06/12/2016 Stormont Today


06/12/2016

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There were sharp divisions, as expected, in the chamber today

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as Members debated the whys and wherefores of the

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And, in the final day of scheduled business before Christmas,

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the House also discussed teachers' pay, food hygiene standards

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Strong opinions and fierce debate as the Social Investment Fund

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The Social Investment Fund is marred in controversy. The public don't

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don't have trust or confidence in its operation. SIF has been doing

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wonderful work out there and it's been targeted.

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The Economy Minister, Simon Hamilton, gets

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a jab in against one of the DUP's foremost tormenters.

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I didn't see him referring to it as squander whenever he wrote to me a

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few weeks ago pleading for a constituent of his to be included in

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the scheme. Joining me with his thoughts

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on today's developments is the News Letter's political

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editor, Sam McBride. The Executive's troubled

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Social Investment Fund has been making headlines for several months

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now - not because of its community work, but because of the UDA leader,

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Dee Stitt, who's the Chief Executive of Charter NI, which has received

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almost ?2 million from the fund. Today, the Assembly rejected a call

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from the Alliance Party for an independent review

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of the fund during a debate Here's Stewart Dickson

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outlining his concerns. The overarching question is whether

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the stated objectives of the Social Investment Fund worthy as they

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maybe, could be more efficientively and effectively achieved through

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other ease means and whether the Social Investment Fund is a

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worthwhile use of public money. It's been characterised by secrecy and

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cronyism. Indeed, in at least one respect the ongoing association of

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DUP representatives, including the First Minister, with a current

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paramilitary has undermined the executive committee. I have been on

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record time and time again recognising and acknowledging there

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are good organisations with good individuals doing great work. We are

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supportive of these projects. Our issue is not with them, it is with

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the process. We are on record, as far as back as 2011, raising

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concerns about this process and the continual failure by the First

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Minister and the Deputy First Minister to address these concerns

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left our members in all but one of the steering groups forced with no

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option but to resign. The Social Investment Fund is marred in

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controversy. The public don't have confidence or trust in its

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operation. I'm rising to oppose the motion for a up in of reasons. The

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first of these reasons is that, you know, unlike my colleague to the

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left, I can't agree with the assumption about deep public concern

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out there. I do get the opposition have a role to fulfil and they need

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to raise issues to make themselves relevant and they tried tried to use

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this issue to do. So I've listened to them and asked the questions,

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make their points and table their debates like a a boxing trying to

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land his knockout punch. I have listened to answers from ministers

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who responded to this with cold, hard facts. We are not criticising

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the efforts of those at local community level. Sorry, what we are

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saying is that we have legitimate concerns around the control

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exercised by the funding. As someone who sat on the Southern Zone. Would

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the member agree that his colleague sat on that very Board, screw

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niedsed everything and was very, very content with the projects that

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went forward from the Southern Zone? The member has an extra minute.

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Clearly the member is in winter wonderful line if she thinks that

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any representative from the Ulster unionist party would do otherwise.

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At community level that is what supporting communities is about. I

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don't stand here to defend the Social Investment Fund I stand here

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today to commend. It I hope that the Executive Office has the will

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because I think SIF has been doing wonderful work there. It has been

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targeted by a small number of people who have went after one individual

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who made a stupid and flip pant remark which means that everybody

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who has benefitted from SIF are now the targets of individuals in this

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chamber who acting out of political interests, not in the public

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interest in this instance. What we heard from the are are, who didn't

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want to take interventions, he never addressed the key issue - why was

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this scheme designed to exclude competition in respect of the lead

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partners? Isn't the answer clear, because it was always intended to be

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a vehicle for cronyism and it couldn't be that if you dared to

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have open competition. The rancour between the parties on

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this issue shows no sign of disdisappearing? No. There was a

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clear opposition Executive split on this, as with many issues over the

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last few months. Effectively, you could have summed up today's debate

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as one half of the chamber saying what with a is the issue here. Why

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are you coming to the chamber with this issue in erms it of Dee Stitt?

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The other half of the chamber saying, how can this be happening in

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Northern Ireland in 2016. On the issue of Dee Stitt, the opposition

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were keen to focus on that issue, unsurprisingly. The Executive rarely

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addressed that issue, John O'Dowd addressed it, saying he has not been

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convicted. He has a past conviction, not a current conviction, for UDA

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membership what do you want us to do about it? Most of the DUP

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representatives steered away saying lots of these groups are doing good

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work. It's accepted that they are. Some of the politician want to

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characterise the controversy as a media construct. Could they have a

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point? I think there are points where the media is justly criticised

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for things, I think on this issue we are probably a convenient punch bag.

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The BBC was particular punch bag today for Mrs Cameron, she talked

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about the Noalisation. The DUP appointed the editor of the Nolan

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Show. It ease convenient to deflect from the actual issue by saying the

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messager is the problem. The First and Deputy Firsters ministers

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announced the appointment of a six person panel as part of the Fresh

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Start Agreememt to replace the old sieve Vick forum? It is. It's a

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shrunken form. The Civic Forum died a lonely death a long time ago. Few

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people were clamouring to get it back. It's unclear whether this

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group will have any clout. The people are being paid ?300 a day for

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work which is unclear. People will expect to see something significant

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from them. They were appointed by the First and Deputy First

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Ministers. There was no open procurement, if that is the correct

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phrase, for their portions. They are appointed by the DUP and Sinn Fein.

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They will not massively rock the boat in terms of a situation where

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the opposition is criticising the Executive for something. They will

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contribute advice to the Executive on issues where they are seeking

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some sort of input from outside themselves. Interesting to see what

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their remit and range of issues they want to look at would be. Do you

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think it will have its discussion, deliberations will have an impact on

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public discourse? It's unclear. Not clear whether they will meet in

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public, private, will they publish minutes of their discussions, hold

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public meetings. The press release seems to show they

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will have a wide remit, right down to deciding who will chair each

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meeting. That will be for them to decide. It sounds like they have

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been given a pretty rough idea of what they are supposed to do. They

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have been told, you can go on and get on with it. It's not entirely

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clear what is expected of them or how they are expected to operate. We

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will talk to you later in the programme.

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Who would have thought "hot air" would turn out to be such

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But as a result of mistakes in the Renewable Heat Incentive

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scheme, Ministers could be handing out tens of millions of pounds

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Today, the Economy Minister revealed that he's drawing up

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plans which could see, in his words, "a significant

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Here's Simon Hamilton responding to a question

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These are serious issues which I'm very sized of the importance of and

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I'm dealing with on an ongoing basy to try to find a resolution to many

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of the issues that have froed from the allegations and concerns there

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have been with the Renewable Heat Incentive. My department is

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developing a proposal for changes to the Renewable Heat Incentive which

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would lead to a significant reduction in future costs to the

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Northern Ireland Executivive. It requires detail discussions include

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legal advice and further engagement with the European Commission, it

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received approval within the state aid regime. I will bring a proposal

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to the Assembly and issue a document as early as I can early in the new

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year. We are pursuing stronger enforcement of the existing

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regulations through Ofgem so that abuses of the scheme are addressed

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as effectively as possible and that any possible fraud cases are dealt

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with rigorously. Thank you Mr Speaker. Will the investigation

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initiated by the minister be able to distinguish between

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maladministration and illegitimate installations. In other words,

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fraud, and are the police currently investigating? Mr Speaker, as I

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pointed out to the member in my answer, these are serious

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allegations of fraud and abuse which were received, which have been given

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the due seriousness that such allegations would require. That's

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why we have carried begun, commenced carried out the investigations that

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we have. I'm absolutely adamant that where there is proof and evidence.

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That is the important bit of this. There has to be proof and evidence

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of abuse of the scheme, that appropriate action, all appropriate

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angsts including if required criminal proceedings should be taken

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for defrauding the It might cost scheme. Him his job, would the

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minister agree that at least one of his redcressors, particularly Mrs

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Foster, was asleep at the wheel in terms of failing to exercise

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ministerial supervision and ensuring that there was adequate cost

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controls in place. Can he give us an update on how much this squander

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made in Stormont is going to cost us into the future? The minister, the

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member, describes it as "squander" I didn't see him referring to it as

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squander when he wrote to me a few weeks ago pleading for a constituent

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of his to be included in the scheme. LAUGHTER. It seems... It seems it's

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squander when it suits the member. Well, Jim Allister wasn't

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going to let that go unchallenged and he raised a point of order

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at the end of question time. In September and in October of this

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year I wrote on behalf of two separate constituents who had

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applied to the scheme back in February and had heard nothing. I

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did what any other constituent member would have done. I wrote and

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asked - why have these people not heard about their applications. You

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placed your concern on-the-record. No doubt that the minister will be

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aware of your concerns, Mr Allister. Meanwhile, Simon Hamilton's DUP

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colleague, Peter Weir, was also on his feet

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at the despatch box today. The Education Minister fielded

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questions yet again about industrial action being taken by some teaching

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unions over pay. Mr Weir was also asked what steps

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were being taken in schools to highlight the risks

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of social media. In 2015 the executive commissioned

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the developmentment of a new safety strategy an action plan for Northern

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Ireland. This was a recognition of the rising concern of parents,

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carers, professionals and broader society for the safety of children

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and young people when using the internet and encouraging with social

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media. There are aims within the strategy which are applicable to

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schools, which include developing a consistent approach to E safety in

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schools through technical provision. Education of our young people and

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children and those who work with them. Developing a consistent

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approach to E safety messages for children, young people, parents,

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embedding a culture of E safety within schools, colleges, youth

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services and organisations and practicer ins who work with young

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children and families. Would he ensure such a strategy is live.

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Technology changes consistently and be sure the strategy keeps up to

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day? An implementation plan is critical. We have something which is

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live and has a level of flexibility within it that can ensure that

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whatever changes there are in technology or changes in terms of a

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cultural change. Sometimes it's less direct technology the way it essay

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dapted and use. We can have the flexibility so things can respond

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fairly quickly. Did I ask the Minister to provide an

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update on the teacher's dispute? There has been a call that has gone

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out to try to sit down and see if we can provide a long-term solution for

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this. The reality is that within the 20000 and 16-20,017 -- 2016-2017

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budget, there have been some issues raised in relation to this in terms

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of parity but an offer has been made which was greater than parity and

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they said no to it. There is a situation in which within the

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current constraints, what was put in place for the next year was

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ultimately within the current constraints a fair offer in that

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regard. The Minister won't be aware of the recent strike and he has

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taken a rather obdurate mission in relation to it. Given that and given

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the fact that the other three teacher's unions are presently

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balloting for strike action, would he agree with me that the best

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veggie teachers might adopt in order to shift the Minister from his

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present obstinate position would be for them to strike together? No. I

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suspect he has not changed his position in the last half-century in

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regards to being obdurate. To be fair, whatever other criticism I

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would make... A bit like Castro, you have been consistent in your

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position for the last half-century. But I think my main concern is the

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children. And think it is highly responsible of the member to

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centrally encourage people to go out on strike, particularly in

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circumstances where there is not additional money that is there. It

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is not a question of obduracy. It is a question of there is not money

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within the budget to be able to provide for this.

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Peter Weir, refusing to give any ground

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Food hygiene stickers on display in cafes and restaurants have become

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Today the Health Minister outlined the fines for non-display -

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and how much it will cost for businesses to get re-rated.

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Michelle O'Neill said the aim is to help consumers

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make an informed choice about where to eat and, ultimately,

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In summary, the key provisions of the act require all food businesses

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to display a valid food hygiene rating sticker. Relevant employees

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within a food business must on request in farmed the person making

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the request of the food hygiene rating. It requires all online

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businesses selling food to display a rating on their platform and

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introduces offences in relation to non-display of valid rating

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information. And allow for a fixed penalty notices to be applied for

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not showing their rating. Allow the charging of a fee in relation to

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conducting a request for a re-rating visit. Specifies time schools in

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which it must be completed by. The order specifies the amount of the

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fixed penalty and the fee in relation to conducting a requested

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rating visit. The advantages of introducing the rating penalty

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notices are twofold. They provide officers with an additional

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enforcement tool and they reduce the burden on the North of Ireland Court

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service by reducing the number of prosecutions taken. It therefore

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follows that the amount of the expelled the notice applied must be

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at a sufficient level to deter people from committing the offence,

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but not so they would encourage offenders to aim for a better

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outcome from a court hearing. Our officers to that a strong penalty is

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more suitable. They were still retain the opportunity of

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prosecuting the offender. Considering the food hygiene rating

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Bill, the previous health committee supported the overarching aim of the

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bill to reduce the incidence of foodborne illness through the

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introduction of the mandatory food hygiene rating scheme. It was

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accepted that this would not only help businesses to achieve and

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maintain compliance with food hygiene law. It would also allow

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consumers to make informed choices about where they wished to eat or

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shop for food. When considering the statutory role before the Assembly

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today, the committee noted the importance if guards for businesses

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within the act to allow businesses to request a rating of their

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premises again and accepted that the fee of ?150 setup in these reflected

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the cost that would be incurred by district councils. In conducting

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this inspection. The committee also noted and had no objection to the

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fixed penalty amount of ?200, which would be payable by businesses were

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a fixed penalty notice was served. The committee further noted that the

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examiner of statutory rules confirmed in the report issues on

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the 21st of October 2016 that she has no issues to raise with regard

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to the technical aspect. A recent survey demonstrated how 90% of

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consumers look at the meeting of the premise compared to the 22% who look

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online. I also welcome the fact that this will allow for an authorised

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officer of the distant Council to issue a fixed penalty notice for

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offences related to non-display of valid food hygiene rating. As this

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will undoubtedly succeed in reducing the number of offences having to be

:20:29.:20:33.

dealt with through the courts. I also want to note the largely

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positive consultation responses. With regards to the fee, I will

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leave the positives for it with the opportunity for an upgraded rating

:20:47.:20:50.

will encourage -- encourage businesses to make the necessary

:20:51.:20:55.

improvements. I encourage the public to make the most of the new

:20:56.:20:57.

measures. Sound advice from the Minister

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if you're planning to head The Ulster Unionists have called

:20:58.:21:00.

on the Executive to nominate a Northern Ireland representative

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to the UK-wide Armed Forces Covenant reference group -

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the covenant states that veterans "should face no disadvantage

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compared to other citizens in Opening the debate, Doug Beattie

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said he recognised that reaching agreement across the chamber

:21:13.:21:16.

may be difficult. I fully understand that you feel

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that those who you represent and many of the communities that you

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represent had been brutalised by the British military, certainly in the

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70s and in the early 80s. I can fully understand that. The covenant

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fund is ?10 million per year that we are able to bid for. We do get our

:21:42.:21:49.

fair share and in the last 12 months, we have had ?450,000 that

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has gone to combat stress and we have had ?600,000 which is gone to

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nursing homes and mental health. There is a defence community mental

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health facility which is underused. It has had four people go to it

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because nobody knows about it. I visit my constituents in prison. I

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visit them in hospital, where they have attempted suicide. I go with

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them to reviews with a try to keep hold of the children and I attend

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police stations with them when they have issues with domestic violence

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through issues of PTSD. I do not question the fact that more needs to

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be done in Northern Ireland to make veterans await the services,

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charities and apartment that they can access. Even whilst I would

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dispute what political and military leadership do, there are many people

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in the British Army who fought in good faith and in sincere belief.

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Wherever they went around the world over the years, I do not dispute the

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contribution of individual members of the Army for the is as they

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believe in. And I say that because I have said it before because my great

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uncle I am named after lies in an unmarked grave on the Belgian coast

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at a place called Newport, having been killed in July 1917 in the

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First World War, and I have visited and visited with pride the memorial.

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I want to assure the members that I did as Doug Beattie asked and I

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listened to to the contributions and I want to assure everybody that my

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opposition to this motion isn't based on my own very negative

:23:29.:23:31.

experiences of the British Army. Nor is it based on my antipathy to the

:23:32.:23:37.

actions of engaged in by the British army across the globe in recent

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years. My opposition is political, though. It is very political. It is

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political in a sense that my opposition to supporting this is

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based on the protection of rights and entitlements, fair access to

:23:50.:23:52.

servers for every citizen who lives here in Northern Ireland. Due to do

:23:53.:23:59.

nations being scarce, they have been forced into a decision to withdraw

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their welfare support for the front line and I think it has been

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revealed that nearly 3000 individuals who rely upon that

:24:08.:24:09.

service will be impacted. And these are issues that can be raised within

:24:10.:24:15.

the common reference group. In terms of the issue of equality and equal

:24:16.:24:19.

treatment, let's be clear. They are not the same thing. If we want a

:24:20.:24:22.

more equal society then treating everybody the same way will not get

:24:23.:24:25.

us there. Because those with an advantaged will continue to be

:24:26.:24:29.

advantaged and those with a disadvantage will continue to be

:24:30.:24:32.

disadvantaged. The only way we can bring about a more equal society is

:24:33.:24:35.

a special consideration, targeting objective need, not just assessing

:24:36.:24:40.

it but targeting it. What I am arguing for is that the same

:24:41.:24:43.

treatment is given to other people and in particular those who have

:24:44.:24:51.

gone through similar experiences. I understand absolutely that people

:24:52.:24:55.

have suffered. What I am arguing is that it can't be specific... It can

:24:56.:25:04.

be giving the British Armed Forces and advantage above others. That is

:25:05.:25:14.

the argued. -- and timid. -- argument. I would have to say that

:25:15.:25:20.

it doesn't say that. It actually says that the disadvantage that

:25:21.:25:23.

people have suffered is to be addressed, not that they are

:25:24.:25:27.

advantaged. Special consideration is not advantage. It is to consider the

:25:28.:25:30.

special conditions in which they have lived.

:25:31.:25:31.

Naomi Long - and that motion was carried by 58 votes to 20.

:25:32.:25:34.

It's one of the most contentious issues for our MLAs,

:25:35.:25:36.

and attempts to change the law surrounding abortion in cases

:25:37.:25:39.

of fatal foetal abnormality failed in the last mandate.

:25:40.:25:42.

We're currently waiting for the Health Minister to bring

:25:43.:25:45.

forward proposals resulting from a working group set up

:25:46.:25:47.

to look into the issue, but today the former

:25:48.:25:49.

Justice Minister, David Ford, brought forward

:25:50.:25:50.

I begged to introduce the abortion fatal little abnormality built. I

:25:51.:26:04.

would ask the clerk to please read the long title. A Bill to make

:26:05.:26:11.

provision to decriminalise medical termination of a pregnancy in those

:26:12.:26:14.

circumstances where the foetus is diagnosed with fatal abnormality.

:26:15.:26:21.

That constitutes the first stage of the bill and it churn out be

:26:22.:26:23.

printed. And obviously that bill will be

:26:24.:26:23.

debated during its second And that is likely to

:26:24.:26:25.

be a lively debate - because opinion is deeply divided

:26:26.:26:32.

on this issue amongst the parties. Yes, and I think this will be one of

:26:33.:26:42.

the defining issues of this mandate in terms of the Assembly, that there

:26:43.:26:45.

is of course as you mentioned the option of this coming from the

:26:46.:26:49.

executive, of them winning forward a bill based on their working group. I

:26:50.:26:53.

think that is probably unlikely in the sense that the DUP have seemed

:26:54.:26:57.

pretty and reluctant to move on that issue. This is going to get a lot of

:26:58.:27:03.

scrutiny. I think there was a letter that came out today from the medics

:27:04.:27:07.

raising the question of whether the term fatal fatal abnormality which

:27:08.:27:10.

is in the long title of the bill is even the right term to use here. And

:27:11.:27:13.

these can be very difficult issues to go through to decide what exactly

:27:14.:27:17.

are the conditions which are covered by this. At what point after birth

:27:18.:27:22.

when somebody is believed by doctors to not have a chance of life should

:27:23.:27:28.

they be allowed to have an abortion. That is going to be very difficult.

:27:29.:27:34.

And I think central to this will be the DUP. Other parties will also

:27:35.:27:40.

have a lot of debate about this. Just a quick word about the debate

:27:41.:27:44.

on the military covenant. It divided the chamber along well-established

:27:45.:27:47.

lines. Yes, and that is not a surprise. It was a measured debate

:27:48.:27:52.

both from Doug Beattie and from Sinn Fein. It basically comes down to

:27:53.:27:57.

where one possible definition of equality is different from others.

:27:58.:28:00.

Sinn Fein said it would be in equitable to give preferential

:28:01.:28:05.

treatment for the point of view of the military. This is about soldiers

:28:06.:28:14.

who will be leaving the military and there has to be consideration taken

:28:15.:28:19.

of his circumstances, but there was a scathing review from Lord Ashcroft

:28:20.:28:26.

and the DUP is under a bit of pressure. Today was meant to be the

:28:27.:28:29.

last sitting before Christmas. There are strong rumours we could be back

:28:30.:28:35.

for the first budget on the 19th of December. That seems very likely. It

:28:36.:28:39.

seems to be that it will be a one-year budget in terms of the

:28:40.:28:43.

current resource account. We will also be looking to see whether there

:28:44.:28:47.

are any hints about corporation tax, whether that will definitely be cut

:28:48.:28:49.

from next's budget. That's it for tonight

:28:50.:28:51.

and perhaps for 2016, depending on whether or not that

:28:52.:28:54.

budget happens on Monday week - In the meantime, do join me

:28:55.:28:57.

for The View on Thursday night, Until then, from everyone

:28:58.:29:01.

in the team, bye-bye. 'Sometimes all that's needed

:29:02.:29:13.

is a helping hand...' It wouldn't be Christmas

:29:14.:29:18.

without her. Ah. '..recognising someone's value

:29:19.:29:26.

and seeing when they need help. 'A few minutes of our time

:29:27.:29:32.

or one small gesture 'may be all that it takes -

:29:33.:29:34.

playing our part.' We're doing something to support

:29:35.:29:38.

older people this Christmas.

:29:39.:29:47.

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