:00:24. > :00:27.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. And there may be a Christmas tree
:00:27. > :00:30.in the Great Hall, snow at Parliament buildings and mince pies
:00:30. > :00:39.in the canteen, but the season of goodwill is still on the back
:00:39. > :00:44.burner. A suspect a lot has been about Grandstanding rather than
:00:44. > :00:47.what we can genuinely do about the pension problem. And flying through
:00:47. > :00:55.question time like a one horse open sleigh, Danny Kennedy's no nonsense
:00:55. > :01:00.style. No. I can advise the member that we're doing that. Strict
:01:00. > :01:04.answer to the question. No. take a look at this: it's the Great
:01:04. > :01:07.Hall as you've never seen it before, but just what was going on here on
:01:07. > :01:17.Saturday night? We'll reveal all. And are Belfast traders facing a
:01:17. > :01:18.
:01:18. > :01:21.difficult season, I'm joined by Joe Jordan from the chamber of commerce.
:01:21. > :01:24.19 shopping days until Christmas, but what sort of festive season
:01:24. > :01:31.will it be for our shops? Joe Jordan can give us a picture of how
:01:31. > :01:36.things are going so far in Belfast. The car parks seemed full, the
:01:36. > :01:41.traffic particularly last week. It doesn't feel as if it is a bad
:01:41. > :01:45.season. Not so far. Early indications are that foot fall is
:01:45. > :01:50.on the increase. We have had reports that the numbers are up. We
:01:50. > :01:54.don't know if the spend is up or not. But things are look
:01:54. > :02:02.encouraging. How difficult a year has it been for traders in best
:02:02. > :02:07.fast? It has been a very difficult year, it is the fourth year of the
:02:07. > :02:10.recession and people are spending less on gifts and leisure
:02:10. > :02:15.activities. Are you noticing any difference, you represent hotels
:02:15. > :02:21.and pubs and clubs, are people not going out as much and spending
:02:21. > :02:25.money in the shops? It is a general down turn for all. It is not that
:02:25. > :02:33.one is doing better. But it is difficult times for everyone.
:02:33. > :02:38.there anything the MLAs can do? fantastic news from Danny Kennedy
:02:38. > :02:44.that he was introducing free car parking after half four is a big
:02:44. > :02:48.plus and will encourage people into the city. Thank you. More later. If
:02:48. > :02:50.brevity is the soul of wit, then Danny Kennedy must be by far the
:02:50. > :02:54.wittiest of MLAs. Watch him dispense with awkward questions as
:02:54. > :02:56.if he were swatting flies. That in a minute, but first here's the
:02:56. > :03:05.Employment and Learning Minister who's creating jobs and trying to
:03:05. > :03:13.improve ties with the EU. There is going to be four staff in addition
:03:13. > :03:17.to what is out there. And I will cover the different departments. If
:03:17. > :03:21.you go through each of the 12, all have different aspect of their
:03:22. > :03:24.interaction with Brussels. If we end up with all 12 departments
:03:25. > :03:29.sending out their own representative, I would imagine
:03:29. > :03:34.that would be an area where there could be accusations 06
:03:34. > :03:37.overstaffing. So it is important we try to pool resources and I am keen
:03:37. > :03:41.to make sure the voice of my department are best represented.
:03:41. > :03:51.But I think the current and the new proposed arrangements should be
:03:51. > :03:52.
:03:52. > :03:58.more than adequate. If not, we will keep them under review. Once
:03:58. > :04:04.again... We have a member who has continued to look at the chair.
:04:04. > :04:14.Members might need some training around rising in their place. Mr
:04:14. > :04:21.Newton. Thank you I too was on the trip to Brussels. On resench and
:04:21. > :04:29.development. And recognised -- research. That Mr McKray is a man h
:04:29. > :04:34.is far sighted and able to look to the future on these areas of
:04:34. > :04:39.skilled -- skill development. Could I ask the minister ref reps was
:04:39. > :04:43.made to the work that is done by the University of Ulster and
:04:43. > :04:47.Queen's University. But surely as in other countries there are
:04:48. > :04:53.examples that should be encouraged where those colleges who are
:04:53. > :04:58.further education colleges and who are edge gauged -- engaged in
:04:58. > :05:03.research and development work, some to a high standard. Come to a
:05:03. > :05:12.question. We should colleges in Northern Ireland to be involved in
:05:12. > :05:17.R & D. Thank you. It is a pity the chair does not have opportunity to
:05:17. > :05:24.respond to leading comments that were made. I do take on board the
:05:24. > :05:29.point he makes about FE colleges. There is an innovation fund that my
:05:29. > :05:34.department has which we are examining which aims to support the
:05:34. > :05:39.colleges in term of how they engage with the business community and in
:05:39. > :05:44.term of developing new products and services and new ideas. That is
:05:44. > :05:51.something that is doing well and we have a number of good success
:05:51. > :05:54.stories. On to regional development and the beleaguered A5. Can the
:05:54. > :05:59.minister confirm if the capital funding for the project is ear
:05:59. > :06:04.marked funding and could he say if all the necessary prep toir work
:06:04. > :06:10.has been carried out by the road service project team?
:06:10. > :06:15.announcement by the Irish Government has meant that it is
:06:15. > :06:21.necessary to have a discussion on funding issues. And of course, the
:06:21. > :06:26.member will be aware that at the recent north/South ministerial
:06:26. > :06:30.council, it was agreed officials from my department and the
:06:30. > :06:38.Department of Transport in the Irish republic would have
:06:38. > :06:45.discussions in reling to the FI. I expect those discussions to take
:06:46. > :06:50.place in January. -- in relation to. I would say it is important that I
:06:50. > :06:55.await the findings of the inspector's report, in case there
:06:55. > :07:03.areish tkwhrues have to be incorporated -- issues that have to
:07:03. > :07:07.be incorps praited. Since the public inquiry that was carried out
:07:07. > :07:11.on the A5 was based on the presumption that the republic
:07:11. > :07:15.Government would be supplying �400 million and since we know that is
:07:15. > :07:20.not going to be the case, why is the minister waiting for the
:07:20. > :07:27.outcome of this public inquiry, when he knows that it will not go
:07:27. > :07:33.on in its present form? I am grateful for the question. I would
:07:33. > :07:40.be grateful if he would indicate his preference as to the route of
:07:40. > :07:45.the A5. We have never had that, the benefit of that guidance. Now brace
:07:45. > :07:51.yourself for a quick fire round. Well by Stormont standards.
:07:51. > :07:57.mentioned a meeting in January 2012 between your officials and theirer
:07:57. > :08:04.parts in Dublin. Could you outline the term of reference for that
:08:04. > :08:09.meeting? No. Given the death blow to the scheme given by the republic,
:08:09. > :08:14.would the minister agree it would be more relevant now to be going
:08:14. > :08:18.through the necessary processes and preparations so that other projects,
:08:18. > :08:26.which are viable and which can be made reddied swiftly would be ready
:08:26. > :08:33.to go I can advice the member that -- advise the member that we're
:08:34. > :08:41.doing that. Will he bring up improvements to road at the next
:08:41. > :08:45.meeting? Mr Speaker in strict answer to the ge question, no.
:08:45. > :08:50.Yesterday's snow coincided with a question on road gritting that
:08:50. > :08:58.required a more lengthy answer. Over the weekend we have seen the
:08:58. > :09:04.advent of wintry conditions. I very much hope that everyone will be
:09:04. > :09:10.able to travel safely at this period. Could I say that road
:09:10. > :09:17.surface officials have been working very hard to provide gritting on
:09:17. > :09:23.the road network. And I know that is appreciated by members of house
:09:23. > :09:30.and public representatives. Some over 300 staff on a nightly basis
:09:30. > :09:36.will be helping to create safer conditions across the road network.
:09:36. > :09:42.Members will know that it is not possible, nor economically sensible
:09:42. > :09:49.to promise to grit every single road and every path way. And that
:09:49. > :09:55.is why both the salt bins and the grit pile ps play an important role.
:09:55. > :10:02.I would want to encourage people to help their neighbours and provide
:10:02. > :10:10.self help in areas and to avail of the facilities of salt bins and the
:10:10. > :10:12.grit piles as much as they possibly can. We all know the TUV leader Jim
:10:12. > :10:15.Allister asks plenty of questions about the running of the Assembly
:10:15. > :10:25.and Executive, but does he get any answers? Apparently not and he's
:10:25. > :10:31.not happy. I have 40 written questions which have passed the ten
:10:31. > :10:35.day requirement for answer. Six of them were questions tabled before
:10:35. > :10:40.the summer recess. 12 of them tabled in September. Nine of them
:10:40. > :10:43.tabled in October. And really if a member is to do the work that
:10:43. > :10:48.they're sent here to do, the standing order requirement of
:10:48. > :10:54.ministers attending to answers within the ten days needs to be
:10:54. > :11:01.adhered to. 20 of those 40 questions relate to office of MM,
:11:01. > :11:06.DFM and those two departments seem to be particularly remiss in living
:11:06. > :11:11.within the guidelines and they're more than guidelines, they're
:11:11. > :11:21.requirements of the standing order. I would ask for your guidance and
:11:21. > :11:24.assistance. Basil McRae is with us now. Is he right? There is a
:11:24. > :11:29.problem with the way we deal with questions. But there is the
:11:29. > :11:36.recognition that you take a loot of time and effort to produce answers.
:11:36. > :11:41.And if all 108MLAs are asking as many request questions a Jim, you
:11:41. > :11:45.would need an army of people to give the answers. We need to find a
:11:45. > :11:50.better way of doing it. It is frustrating for members, but there
:11:50. > :11:55.is some mitigating circumstances. So should the number of questions
:11:55. > :11:59.that MLAs are allowed to ask, be restricted. What is the point in
:11:59. > :12:03.saying it will be back in ten days if there is no chance. Well it was
:12:03. > :12:09.raised in the last Assembly. Some people think the number of
:12:09. > :12:15.questions that you ask and I'm not saying Jim is in the category, the
:12:15. > :12:20.more you ask the cleverer you're being. If you want a real answer,
:12:20. > :12:28.write to the minister explaining your requirement and it come wack
:12:28. > :12:31.through -- back through a different channel. But that is circumventing
:12:31. > :12:35.the procedures. Well it is a mimic of what happens in Westminster and
:12:35. > :12:39.they don't suit the way that we do business here. But people are
:12:39. > :12:43.reluctant to give them up, because there is always some information
:12:43. > :12:47.that comes out and you do get the opportunity from time to time to
:12:47. > :12:51.talk on television and it highlights a particular issue. The
:12:51. > :12:55.Assembly does have to preview its processes. It is not working well.
:12:55. > :12:59.The information is not getting out and we're not reassuring the people
:12:59. > :13:06.that we're doing the job they expect us to do. It is not for the
:13:06. > :13:12.want of trying. But the process are not right. He issued confuegz,
:13:12. > :13:16.saying your don to -- confusing statement, saying your going to San
:13:16. > :13:22.Diego. What is going on? surprised you hit the is confusing.
:13:22. > :13:28.It couldn't be more clear. For the absence of doubt is that I'm on a
:13:28. > :13:32.boston college scholarship, which is taking me to Boston and then to
:13:32. > :13:37.San Diego. This is nothing to do with the committee. It was a
:13:37. > :13:40.personal thing I applied for. But it does deal with the real problems
:13:41. > :13:48.that Northern Ireland is facing. That is how we create employment
:13:48. > :13:54.for young people, how we create business leaders and it is, I think
:13:54. > :13:58.I'm only politician on the grouping. With the controversy it did have
:13:58. > :14:03.people scratching their heads. So is there still an attempt by you to
:14:03. > :14:09.get some committee members to go to San Diego at another date? To be
:14:09. > :14:13.clear there is no amendment by -- attempt by me to do anything. I
:14:13. > :14:18.chair the committee. I don't tell it what to do. But what is
:14:18. > :14:22.important all that MLAs should be au fait with what is happening. We
:14:22. > :14:26.have a responsibility for employment and learning. There is
:14:26. > :14:30.some difficult news coming down to Northern Ireland. It is frightening.
:14:30. > :14:36.And people will ask us what are you going to do? So the committee will
:14:36. > :14:39.look at a number of places where there is evidence of good practice
:14:39. > :14:43.and evaluate whether there are lesson to be learned and whether
:14:43. > :14:51.there are costs involved and the committee will take a decision if
:14:51. > :14:56.anybody goes anywhere. Hopefully you can shed light on the mischi --
:14:56. > :14:59.mystery pictures of disco in the Great Hall. We had this is the
:14:59. > :15:03.fourth year, the pride of Northern Ireland, which is a celebration of
:15:03. > :15:06.all of the good things that young people do. And in particular we
:15:06. > :15:10.have a lot of carers, a lot of people that have had difficulties
:15:10. > :15:14.in their lives. And it is an opportunity for them to tell the
:15:14. > :15:20.good story about what they do and we let them have what I would call
:15:20. > :15:26.a disco, but I gather now is a rave! We do these things and they
:15:26. > :15:31.get some food and some prizes and get to dress up. It is a fantastic
:15:31. > :15:36.experience. Wonderful stories and wonderful people. They did
:15:36. > :15:39.themselves proud. Thank you. The work of some committees was
:15:39. > :15:41.disrupted by last week's public sector strikes. Some were
:15:41. > :15:44.rescheduled to accommodate members who were unhappy at the thought of
:15:44. > :15:47.crossing pickets lines - while others carried on regardless. So in
:15:47. > :15:53.our weekly look at the work of the committees, we start with last
:15:53. > :16:03.Wednesday and the OFMDFM committee. There is a letter regarding strike
:16:03. > :16:03.
:16:04. > :16:10.There is a letter regarding strike action today. For members to note.
:16:10. > :16:16.Equality Commission for annual report. In relation to the letter
:16:16. > :16:21.about the industrial action today, I want to go on record for some of
:16:21. > :16:29.the issues that the committees are dealing with today. This morning we
:16:30. > :16:36.were looking at a -- agreeing budgets for work experience for
:16:36. > :16:42.unemployed 16 to 24-year-old and we are discussing child care and an
:16:42. > :16:47.investment fund for tackling dereliction, unemployment and
:16:47. > :16:52.deprivation in key areas. So it is possible to respect someone's right
:16:52. > :16:57.to be involved in this action today, but given that we are elected by
:16:57. > :17:01.people from across the community, with varying views and needs, the
:17:01. > :17:06.reason I'm involved in this work today is because we're trying to
:17:06. > :17:11.come up with budgets and programmes to tackle some of the issues that
:17:11. > :17:15.people have decided to make issue with. I want, I know there seems to
:17:15. > :17:20.be an interest in the work of the committees today and I want to put
:17:20. > :17:25.on record some of the issues that we're trying to progress and we
:17:25. > :17:35.will hopefully go to helping some of the issues that people are
:17:35. > :17:36.
:17:36. > :17:40.raising in public. Also there was pickets around the entrances to the
:17:40. > :17:45.buildings I had at least two calls today in relation to people feeling
:17:45. > :17:50.intim date, with people who were standing across the road stopping
:17:50. > :17:54.vehicles. That is not complying with the legislation in terms of
:17:55. > :17:58.pickets outside any public building. Or any place where the public have
:17:58. > :18:05.access to. And I think it just doesn't help the cause. Everyone
:18:05. > :18:10.has the right to be on strike today. But equally, everyone has the right
:18:10. > :18:20.to... Come to work and to come to their place of work without being
:18:20. > :18:26.harassed or stopped, or in any way intimidated by anybody. I see the
:18:26. > :18:31.difficulty, with people coming to the office saying, I have to take
:18:31. > :18:38.this job. Although they're being told, believing that they can lose
:18:38. > :18:43.benefit if they don't do it. And then they are sent to a meaningless
:18:43. > :18:50.job to maybe fill a shell of in a supermarket. And when we are told
:18:50. > :18:55.that people should be trained up to meet any new high paid jobs.
:18:55. > :19:00.think there is always advantage in getting somebody into a work place.
:19:00. > :19:05.I appreciate your point about some job that perhaps they don't feel
:19:05. > :19:09.has any particular relevant -- relevance to what they want to do.
:19:09. > :19:14.But even getting young people into the work place, getting used to
:19:14. > :19:18.routine of work and the discipline of work is a stepping stone. No one
:19:18. > :19:27.is saying it is the answer to all known ills. But it is a start and
:19:27. > :19:31.getting them used to the work environment and that kind of thing.
:19:31. > :19:35.Basil MacRae talked of hard times and people in the south have had
:19:35. > :19:40.more difficult type, what has been the level of cross border shopping
:19:40. > :19:45.this season? The level is down slightly. But there is evidence
:19:45. > :19:50.that there are still people coming from the south to avail of cheaper
:19:50. > :19:54.prices. We don't want to get rich on the back of other people's
:19:54. > :19:58.misfortune, but the announcement that their VAT rate is going to go
:19:58. > :20:05.up to 23%, will that bring more people across the border? I think
:20:05. > :20:08.you're right. In a perverse way that is good for us. What about the
:20:08. > :20:12.voices around the city centre, people get the sense that there are
:20:12. > :20:22.not as many people coming up this year, but are traders saying that
:20:22. > :20:23.
:20:23. > :20:27.isn't the case? I had a chat with a man who introduced hi �4.50 all day
:20:27. > :20:31.mark charge. He saw people coming from the south, because they had
:20:31. > :20:37.certainty of how much it would cost to park in Belfast and they were
:20:37. > :20:40.factoring that into their shopping. Thank you. It may have been last
:20:40. > :20:43.week's strike, but the issue of public sector pensions was up for
:20:43. > :20:45.discussion in the chamber today. Speaking ahead of the debate,
:20:45. > :20:48.finance minister Sammy Wilson warned that members and ministers
:20:48. > :20:51.must share the pain and revealed that an Independent Review Panel
:20:51. > :20:55.will soon be examining members' pensions. The motion, originally
:20:55. > :21:01.proposed by the SDLP, called on the executive to reverse an increase in
:21:01. > :21:03.pension contributions. But when it came to the vote, an Ulster
:21:03. > :21:12.Unionist amendment which called for more negotiations between
:21:12. > :21:17.government and the unions, won out. Their message was loud and clear -
:21:17. > :21:24.this notice about self pressration, it is about fairness and justice.
:21:24. > :21:29.Why should working people be penalised for actions of bankers?
:21:29. > :21:35.Public servants are being unfairly targeted in a bid to sofl a
:21:35. > :21:40.financial crisis that was not of their making. -- solve. Not only is
:21:40. > :21:49.this an attack on their pockets resulting in on average �63 less in
:21:49. > :21:53.take home pay, but it is an attack on their morale. I was in west
:21:53. > :21:59.Belfast around the picket lines, speaking to the people who thought
:21:59. > :22:03.it in their need to take action to put a halt to this. And I think
:22:03. > :22:10.instead of some of us walking through the line, some stood and
:22:10. > :22:14.engaged with people. And talked to them about the issues. And I have
:22:15. > :22:21.to say many o' of the people I was talking to were very low paid
:22:21. > :22:27.workers. Many are under the �32,000 level and which our amendment has
:22:27. > :22:32.put forward to protect people under �32,000 or less. I would say to the
:22:32. > :22:41.SDLP if they read our motion again, in a even Euan way, is that we're
:22:41. > :22:46.calling on all ministers to explore this. Will the minister. Mr Wilson.
:22:46. > :22:53.Can I thank the members who have taken part in this debate, although
:22:53. > :22:57.I suspect given how little has been said about pensions and how many
:22:57. > :23:02.members have waved the flag and told us how much they supported the
:23:02. > :23:07.strikers, didn't go through the picket lines, refused to break the
:23:07. > :23:13.strike, I suspect a lot of this has been about Grandstanding rather
:23:13. > :23:19.than what we can do about the pension problem that we have here
:23:19. > :23:22.in Northern Ireland. People have accused, because we have had an
:23:22. > :23:27.arrange Westminster the Conservative Party, because we're
:23:27. > :23:32.we're cheer leading for them. You would think to hear some members of
:23:32. > :23:36.Sinn Fein that the financial crisis that has affected the United
:23:36. > :23:40.Kingdom started 18 months ago. You wouldn't think to hear them that
:23:40. > :23:46.actually the entire debate about pension reform and I think has Lord
:23:46. > :23:51.Hutton said, we should have been doing this years ago. You represent
:23:52. > :23:56.Belfast traders, but where do you get your customers from and are you
:23:56. > :24:01.in competition with the other towns around Northern Ireland? I think
:24:01. > :24:05.there is competition between towns and cities in Northern Ireland. We
:24:05. > :24:12.would very much see it as an open market policy. In that, everyone's
:24:12. > :24:16.free to travel where they want to. So we can encourage them to come to
:24:16. > :24:20.Belfast. Do you feel that in some way the parking freeze and charges
:24:20. > :24:23.is a bit of a pay back for the towns that don't, that didn't get
:24:23. > :24:29.the park charges that there was some talk about airlier in the
:24:29. > :24:33.year? I think in fair tonnes the minister, it was Belfast Lisbon and
:24:33. > :24:38.Newry that got the suspended charges. So he has done it across
:24:38. > :24:44.the board. It is a whole other debate of did Belfast compensate
:24:44. > :24:48.the 30 towns that didn't get the charges. I don't think that was
:24:48. > :24:51.fair. But we are where we are. Thank you. Three weeks ago the
:24:51. > :24:54.First Minister told members that he would know by the end of November
:24:55. > :24:57.about EU funding for a peace and reconciliation centre at the Maze -
:24:57. > :25:04.a key part of the planned development there. Here's what he
:25:04. > :25:10.said. The one that we are certain that we want to move forward with
:25:10. > :25:13.is the proposition that there should be a piece and -- peace and
:25:13. > :25:17.reconciliation centre and we have applied for funding from the
:25:17. > :25:26.European community and we should know the outcome of that hopefully
:25:26. > :25:35.before the end of month. And we're keen that the agricultural show
:25:35. > :25:39.would move from Belfast to the more agricultural setting of the Lagan
:25:39. > :25:45.valley and that would be a very strong anchor to the site should
:25:45. > :25:48.they choose and should we be able to an agreement there. With no
:25:48. > :25:53.official announcement I asked her political editor what his source
:25:53. > :25:59.were telling him. Well I think they have missed that target date. There
:25:59. > :26:04.is talk about it happening in December. Maybe we will hear news
:26:04. > :26:09.about Maze centre before Christmas. Tinge European side of it seems to
:26:09. > :26:12.be hopeful. Any senior European officials who have been here have
:26:12. > :26:17.been supportive. It must be considered by a steering committee
:26:17. > :26:21.of the European special programmes body. So far as the executive's
:26:22. > :26:26.concerned there might be a bit of if you like choreography to go
:26:26. > :26:31.through. They would want this announce tpltd which will be
:26:31. > :26:36.considered as being good news for nationalist and Republicans, being
:26:36. > :26:39.timed at the same time as an announcements about the royal
:26:39. > :26:44.Ulster agricultural society going to site which may be considered
:26:44. > :26:49.more good news in terms of unionist community. I suspect they want
:26:49. > :26:57.everything together. But we haven't got a date yet. So the SDLP
:26:57. > :27:04.unveiled some fresh faces today. But there was a familiar name?
:27:04. > :27:08.Alister Macdonald wants to inject fresh blood and has the idea of
:27:08. > :27:14.shadowing councillors, in areas where they are weak and he hopes to
:27:14. > :27:21.build from the grass roots. But there was one familiar name, Peter
:27:21. > :27:28.Devlin is a son of Paddy Devlin and Paddy Devlin split from the party.
:27:28. > :27:33.I asked his son why that happened. Going back to the 70s, my father
:27:33. > :27:38.left, it was over decisions that he thoughts were right at the time.
:27:38. > :27:44.Which have now come full circle. My father backed the police then when
:27:44. > :27:49.other nationalists didn't. As I said, times have changed. We have
:27:49. > :27:54.moved on and I want to be part of whole system now. I'm daunted
:27:54. > :27:58.talking to you, when your dad was in the old Stormont he had a
:27:58. > :28:04.reputation for settling political arguments by resorting to his fists.
:28:04. > :28:10.You not planning to do that? I hope not. I'm not a fighting! So no. I
:28:10. > :28:18.won't be doing that. And thankfully things are more genteel here.
:28:18. > :28:23.we miss the old day of brawling in the hall. It I quiet now. Now Joe,
:28:24. > :28:28.the whole face of retail has changed during the recession and we
:28:28. > :28:33.have a sale each week, it is worth waiting to Boxing Day for a bargain
:28:33. > :28:37.or get out now? I think Belfast has not looked so good for over 40
:28:37. > :28:45.years. We have had a lot of Government departments pulling
:28:45. > :28:49.together to make tilt spectacle -- it the spectacle it is now.
:28:49. > :28:54.Retailers had to think of how to bring people in. Should they come
:28:54. > :28:58.after Boxing Day, yes I think they will get even better bargains.
:28:58. > :29:01.Thank you. That's it from Stormont for now. Join me tomorrow at the