:00:25. > :00:30.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up in the next 30 minutes: It
:00:31. > :00:34.is another difficult week for Gerry Adams, but he can count on the
:00:35. > :00:39.support of the Deputy First Minister? I don't believe there is
:00:40. > :00:43.any similarity whatsoever between the case of the cardinal and Gerry
:00:44. > :00:46.Adams. The First Minister makes a promise
:00:47. > :00:49.to Translink workers about the future of the organisation. There is
:00:50. > :00:54.no intention on the part of the executive to be involved in any
:00:55. > :00:58.privatisation. And to look at those stories and a
:00:59. > :00:59.whole lot more, I'm joined by our political correspondent, Gareth
:01:00. > :01:08.Gordon. He may no longer be a member of the
:01:09. > :01:12.Assembly, but one political big-hitter turned out to be the talk
:01:13. > :01:15.of Stormont today. The Sinn Fein President, Gerry Adams, has been
:01:16. > :01:18.coming under pressure because of his alleged past and today in the
:01:19. > :01:20.chamber the Deputy First Minister had to defend his party colleague.
:01:21. > :01:27.Martin McGuinness was answering a question from the DUP's, Mervyn
:01:28. > :01:32.Storey. I think that the issue around the terrible circumstances of
:01:33. > :01:36.child abuse have been well articulated and well aired in the
:01:37. > :01:42.course of recent times and Gerry Adams has made public his position
:01:43. > :01:47.in relation to the role that he played given that this was first
:01:48. > :01:54.reported to both the social services and to the RUC in 1987. I believe
:01:55. > :01:59.there is a huge responsibility on everybody within society without
:02:00. > :02:05.exception, that whatever information they have in regard to situations of
:02:06. > :02:10.child abuse has to be brought forward to the proper authorities
:02:11. > :02:14.and over the course of I think many years now, many organisations I
:02:15. > :02:20.think have learned a lot from what have been quite scandalous cases
:02:21. > :02:25.that have been thrown up in the course of the last ten, 15 years.
:02:26. > :02:32.Does the Deputy First Minister following on from his logic when he
:02:33. > :02:40.called for the cardinal to resign given the allegations in relation to
:02:41. > :02:43.child abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, does he believe it
:02:44. > :02:47.is time for his party president to resign and to ensure there is
:02:48. > :02:51.transparency and there is openness and consistency in regards to the
:02:52. > :02:55.approach of what is a heinous and an evil crime and that's abuse of
:02:56. > :03:01.children? I don't believe there is any similarity whatsoever between
:03:02. > :03:07.the case of the cardinal and Gerry Adams. In the case of the cardinal,
:03:08. > :03:13.a child was sworn to secrecy. In Gerry Adams' case, Gerry Adams was
:03:14. > :03:20.fully in support of his niece, travelled to Buncrana and confronted
:03:21. > :03:24.his brother and supported niece and her mother when she reported the
:03:25. > :03:31.abuse to the social services and to the RUC.
:03:32. > :03:35.I think the other thing that, you know, you can clearly see that
:03:36. > :03:42.sometimes in situations like this people like to take political
:03:43. > :03:46.advantage. Without recognising for example the trauma that Gerry Adams'
:03:47. > :03:53.family went through as a result of the abuse that was inflicted on them
:03:54. > :03:58.by their father and in many ways that entire family are victims
:03:59. > :04:06.including Gerry Adams and I think people need towned stand that and
:04:07. > :04:10.they need to place themselves in that situation where quite clearly
:04:11. > :04:16.something was happening within that family which was terribly, terribly
:04:17. > :04:19.wrong. So I think that the two situations in regards to the
:04:20. > :04:25.cardinal and Gerry Adams are not the same.
:04:26. > :04:29.Our political correspondent, Gareth Gordon, is with me to discuss this
:04:30. > :04:31.further. The Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness, has told MLAs he
:04:32. > :04:34.doesn't believe there's any similarity between the case of
:04:35. > :04:38.Catholic Cardinal Sean Brady and his colleague Gerry Adams
:04:39. > :04:45.Martin McGuinness will be expecting this question to be asked of him
:04:46. > :04:50.because he what he said about Cardinal Sean Brady last year and it
:04:51. > :04:55.is surprising no one has got asking it of him before today. Following a
:04:56. > :04:59.BBC documentary last year in which Cardinal Brady was accused of
:05:00. > :05:02.failing to act after allegations that a #14r-year-old boy had been
:05:03. > :05:06.sexually abused by the paedophile priest, Father Brendan Smith. Mr
:05:07. > :05:10.McGuinness was asked what he thought and he said that the cardinal should
:05:11. > :05:16.do the right thing, meaning he should resign. So what a lot of
:05:17. > :05:21.people are asking is the difference between Cardinal Brady failing to
:05:22. > :05:25.act and the Sinn Fein president, Gerry Adams failing to act. For
:05:26. > :05:28.reasons he outlined in that clip there, Martin McGuinness says the
:05:29. > :05:31.two cases are not the same. They are different. But others will disagree
:05:32. > :05:40.and I suspect that as far as Gerry Adams is concerned this matter is a
:05:41. > :05:48.long way from being at an end. The SDLP have been quick to pick up
:05:49. > :05:54.on Mr McGuinness's remarks? The SDLP had a statement out saying that
:05:55. > :05:59.Gerry Adams and the republican movement had a growing number of
:06:00. > :06:05.questions to answer. He claimed Mr McGuinness's defence of Mr Adams was
:06:06. > :06:09.double standards. Alex at wood claimed the same people who made so
:06:10. > :06:15.much about the Catholic Church's involvement last year, Sinn Fein,
:06:16. > :06:17.were n saying and doing little about allegations of abuse of children by
:06:18. > :06:20.republicans. Gerry Adams was already in the news
:06:21. > :06:25.today because of another episode from the past which simply refuses
:06:26. > :06:28.to go away? And Gerry Adams all over the news today because of the issue
:06:29. > :06:31.of the disappeared and new allegations that he ordered the
:06:32. > :06:37.murder of one of those who have become known as the disappeared and
:06:38. > :06:43.that's Jean ma con vil. A documentary which aired tonne on RTE
:06:44. > :06:47.and the BBC, Mr Adams played a starring role, a central role and he
:06:48. > :07:03.once again denied the allegations that he was involved or ordered the
:07:04. > :07:07.killing of Jean Mc Conville. Both these issues. The question that we
:07:08. > :07:10.don't yet have an answer to is what damage this is doing to Gerry Adams
:07:11. > :07:22.and to Sinn Fein particularly in the south?
:07:23. > :07:25.Now, let's catch up with the rest of today's questions to the Deputy
:07:26. > :07:28.First Minister, where the subject of the disappeared also came up. But
:07:29. > :07:31.Martin McGuinness began by giving his unequivocal backing to one
:07:32. > :07:35.long-running project. Yes, I am committed to the new bridge and I do
:07:36. > :07:42.so on the basis of the tremendous success that a small bridge in my
:07:43. > :07:46.own city made to the life of that city. ?17 million sterling was spent
:07:47. > :07:52.on it and it had a massive impact on the city. And effectively represents
:07:53. > :07:56.a new iconic image for the city. Like wise, I think that the
:07:57. > :08:08.construction of a bridge at Narrow Water would have a similar effect
:08:09. > :08:13.for the people of the area and add immensely to the tourist potential.
:08:14. > :08:19.We understand the difficulties in terms of the tendering process and
:08:20. > :08:23.the scale of the tender that was way in excess of what was expected and
:08:24. > :08:30.since that, there have been, I think, a number of discussions
:08:31. > :08:35.around whether or not a remedy could be put in place and myself and
:08:36. > :08:43.another minister was involved in discussions in Ross Trevor. Would
:08:44. > :08:50.you recommend to provide the funding which would fill the existing gap in
:08:51. > :08:56.the Narrow Water project? It would be wrong to identify our Finance
:08:57. > :09:02.Minister as the problem in regard tor -- to Narrow Water. There is
:09:03. > :09:08.effectively a responsibility on the Irish Government, on ourselves, and
:09:09. > :09:12.the SUPB and on the councils on both sides of the Narrow Water to come up
:09:13. > :09:19.with a solution. I don't know if that solution can be found. I would
:09:20. > :09:23.like to hear the Irish Government say more about it.
:09:24. > :09:27.What particular help can he offer given his republican background to
:09:28. > :09:34.enable and ensure that those bodies are returned for family burial?
:09:35. > :09:41.Well, my full sympathy and compassion is with all of those
:09:42. > :09:46.families. They are by far and away the most important people in the
:09:47. > :09:50.course of this discussion. I believe that what happened to these families
:09:51. > :09:55.was totally and absolutely wrong. I believe it was cruel. I believe it
:09:56. > :09:59.was unjustified and of course, the IRA were responsible. I and other
:10:00. > :10:05.Sinn Fein leaders, other republican leaders have over the course of a
:10:06. > :10:08.number of years been involved in ex-health authoritying anyone --
:10:09. > :10:12.exhorting anyone with any scrap of information about the location of
:10:13. > :10:19.these bodies to bring them forward. And that has brought considerable
:10:20. > :10:23.success for some families, but sadly not for others and I would again
:10:24. > :10:30.reiterate my appeal to anyone out there in the community who in anyway
:10:31. > :10:34.were involved in any of these situations to bring forward that
:10:35. > :10:38.information, to bring forward it to the commission, to bring it forward
:10:39. > :10:42.to anybody in a responsible position within society and to bring it
:10:43. > :10:48.forward to republican leaders who I think are anxious to see this
:10:49. > :10:52.situation resolved. So my full compassion and support is with the
:10:53. > :10:59.families. It has been a terrible ordeal. It has been a despicable
:11:00. > :11:02.ordeal and I believe there is a huge responsibility on everybody
:11:03. > :11:06.including myself as a republican leader to appeal to anybody out
:11:07. > :11:10.there who can assist these families out of the nightmare that they face
:11:11. > :11:14.on a daily basis. .
:11:15. > :11:18.The Deputy First Minister, Martin McGuinness. Privatisation by another
:11:19. > :11:22.name - that was the subject at the heart of a debate about Translink in
:11:23. > :11:25.the Assembly today. In one corner was the Regional Development
:11:26. > :11:27.Minister and in the other, his committee, arguing that private
:11:28. > :11:30.operators should be allowed to tender for running services. Mr
:11:31. > :11:33.Speaker, I want to nail this spurious accusation at the outset.
:11:34. > :11:37.At no time either during the course of the inquiry or in the reporting
:11:38. > :11:48.of the committee findings and recommendations have I, the deputy
:11:49. > :11:56.chair or the committee called for Translink to be privatised. They did
:11:57. > :12:00.not and were not used. How does the department deliver against its
:12:01. > :12:07.legislation? Against its strategic business case? It awards
:12:08. > :12:14.TransLibbing a ten year contract. And on top of that, promises a
:12:15. > :12:19.contract to deliver Belfast Rapid Transit. Where is the opportunity
:12:20. > :12:26.for competition in this? Where is the drive to attract meaningful
:12:27. > :12:32.delivery. The department had the opportunity to make a real
:12:33. > :12:36.difference, but I suggest chickened out for convenience sake. At no time
:12:37. > :12:40.did the committee as the chair said agree to privatisation of our
:12:41. > :12:45.transport system. The terms of reference set out by the committee
:12:46. > :12:50.clearly set out objectives in order to improve transport solutions for
:12:51. > :12:54.all of society. It is time to review the public transport system and who
:12:55. > :13:00.delivers it. To maximise the organisation and delivery structures
:13:01. > :13:05.and improve efficiencies. Nowhere in the terms of reference was the
:13:06. > :13:12.concept of tisation mentioned. In the 21st century, public transport
:13:13. > :13:16.should be people's first choice, not last resort. I have spoken to
:13:17. > :13:19.drivers and other personnel and to their trade unions and they have
:13:20. > :13:22.shared with me their frustration because they know their routes, this
:13:23. > :13:27.he know the systems and they know their job and yet rarely is their
:13:28. > :13:32.advice on how improvements could be taken into account, it is by and
:13:33. > :13:36.large ignored. At this point, Mr Speaker, it is worth pointing out
:13:37. > :13:39.that we should debunk the notion that the report is anything to do
:13:40. > :13:44.with privatisation of public transport in Northern Ireland. The
:13:45. > :13:50.report is about were providing appropriate competition and ensuring
:13:51. > :13:54.that Translink deliver the best public transport system for Northern
:13:55. > :13:57.Ireland. The Northern Ireland transport holding company with the
:13:58. > :14:03.three subsidiary companies of Northern Ireland Railways and the
:14:04. > :14:13.City Bus and Ulster Bus is a very tangled web of governance. It is a
:14:14. > :14:20.cumbersome structure. I think that's really what the report is trying to
:14:21. > :14:26.attempt to deal with. I confess that I'm disappointed with the thrust and
:14:27. > :14:30.indeed, the quality of this report from the committee. I have
:14:31. > :14:35.acknowledged and continue to acknowledge the valuable input and
:14:36. > :14:39.support from the committee in the past on other issues, but there is
:14:40. > :14:44.simply nothing in this report that I can properly take forward and I hope
:14:45. > :14:52.that the committee will he therefore review its conclusions. I have no
:14:53. > :14:56.intention of legislating for powers that either already exist or indeed,
:14:57. > :15:03.to review something so recently reviewed and I am certainly not
:15:04. > :15:12.prepared to privatise Translink. The First Minister spoke to
:15:13. > :15:15.protesters from the Unite union outside Parliament buildings. Peter
:15:16. > :15:23.Robinson told them there are no plans to drastically alter
:15:24. > :15:28.Translink. There is no plans to be involved in privatisation. From an
:15:29. > :15:31.Executive point of view, it is a matter for the Department of
:15:32. > :15:36.Regional development and they will be working on it. But any changes
:15:37. > :15:40.that take place that come under the heading of being significant or
:15:41. > :15:45.controversial come to the Checktive so it is not a case of us being
:15:46. > :15:48.sidelined on the issue. There will be nothing that will happen without
:15:49. > :15:52.us having a full debate and discussion about it and what you
:15:53. > :15:55.have to say will be taken into account by us when that decision
:15:56. > :15:58.comes around. Peter Robinson speaking to Unite
:15:59. > :16:01.union members outside Parliament Buildings.
:16:02. > :16:04.The idea first came to light during his party conference speech, and
:16:05. > :16:08.today the Ulster Unionist leader brought a motion on an International
:16:09. > :16:12.Mental Health Centre to the floor of the Assembly. He suggested funding
:16:13. > :16:16.for the stalled Maze Peace Centre should be used for a new trauma
:16:17. > :16:20.centre. The need to tackle mental health issues garnered support from
:16:21. > :16:24.across the chamber. The motion is the declaration of intent. We
:16:25. > :16:30.therefore do need to develop the concept. We need to be very clear
:16:31. > :16:37.about central issues like who is the centre for? What will the outcomes
:16:38. > :16:41.be? Where will the centre below kated? How will the centre be
:16:42. > :16:46.funded? We need to put more meat on the bones in relation to development
:16:47. > :16:53.all of those proposals. The SDLP are supportive of a health
:16:54. > :17:01.centre of international standing, but we want to design such a
:17:02. > :17:05.facility, a collaborative effort must be sought. It is a case of
:17:06. > :17:11.designing it to its best capacity and it will deliver in a much more
:17:12. > :17:18.comprehensive way. This motion, it would appear, it would seem comes in
:17:19. > :17:23.the context of the UUP's misguided and opportunistic campaign against a
:17:24. > :17:30.peace and reconciliation centre the Maze. The UP put forward this
:17:31. > :17:34.proposal as an alternative to that development. This should not be
:17:35. > :17:40.framed as a choice. There could and perhaps should be room for both. We
:17:41. > :17:44.have to make sure that whatever concepts or whatever initiatives
:17:45. > :17:49.that we launch that they are effective and it is very easy to
:17:50. > :17:55.make broad statements and soundbites be certain issues, but when we are
:17:56. > :18:01.dealing with a very personal issue. A very traumatic time in the lives
:18:02. > :18:04.of people who suffer from mental health issues, it is important that
:18:05. > :18:10.we are looking for an effective solution and something that will
:18:11. > :18:13.work and help these people who need the help and need the support of
:18:14. > :18:19.Government as well. I would have preferred had the motion said today
:18:20. > :18:26.that it was calling on me to support the creation of as opposed to
:18:27. > :18:28.supporting the creation of a new international mental health centre
:18:29. > :18:33.for Northern Ireland that would be a world-class facility for all. I
:18:34. > :18:38.would have preferred it if it had been the development of mental
:18:39. > :18:43.health services that would be a world-class facility for all because
:18:44. > :18:48.I don't think that the creation of a new building will create a
:18:49. > :18:54.world-class service. Mike Nesbitt joins me now. You must
:18:55. > :18:57.be glad that the motion was carried, but there were a few dissenting
:18:58. > :19:00.voices? Yes. Well, the hour-and-a-half was positive. There
:19:01. > :19:05.was a bit of party politics in it and you have captured most of it in
:19:06. > :19:11.that report, but not enough for anyone to say I want to put this to
:19:12. > :19:15.a vote. I made the call over two weeks ago. Overall a positive
:19:16. > :19:19.response to it and I am pleased we were able to get it into the chamber
:19:20. > :19:24.so quickly. We have had that debate. The next phase is to start fleshing
:19:25. > :19:27.out what it might look like now. The minister is saying the building
:19:28. > :19:31.isn't the key to it. Well, if that's the case, that's fine. If it turns
:19:32. > :19:36.into an international mental health set of centres, so much the better.
:19:37. > :19:42.Or if it becomes an international mental health initiative, fine. It
:19:43. > :19:45.is the outcome. It is the end rather than the means to the end that
:19:46. > :19:48.matter to me and that's helping because we acknowledge in the
:19:49. > :19:51.chamber per head this problem of poor mental health affects Northern
:19:52. > :20:00.Ireland more than just about any country on planet earth.
:20:01. > :20:08.That's right. What would work better and Edwin Po ots touched upon it. It
:20:09. > :20:13.might be improving mental health services for people that live here.
:20:14. > :20:16.You talked about it being a centre of excellence that would draw people
:20:17. > :20:20.into Northern Ireland to benefit from our experience. The two things
:20:21. > :20:23.are not the same? I think there are three functions that you would look
:20:24. > :20:27.at it. One is treatment. One would be training and one would be
:20:28. > :20:32.research. Now, in terms of treatment, I am very clear that you
:20:33. > :20:41.can't expect people to travel to one centre. I am, very informed on this
:20:42. > :20:47.by a man from Fermanagh who survived three assassination attempts. His
:20:48. > :21:02.daughter used to drive him, when he left to go home, they were great and
:21:03. > :21:10.by the time they got to Augher, Clogher, they could feel the stress.
:21:11. > :21:16.This could be instead of the Maze Peace Centre, that's is a move that
:21:17. > :21:22.some people feel strongly about? Let's talk about that. Everything is
:21:23. > :21:25.negotiatable if it means people with mental health having better mental
:21:26. > :21:29.health. We are saying let's talk about this in its own right and
:21:30. > :21:33.everybody did agree that in its own right it is aing big issue and it
:21:34. > :21:38.needs more resource. That doesn't mean that you are
:21:39. > :21:41.warming to the idea of the Maze Peace Centre. I wouldn't want to say
:21:42. > :21:45.that people with poor mental health have to suffer because of party
:21:46. > :21:51.politics. We can all agree that we will do this and I went around the
:21:52. > :21:54.parties of the Exec TV and -- Executive and they agreed that we
:21:55. > :21:57.need to discuss this with experts and if that works, there maybe
:21:58. > :22:01.another meeting and somebody else, another political party can chair
:22:02. > :22:07.it. Mike Nesbitt, thank you.
:22:08. > :22:09.Who precisely is in charge of Northern Ireland Water was under the
:22:10. > :22:15.spotlight during questions to the Minister for Regional Development.
:22:16. > :22:18.The post was advertised in March of this year, but in October it was
:22:19. > :22:21.revealed that the position hadn't been filled, despite the fact that a
:22:22. > :22:24.recruitment agency was being paid to find the right candidate. Can the
:22:25. > :22:27.minister outline how much the failed process has cost the public purse
:22:28. > :22:31.and when the new Chief Executive will be in post? I am grateful to
:22:32. > :22:40.the member for her question. I can confirm that costs to date are going
:22:41. > :22:45.to be in the region of ?70,000. Obviously, efforts will be made by
:22:46. > :22:48.the board of Northern Ireland Water in conjunction and in consultation
:22:49. > :22:53.with the department as to how quickly we can move forward to
:22:54. > :23:00.resolve this situation. It is better to wait for a candidate of the right
:23:01. > :23:05.standard than appoint a top applicant to fall short of the right
:23:06. > :23:09.standard? I agree and it is important to secure the best
:23:10. > :23:14.candidate for any position and particularly that of the Chief
:23:15. > :23:23.Executive of Northern Ireland Water and I think the principle of merit
:23:24. > :23:29.should be the abiding principle. A total of 34 candidates expressed
:23:30. > :23:35.interest in this position, but after careful contribution, the panel
:23:36. > :23:43.concluded that it was not satisfied to make an appointment. I regret, of
:23:44. > :23:47.course, the potential cost, but I think everyone is agreed that the
:23:48. > :23:52.appointment when it is made has to be the right appointment.
:23:53. > :23:57.The DRD committee has been told by Northern Ireland Water they intend
:23:58. > :24:04.to look at erecting 350 foot high turbines in the silent valley area.
:24:05. > :24:08.Can he give an assurance that he will neither encourage such a
:24:09. > :24:11.development and indeed, will actively discourage a development of
:24:12. > :24:16.this nature that would destroy the landscape in the area, would hurt
:24:17. > :24:20.the tourist industry and of course, would damage his constituents? Well,
:24:21. > :24:24.I am grateful to the member for his question. I am grateful to for the
:24:25. > :24:30.opportunity to set the record straight on this because I believe
:24:31. > :24:38.there has been some unhelpful comments on this and misguided
:24:39. > :24:42.comment on it. I can confirm that Northern Ireland Water have no
:24:43. > :24:51.current proposals. I can confirm also that I have no proposals or any
:24:52. > :24:56.plans for windfarms in the Mournes. And Northern Ireland Water advised
:24:57. > :25:00.it doesn't foresee the development of windfarms in the Mournes and of
:25:01. > :25:04.course, he will know any such proposals would need to go through a
:25:05. > :25:09.business case, regulatory and planning approval processes, but I
:25:10. > :25:15.am happy to place on record that in an area of outstanding natural
:25:16. > :25:18.beauty in the Mournes that I have no intention of putting forward
:25:19. > :25:23.proposals and I don't believe Northern Ireland Water have either.
:25:24. > :25:25.The Regional Development Minister, Danny Kennedy.
:25:26. > :25:28.Education, as ever, proved a contentious topic between the two
:25:29. > :25:31.main parties. The DUP brought a motion calling on the Minister to
:25:32. > :25:34.review enrolment procedures in the light of some schools being
:25:35. > :25:37.oversubscribed. In his response to the debate, the Minister wanted to
:25:38. > :25:42.know how the DUP would solve the problem. The motion doesn't present
:25:43. > :25:46.the DUP proposal on how we ensure that all local children attend their
:25:47. > :25:49.local school. It calls on me as minister, the person who spent the
:25:50. > :25:54.opening part of his speech telling the world and its mother that I
:25:55. > :25:58.can't run the department. Well, so, it seems a bit of a contradiction...
:25:59. > :26:03.Is the minister telling us in the House today in the light of the
:26:04. > :26:07.lecture he has given us that computer based assessments that the
:26:08. > :26:14.department got it right. Levels of attainment, the department got it
:26:15. > :26:19.right. If he is, then he really is not living in the real world. He is
:26:20. > :26:23.the minister and he knows he is in the wrong. The providers did not get
:26:24. > :26:27.it right and we are going through that. Levels of progression, not
:26:28. > :26:31.only have I proposed levels of progression. The Education Committee
:26:32. > :26:37.agreed with the levels of progression and sent them to this
:26:38. > :26:41.House agreed with them. The Education Committee agreed with my
:26:42. > :26:48.proposals on levels of progression and passed them through to
:26:49. > :26:52.legislation. I believed the member is a chair of the Education
:26:53. > :26:57.Committee. I spent my weekend off studying the DUP's response to the
:26:58. > :27:01.common funding formula. I was no more enlightened at the end of the
:27:02. > :27:05.weekend than I was at the start of the weekend in relation to a
:27:06. > :27:10.contrary proposal from the DUP in regards to that matter either. When
:27:11. > :27:14.you introduce a formula or criteria for entry into a school and you are
:27:15. > :27:18.dealing with around 24,000 applications every year, you are
:27:19. > :27:21.going to run into a number of difficulties where you do not meet
:27:22. > :27:25.the circumstances of individual pupils or individual families.
:27:26. > :27:28.That's the reality of the situation. I believe the formula we have in
:27:29. > :27:37.place and the legislation we have in place is working well with a 96%
:27:38. > :27:43.firs preference and 97% and third and second preference. I have no
:27:44. > :27:48.difficulty in reviewing it to ensure we increase the rate and ensure that
:27:49. > :27:53.we, if there is any anomalies in the system we identify them and move on.
:27:54. > :28:02.It would be nice to come into the chamber when somebody came in with a
:28:03. > :28:05.thought out proposal. The Education Minister, John O'Dowd, giving vent
:28:06. > :28:08.to some of his frustrations. Gareth Gordon is back with me again. What's
:28:09. > :28:12.happening tomorrow? The Health Minister will take centre stage.
:28:13. > :28:15.First of all, you will remember he announced back in September that he
:28:16. > :28:18.was setting up an inyrry into child sexual exploitation and that was
:28:19. > :28:22.following the disclosure that over 30 people in Northern Ireland have
:28:23. > :28:26.been arrested as part of a major investigation into into the sexual
:28:27. > :28:28.exploitation of children and young people. Tomorrow, the minister will
:28:29. > :28:32.reveal the name of the person that will chair that inquiry and in the
:28:33. > :28:36.afternoon a Sinn Fein motion on the ban on gay blood and of course,
:28:37. > :28:42.that's the ban which led to a High Court judge finding against Edwin
:28:43. > :28:48.Poots and accusing him of breaking the Ministerial Code.
:28:49. > :28:50.That's all for now. I'll be back at 11.20pm tomorrow on BBC Two. For
:28:51. > :28:56.now, bye-bye.