the world can see that Northern Ireland was a bright, sunny
:17:23. > :17:25.and peaceful place, the kind of destination that one might want to
:17:25. > :17:28.go for holidays or indeed, to invest. That's good for Northern
:17:28. > :17:32.Ireland. I'm not sure what figure anybody can put on that. I think
:17:32. > :17:37.what is also important is that the Prime Minister committed and
:17:37. > :17:39.encouraged his colleagues at the G8 to support our economic conference
:17:39. > :17:40.in October of this year and that, again, could real aisles very
:17:40. > :17:42.considerable benefits. -- realise very considerable benefits.
:17:42. > :17:47.Planning was back on the agenda today, after last week's controversy
:17:47. > :17:54.over OFM/DFM's plans to create special economic planning zones. The
:17:54. > :17:57.environment minister was back in the driving seat. This afternoon he
:17:57. > :17:58.welcomed a policy aimed at conserving Northern Ireland's
:17:58. > :18:06.natural heritage. Last week members recall the
:18:06. > :18:08.Planning Bill, how could you forget, which focussed on reforming the
:18:08. > :18:12.planning system and also ensuring that economic considerations are
:18:12. > :18:22.embedded in the system in a proper way. But I've always maintained the
:18:22. > :18:22.
:18:22. > :19:07.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 45 seconds
:19:07. > :19:17.planning system was about striking the appropriate balance between
:19:17. > :19:46.
:19:46. > :19:52.Minister when he's given an opportunity to say that my opinion
:19:52. > :19:54.is wrong that the opinion of all those who disagree in terms of the
:19:54. > :20:04.law with the deputy and First Minister in this matter they don't
:20:04. > :20:08.take the opportunity to rebut that either. This morning Edwin Poots
:20:08. > :20:11.claimed he wouldn't be surprised to seat police turning a blind eye to
:20:11. > :20:15.the activities of drug dealers in return for information. By the time
:20:15. > :20:19.he took to his feet in Question Time this afternoon Mr Poots was saying
:20:19. > :20:24.he was assured by the Chief Constable that there are no
:20:24. > :20:27.untouchables. First up, the question about waiting lists. Recent figures
:20:27. > :20:30.announced for waiting times in England have been described as
:20:30. > :20:34.representing a crisis over there, yet they're still significantly
:20:34. > :20:37.better than in Northern Ireland. Does he accept that had he been a
:20:37. > :20:42.minister in England that he would have been out of office by now?
:20:42. > :20:49.Yeah, well, maybe so. We have to wait and see. If you're going to
:20:49. > :20:54.hunt ministers out of office, perhaps in 2008/9, we had 2280
:20:54. > :20:58.people waiting. By the time that minister left office, there were
:20:58. > :21:02.7,379 people waiting for more than 12 hours. If you want to talk about
:21:03. > :21:06.ministers not performing, I think you better look closer to ho.
:21:06. > :21:09.Thankfully last year we had less people waiting for more than 12
:21:09. > :21:15.hours than whenever your own minister left office. Can you give
:21:15. > :21:21.us an update today on the recent incident in the royal A & E where
:21:21. > :21:31.over 100 patients seen by a local doctor have been recalled? What I
:21:31. > :21:31.
:21:31. > :21:36.can give you is the information that I have. A doctor was employed, as I
:21:36. > :21:40.understand, I think that the doctor himself was a consultant, he was
:21:40. > :21:45.employed at registrar grade. They had no concerns in terms of any
:21:45. > :21:51.background information on the individual and that they felt it was
:21:51. > :21:58.safe to employ him. It was later discovered that there had been the
:21:58. > :22:03.potential for a couple of cases that hadn't been appropriately dying
:22:03. > :22:07.nosed -- nighing knows and in terms of the reading of X-rays and so
:22:07. > :22:15.forth. There after they decided to recall all of the patients that he
:22:15. > :22:18.had dealt with. Could I ask the minister, given the seriousness of
:22:18. > :22:22.the situation, wouldn't the minister consider the comments he made over
:22:22. > :22:27.the radio this morning in relation to the PSNI, would he consider with
:22:27. > :22:33.drawing that statement or perhaps an apology to the PSNI would be in
:22:34. > :22:38.order? Well, I'm glad to say I've had a consideration with the Chief
:22:38. > :22:44.Constable and the Chief Constable is making it absolutely clear that they
:22:44. > :22:47.will go after anyone who's engaged in drug dealing, that there should
:22:47. > :22:51.be no untouchables. I think that's what the community wants to hear,
:22:51. > :22:54.because whether we like it or whether we don't, there say
:22:54. > :22:58.perception out there amongst many in our community that there are people
:22:58. > :23:04.who are untouchable, that there are people who are known to be trading
:23:04. > :23:07.in drugs and who don't appear to be being arrested for it. Now, let us
:23:07. > :23:10.get the message out to the community that they need to pass the
:23:10. > :23:16.information to the police and the police have expressed a very clear
:23:16. > :23:19.willingness, with me at the highest level this morning, that they will
:23:19. > :23:23.pursue such individuals. If I could press the minister. He said this
:23:23. > :23:27.morning and I quote that he would not be surprised if the police were
:23:28. > :23:33.turning a blind eye to the activity of some drug dealers. Can I ask the
:23:33. > :23:37.minister direct directly and explicitly, does he still hold that
:23:37. > :23:41.view this afternoon? I certainly had instances over the years of dealing
:23:41. > :23:44.with these issues and indeed taking people to the police with
:23:44. > :23:48.information to be acted upon. The Chief Constable has made it very
:23:48. > :23:53.clear to me that there are no untouchables, that they will go
:23:53. > :23:59.after people if they have the information and I that I that we
:23:59. > :24:03.have to take his word on that. It's for the Policing Board to hold the
:24:03. > :24:06.Chief Constable to account. Edwin Poots. The Justice Minister David
:24:06. > :24:10.Ford also faced questions today, asked about the state of the threat
:24:10. > :24:19.from dissident Republicans and first of all, for an update on Northern
:24:19. > :24:23.Ireland's first sex wal a Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Antrim.
:24:23. > :24:27.The establishment of Sexual Assault Referral Centre is a step forward in
:24:27. > :24:31.report reporting sexual violence and abuse. It will provide victims with
:24:31. > :24:35.a safe, secure and confidential environment. This is a key
:24:35. > :24:37.initiative to tackle sexual violence and abuse and is an excellent
:24:37. > :24:41.example of partnership working with the relevant departments and
:24:41. > :24:45.agencies. Sexual violence is a serious problem in Northern Ireland
:24:45. > :24:50.which affects people from all cultural, social and ethnic
:24:50. > :24:52.backgrounds and across all age groups. Independent sexual violence
:24:52. > :24:56.advisors are intended to be specialist support workers who
:24:56. > :25:01.assist and help victims of assault and abuse in the weeks and months
:25:01. > :25:06.after an assault. In order to secure funding for the service, my
:25:06. > :25:13.department is required to produce a robust business case which will
:25:13. > :25:16.depend on operational data collected over some months. Work has been
:25:16. > :25:19.ongoing to define and develop the roles and the links to the
:25:19. > :25:25.independent domestic violence advisors given the link between
:25:25. > :25:30.domestic and sexual violence. These roles will evolve. It is therefore
:25:31. > :25:34.not possible at this stage to provide a difintive time frame for
:25:34. > :25:43.the appointment. This is dependent on a business case an securing
:25:43. > :25:49.funding. I can certainly give Mr Lynch the assurance that the opening
:25:49. > :25:58.of the building is an important step forward in meeting the needs of
:25:58. > :26:01.those victims of sexual violence. I plef it is a significant step
:26:01. > :26:08.forward. We have to examine the issue of the business case to see
:26:08. > :26:13.exactly how the SARK will develop in the future. I thank the minister for
:26:14. > :26:20.his answer. I find it strange that the centre was opened without the
:26:20. > :26:23.business case having been done. Why was it not worked on before?
:26:23. > :26:28.answer is simple: Because the business case requires operational
:26:28. > :26:31.data which can't come through until it is in operation. I have regular
:26:31. > :26:34.meetings with the Chief Constable on a range of issues concerning
:26:34. > :26:37.security, that includes the level of threat from all terrorist
:26:37. > :26:42.organisations to different groups. In addition, my department regularly
:26:42. > :26:44.keeps under review the level of threat to individuals holding
:26:44. > :26:48.justice-related positions to ensure that personal security measures can
:26:48. > :26:51.be provided and advice issued as required to those individuals within
:26:51. > :26:57.my ministerial remit. Is the minister satisfied that all
:26:57. > :27:05.necessary steps are taken to ensure that the safety of people is not
:27:05. > :27:12.compromised? I think those steps which can be taken in my department
:27:12. > :27:15.are taken. Clearly, there are issues which, as I've highlighted to Mr
:27:15. > :27:18.Campbell, fall to the Northern Ireland office and not to the
:27:18. > :27:22.Department of Justice. Most of those are the issues which are highlighted
:27:22. > :27:26.by the two members at this stage, which specifically falls to our
:27:26. > :27:31.employees around, for example, home protection for prison officers then
:27:31. > :27:37.action has been taken in recent months to do that as best we can.
:27:37. > :27:41.Alex Kane has rejoined me for a few final thoughts. What's your
:27:41. > :27:50.assessment of the Parliamentary term gone by? I think it's actually been
:27:50. > :27:54.very dull. If you take Jim Allister's bill, nothing happened.
:27:55. > :27:57.The Welfare Reform Act has been dumped into next year. Even the
:27:57. > :28:01.Better Together, nothing happening there. We are where we started at
:28:01. > :28:07.the beginning of the year. Didn't affect the legislative process but
:28:07. > :28:11.the flags dispute dominated the political debate. I think it did. It
:28:11. > :28:15.soured relationship. It infected the whole process. There's still a
:28:15. > :28:18.hangover from that. They'll have to get over that. The welfare reforms
:28:18. > :28:21.can't hang about waiting for them. Back at the start of the September.
:28:22. > :28:26.Welfare reform will be on the agenda. Opposition will be on the
:28:26. > :28:28.agenda. Briefly, a change to ministerial questions, where they'll
:28:28. > :28:32.have 15 minutes of unsubmited questions first of all. That could
:28:32. > :28:35.be interesting. That will be brilliant. It will be a real test of
:28:35. > :28:40.the ministers. They'll be able to get some, but it will be interesting
:28:40. > :28:44.to see if they can manage. Very much. That's it for now. That's our
:28:44. > :28:49.last programme of the run, Stormont today is back in September. Join me
:28:49. > :28:56.for The View on Thursday night, 10. 35pm BBC One. It's the last