03/03/2014 Stormont Today


03/03/2014

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Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up: one week on and the issue

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of letters to On the Runs rumbles on. There are major questions about

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how the scheme was established, the way it has been misrepresented and

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the way it has led to the current confusion. The education minister

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makes it clear he won't bear the brunt of any cost rising from the

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delays in setting up the Education and Skills Authority. It is not I

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who has incurred this cost but the political failure of some parties

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and I expect the Executive to cough up for it. Our political

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and I expect the Executive to cough correspondent Gareth Gordon is here

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to cast correspondent Gareth Gordon is here

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threaten resignation and the British Government to apologise. An urgent

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question tabled by the DUP's Paul Given ensured that the issue of On

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the Runs and the so-called letters of assurance remained on the agenda

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today. The On the Runs scheme had no

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statutory basis and at the point where justice was divulged, there

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was no provision for the Northern Ireland office to continue with its

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operation, so can the Minister of eyes if the NIO has usurped the

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responsibility to this assembly and has the criminal to agency,

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including the police service and Public Prosecution Service, only

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complicit in aiding and abetting the Northern Ireland officepos-mac

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unlawful actions by taking this schema forward? Will seek a

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declaration from the High Court in determining whose responsibility is

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this issue? I am afraid he is premature. I am seeking advice on a

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range of issues. He has correctly highlighted the fact that there was

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no statutory basis of the scheme and there will be no statutory basis for

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stopping it but that was the difficulty we are in. I welcome the

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fact that after some effort, I obtained an apology from the

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Secretary of State. Clearly, there are many questions and it may be

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that it will not be possible to have answers until the report comes at

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the end of May. It is also clear that in this assembly and in my

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department, we, as yet, unaware of what the details are. We will have

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to see what we get emerging but it is clear that there are major

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questions about the way the scheme was established, the way it was

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carried on and the weight has been misrepresented and the way it has

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led to the current confusion arising out of the trial.

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I'm joined now by out of the trial.

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issue of On the Runs continues to occupy minds here at Stormont? With

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a different day this could have been had we gone over that precipice last

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week. The crisis blew up from nothing. We may have got over it

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last week but the issue certainly has not gone away and it won't go

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away before the judge led enquiry reports at the end of May and I

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would not think even then, so no surprise that it did dominate a lot

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of the proceedings at the Assembly today. It would have done so even

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more had Peter Robinson carried out that resignation threat. Last week

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was full of political drama. There is still plenty of mileage left in

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it when figures like Peter Hain go on the airwaves and add fuel to the

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fire. The Justice Minister David forward played a prominent role in

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the drama even though he knew nothing of the OTR letters. What was

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happening there in that clip we saw was an urgent oral question from the

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Justice chair, Paul Given, of the DUP. He was asking that since

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justice powers were developed to the Assembly in 2010, did the NIO even

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have any legal staters to run this administrative scheme which provided

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letters of comfort to On the Runs after this date. David Ford said he

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was obtaining legal advice. He still has not got that advice. We know

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that there were 38 such letters issued since 2010 but he has not got

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this advice yet and he was giving away little else. There are also

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questions that his permanent secretary in the Department of

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Justice did know about the scheme where as David Ford did not. Many

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people find that a strange situation. The issue dominated first

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Minister 's questions as well? First Minister 's questions as well? First

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advice to determine whether the NIO had the authority to carry on that

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scheme since 2010. He does not think they did and he says it may be an

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issue for the judge in the forthcoming enquiry, as well as one

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for the Attorney-General. Peter Robinson says he intends to raise

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the issue with both the PSNI undersecretary State, so much more

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on this to come. As we have been hearing, the fallout

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dominated questions to the First Minister today. Peter Robinson told

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the Assembly that the responsibility for On the Runs should have been

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transferred following the devolution of justice in 2010.

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The bottom line in this matter is that everybody in the community was

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aware that there were On the Runs, everybody was aware of the fact that

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Sinn Fein was pushing for something to be run on this issue will stop

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everybody was aware that the government had acknowledged there

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was an anomaly, but when then looks at all of the documentation that is

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available, both in terms of the minutes of the Policing Board and in

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terms of the comment in the book of Jonathan Powell, where he

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indicates, wrongly, but only technically, that they were

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references made in the joint declaration where there was no

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reference is made but there was a reference in a separate paper on the

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On the Runs. Does the first Minister believe there was authority from the

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Northern Ireland office to maintain the scheme for the On the Runs after

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the devolution of policing and justice in April 2010? I think this

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touches on the issue raised by my friend, the Member for East

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Londonderry area on. I don't claim to be a lawyer but I have to say,

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even with the fact that I have been a lawmaker for probably the best

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part of 35 years, looking at the negotiations that were held on

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policing and justice, it seems clear to me that matters relating to the

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PSNI, to prosecutions and other matters to suggest that the

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no legal authority for either the PSNI to be responding in the way

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that it did, and certainly no authority for the NIO to be issuing

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letters. That is a matter that the enquiry judge will want to look at

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all stop it may well be an issue that the Attorney General will want

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to look at. It will be a matter that we will take up with the PSNI and

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arrangements have been made, but to have meetings with the PSNI, and the

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Secretary of State on these issues. The authority does not lie somewhere

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out there, to float around between the NIO and the devolved

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Administration as to who wants to take an issue out. Authority is laid

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down in law as to whose responsibility it is. He will be

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aware of the anger from the general public and victims of terrorism at

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the dodgy deal which was struck between Sinn Fein and success of UK

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governments on runaway terrorists. Given the smug and insensitive

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response from Sinn Fein on this issue, but indications does he

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believe that this House for the leaders talks on flags, the past and

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parades? People are outraged and on a number of different level. They

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are outraged at the implication of one-sided justice and that damages

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the whole of the justice system, but circumstances are available for one

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set of those was once work -- responsible for crimes are not for

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the others. The fact that the removal by the then government of

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the legislation dealing with On the Runs was on the basis that Sinn Fein

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withdrew their support because they did not want soldiers to enjoy the

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same kind of privileges that terrorists would have. That is an

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outrage, I think, in any society. The First Minister continuing to

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voice his anger over letters given to On the Runs. John O'Dowd was also

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at the dispatch box today. The much anticipated Education and Skills

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Authority, the single body intended to replace the five regional

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education boards, to replace the five regional

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Does the Minister accept that many parents who do not place a high

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value on schooling had a career in education themselves, but they

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cannot bring themselves to engage with the education establishment

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again. What is the department going to do to preach to the script?

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Parents who had a poor educational experience themselves and do not

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value education, I have launched an advertising campaign to encourage

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all parents to become involved in their children's education, to make

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society realise that education that does not begin and end at the school

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gates. Despite the highly qualified and motivated staff we have, I left

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parents and communities are involved, it will not succeed. Can

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the Minister remind the chamber of the importance of security

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arrangements in terms of savings to the public purse and educational

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well-being of our young people? This was initially involves as a method

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to improve educational outcomes for our young people and to modernise

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the management layers within our society and therefore to make

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savings as well. It is estimated that we could have saved ?20 million

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a year if we had had the political will to move forward. That

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apparently does not exist. We are now facing this scenario that with

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councils moving to their new numbers, the education and library

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boards have to be reconfigured to meet those boundaries. If there is

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financial consequences for the Department of education as a result

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of this not going through and I happened to bring forward

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legislation, I will be going to the Executive and pointing to them that

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it is not I who have incurred this cost but the political failure of

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parties around the Executive and I would expect the Executive to cough

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parties around the Executive and I up for it. It is vitally important

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parties around the Executive and I of parents. They have a legal

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responsibility to ensure their children attend school. It is also

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important that we encourage parents to do so. My department has an

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education campaign and a policy document detailing what actions can

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be taken on and also the work of the education and welfare service.

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The education Minister John O'Dowd urging parents to ensure their

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children attend school. Meantime, the DUP was calling for greater

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North-South co-operation and criticising Sinn Fein for not being

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in favour of it. Usual positions in the Assembly were flipped on their

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head today as the Enterprise Committee's report on electricity

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was debated. The electricity grid needs to be strengthened. The

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planning commission must set an early date to talk about a permanent

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solution. It is a ridiculous situation. We do not have the

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infrastructure in place. The electricity prices we have in

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Northern Ireland dissuade people from investing here. Northern

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Ireland has lost several major inward investment projects because

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of this. We need to attract large energy users to Northern Ireland. If

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they are on the grid, it will reduce costs for others. Repay some of the

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highest energy costs in Europe. -- we pay.

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highest energy costs in Europe. -- pleased that everyone agreed to

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further examine the high energy costs. It is a welcome change of

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heart to hear a Sinn Fein deputy chairman talk about the high cost of

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energy and impact it has on people in Northern Ireland. Given the fact

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that his party has singularly tried to do all that it can to ensure that

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energy prices are held high in Northern Ireland. The interconnector

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is held back as a result of the attitude of Sinn Fein when it comes

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to the exploitation of our own resources. I welcome the call for an

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early date to be set to reconvene the planning application for the

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north-South interconnector. A specific route has in identified. As

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the committee has recognised the importance of the interconnector, I

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assume it will support the delivery of the interconnector without

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further delay and I would welcome confirmation of that. Wilber member

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indicate his support and perhaps his party 's support for a North-South

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interconnector? I have been trying to speak on behalf of the

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committee. We are talking about building a interconnector. A road

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from Londonderry to Dublin. Why can't the two projects be merged?

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Why can't it be road? It is completely feasible.

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Phil Flannigan with his proposals for a North-South interconnector.

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The devolution of powers in Scotland and Wales continue to be discussed.

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Earlier today, NI21 was discussing this school devolution. You table

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this motion. It effectively disappeared into the ether. It was

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quite a czar amendment. We were keen to debate the fact that devolution

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is changing around the UK and we are behind the curve on this. The

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concern expressed by other parties was that your idea of discussing

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these fiscal objectives was to far-reaching. When we posted the

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amendments, it got through by four votes. There are be concerned about

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the volatility of things like corporation tax. We need to look at

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this in a professional manner, like they have done in Scotland and

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Wales. I just think we are going to be left behind. What did you make of

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the financial Minister's comments. He

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the financial Minister's comments. benefits from Northern Ireland. That

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is what you would want. I was surprised with some of the DUP lines

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on this. They were saying yes, corporation tax is volatile, but

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that is all we focused on. They should have said, let us do this

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properly. Let us set up a commission that would run hard the independence

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vote in Scotland, but it would run into the next government after the

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next Westminster election. At the moment, we are locked in a place

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where we are hoping for the devolution and corporation tax in

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the autumn, but there is no guarantee it will happen. But isn't

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at sixes and sevens? You have described the the Assembly as a

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state of confusion. This is our road map to normalisation. We have spoken

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about and consistently had these things that you would want to see a

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government in opposition normalising our politics and taxes. It's in

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Northern Ireland that should be coming of age and standing for

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itself. Devolution means we can have fiscal powers and do things around

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the margins that make a big difference. That is our road map to

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how you normalise Northern Ireland. The ball is now in Simon Hamilton's

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court. He has to report back to the Assembly by the autumn. The issue

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has not gone away. Absolutely not. It has to come back in the autumn.

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We will be pushing hard on a decision on corporation tax. If that

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was to go against us, there will be huge pressure to say, if

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was to go against us, there will be that, what is your plan B?

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was to go against us, there will be not have a plan B if he does not get

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corporation tax. Interesting stuff. Thank you for joining us. There were

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some other important financial matters discussed in the chamber

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today, including inflation. Over ?1 billion is now collected in the

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business and commercial rates section. The regional rate

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represents half of the typical bill. The other half is made up of

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district rates which are set by individual councils. In order to

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provide certainty and stability for his Mrs and households, the rates

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have been partially frozen until 2015. We want to do whatever we can

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to make sure conditions for economic growth are in place for Northern

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Ireland. The ten one macro -- the Executive has taken a strong

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approach to this. We understand that household and businesses are under a

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lot of pressure. The committee did agree to recommend that there should

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be a freeze on some of the rates. Town centres are facing

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difficulties. Town centres are facing

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real pressure and rates are a major issue for them. I want an assurance

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from the minister that he is doing all he can to recognise that

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pressure. The Stormont Department responsible for employment fell to

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achieve its targets on sickness absence. The employment and learning

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committee learnt that sickness levels were on a downward trend. At

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last week 's committee, MLAs were taken through the figures. The trend

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is now downwards. There was a high of around 19 days in 2001. That had

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come down to 11.4 days by 2011. We did look at causes of absence, so in

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general terms within the civil service, it is long-term sickness

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absence that accounts for the majority of overall sickness

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absence. Within that mental health is recognised as the main cause. If

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people are off on long-term sickness and they are suffering from mental

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health and other issues, we need to be compassionate in how we deal with

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them. We need to offer whatever help and assistance we can. We need to

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look at the reasons why people are suffering from these illnesses. I

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would not disagree with suffering from these illnesses. I

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what specifically they have done about these absences. I am a little

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amused. The figures are interesting, but I wonder what the value is if we

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don't actually have any detail behind them? Is their value in us

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having this as a session in the committee because we don't know what

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is driving the figures. Obviously there is an issue because it is

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costing the public purse a lot of money. I often wonder whether it's

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self-defeating publishing some of these figures. We do need to monitor

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sickness levels, I often wonder if certain individuals will view the

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average figure, realise they are significantly lower than that and

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feel they can top up their sick days? In terms of the overall

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numbers that are off on long-term sick, what percentage of those are

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off on mental health reasons? 29 days is the average lost because of

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mental health issues. Some have longer absences. Gareth Gordon has

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joined me again. We heard today the office of the first and deputy first

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ministers making plans to launch a committee on the sexual orientation

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debate. committee on the sexual orientation

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Public consultation is to begin soon and the strategy will follow. It is

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aimed to promote and environment free from harassment and bullying in

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terms of homophobia. Finally, a familiar face is due back in

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Northern Ireland later in the week. Bill Clinton has not been here since

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2010. Tomorrow he will be in Dublin and Wednesday he attends a ceremony

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at Queens. He will also be going to Londonderry and I went be surprised

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if he puts in an appearance here at Stormont. That is it for now. I will

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be back tomorrow at 11:20pm. Until then, good buy.

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Nowadays we take the issue of fairness in employment for granted.

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I have never felt it important to ask anybody's religion

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when I'm going to employ them as a sheet metal worker.

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This is the story of fair employment in Northern Ireland.

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it masked a much greater problem in terms of educational disadvantage.

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The Fair Employment Act of 1989 changed Northern Ireland's society

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dramatically. We still have a way to go.

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But are we on the right track? Absolutely.

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In January, 1941, just months after the

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