:00:23. > :00:26.Delays in patients accessing health service treatment -
:00:27. > :00:29.never far from the top of the agenda - continue to cause problems
:00:30. > :00:34.And it wasn't women's hour - not even women's day -
:00:35. > :00:37.but women's week, as the Speaker aimed to raise the profile of female
:00:38. > :00:49.The Health Minister is questioned over lengthy waiting lists...
:00:50. > :00:55.We have been trying, once we resolved welfare reform, the budget
:00:56. > :00:56.was back on a stable footing and we have been addressing the problem and
:00:57. > :01:00.I have made it a key priority. Calling more women to public life -
:01:01. > :01:09.the Assembly celebrates It is up to women to put their
:01:10. > :01:13.shoulders to the door and shove it but it is up to assembly members
:01:14. > :01:14.that we hold the door open and encourage many others to come
:01:15. > :01:17.through. And I'm joined by the News Letter's
:01:18. > :01:19.Political Correspondent, Sam McBride, with his take
:01:20. > :01:24.on another busy day on the hill... It's only Tuesday and already it's
:01:25. > :01:27.been a week of ups and downs On Sunday, Simon Hamilton said
:01:28. > :01:30.an extra thirty million pounds, on top of the forty million
:01:31. > :01:32.announced in November, would be made available
:01:33. > :01:35.in the next financial year Yesterday, he was criticised
:01:36. > :01:41.by a patient waiting two years for surgery and a GP who called
:01:42. > :01:44.the injection of money a 'band-aid'. The topic was bound to come up
:01:45. > :02:02.during question time today, I recently announced that I would
:02:03. > :02:06.ask the independent NHS pay review body for a recommendation regarding
:02:07. > :02:11.the pay award and I said that I would honour their conclusions. I
:02:12. > :02:16.have now received the response and they suggest that certain economic
:02:17. > :02:19.factors could point towards the option of an ill aboard and they
:02:20. > :02:23.suggest they have seen no evidence to suggest that large numbers of
:02:24. > :02:28.staff are leaving Northern Ireland because of pay. They recommend a 1%
:02:29. > :02:33.increase for all staff in Northern Ireland in line with the rest of the
:02:34. > :02:39.UK and I am happy to confirm that I am accepting their recommendation
:02:40. > :02:43.for a 1% pay award. This will be challenging in our tough budgetary
:02:44. > :02:49.times but I am clear that it is an appropriate reward for our working
:02:50. > :02:52.staff. How confident would the Minister be that waiting list will
:02:53. > :03:01.continue to decrease and we would get seriously to grips with this
:03:02. > :03:07.problem? Part... We can invest and we are investing and I think we
:03:08. > :03:12.should note and welcomed the additional investment I have
:03:13. > :03:16.announced in the last number of days on top of the ?40 million going in
:03:17. > :03:22.this year and sometimes I think that people think that is the only money
:03:23. > :03:30.going to waiting list, this is on top of the ordinary activity of the
:03:31. > :03:34.trusts which ensure that cases continue and there are more
:03:35. > :03:40.outpatient appointments. This is additional on top of that. There is
:03:41. > :03:44.a constant churn of people going out and coming onto the list and there
:03:45. > :03:49.has been a 14% increase in referrals, never mind issues with
:03:50. > :03:55.finance, but there has been a 14% increase in the number of referrals
:03:56. > :04:00.from GPs and others to hospital for outpatient and other appointments
:04:01. > :04:04.and we have got to, keep our focus on continued investment in getting
:04:05. > :04:08.to grips with this. I acknowledge that waiting lists are too long, it
:04:09. > :04:16.is one of my priorities to address that and that is why we have been
:04:17. > :04:19.investing the money to help 150,000 people across Northern Ireland to
:04:20. > :04:24.get the procedures and operations they require. We need to continue
:04:25. > :04:29.that investment and that is why I am pleased that the First Minister has
:04:30. > :04:33.indicated that one of her priorities is prioritising health expenditure
:04:34. > :04:39.and I agree with her when she says we need to reform our system, but we
:04:40. > :04:45.need to spend a minimum of ?1 billion extra over the next five
:04:46. > :04:50.years. The department received an additional ?80 million last year and
:04:51. > :04:54.yet the situation in my constituency continued to deteriorate. All the
:04:55. > :04:58.Minister be in the situation when will he be in a situation to get to
:04:59. > :05:04.grips with the crisis in waiting times? We're in a position because
:05:05. > :05:08.of budgetary pressures and because of that 14% increase in referrals
:05:09. > :05:14.where we have unacceptable in long-awaited list and I think if was
:05:15. > :05:17.standing here before the member and the house saying that is the way it
:05:18. > :05:25.is and we are not doing anything, I think he would be right to criticise
:05:26. > :05:27.me. We have been trying, once we've resolved welfare reform, the budget
:05:28. > :05:33.was back at a stable footing and we have been addressing the problem and
:05:34. > :05:37.it is a key priority in terms of the big allocations out of the monetary
:05:38. > :05:40.rounds, for the budget for next year to tackle this issue.
:05:41. > :05:43.Simon Hamilton - and Sam McBride from the News Letter is with me
:05:44. > :05:51.Health is seen by many as the most challenging ministry, no matter how
:05:52. > :05:59.much money there might be you get the sense it will never be enough.
:06:00. > :06:03.That is true. In some ways, maybe 15 years ago, assembly health ministers
:06:04. > :06:07.had that fact masked by the fact that the economy was booming with
:06:08. > :06:12.the Labour government that was spending beyond its means but
:06:13. > :06:15.spending generously in terms of the health service and we benefited.
:06:16. > :06:20.Over the last period, we have had both the crash of the economy and
:06:21. > :06:24.the welfare reform impasse which has taken a lot of money out of the
:06:25. > :06:31.executive budget and health has suffered. Waiting list, as Simon
:06:32. > :06:35.Hamilton admitted, are now seriously very concerning lead going in the
:06:36. > :06:40.wrong direction when you look at grass, they are sharply going up.
:06:41. > :06:46.That is the difficulty for the DUP but also for people who are waiting
:06:47. > :06:51.for importing procedures. Health has the biggest budget and the biggest
:06:52. > :06:57.impact on the population. It does. We all have experience of health,
:06:58. > :07:02.from the breadth of our children to people dying in hospital 's
:07:03. > :07:07.everyday, we all know it is a massive issue most of us it is a
:07:08. > :07:11.good experience, the difficulty politically is that people expected
:07:12. > :07:16.to be a good experience and if there is any issue, that comes back to
:07:17. > :07:20.health managers or to the Health Minister. It is a thankless task, if
:07:21. > :07:26.it goes well, that is what we expect other that does not, we complain.
:07:27. > :07:31.Simon Hamilton has been in the post for less than a year, how has he
:07:32. > :07:35.done? He has done well, he has not dropped the ball in a political
:07:36. > :07:39.sense. When you look at the statistics it is hard to argue that
:07:40. > :07:43.he has been massively successful in that the waiting times are getting
:07:44. > :07:50.very long and you could argue that is not entirely his fault, it is the
:07:51. > :07:57.fault of not enough funding, but wider institutional. Edwin Poots was
:07:58. > :08:02.very bold to the point of closing the Accident and Emergency unit at
:08:03. > :08:11.his local hospital. Since then, we have seen the cutback of
:08:12. > :08:15.streamlining your care, centralised bigger hospitals which doctors say
:08:16. > :08:20.is what needs to be done but politically it is suicidal in some
:08:21. > :08:24.cases for local politicians. We have had this spectre of some DUP
:08:25. > :08:27.ministers arguing that services should be reduced at a local
:08:28. > :08:32.hospital and some of their colleagues arguing that they should
:08:33. > :08:36.not. That is difficult to reconcile. They have not followed through on
:08:37. > :08:42.that. Given that challenge, do you think the DUP will want health in
:08:43. > :08:47.the next mandate? I do not think anyone wants health. It is always
:08:48. > :08:50.one of the last pics and I do not see any reason why that would be
:08:51. > :08:54.different. Developing, it is more likely to be further down the line
:08:55. > :08:57.because there are massive issues that make it bigger before they get
:08:58. > :08:59.better. Given the number of 'final stages'
:09:00. > :09:03.we've brought you in recent weeks, you'd be forgiven for thinking
:09:04. > :09:05.that bills only complete their legislative journey
:09:06. > :09:07.in the final few months The first bill to vault its final
:09:08. > :09:17.hurdle today concerned Shared Sheard education provides the
:09:18. > :09:22.opportunity to raise educational standards for young people, to learn
:09:23. > :09:26.about each other from each other and for teachers, youth workers and
:09:27. > :09:31.early years practitioners to learn from practices and share good
:09:32. > :09:34.practice. Share and education can facilitate mutual understanding
:09:35. > :09:40.through ongoing and purpose of engagement in learning and young
:09:41. > :09:44.people from different community backgrounds. Shared education poses
:09:45. > :09:49.no threat to any school sector, youth work or early years settings
:09:50. > :09:52.or community. The hope is that the cooperation between schools will
:09:53. > :09:55.hope -- Michael helped to lift standards and that is something for
:09:56. > :09:59.all our children, from whatever background should be something we
:10:00. > :10:04.are aspiring to and if that is a positive outcome, of shared
:10:05. > :10:08.education then that is something that we can welcome. I think there
:10:09. > :10:12.is a positive step forward with this bill, clearly as with all
:10:13. > :10:17.legislation in this house, the key test will be as we move ahead in the
:10:18. > :10:20.next mandate towards implementation and seen how this works on the
:10:21. > :10:25.ground and it is important that the same effort and attention given to
:10:26. > :10:28.this bill is also applied to our education system in terms of the
:10:29. > :10:34.delivery of the objectives and that is something which I suspect this
:10:35. > :10:38.house can talk about. Shared learning partnerships are working
:10:39. > :10:43.successfully in many areas including my local area and we have schools
:10:44. > :10:47.sharing teachers, sharing resources and now schools are sharing
:10:48. > :10:53.buildings and there is a great variety of various types of sharing
:10:54. > :10:56.that goes on. It, this is demonstrated the ability and
:10:57. > :11:01.willingness of our schools, pupils and parents to move to a greater
:11:02. > :11:05.degree of sharing across the traditional religious divide. We
:11:06. > :11:09.believe that shared education could and should be a supportive mechanism
:11:10. > :11:14.for developing other models of long-term sharing, such as jointly
:11:15. > :11:19.manage schools, integrated schools and federations. The UUP is
:11:20. > :11:23.supportive of innovative solutions developed by communities for the
:11:24. > :11:29.children. I hope to be proved wrong, I hope in a few years' time we will
:11:30. > :11:33.be able to look at the situation and say, the shared education agenda was
:11:34. > :11:39.a major step forward in terms of bringing our children together,
:11:40. > :11:44.which is what we are all about, a shared future in a small way and I
:11:45. > :11:46.would also hope that the experience of sharing across sectors and
:11:47. > :11:53.between schools will lead schools and parents and governors to realise
:11:54. > :11:57.that there is no bogeyman, that the children could be educated together
:11:58. > :12:01.under one roof and without having to worry about which sector they came
:12:02. > :12:05.from where they lived or what the ethos of the school was, that they
:12:06. > :12:06.would be able to go to the best school, near a school of their
:12:07. > :12:08.choice. Today the Assembly was presented
:12:09. > :12:11.with a report outlining potential Members called for the next
:12:12. > :12:15.Justice Minister to take on board their recommendations
:12:16. > :12:18.on how the entire legal and criminal process can be made fit
:12:19. > :12:20.for the 21st century. And the Chair of the Justice
:12:21. > :12:32.Committee, Alastair Ross, Good evening. Thank you for joining
:12:33. > :12:36.us. The findings and recommendations in this report promised to
:12:37. > :12:41.completely change the way much of the justice system is run, if they
:12:42. > :12:45.implement. Yes. To set a little bit of context we recognise there is
:12:46. > :12:49.less government money around but the public expectation is higher and
:12:50. > :12:53.what we tried to do was find evidence -based policy is that
:12:54. > :12:57.reduced the cost to the taxpayer but improved outcomes. We have
:12:58. > :13:01.identified a number of areas from problem-solving courts to use
:13:02. > :13:05.justice and early interventions to the use of technology to improve
:13:06. > :13:08.outcomes and help engage with the justice system. Wide range of
:13:09. > :13:13.suggestions we have in the report that they think all of them are
:13:14. > :13:16.achievable and the committee has done the survey and we want to see a
:13:17. > :13:20.number of recommendations included for government. There appears to be
:13:21. > :13:24.a particular focus on how young offenders are dealt with. We
:13:25. > :13:27.recognise that once a young person enters the criminal justice system
:13:28. > :13:31.it is a revolving door and we need to do what we can to divert them
:13:32. > :13:36.from entering the system and some of that is early intervention and we
:13:37. > :13:39.will work with education, appropriate to versions, restorative
:13:40. > :13:51.justice that can make a big difference and ensure that young
:13:52. > :13:54.people have a second chance. We do not want them at the age of 15, 16,
:13:55. > :13:56.17, 18 losing opportunities and that is something that the committee
:13:57. > :14:02.agrees with. At the same time, it has to be said that if a young
:14:03. > :14:07.person knowingly breaks the law, they have to take the consequences.
:14:08. > :14:09.Of course and many of the diversions are around low-level first-time
:14:10. > :14:13.offenders and the more serious offences will have to be dealt with
:14:14. > :14:18.in a traditional system and that is appropriate. We try to ensure that
:14:19. > :14:23.the justice system acts proportionately and rationally in
:14:24. > :14:28.terms of the approach. Community restorative justice has been tried,
:14:29. > :14:33.is that the next logical step? There are number of things. We need to not
:14:34. > :14:36.only look for criminal justice responses, sometimes health care is
:14:37. > :14:39.appropriate and if a community has been wronged, a proportionate
:14:40. > :14:43.response might be that the young person helps to clean up the area
:14:44. > :14:50.and works alongside the community to improve things and back and repay
:14:51. > :14:56.their debt to society in a more constructive way.
:14:57. > :15:03.We need to be smart on crime and we need to look at areas where outcome
:15:04. > :15:07.can be improved, distinguishable between what works and what doesn't
:15:08. > :15:11.work permit shall be criminal justice system is right in response
:15:12. > :15:17.to this. There is no absolute guarantee that your committee will
:15:18. > :15:22.necessary pick up on this. No, it would be part of our legacy report.
:15:23. > :15:25.The next minister will pick up some of the suggestions as well. I
:15:26. > :15:33.suspect they will go and I suspect they will will be a hugely
:15:34. > :15:36.successful collaboration, with the legal profession and the legal
:15:37. > :15:41.sector, police, all of these organisations coming together once a
:15:42. > :15:44.month to look at the evidence base outcome for all the different
:15:45. > :15:46.initiatives. I really good report their and we could use it in the
:15:47. > :15:47.next mandate. The Finance Minister also faced
:15:48. > :15:50.questions today and it was his turn to answer MLAs asking about the hot
:15:51. > :15:53.topic of Brexit. Most ministers have been asked
:15:54. > :15:55.for their position on the EU referendum debate
:15:56. > :16:13.and Mervyn Storey was only too happy The EU funding totalling 676 million
:16:14. > :16:20.has been secured for the 2007 13 BC and the five A programmes and the
:16:21. > :16:26.2000 1420 piece for the five A programmes for the delivery by SU
:16:27. > :16:30.PB. The special EU programmes body is the managing authority for the
:16:31. > :16:35.direct programmes. Funding under these programmes is secured why the
:16:36. > :16:43.Northern Ireland executive, Irish, and relation the Scottish allotment.
:16:44. > :16:48.Will the Minister offers some suggestions of how such funding
:16:49. > :16:55.would be best attained in the future? The member was to draw us
:16:56. > :16:59.into the debate around what would happen post the referendum. I have
:17:00. > :17:03.made it very clear that the debate which leads us to and during the
:17:04. > :17:11.referendum needs to be on the basis of facts, it has to be the basis of
:17:12. > :17:15.figures and one figure that those parties who are suggesting that we
:17:16. > :17:19.should stay within the European Union has to deal with is the fact
:17:20. > :17:27.that we have ?20 billion which goes every year to the coppers of the
:17:28. > :17:31.European Union. An organisation that has a looted bureaucracy, an
:17:32. > :17:39.organisation that can't secure our borders, an organisation that cannot
:17:40. > :17:45.resist meddling in our courts decisions and I think that that the
:17:46. > :17:49.many other reasons, let financial reasons, there is a case that is
:17:50. > :17:54.currently being made to ensure that our money is best spent in Northern
:17:55. > :17:59.Ireland to the benefit of our tissues, to the benefit of our
:18:00. > :18:05.farmers, to the benefit that of our committee. Could I ask the Minister,
:18:06. > :18:10.has his department carried out any audit as to the potential
:18:11. > :18:14.implications of Brexit, negative or otherwise, specifically for Northern
:18:15. > :18:20.Ireland? Because I think that faith in the Tories to deliver to Northern
:18:21. > :18:28.Ireland and a post Brexit, I think would be pretty much ill founded. I
:18:29. > :18:31.hear members who are always asking for more information. All the
:18:32. > :18:39.information is out there that needs to be out there in terms of making a
:18:40. > :18:43.judgment on a decision. That is the fact that Her Majesty 's tragedy,
:18:44. > :18:48.irrespective of who is the Government of the day, whether they
:18:49. > :18:52.be the Conservative all the members colleagues in the Labour Party, and
:18:53. > :18:57.we know how well they were able to spend money. They spent money that
:18:58. > :19:01.well that the bust almost the Treasury so I think the memo will do
:19:02. > :19:07.better to have a conversation with his colleagues in the Labour Party
:19:08. > :19:12.that causes into the financial mess. The Conservative Party had to try
:19:13. > :19:17.and resolve. However, the issue that still needs to be resolved is for
:19:18. > :19:23.the Treasury because they will have more money which will not go to
:19:24. > :19:27.Brussels but will come to Belfast and to other parts of the United
:19:28. > :19:30.Kingdom and that I started back, I would have to go round all the
:19:31. > :19:33.the members constituencies to keep you all happy.
:19:34. > :19:35.Mervyn Storey in robust form at the despatch box.
:19:36. > :19:37.Yet another piece of legislation made its final passage
:19:38. > :19:40.The Rural Needs Bill obliges all public bodies to take
:19:41. > :19:43.into account the needs of those living in the country
:19:44. > :19:46.The Agriculture Minister and members of the Agriculture Committee
:19:47. > :19:52.were pleased to see the bill reach its final stage.
:19:53. > :19:59.As we move forward it will be important to ensure that the public
:20:00. > :20:03.authorities named in the bill comply with this in a consistent and
:20:04. > :20:09.meaningful way. This bill is to have real impact on the lives, it can't
:20:10. > :20:14.be allowed to become a box ticking exercise. The reporting and
:20:15. > :20:19.monitoring of arrangements will help to ensure that this will happen as a
:20:20. > :20:28.result of these amendments, the Department is required to publish an
:20:29. > :20:33.annual report. What I am glad that there will be a statue duty on
:20:34. > :20:36.public authorities to take rural needs into account when incrementing
:20:37. > :20:42.Government policies and delivering public services I'm still somewhat
:20:43. > :20:47.disappointed with the limited scope of the bill. This bill represents
:20:48. > :20:50.another missed opportunity. We only have to look at other parts of the
:20:51. > :20:53.United Kingdom where there are significantly more protection than
:20:54. > :20:59.place for rural communities, for instance, I try to place presumption
:21:00. > :21:02.against rural school closures on the face of a bill, like Scotland and
:21:03. > :21:08.England, given the limited scope of this bill it was not possible. This
:21:09. > :21:15.bill has come about as a result of the brutal White paper and action
:21:16. > :21:19.plan with the commitment to strive for an inclusive rural society where
:21:20. > :21:28.all rural drivers enjoy the same quality of the as other people
:21:29. > :21:32.referring in urban settings. The effective implementation of rural
:21:33. > :21:36.proofing across central and local Government. And other public
:21:37. > :21:41.authorities as may be specified. I think this is a historic day for the
:21:42. > :21:45.Assembly. This rural bill, the final stage of this rural bill is
:21:46. > :21:50.something that is the little for quite a number of years and I want
:21:51. > :21:55.to congratulate and compound the Minister Michele O'Neil for bringing
:21:56. > :22:01.this forward. The rural dweller and I am one of them myself, has for a
:22:02. > :22:08.long time been an estimated within their own communities. I served
:22:09. > :22:14.nearly 20 years as a councillor. In a rural area and it was a fighting
:22:15. > :22:18.match year in, year out with meetings with the council to get the
:22:19. > :22:22.right money laid aside for facilities in the rural areas. In an
:22:23. > :22:33.act this is a great new story for our communities. I think for us, we
:22:34. > :22:39.can be very, as Assembly, be very proud that we have left a fantastic
:22:40. > :22:45.legacy out of this mandate. The needs of rural communities will be
:22:46. > :22:49.reckless. For me, given that it is International Women's Day, I am a
:22:50. > :22:52.proud minister to say that I've led the way in delivering for rural
:22:53. > :22:58.communities and to make sure that we look to the future, broke me to stay
:22:59. > :23:02.so the disadvantage, they do feel that they have a statue that now,
:23:03. > :23:05.that their needs will be taken into account. It is a great newspaper
:23:06. > :23:07.Michelle O'Neill acknowledging International Women's Day.
:23:08. > :23:09.And the Assembly isn't just marking the day,
:23:10. > :23:12.it has devoted the entire week to raising the profile
:23:13. > :23:15.Earlier, a cross-party motion marked the creation of a women's
:23:16. > :23:21.parliamentary caucus here in Stormont.
:23:22. > :23:28.A political career path is deemed as not family friendly due to long
:23:29. > :23:34.sections and the demands placed on member's times. It remains true that
:23:35. > :23:39.women are main carers in our society and as such we need to expose
:23:40. > :23:43.strategies to prove worklife balance and improve issues around childcare
:23:44. > :23:51.and other caring responsibilities. This will be another key protein for
:23:52. > :23:55.the women's caucus. If more women will take up more high-profile and
:23:56. > :23:59.positions, it will help the media will inspire more women to take up
:24:00. > :24:04.higher positions. I would commend it to everybody. We can't sit back and
:24:05. > :24:07.wait on the societal changes. We must change our own society and it
:24:08. > :24:12.is my hope that the women caucus will drive these changes so the male
:24:13. > :24:19.and female ratio of this Assembly is much closer to 5050 by 2020. I want
:24:20. > :24:25.to thank you for your commitment that you have had at women in
:24:26. > :24:35.politics and in public life and I know a few months ago, Catriona
:24:36. > :24:38.Ruane and I ambushed you in your office and have some ideas that
:24:39. > :24:42.would be good for International Women's Day. You took those ideas
:24:43. > :24:47.are not needed you make this Assembly celebrate International
:24:48. > :24:50.Women's Day, you brought it into International women's week. I would
:24:51. > :24:55.like rabbit in the headlights. I was so nervous and so intimidated by
:24:56. > :25:00.this chamber but it has been through this support that I've had from my
:25:01. > :25:04.party colleagues, from other people within this chamber, but I can stand
:25:05. > :25:10.here today and not feel like that rabbit in the head lights. We also
:25:11. > :25:15.have a First Minister who is a women, we have two junior ministers,
:25:16. > :25:18.we have a Minister for agriculture and culture arts and leisure. That
:25:19. > :25:25.didn't happen by accident. That happens because women were taken
:25:26. > :25:29.power and also being supported by men in parties who understood the
:25:30. > :25:37.importance of true equality within each of our parties. I lost my mum
:25:38. > :25:42.in December and she was a strong women who had a great life, reared
:25:43. > :25:47.seven children and freely in different times she read those
:25:48. > :25:52.children. It is because of women like my mother and all our mothers
:25:53. > :25:58.who fought the good fight in their way, in their time. You won't make
:25:59. > :26:02.the progress you want to make in this place without the support of
:26:03. > :26:06.men, that is a given. I am hoping that a lot of other men who maybe
:26:07. > :26:14.don't need much persuasion will come on board with the initiative as time
:26:15. > :26:17.goes on. 2016 saw the first of First Minister in Northern Ireland and I'm
:26:18. > :26:21.kind God she's not here because I must admit Arlene Foster is someone
:26:22. > :26:28.I've always admired. I would be quite embarrassing visit she was in
:26:29. > :26:34.room. I dyed my hair because -- I admire her because she is a good
:26:35. > :26:40.politician. She is not only a good team are politician, generally she
:26:41. > :26:43.is a good politician. We are forced to be reckoned with. We have
:26:44. > :26:46.achieved much in our numbers and we have much to be proud of. Is up to
:26:47. > :26:50.women to put their shoulders to the door and give it a hard shell. It is
:26:51. > :26:53.up to Assembly members here that we hold that door open and encourage
:26:54. > :26:57.many others to come through. Sandra Overend and Sam
:26:58. > :27:04.McBride has rejoined me. Do you think we need great is to
:27:05. > :27:14.encourage more women to play in active part in Northern Ireland
:27:15. > :27:17.politics? Some say we do. It has to be said that has been some
:27:18. > :27:22.criticism. I think waiters are ultimately not the answer because I
:27:23. > :27:25.think they can be quite demeaning to women. They could suggest that women
:27:26. > :27:33.really need some sort of like to get on in politics. These strong
:27:34. > :27:37.political figures show that actually it you are good enough, you can get
:27:38. > :27:44.on. Ideally at this point in time, there has never been bettered by
:27:45. > :27:49.good time in which to be a female pills politician in Northern Ireland
:27:50. > :27:52.going forward for election. If you are women going forward for
:27:53. > :27:56.election, parties are my full that they need a certain percentage. If
:27:57. > :28:00.there is not a crater, your other pretty good chance of getting in
:28:01. > :28:06.there. There are some pretty impressive female politicians in the
:28:07. > :28:10.parties that. Having as female first Miller has got to be an
:28:11. > :28:16.encouragement for all parties. It is like Margaret Thatcher when she was
:28:17. > :28:20.Prime Minister. Particularly in a party like the DUP that has been
:28:21. > :28:25.criticised sometimes unfairly, it is a bit like the Conservative Party,
:28:26. > :28:28.they were the first to have a female Prime Minister and the DUP have
:28:29. > :28:35.surprised many to have the first female leader. They have chosen them
:28:36. > :28:39.in seats where they are likely to win and that is quite significant
:28:40. > :28:46.and if you that is where potentially could have people put in where they
:28:47. > :28:47.never have a chance of winning but instead you are really addressing
:28:48. > :28:47.the issue. Join me for a special edition
:28:48. > :28:52.of The View from Dublin on Thursday But before we go, can I assure
:28:53. > :29:05.the Justice Minister Can I is usual welcome the support
:29:06. > :29:12.from the vast number of members who've spoken and in GB huge crowds
:29:13. > :29:17.we can here. I suspect the whole BBC Stormont Today team are hunched over
:29:18. > :29:59.their laptop screens watching in the basement.
:30:00. > :30:08.It's a huge weekend of sport, live across the BBC.
:30:09. > :30:12.The FA Cup quarterfinals and round four of the Six Nations.