:00:24. > :00:27.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up in tonight's programme:
:00:27. > :00:34.The Health Minister outlines the way forward for the Northern Health
:00:34. > :00:38.Trust. You have to do better. We will do better. That is why we are
:00:38. > :00:44.continuing to make differences here and challenge and change and we will
:00:44. > :00:46.get there, with the Northern Trust. Despite recommendations from a
:00:46. > :00:51.review panel, the Education Minister refuses to withdraw extra payments
:00:51. > :00:55.to small schools. I can assure the Assembly that where there is the
:00:55. > :00:58.case that small schools that have been identified as strategic
:00:58. > :01:02.important will receive the resources they need to provide the best
:01:02. > :01:05.possible education for the children they serve.
:01:05. > :01:12.We'll have reaction from the Chair of the Education Committee to that
:01:12. > :01:16.announcement. The Health Minister has revealed
:01:16. > :01:21.that a report into the Northern Health Trust says it is in a poor
:01:21. > :01:24.position and requires extensive support to improve.
:01:24. > :01:27.Edwin Poots told the Assembly in a statement that the review team he
:01:27. > :01:30.brought in last year has made five recommendations to improve the
:01:30. > :01:34.organisation. I have now received the report from the turn around team
:01:34. > :01:38.detailing the findings of phase one of the review. The report addresses
:01:38. > :01:42.the term of references comprehensively. I'm grateful to the
:01:43. > :01:48.team for significant work in taking this forward. Given the needed to
:01:48. > :01:51.reduce waiting times, in relation to unscheduled care, the review
:01:51. > :01:56.examined performance, including quality and safety of services,
:01:56. > :02:00.outcomes and patient experience, at the Trust's emergency departments
:02:00. > :02:04.and identified specific areas and aspects of the work of the Trust and
:02:04. > :02:09.its relationship with ovide providers of health and social care
:02:09. > :02:13.were improvement in is required. It report provides team's assessment of
:02:13. > :02:18.leadership capacity at the Trust and the changes necessary to improve
:02:18. > :02:23.performance. The report makes five distinct recommendations. They are -
:02:23. > :02:29.to enhance the leadership capacity at the Trust and empower clinicians
:02:29. > :02:32.to lead change. Ensure support to deliver an improvement plan in three
:02:32. > :02:37.phases. Gain assurance that is governance and quality systems are
:02:37. > :02:41.robust. Gain assurance that mortality data is robust. Put in
:02:41. > :02:48.place performance framework that will ensure delivery of the
:02:48. > :02:52.improvement plan and contains clear consequences for non--delivery
:02:52. > :02:55.alongside incentives for delivery. The analysis identified that the
:02:55. > :03:00.northern health and social care trust is in a poor position and
:03:00. > :03:05.requires intensive support to improve. It is reassuring to note
:03:05. > :03:10.that the team concluded that the Trust can be turned around. That is
:03:10. > :03:16.essential to improve the patient trust and experience it at the
:03:16. > :03:20.Trust. However, support needs to be provided to enable it to do so. In
:03:20. > :03:26.relation to the Causeway Hospital the report signals the need to
:03:26. > :03:30.remove any sense of uncertainty in regard to its future management
:03:30. > :03:37.arrangements. I'm Dean remove that uncertainty. I told the House on
:03:37. > :03:42.19th March that TYC consultation had indicated significant sfor for the
:03:42. > :03:48.action, as set out in the Vision to Action document. I asked officials
:03:48. > :03:52.to begin work to take forward an options appraisal. Whether it should
:03:52. > :03:59.remain within the northern trust or transfer in the near future to the
:03:59. > :04:08.Western Trust. Work on the options appraisal has been begun. Also
:04:08. > :04:11.ommend recommendations the issue of mortality data has come up are you
:04:11. > :04:16.indicating there has been doubts about how the data was collated and
:04:16. > :04:19.if so what impact that had? What does it mean for the future?
:04:19. > :04:23.terms of mortality there are multiple ways of calculating
:04:23. > :04:29.mortality. The Met old that the northern trust uses doesn't give any
:04:29. > :04:34.particular concern. However, just to be absolutely certain, the report
:04:34. > :04:37.suggests running another methodology such as that of the Dr Foster
:04:37. > :04:42.organisation to provide maximum assurance. So we are not saying
:04:42. > :04:49.there is any risk there, but we want to double up there to ensure that we
:04:49. > :04:52.have that. Could the Minister tell us what are the monitoring and
:04:52. > :04:56.evaluation techniques to be used to ensure delivery of the
:04:56. > :04:59.recommendations and the time frame of achieving the same? Well,
:04:59. > :05:05.certainly, on some of the recommendations, I would want the
:05:05. > :05:12.time frame to be almost immediate. I would want to see improvement at a
:05:12. > :05:16.very early point. That is certainly something that we are looking at.
:05:16. > :05:20.The longer term is that we would be looking for the phase one
:05:20. > :05:25.improvement to be actually completed within six months. My view is that
:05:25. > :05:29.the public have to get better. They deserve better. We have to do
:05:30. > :05:34.better. We will do better. That is why we are continuing to make
:05:34. > :05:38.differences here and challenge and change and we will get there with
:05:38. > :05:41.the northern trust. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots.
:05:41. > :05:44.With me now is Janice Smyth, the Director of the Royal College of
:05:44. > :05:47.Nursing in Northern Ireland. What do you make of the Minister's statement
:05:47. > :05:52.today, first of all? I think there will be a huge sense of relief that
:05:53. > :05:58.we have got a report that records the issues that have been raised now
:05:58. > :06:02.for some time. I think that certainly nurses and other
:06:02. > :06:05.healthcare professionals working there, and the public, will, I
:06:05. > :06:08.think, shy a huge sense of relief that the concerns have been taken
:06:08. > :06:13.seriously. That we have got recommendations. We have an action
:06:13. > :06:17.plan and a phased implementation process. I think that the Minister
:06:17. > :06:23.has been frank and honest today. the problems have been identified
:06:23. > :06:26.and there is a plan in place to deal with them. Yes.Have confidence that
:06:26. > :06:31.plan will be implemented and the shortcomings will be dealt with?
:06:31. > :06:35.Well, the College has confidence that the Department recognised,
:06:35. > :06:39.albeit some might say late in the day, we had significant problems in
:06:39. > :06:43.that Trust, there were issues being raised by many people including the
:06:43. > :06:45.Royal College of Nursing. What I would say to you today is that Royal
:06:45. > :06:49.College of NursinGordon Brown will certainly beholding to account those
:06:49. > :06:53.who are responsible now for getting on with that actually making it
:06:53. > :06:56.right because this is the last opportunity to do that. It's really
:06:56. > :07:00.important that we get that right. We will do all we can to support people
:07:00. > :07:04.to make sure it happens. Is very important. One of the things the
:07:04. > :07:08.Minister mentioned today was this plan will give more power to
:07:08. > :07:12.clinicians to lead change. Is that sensible, in your view? I think it's
:07:12. > :07:15.really important. I think there is plenty of evidence that nurses and
:07:15. > :07:19.other healthcare staff were raising concerns about some of the things
:07:19. > :07:22.that were happening. Were making suggestions about what might make it
:07:22. > :07:25.right. Those were falling on deaf ears. If we want to make a
:07:25. > :07:28.difference to how we care for people, we need to empower the
:07:28. > :07:33.people who are responsible for delivering that care to get on with
:07:33. > :07:37.the job and do it. The Minister said the public deserves better and will
:07:37. > :07:41.get better from the Northern Trust in future. Do you believe him?
:07:41. > :07:46.believe his commitment to it. I believe that there is a plan to do
:07:46. > :07:49.it, but I think that people will say that proof of the pudding will be in
:07:49. > :07:53.the eating. Let us watch and see what happens. We will keep a close
:07:53. > :07:58.eye on what is going on in terms of the nurses and nursing. Thank you
:07:58. > :08:00.very much. A proposal that would have saved �28
:08:00. > :08:03.million a year has been rejected by the Education Minister.
:08:03. > :08:06.The recommendation to cancel extra payments to small schools was put
:08:06. > :08:09.forward by an independent review panel, but John O'Dowd said he won't
:08:09. > :08:13.be implementing it. Withdrawing the money could have led
:08:13. > :08:16.to the closure of hundreds of small schools.
:08:16. > :08:22.The Minister made his position clear during a statement to the Assembly
:08:22. > :08:28.today. The review panel's views is that the current means of funding
:08:28. > :08:34.small schools does not (inaudible) the panel recommended that I remove
:08:34. > :08:41.all small schools factors from the current funding. However, it has to
:08:41. > :08:46.be recognised that small schools would in that scenario have to be
:08:46. > :08:50.supported with funding outside the new formula to deliver education for
:08:50. > :08:53.the pupils. There has been much concern expressed with this
:08:53. > :08:58.recommendation, while I'm accepting the recommendation in principle, I
:08:58. > :09:03.am not implementing it at this time. I can assure the Assembly that where
:09:03. > :09:06.there is the case small schools that have been identified as
:09:06. > :09:09.strategically important will receive the resources they need to provide
:09:09. > :09:13.the best possible education for the children they serve. The difference
:09:13. > :09:17.from the current position is that these small schools will be planned
:09:17. > :09:20.and approved. They will not be there just because they have always been
:09:20. > :09:26.there, but because they represent the best solution for young people
:09:26. > :09:32.in that area. The review recognised that the issues schools face in
:09:32. > :09:35.overcoming barriers created by social deprivation are significantly
:09:35. > :09:41.increased with children from less affluent backgrounds. The panel
:09:41. > :09:46.recommended that funding for sow Yeo economic deprivation should be
:09:46. > :09:51.weighted towards schools with significant concentrations of
:09:51. > :09:59.disadvantage. It will be no surprise to members to note that I accept and
:09:59. > :10:07.fully endorse these recommendations. It is my intention to apply the same
:10:07. > :10:10.elgentleman blt criteria for free school meals. The post-prime
:10:10. > :10:15.t-primary pupils will have free school means in the same way as our
:10:15. > :10:20.primary pupils. The Minister clarify how to the House today what is his
:10:20. > :10:25.definition of a strategically important small school and how will
:10:25. > :10:29.that be determined in the light of his announcement today? I do fear
:10:29. > :10:35.that while reference was made to surpluses in some primary schools, I
:10:35. > :10:38.trust that this is not an attempt to rob the rich to pay the poor?
:10:38. > :10:43.that has to be done we are going to do it. All the evidence points to
:10:43. > :10:47.the fact that young people coming from socially deprived backgrounds
:10:47. > :10:50.face a greater challenges in education than those coming from
:10:50. > :10:54.more affluent backgrounds. If the evidence points in that direction we
:10:54. > :10:57.have to deal with it. Now, I think what I have done, the way I'm
:10:57. > :11:02.setting out the common funding formula, ensures that all schools
:11:03. > :11:07.are treated fairlied and equally. The Minister signalled today an
:11:07. > :11:10.investment of �10 million into the school budget next year, could the
:11:10. > :11:16.Minister outline if there will be investment further in targeting
:11:16. > :11:20.social need in the year ahead? you. I estimate it will cost
:11:20. > :11:25.approximately �30 million over the next twole financial years to fund
:11:25. > :11:31.the additional funding in the formula for targeting socialal needs
:11:31. > :11:36.and to allow pupils attending post-primary schools to be elible
:11:36. > :11:41.free school meals and free school uniforms as well. Why is he
:11:41. > :11:45.attacking the voluntary schools when he seems to be using one. Examples
:11:45. > :11:48.that how good they well work and why doesn't he look at adopting all the
:11:48. > :11:55.things that show voluntary schools work extremely well for everyone if
:11:55. > :11:59.we could sfeed through? I don't accept that I'm attacking voluntary
:11:59. > :12:04.schools. I attack the social engineering that takes places in
:12:04. > :12:09.relation to how they allow pupils to access their schools. The question
:12:09. > :12:14.that I have for the Minister, it does follow on from free school
:12:14. > :12:18.meals as an indicator, it is recommendation 20 say there is will
:12:18. > :12:22.be a further examination of other factors that might well be taken
:12:22. > :12:29.into account. I'm sure the Minister will be aware that many people who
:12:29. > :12:33.find themselves described as the "working poor" 1p income above Ella
:12:33. > :12:38.blt what investigation, how will that be taken forward? When might
:12:38. > :12:44.the Minister draw... Reach a conclusion on that analysis? We have
:12:44. > :12:50.actually, my predecessor, expanded the Ella blt for free school meals.
:12:50. > :12:54.We have further expanded. There will be 15,000 more pupils in
:12:54. > :13:04.post-primary schools entitled to free school meals as a result of my
:13:04. > :13:04.
:13:04. > :13:08.announcement today than if I would Minister's statement is the Chair of
:13:08. > :13:16.the Education Committee, Mervyn Storey. Are you satisfied with the
:13:16. > :13:19.Minister's position on the funding of small schools?
:13:19. > :13:23.The Minister has not moved according to the recommendation to remove the
:13:23. > :13:28.small schools factor but what needs to be clearly identified for those
:13:28. > :13:32.teachers in schools listening to the programme is that what the Minister
:13:32. > :13:37.said in a document released at the same time as a statement, it said,
:13:37. > :13:43.we are not removing it yet. Clearly, the Minister bottled out today in
:13:43. > :13:49.deciding to announce publicly that he was going to remove the small
:13:49. > :13:52.schools factor, but he intends in the coming weeks and months to look
:13:53. > :13:57.at a way whereby the factor will be removed.
:13:57. > :14:01.Why would he have done that today when he had the cover of the
:14:01. > :14:06.recommendation from this report to go down the road of closure?
:14:06. > :14:10.He has been under immense pressure. There is huge concern around the
:14:10. > :14:17.future of small schools. He said on one hand he was going to do this --
:14:17. > :14:21.was not going to do this, he then rejected out of hand having a small
:14:21. > :14:27.schools policy, but in a statement, he said he was going to abide
:14:27. > :14:30.further information and criteria in relation to how you define what is a
:14:30. > :14:33.strategically important small school. There were mixed messages
:14:33. > :14:37.from the message -- from the Minister today because he is feeling
:14:37. > :14:44.the heat around the immensity of this problem.
:14:44. > :14:48.Just to deal with one of the eye -1 of the wider issues. It is his
:14:48. > :14:54.Roache the socio- economic issues and protect some schools, perhaps at
:14:54. > :14:58.the expense of others. -- his Roache.
:14:58. > :15:01.Free school meals and using socio-economic criteria of blunt
:15:01. > :15:07.instruments to determine the allocation of funding and while free
:15:07. > :15:11.school meals is an issue in potent particularly in working class a
:15:12. > :15:19.distant areas, there has been a row take and we need to ensure that is
:15:19. > :15:23.maximised rush artist and areas. So that young people do benefit. -- in
:15:23. > :15:28.Protestant areas. But there needs to be provision for pupils on an
:15:28. > :15:33.educational basis because many pupils falls short of the free
:15:33. > :15:38.school meals criteria. You asked specifically if he was going to have
:15:38. > :15:45.to rob the rich to pay for the war and he said, if that has to be done,
:15:45. > :15:51.we are going to do it, did that surprise you? -- to pay for the
:15:51. > :15:54.poor. No, he is happy to attack the successful who benefit the
:15:54. > :15:58.unsuccessful, and I think the Minister needs to be clear that
:15:58. > :16:04.schools that even financially prudent should not be penalised in
:16:04. > :16:07.the process of distributing funds. Mervyn Storey, thank you very much.
:16:07. > :16:10.Following yesterday's approval of departmental budgets, today, the
:16:10. > :16:13.Finance Minister was back in front of the House, this time with the
:16:13. > :16:15.second stage of the Budget Bill. And the Minister warned the Bill must
:16:15. > :16:20.receive Assembly approval before summer recess, or departments and
:16:21. > :16:25.other publics bodies could have difficulties accessing cash.
:16:25. > :16:29.The Budget Bill is admittedly technical and on the surface it can
:16:29. > :16:32.be hard to translate the figures it contains into real-world public
:16:33. > :16:40.services. But it is important to emphasise that every doctor,
:16:40. > :16:45.teacher, road improvement, hospital, indeed, every public service
:16:45. > :16:53.provided for under the authority of the Assembly is affected eye this
:16:53. > :16:58.will and requires its legislation to operate legally -- is affected by
:16:58. > :17:02.this bill. So perhaps it appears dry and the figures are surreal, but it
:17:02. > :17:08.is a crucial piece of legislation for public services.
:17:08. > :17:12.At a strategic level, more effective Assembly input and scrutiny of
:17:12. > :17:21.expended chat will help to further demonstrate that devolution is
:17:21. > :17:27.making a difference to deliver an efficient governance in the North.
:17:27. > :17:32.-- scrutiny of expenditure. In terms of the immediate business today, on
:17:32. > :17:36.behalf of the Finance and personnel committee, I support the general
:17:36. > :17:39.principles of the bill. With unemployment and youth
:17:39. > :17:45.unemployment all remaining stubbornly high, we must ensure all
:17:45. > :17:51.resources are used affect degree. At the outset, I remain particularly
:17:51. > :17:55.concerned at the latest economic outlook for Northern Ireland which
:17:55. > :17:59.showed we are slipping behind the rest of the United Kingdom in almost
:17:59. > :18:01.every economic indicator. We must therefore question whether this
:18:02. > :18:09.budget is strong enough to reverse that trend.
:18:09. > :18:13.We are together building a united government, I will as I go on
:18:13. > :18:17.probably appear script -- appear sceptical about this document, but
:18:18. > :18:22.at least it is a recognition that bringing our people closer together
:18:22. > :18:26.is a vital priority for social reasons and for sound financial and
:18:27. > :18:31.economic reasons. It is concerning so little detail is available in
:18:31. > :18:36.terms of cost or whose budgets will be affected. It is not reassuring
:18:36. > :18:42.but a proposal to remove all peace wars in Belfast within ten years
:18:42. > :18:50.should be brought forward without reference to the Minister of
:18:50. > :18:54.Justice. -- wars. I cannot form an opinion on this bill because like
:18:54. > :18:58.everybody else, I do not have sufficient information. This is a
:18:58. > :19:03.sham, this is going through the process of pretending to deal with
:19:03. > :19:07.the issues when we are not, so I put this challenge to the Minister who
:19:07. > :19:13.normally does not bother to respond to me because he thinks that is the
:19:13. > :19:17.way to go and do politics. I am absolutely happy to take an
:19:17. > :19:21.intervention! Order, please, the member will
:19:21. > :19:26.resume his seat. I would remind members and ministers that you
:19:26. > :19:30.should not crowd -- you should not shout across the chamber.
:19:30. > :19:34.I have no difficulty with scrutiny of the budget and I think it is
:19:34. > :19:42.essential we have good scrutiny of the budget. Not only scrutiny of the
:19:42. > :19:52.budget as it is presented, but also on an ongoing basis. I will let the
:19:52. > :19:53.
:19:53. > :19:59.member get in front of the TV! Do you want me to speak for you?
:19:59. > :20:07.We are a regional economy. We are dealing with a global recession. We
:20:07. > :20:13.are also dealing with a world wide banking crisis. I do not think that
:20:13. > :20:19.I, as Finance Minister, have ever claimed, nor would I ever be silly
:20:19. > :20:23.enough to claim, that our budget, even though there is �18 billion
:20:23. > :20:29.involved of spend here, that that is ever going to be sufficient to
:20:29. > :20:32.reverse all of the weight of the global economic pressures.
:20:32. > :20:37.The Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, and the second stage of that Budget
:20:37. > :20:43.Bill was passed. And the second stage of that -- and the second
:20:43. > :20:45.stage was passed. There is not long to go now until the G8 Summit in
:20:45. > :20:48.County Fermanagh, and today, the Justice Minister faced a barrage of
:20:49. > :20:52.questions on how much it will cost, though David Ford refused to be
:20:52. > :20:55.drawn on an exact figure. And the Minister also faced a query about
:20:55. > :20:59.the PSNI re-hiring retired officers. I would like to ask the Minister, is
:20:59. > :21:05.he aware that PSNI has engaged in this practice in recent times to
:21:05. > :21:09.rehire retired police officers and not advertise well paid jobs? Would
:21:09. > :21:16.he agree that open doors for newcomers, the PSNI needs to shut
:21:16. > :21:21.the revolving door? His question -- I thank him for his
:21:21. > :21:28.question but I am not aware of this. The issue of the appointment of
:21:28. > :21:32.agency staff is a different issue from the issue of rehiring and I
:21:32. > :21:35.refer to that as being subject to an enquiry and I look forward to the
:21:35. > :21:39.report. The PSNI and departmental officials
:21:39. > :21:44.continued to work on the forecast cost of the policing and security
:21:44. > :21:48.operation associated with the G8 Summit. The cost will not be known
:21:48. > :21:51.until sometime after the summit and some costs such as compensation
:21:51. > :21:55.claims and legal aid will be incurred after and will depend on
:21:55. > :22:01.the level of unrest. I welcome the report to the policing board last
:22:01. > :22:03.Thursday, where it was advised a letter of assurance had been
:22:03. > :22:08.received from Danny Alexander had been written assurance that the
:22:08. > :22:11.majority of cost to the policing operation will be met by the
:22:11. > :22:16.government. PSNI will bear the cost of purchases and developments
:22:16. > :22:18.already built into policing spending plans, some of which have been
:22:19. > :22:22.accelerated as part of the G8 operation.
:22:22. > :22:26.The Justice committee look for answers to this last week and the
:22:26. > :22:32.official refused to tell us the in -- tells the information. What is
:22:32. > :22:40.the estimate of the overall cost associated with the G8 and what
:22:40. > :22:43.proportion will be carried by the Department of Justice and the PSNI?
:22:43. > :22:51.Well, Deputy Speaker, I thank my committee chair for his usual
:22:51. > :22:56.inquisition. I cannot give a forecast of the overall cost.
:22:56. > :23:00.Because there are many undetermined factors which will not be determined
:23:00. > :23:06.until significantly after the conference is over. What I can say
:23:06. > :23:10.is that a sum of money will fall to PSNI and to the Department of
:23:10. > :23:15.Justice related to expenditure. For example, a variety of capital
:23:15. > :23:19.programmes have been at -- have been accelerated to enable the policing
:23:19. > :23:23.operation to function well, those are issues on which we would have
:23:23. > :23:27.been spending money otherwise. But as I said, we have now seen the
:23:27. > :23:32.letter which has been sent by the chief secretary to the Chief
:23:32. > :23:35.Constable and that makes clear the expectation that the funding other
:23:35. > :23:41.than that for accelerated spending will fall to the UK Exchequer and
:23:41. > :23:47.not to the Department of Justice. Can the Minister give some
:23:47. > :23:51.indication of the quantum in terms of the capital costs associated with
:23:51. > :23:55.staging the G8 and can he give an assurance there will be no revenue
:23:55. > :24:01.difficulties or the police moving forward?
:24:01. > :24:03.-- for the police. I am always reluctant to say there will be no
:24:03. > :24:10.revenue difficulties for policing costs. We look at the events that
:24:10. > :24:13.could happen, we do not know what it will cost for the policing of the
:24:14. > :24:18.number of special events happening this summer and the issue of
:24:18. > :24:22.parading. So I would be cautious to say there is no pressure on the
:24:22. > :24:27.police in that respect. I am assured that the key additional costs of
:24:27. > :24:31.being fully funded elsewhere but we will ensure as we look at a
:24:31. > :24:34.difficult financial situation that we get the best value for money.
:24:34. > :24:38.The Justice Minister, David Ford. The number of farmers involved in
:24:38. > :24:41.organic farming here has fallen by almost 40% since 2006. The
:24:41. > :24:43.Agriculture Minister, Michelle O'Neill, who was sounding a little
:24:43. > :24:47.under the weather today, gave the details during today's Question
:24:47. > :24:51.Time. First up, though, she was asked about the recently unveiled
:24:51. > :24:56.Agri-Food Strategy Board's action plan.
:24:56. > :25:01.I welcome this proposal and I believe that such a scheme would
:25:01. > :25:04.improve productivity and efficiency at farm level, prevent them --
:25:04. > :25:09.dividing the necessary funding can be secured. I believe we can deliver
:25:09. > :25:13.such a scheme. But we have only recently taken our seat at the
:25:13. > :25:17.report and are carefully considering each individual recommendation
:25:17. > :25:22.before we bring forward final proposals on this and other
:25:22. > :25:29.proposals to the executive. I thank the Minister for her
:25:29. > :25:31.response. As a Minister -- as the Minister has a substantial
:25:31. > :25:36.underspend on the development programme, what plans do she have to
:25:36. > :25:40.use this money to help achieve the targets set within this report and
:25:40. > :25:45.to increase profitability across farms across Northern Ireland?
:25:46. > :25:49.The member will be aware that I have a major programme of work going in
:25:49. > :25:53.terms of potential underspend is and I am committed to making sure that
:25:53. > :25:59.by the end of the programme, not 1p will be handed back to Europe and
:25:59. > :26:05.the European money will be spent to the best benefit of our communities.
:26:05. > :26:11.But I believe the rural development programme will be an excellent
:26:11. > :26:13.vehicle to bring forward a lot of initiatives recommended in the
:26:13. > :26:17.report. Through adequate government
:26:17. > :26:22.assistance, the quantity of organic produce will be increased and would
:26:22. > :26:26.be of great benefit to farmer and consumer. Can I ask if the Minister
:26:26. > :26:30.can indicate what additional initiatives her department plans to
:26:30. > :26:35.introduce to strengthen the organic sector?
:26:35. > :26:39.Given that the fact that we have higher commodity prices in recent
:26:40. > :26:43.years, it has resulted in the premiums for farmers so that has
:26:44. > :26:51.been a disincentive for farmers to get involved in organic farming
:26:51. > :26:56.practices. In 2006, there were 224 farmers involved in organic
:26:56. > :27:00.actresses and in 2012, that is down to 139, and that is down to the fact
:27:00. > :27:05.they were not at acting a premium so it is not attractive to a farmer
:27:05. > :27:12.trying to sustain an income. So there is a weak market but there is
:27:12. > :27:16.a niche market for organic products. I am committed to making sure that
:27:16. > :27:20.through the development work we are doing, the fact we still run an
:27:20. > :27:24.organic farm, farmers can look at it and if it is something they are
:27:24. > :27:27.interested in, that is the work we can do. But it is something that is
:27:27. > :27:32.very much market led. I would like to thank the Minister
:27:32. > :27:36.for her answer and I wish her a speedy recovery. I would like to ask
:27:36. > :27:42.the Minister what has been the uptake in support for organic
:27:42. > :27:48.farming? The scheme itself, the organic
:27:48. > :27:53.farming scheme, supports farmers who want to convert to organic
:27:53. > :27:59.production methods and is funded through a programme. There 31
:27:59. > :28:01.participants this scheme currently and a farming about 1100 acres of
:28:01. > :28:06.land under organic management but that scheme is currently closed to
:28:06. > :28:13.new applicants. It opened in March last year and 33 applications came
:28:13. > :28:17.forward but only six progressed through to agreement. But the scheme
:28:17. > :28:24.itself within the countryside management scheme provides support
:28:24. > :28:27.to a further six participants of organically certified land under
:28:27. > :28:33.management, so there is still a small number of farmers involved in
:28:33. > :28:35.organic farming, but it very much depends on the market and all the
:28:35. > :28:37.costs associated with being an organic farmer.
:28:37. > :28:41.The Agriculture Minister, Michelle O'Neill.