11/03/2014 Stormont Today

Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up on the programme:

The Health Minister responds to news of the resignation of the Belfast

Health and Social Care Trust's chief Executive. The Chief Executive's

position in the trust, the second largest in the United Kingdom, which

comes with all of the pressures of managing local services whilst

managing regional services, is a very stressful and tough job.

The Justice Minister continues to distance himself from the OTR

scheme. I was unaware of the so-called administrative scheme for

dealing with these, Operation Red Blood issuing letters.

And the News Letter's Sam McBride joins me in the studio with his

thoughts. -- Operation Rapid. The resignation of the Belfast

Health and Social Care Trust's chief Executive was raised early in

Assembly proceedings today. Edwin Poots said he's confident there are

people within the Health Service who could take on the challenging role

that has been held by Colm Donaghy for almost four years. Mr Poots made

the comments during his statement on progressing health care reform.

When discussing health and social care delivery in Northern Ireland,

it is important that we retain perspective. I know that our

emergency department service is under extreme pressure and I have

listened first-hand to the concerns of staff delivering front-line

services. I commend those staff for continuing to deliver an excellent

service. They continue to do continuing to deliver an excellent

come from actually implementing DY C. I welcome the statement. I would

suggest however, Minister, that the wider public opinion on transforming

your care from the view of staff, the medical profession, patients,

public opinion generally is certainly not as rosy as the

statement that you have placed before this House today. . We were

told at the beginning of this process that there was 70 million

required to implement TYC in totality. We understand it today

that there was 19 million allocated in 2012 and 2013 and a further nine

million the following year. That, in my compilations calculation, leaves

a shortfall of many millions. The medical profession are working

closely with is to deliver on the ground. The medical professions and

the bodies that represent them have never at any stage indicated that

transforming our care is not the right way forward. I will be honest,

I would like to have had a greater availability of money at this point

but I read his mouth that for all departments there are challenges. We

will have to make your case, we made it and did not get as much as we

would like. Can the Minister state whether it is significant that the

chief Executive of the Belfast trust has resigned and whether this means

there is a problem? I learned last week that he had been offered a job

elsewhere and has decided to take that job. I wish him very well in

doing that. I think that it needs to be recognised by the Chief

Executive's position in the Belfast trust, the second-largest trust in

the United Kingdom, which comes with all of the pressures of managing

local services whilst managing regional services, is a very, very

stressful regional services, is a very, very

that it will always be difficult to get people to carry out such a job

because of the challenges that are there. But I am confident at the

same time that there are people within the system who will step up

to the mark and will take on what is a very challenging position.

Edwin Poots paying tribute to Colm Donaghy, who's leaving the Belfast

Trust for pastures new in Sussex. With me now is the Political

Correspondent of the News Letter, Sam McBride. Was the departure of

Colm Donaghy a surprise? It is not entirely a surprise given what has

been going on within the trust. You certainly could not blame him for

wanting to get out of what is a pretty thankless job. We have seen

John Compton leave his post quite recently. Both of those men have

been in the firing line, along with the Minister and perhaps in some

cases instead of the Minister. They are the first line of defence. The

Belfast trust has had particular issues. It is maybe a little bit

surprising that he was so insistent in January that he would not resign.

Albeit that was clearly over the barriers that had emerged at that

point and he has not resigned over those. To be so soon after that and

then we have the news of the sixth death which Paul Hart involves --

which perhaps involves waiting times, it seems that there are

serious problems within at least certain parts of the trust. You

certainly not leaving any blaze of glory. The delay in the installation

of the MRI scanner at the children's hospital seems to be exactly the

kind of issue that seems to highlight the apparent gulf that

exists between the people and the politicians. It is. I think the

issue with the Health Service really is that no matter how much money is

paid to it, it is like a vast there Moth that gobbles up everything that

is given to it. -- a vast creature. Things very quickly become

established but they have to be here and people expect them. I think that

when there is something going rate in the Health Service, people very

often complain that we do not reported and highlighted. People

expected to be right and are surprised and angry when it does

not. We now know the name of the judge who'll lead the inquiry into

the OTR letters, Lady Justice Hallett.

the OTR letters, Lady Justice head around in a relatively short

the OTR letters, Lady Justice all. I think was a collision that

perhaps the delay was because they were scrambling around trying to

find somebody. It is a difficult job to take on. In most significant

thing in terms of the issue today was the terms of inference which the

Select Committee published which in some ways really overshadowed the

announcement of the judge because they made clear they were going to

dig into every aspect of this aspect of who got the letters and

compelling witnesses. It could be that the judge leading party looks

pretty weak in comparison, pretty tame in comparison to what is going

to happen with the Westminster inquiry. A report on complaints

against Gerry Kelly regarding his involvement in a procession in

Castlederg was published today. What were its main findings? It basically

cleared him. It found that he had not been acting as an MLA but even

if he had, he had not broken the law so could not be sanctioned. It comes

down to the tension between free speech and what MLAs can do, which

pushes the boundaries of that Unionists claim that he was

glorifying terrorism. They found that that was not the case.

Sam, for now, thank you. We will talk to you about later.

A BBC Spotlight programme has once again got our politicians talking.

-- a bit later. Sinn Fein brought a motion calling on the Environment

Minister to establish an independent public inquiry into waste disposal

in the North West. This motion has come about following

the shocking relevant -- revelations on a recent BBC programme which has

exposed an illegal waste dump on the outskirts of Derry. The programme

makers and an independent report from a professor shed light on the

indiscriminate burning of half 1 million tonnes of illegal waste

which has gone undetected for a number of years, despite numerous

complaints from local residents and stakeholders, such as an angling

association. I believe that systematic failures and

institutional neglect have facilitated waste crime in Northern

Ireland. facilitated waste crime in Northern

potential of a public inquiry. But into what? Mr Eastwood has quite

rightly referred to how wide that can get, how big that could get. I

just feel that if there is going to be a proper public inquiry into the

illegal dumping of waste, it needs to be widespread. Having discussed a

scale of criminality in the waste industry with my party colleague,

the Justice Minister, he was clear that there is a sizeable criminal

element in the Northern Ireland waste industry and that

unfortunately, a proportion of those involved do have links to organised

crime and paramilitaries. I understand the Minister has held

discussions with the environment minister about how best to tackle

this. I think I have two mention it again here, there is a real issue

about the inability of the National Crime Agency to operate here in

areas that are devolved, including environmental crime. We tell the

House today that we are all opposed to criminality. We are, to be sure.

We are not filling the general public one little bit. If we're

going to take this issue of the disposal of waste, I suspect there

is going to be some hurt and pain. Let it be understood also, when we

hear of these diesel laundering plants, do we ever hear of anybody

being arrested? It escapes me if it does. I do not hear of any arrests.

I will not invincible opposed the call for the public inquiry before

us today. There are however just three points I would make in

conclusion. I must reiterate my view that I see little in terms of what

value will be added to the action taken to date and the action that I

have pledged going forward. Also they live criminal investigation. In

fact, it may serve only to divert more resources, more time and delay

taking the critically important action needed to address this

problem. The Environment Minister wondering

if a public inquiry is necessary. The Environment Minister wondering

judgement, On The Runs the Assembly. The Justice Minister

faced five questions on the issue at the dispatch box today.

I was unaware of the so-called administrative scheme for dealing

with OTRs, Operation Last -- Operation Rapid, the issue of

letters until shortly before the findings were made public. On

learning of it I thought a briefing with the Secretary of State and the

briefing official. I have had no contact with the Attorney General.

The content of these letters and to who they were issued are matters for

the Secretary of State. I am sure that the Minister is aware that the

Attorney General for England and Wales and said in the House of

Commons in regard to the letters, as to the principles underlined in the

villages, this was an administrative process that was certainly offer.

Can the Minister tell us whether he agrees or disagrees Mr Mark --

underlined in this letter. As I have no knowledge, I am in no position to

determine whether or not it was lawful. As the Justice committee was

told on the 20th of every, we can start to really see where cracks are

opening up to stop -- 20th of debris. The reality is, the longer

the impasse, the bigger the impasse. I have recently discussed the issue

with the Secretary of State and Chief Constable. In addition, the

officials have been working with the NI oh, the Home Office and other

organised crime task force partners. would he agree with me that the

parties opposite by continuing to Chris agree with this, our allying

criminal gangs to flourish? It is two months now since I wrote to

them, seeking meetings to discuss two months now since I wrote to

Justice to know how to address the problems we don't know what the

problems are. Given all the blanks and information relating to On The

Runs, we are quite right to be sceptical? What we have sought to do

is make sure that pleasing architecture is respected, that we

have respect for the police ombudsman and the primacy of the

PSNI, including the Chief Constable, being the final arbiter of how the

MCA will be involved in Northern Ireland. -- MCA.

The Justice Minister, David Ford, underscoring the complexity of

policing here. No hospital beds, a lack of money and a delay in

installing a mRI scanner at Belfast's Children's Hospital.

Those were just some of the complaints raised with the Health

Minister during Question Time. But Edwin Poots began by announcing that

there's been a rise in the number of medical negligence cases settled.

The number of new cases created and close to the year to date are online

with last year 's numbers. About 207. There has been a significant

increase in the number of individual cases that have been settled that

exceed more than half ?1 million. It cases were settled last year, as was

the case into the -- the year before that. The 207 cases that have been

settled at this, 23 cases have been settled that more than half ?1

million. Is the Minister aware that from six o'clock last night and

balances were backed up with Gavin emergency departments. Staff did not

know where patients reported to be admitted to because there have been

no beds available there for the last number of weeks. Could the Minister

not be honest with the Assembly and tell us that there simply isn't the

money. tell us that there simply isn't the

money to open tell us that there simply isn't the

two words that are current and closed in Craigavon area hospital

can be open to meet the need of the emergency departments? An

interesting speech. She knows full well that the trust received more

beds for winter pressures. That is something that we didn't hold off

from any trust. Each trust in each hospital will come under pressure,

particularly at this time of year. It is important that across Northern

Ireland we manage that and ensure that other trusts will step in to

provide support. There was approval granted in 2012 for the MRI

scanner. I supported the development of the scanner in the Children's

Hospital. It was previously part of the plan. We need to recognise that

we are not installing a 42 inch television screen. It is an

incredibly technical piece of equipment with the best imaging you

can get. You need to have the right people in place to manage it, but

the installation is very important. It will involve piling. It is

involving asbestos removal. It will involve ensuring that the building

it is enclosed in old in that of other wards because you're talking

about radioactivity. Edwin Poots explaining why the new

MRI scanner for the Children's Hospital is taking longer than

expected to be installed. The Education Minister has confirmed

that GCSE and A-Level exams here will remain largely unchanged, while

his counterparts in England and Wales are making dramatic changes.

John O'Dowd says he wants pupils to have a choice of exam styles, either

testing after each module or at the end of two years. Our young people

must have access to qualifications that enable

must have access to qualifications of this jurisdiction. I have no

intentions of acting in a way that will disadvantage young people

wanting to study across these islands. I believe my decision to

change the exams has given real advantage to those applying for

universities in England. One issue that I've had to consider is whether

the changes being made elsewhere are so great that they might affect our

ability to minty and an open qualifications market for schools. I

want to make clear that I can see value in ensuring the schools have

access to as wide a range of choice of qualifications as possible.

Therefore, I do not intend to restrict schools to qualifications.

Schools will continue to be free to choose exam specifications from

other awarding organisations, provided those organisations can

satisfy House that they meet the requirements of our curriculum. As

has been noted previously and favourably commented on, our

curriculum has a focus on knowledge, on skills. Our focus on

literacy encompasses not just reading and writing, but also the

wider skill of communication. Employers frequently stressed to me

the importance of making sure that young people can indicate

affectively and apply their knowledge and practical settings.

Qualifications in English will only be considered valid for young people

if they include as an integral part the assessment of speaking and

listening. I am not persuaded that the GCSE qualifications should be

banned from 1-9. Nevertheless, I shall keep this issue under review.

The Education Minister, John O'Dowd. Is the Republic of Ireland 17 times

more ambitious than Northern Ireland when it comes to EU funding? That

was when it comes to EU funding? That

motion, which singled out the DRD Minister for particular praise, to

instead commend all ministers who have secured significant funding.

Here's the motion's proposer, Mike Nesbitt. Economic league, how

competitive are we in terms of drawdown? How successful are we? The

proper message -- measure I suggest is the number of requested financial

contributions" of Northern Ireland for framework seven. We requested 35

euro and 33 cents per head of population. Compared to Wales, it is

must exactly the same. Compared to England it is less than half an

compared to Scotland is as about a third. The shocker is the comparison

with the Republic of Ireland where per head of population the republic

requested financial contributions of 590 euros. Experience shows that

small and medium-sized Irish companies north and south are not

taking full advantage of the funding of European Union opportunities.

This new programme which supports research and innovation offers

tremendous opportunities for high-level links and collaboration

with other companies and research bodies across Europe and further

afield. Do we need to draw them were funding? Of course we do. The

figures to run into the melting pot by headline grabbers, but they do

not paint the whole picture. Given that when they are broken down the

money used to calculate the 500 90 million euros is in fact the of the

Republic of Ireland applied for to Europe, not the amount received.

From -- contrary to the suggestion in the motion, I believe the DRD is

not the Department of the largest drawdown. So, they have done very

well. drawdown. So, they have done very

for education and learning. The executive set itself the programme

for government target to increase drawdown of competitive fund space

20%. Departments can need to make good progress against this target.

At the halfway point, ?41 million has been secured and this represents

64% of the ?64 million needed. The executive said 20% targets as a damp

-- developmental target. The primary purpose of the 20% target is to

encourage participation in the Europe-wide networks and to

facilitate partnership working with the best in Europe.

The amended motion passed. The OFM/DFM committee had a busy

meeting last week with both the Victims' Commissioner and the Head

of the Civil Service answering questions. Unhappy with delays in

receiving information from the department, Members asked Dr Malcolm

McKibbin why he thought the Office of First Minister and Deputy First

Minister took so long to respond. It is a departments with two

ministers, supported basic special advisers. There are the two junior

ministers and to further special advisers. That undoubtedly impacts

on the speed of policy developments and decision-making. It is not

surprising. It quite surely is a more complex your operates within

other conventional departments. Is it possible that the dysfunctional

relationship in terms of these briefings papers to be regarded as a

reach of the law? I don't regard the relationship is dysfunctional. We

are trying to improve the relationship. I believe that the

committee can help us what Lizzie development and I am keen to assist

them to assist us. development and I am keen to assist

education. It took 299 working days to get a response, despite the fact

that months ago the Minister for education when the consultation on

changing the scheme. It seems to me that anybody could have written the

response in two minutes, basically to the effect of because the

Minister of education is, the consultation we can no longer answer

your request. Yet it sap and sap and sat. -- yet it sat and sap and sap.

We can assure the those cases will be reduced in number. I don't want

to get into a discussion about the rights and wrongs of it. What it

highlights for me and colleagues at the commission is that this is

another example where the Dems of all sides have been perceived to

have been denied justice and denied access to justice. Those are such

fundamental, basic rights that people have and the perception is

that, yet again, for a particular group of people, they have been

taken away. Whether that perception is accurate or not, we will have the

review. It is certainly an experience that is common to victims

and survivors from all communities, and something that everyone can

attempt to fight with. It has been very challenging time with a lot of

angry, upset and hurt people who feel betrayed. It also makes me

think about how we will look at dealing with the past.

The Victims' Commissioner, Kathryn Stone. The News Letter's Political

Correspondent, Sam McBride, is with me again.

Correspondent, Sam McBride, is with political process here. He did. He

hinted at lots of things and said a few things explicitly. When Richard

Haass came into this process into temper last year he had a reputation

as someone who would not take any nonsense. In some ways he didn't

live up to that reputation, in public anyway. He seemed to be very

diplomatic, come and -- consensual. He clearly felt that the Ulster

unionists should stay in the process. Because of these On The

Runs letters, this process will be pushed back to after the election.

Have we heard any more from the First and Deputy First Minister's

trip to Washington? We have the odd site of Peter Robinson and Martin

McGuinness standing beside celebrities in HBO 's studios

smiling, looking incredibly happy, after we heard that this place was

in crisis and the relationship was in tatters. It is difficult to see

how the public facing America, smiling, United leaders, can play

with a very divided scene that there is back at home.

We will see their smiling when get back. Thanks, Sam. That's it for

tonight. Do join me for The View on Thursday night. As our politicians

gather in Washington to mark St Patrick's Day, we'll hear from our

correspondent Martina Purdy, who's with them. Until then, goodbye.