:00:29. > :00:33.Welcome to Stormont today. The issue dominating proceedings was
:00:33. > :00:37.violence associated with the ongoing flag protests. The house
:00:37. > :00:42.came together to condemn the attempted murder of a police woman
:00:43. > :00:46.last night. It was on act of murderous intent. And that Act,
:00:46. > :00:51.like those road blocks, like that violence, are the consequence of
:00:51. > :00:54.the failure of the politics of this house. Doubts were raised about the
:00:55. > :00:59.planning minister's enthusiasm for the Narrow Water a bridge. Alex
:00:59. > :01:04.Attwood got his chance. I would suggest that those who continue to
:01:04. > :01:08.use the language of a smell are digging a series of holes. Bringing
:01:08. > :01:17.us the benefit of his analysis, I'm joined by journalist Steven
:01:17. > :01:22.Today's proceedings began in much the same way as yesterday's, with
:01:22. > :01:27.condemnation of overnight violence linked to the ongoing flag protests.
:01:27. > :01:32.Members on all sides of the House rose to speak out on an attack
:01:32. > :01:36.against a patrol car close to the office of the Alliance MP Naomi
:01:36. > :01:41.long. A female officer was in the car when protesters threw a petrol
:01:41. > :01:46.bomb inside. We are no longer local -- talking about the issue of how
:01:46. > :01:50.many days they union flag is flown on Belfast City Hall. We're not
:01:50. > :01:54.talking about the contest between democracy and the rule of law on
:01:54. > :02:00.the one hand, and terrorism and fascism on the other hand. And they
:02:00. > :02:04.can be no IFS or buts, no qualifications in that debate.
:02:04. > :02:09.There must be an utterly united voice against that. And they do say
:02:09. > :02:19.to certain members of this House, if they condemn violence then they
:02:19. > :02:19.
:02:19. > :02:23.must say that they condemn violence without the buts statements. Can I
:02:23. > :02:29.make it clear that nobody should use an attack on a police officer
:02:29. > :02:33.to score political points, and I will not do that. I want to make it
:02:33. > :02:36.clear that the attempted murder of the police officer yesterday
:02:36. > :02:40.evening was a despicable attack upon the rule of law, and something
:02:40. > :02:45.that this whole house should rightly United Pon and condemn
:02:45. > :02:50.utterly. Yesterday this party condemned without reservation,
:02:50. > :02:56.without qualification, without a Vegas that any violence associated
:02:56. > :02:58.with the decision of Belfast City Council is wrong and should stop.
:02:58. > :03:05.condemn all of the attacks that have taken place throughout the
:03:05. > :03:09.week. I would also like to welcome the statement by the leader of the
:03:10. > :03:13.UUP this morning, when he pointed out that since these protests don't
:03:13. > :03:17.seem to be able to be had in a peaceful way, that it would stand
:03:17. > :03:21.to bring it to a conclusion. I agree with the First Minister that
:03:21. > :03:27.there has to be a right to peaceful protest but I think we have gone
:03:27. > :03:31.beyond that this particular week. I would argue for calm over Christmas,
:03:31. > :03:37.for people to pull back and allow for conversations, not just about
:03:37. > :03:42.flags but about the whole issue of equality and an assured future.
:03:42. > :03:47.would bring a petrol bomb to a peaceful protest? I have many times
:03:47. > :03:51.spoken on the use of petrol bombs. It is not something you just pick
:03:51. > :03:55.up on a side street. And the people that did this went with murderous
:03:55. > :04:01.intent. They are not loyalist. To be a loyalist you are loyal to the
:04:01. > :04:06.ground. These people are not loyal to the Crown. They are not loyal to
:04:06. > :04:13.the flag. They are not loyal to the Union flag. They are nothing other
:04:13. > :04:17.than terrorists. It was an act of murderous intent. And that act,
:04:17. > :04:23.like those road blocks, like that of violence, are the consequence of
:04:23. > :04:27.the failure of the politics of this House. A failure of the politics of
:04:27. > :04:33.this House and of this city. And it is about time people faced up to
:04:33. > :04:38.their failures. Because if they do not, and they failed to step back
:04:38. > :04:45.from the brink, they are talking themselves into, they will be
:04:45. > :04:51.coming here to condemn other terrible act. This must be brought
:04:51. > :04:56.to an end. And it is not enough to come in here in the morning and
:04:56. > :05:00.condemn and go on the airwaves and continued to profile out colleagues,
:05:00. > :05:03.Fellow elected representatives and to signal them out as being the
:05:03. > :05:10.problem when in fact they are not. They are the architects of the new
:05:10. > :05:17.Northern Ireland. Mr McGuinness, would it be of assistance to this
:05:17. > :05:20.House if I or some other member of the SDLP lodged a Minette of the
:05:20. > :05:27.Newry and warned District Council in relation to the matter Mr
:05:27. > :05:37.Kennedy raised, so that this house can judge for itself whoever took
:05:37. > :05:41.
:05:41. > :05:45.in that decision making? Order. Order. Let us move on. We are
:05:45. > :05:48.coming to a point where there is not a point of order. Members are
:05:48. > :05:52.getting up under disguise of point of order and trying to make
:05:52. > :05:57.political statements. The Minister of Justice which has to make a
:05:57. > :06:01.statement to the house this morning. With permission, I wish to make a
:06:01. > :06:03.statement regarding a meeting under the auspices of the inter-
:06:03. > :06:13.governmental agreement on co- operation of criminal justice
:06:13. > :06:17.
:06:17. > :06:24.matters held in Dublin, 23rd November. Order. Order. Order.
:06:24. > :06:28.Order. This house is in session. The Speaker battling to keep the
:06:28. > :06:31.house in order. There were further developments on the flag issue
:06:31. > :06:36.later in the day. The planned meeting of the Assembly commission
:06:36. > :06:43.didn't happen because it was boycotted by Sinn Fein, STRB and
:06:43. > :06:47.Alliance. I was horrified. If ever there was a display of political
:06:47. > :06:52.insanity, that was it. Here we are with a situation where we are
:06:52. > :06:56.trying to convince people to be calm, to allow politics to take
:06:56. > :06:59.over, to sit back and make sure that the democratic process works.
:06:59. > :07:03.They all know and a waiting to hear what happens when the Assembly
:07:03. > :07:10.commission, is there a political way forward? And parties decide to
:07:10. > :07:14.boycott the meeting of the Assembly commission. I think that is wrong.
:07:14. > :07:19.A group of senior Unionist representatives met at parliament
:07:19. > :07:22.buildings during the night to discuss all of that. Steven
:07:22. > :07:25.McCaffrey is political correspondent of The Detail website.
:07:25. > :07:32.Let's talk about this joint statement that was issued this
:07:33. > :07:35.afternoon. How significant is it, in your view? It shows that
:07:35. > :07:41.whatever the efforts to try and calm down the flag crisis on the
:07:41. > :07:46.streets, it is certainly a major political issue. Today the
:07:46. > :07:50.commission didn't happen. This statement has been put together by
:07:50. > :07:54.the Unionist parties. They make their anger clear at the fact the
:07:54. > :08:01.meeting didn't go ahead. They describe it as deplorable. This
:08:01. > :08:03.group is made up of the DUP, the UUP and also Jim Allister, the UKIP
:08:04. > :08:07.representative and the Independent. They've all round it on the other
:08:07. > :08:11.parties that didn't take part in the meeting that was planned to
:08:11. > :08:14.discuss the flag. They are demanding a further meeting happen
:08:14. > :08:19.on 14th December. It is a stepping up of the political pressure on
:08:19. > :08:23.this issue. This is Wednesday, and they are insisting a meeting will
:08:23. > :08:28.take place by Friday at the latest. I don't know if they can make that
:08:28. > :08:32.happen if the others don't turnout. Do you know quite what the
:08:32. > :08:37.choreography or developments might be in the next 48 hours?
:08:37. > :08:40.argument today was it wasn't possible to reach a quorum, so the
:08:40. > :08:46.Commission said they couldn't meet. Just because those other parties
:08:46. > :08:50.didn't turn up? Correct. I know that privately some of the Unionist
:08:50. > :08:56.parties, members are being paid for members of the commission. There is
:08:56. > :09:00.also the issue that if people want to say -- say democracy is working,
:09:00. > :09:05.then the Unionist parties will say it will be increasingly difficult
:09:05. > :09:08.for this commission to meet. On the face of it it appears this attempt
:09:08. > :09:14.to possibly keep the issue in play and perhaps keep the political
:09:14. > :09:17.tension in play, but given that the statement asks for a review process,
:09:17. > :09:20.this could also be read as an attempt to begin what would be a
:09:21. > :09:26.very lengthy and potentially drawn- out process to see what, if
:09:26. > :09:32.anything, happens with the flag. The statement goes on to condemn
:09:32. > :09:38.the ongoing violence very clearly. But it says, any protest that takes
:09:38. > :09:43.place must be peaceful. The First Minister a couple of days ago said
:09:43. > :09:47.he wanted protests to be suspended. That is not in a statement.
:09:47. > :09:53.certainly does seem to be a little disjointed. There is also the
:09:53. > :09:56.impression that the other parties have ruled behind the DUP on this.
:09:56. > :09:59.Although Mike Nesbitt spoke of the issue tonight, they're very much
:09:59. > :10:04.was a feeling this evening it was Peter Robinson who was speaking on
:10:04. > :10:08.behalf of the people who met to discuss this issue. I think there
:10:08. > :10:12.is an element of confusion about where this is going, but this is a
:10:12. > :10:18.symptom of the fact this is a very confused, tense and difficult
:10:18. > :10:21.situation all round. Last Tuesday there was a clash of ministers and
:10:21. > :10:25.the Chamber. Sammy Wilson questioned the speed with which
:10:25. > :10:28.Alex Attwood granted planning permission to the Narrow Water a
:10:28. > :10:34.bridge project. Mr Wilson said the decision had the smell of politics
:10:34. > :10:37.about it. Today, Mr Attwood got his chance to have his say. In a
:10:37. > :10:41.contribution to that Tuesday debate on Narrow Water, be replying
:10:41. > :10:45.Minister stated, this was an article 31 planning application, so
:10:45. > :10:51.it was decided and signed off at the planning ministry. He may want
:10:51. > :10:54.to correct me on this, but we have never had an article 31 planning
:10:54. > :10:58.application with all the sensitivities that are involved in
:10:58. > :11:05.this one dealt with so quickly. Unquote, let me repeat, we have
:11:05. > :11:11.never had an article 31 application dealt with so quickly. So what did
:11:11. > :11:14.I do? I request a review of planning files to identify article
:11:14. > :11:22.31 applications signed off by the Planning Minister and dealt with
:11:22. > :11:27.quickly. The list is extensive. Ikea Hollywood exchange, and
:11:27. > :11:33.industrial development, a shopping development in Glengormley. A high
:11:33. > :11:36.school in County Down. That decision was taken in five months.
:11:36. > :11:40.And a business park Instagram. There is a smell around this one.
:11:40. > :11:44.He may try to deny that but it seems very strange that we have an
:11:44. > :11:46.application lodged on 9th February and the minister has an older man
:11:46. > :11:52.dusted within a couple of months. Is the minister now telling us
:11:53. > :11:56.today that from this day forth, all article 31s will be dealt with as
:11:56. > :12:00.swiftly and quickly as he has dealt with this one? If he does that then
:12:00. > :12:07.I think he will go some distance to allay the concerns of members of
:12:07. > :12:12.this house. I find it a matter of regret that the irregular and false
:12:12. > :12:15.words, in my view, used previously, and I want to tread cautiously here
:12:15. > :12:22.so correct me if you think I'm going too far because sometimes
:12:22. > :12:28.they can go too far. I think it is inappropriate and doesn't reflect
:12:28. > :12:32.the content of my statement, to repeat an assertion that in my view
:12:32. > :12:37.has been comprehensively, robustly and firmly rebutted in the content
:12:37. > :12:45.of my statement, in respect of this planning application. Let me repeat.
:12:45. > :12:48.There is no political smell. This process was absolutely proper. The
:12:48. > :12:54.pardon was proper. The process from February to the decision later in
:12:54. > :12:58.the autumn was absolutely proper. Any contention otherwise is
:12:58. > :13:01.unhelpful and inaccurate, in my view. I would suggest that those
:13:01. > :13:07.who continue to use the language of a smell are actually digging a
:13:07. > :13:11.series of holes, looking for the deepest one and jumping into it.
:13:11. > :13:14.Alex Attwood. Arlene Foster has been defending Northern Ireland as
:13:14. > :13:18.a tourist destination, despite recent disappointing visitor
:13:18. > :13:23.figures. The minister has been keen to point out they are provisional
:13:23. > :13:26.and incomplete, but it didn't stop her fellow MLA calling for a change
:13:26. > :13:30.of tack. Obviously the minister will share everybody's
:13:30. > :13:35.disappointment that figures are down. Whilst the minister might try
:13:35. > :13:38.to blame Tourism Ireland, there are a number of factors. Would the
:13:38. > :13:42.Minister agree with me that promoting the island of Ireland as
:13:42. > :13:47.a single tourism destination where visitors can go to the giant's
:13:47. > :13:52.Causeway, be Fermanagh Lakeland and the clips in one single trip in
:13:52. > :13:56.trying to promote two different markets? In answer to his question,
:13:56. > :14:00.he needs to look at the markets he is looking at. The TV market, we
:14:00. > :14:03.had a piece of work carried out not just by the Northern Ireland
:14:03. > :14:09.Tourist Board but bike Culture Ireland and the number of industry
:14:09. > :14:12.providers as well, they did a piece of work specifically into the
:14:12. > :14:17.market. What they are essentially saying is what we've been doing is
:14:17. > :14:20.not producing the results we need to produce. There needs to be a
:14:20. > :14:25.Northern Ireland specific campaign in Great Britain. That is the word
:14:25. > :14:31.not of May but of the Tourism Task Force. If the member wants to look
:14:31. > :14:35.at objectives, that is the objective reporter should look at.
:14:35. > :14:41.I'm pleased that the tourism recovery task force has now plotted
:14:41. > :14:43.out a way forward which has been taken forward by Tourism Ireland
:14:43. > :14:53.and by the Northern Ireland Tourist Board. We will look forward to
:14:53. > :14:55.
:14:55. > :15:02.I thank the Minister for her answer so far and don't disagree with
:15:02. > :15:07.anything she says. But given that Ireland and Britain here the -- saw
:15:07. > :15:10.the wins of the past in a very public way last year, does the
:15:10. > :15:15.Minister not agree that we should maximise every opportunity to
:15:15. > :15:18.ensure that visitors coming from Britain visit Northern Ireland as
:15:18. > :15:24.well? That is precisely what we will be doing with our campaign,
:15:24. > :15:28.which looks at the UK City of Culture. It is UK City of Culture.
:15:28. > :15:34.We are inviting the rest of the UK to come to Northern Ireland to
:15:34. > :15:37.celebrate the very first UK City of Culture. We're having the world
:15:37. > :15:41.Police and Fire Games here for the very first time. That will be a
:15:41. > :15:44.tremendous celebration. The G8 Summit is coming to County
:15:44. > :15:52.Fermanagh, because we are part of the United Kingdom. Because we are
:15:52. > :15:55.part of the UK we are able to host the summit.
:15:55. > :15:58.Any wild salmon caught during recreational angling will soon have
:15:58. > :16:05.to be returned to the water unharmed under plans announced
:16:05. > :16:09.today. Caral Ni Chuilin, responsible for angling, announced
:16:09. > :16:12.new measures over the fear of dwindling numbers of North Atlantic
:16:12. > :16:19.salmon. My statement in March this year set
:16:19. > :16:24.out grounds for concern. International census have concern
:16:25. > :16:30.that Atlantic salmon are dying at sea in significant numbers. Some in
:16:30. > :16:37.North America and Britain are threatened with extinction.
:16:37. > :16:46.Bushmills salmon station its shows a decline in return of around 30%
:16:46. > :16:50.in 1997 to 5% today. The key messages that emerged was that 83%
:16:50. > :16:55.of respondents supported a total cessation of commercial salmon
:16:55. > :17:02.fishing and 74% supported the introduction of mandatory catch and
:17:02. > :17:06.release for recreational angling. I believe that the measures I am
:17:06. > :17:11.announcing today are appropriate and essential to conserve and
:17:11. > :17:15.protect wild salmon stocks in the future. I would like to consider
:17:15. > :17:21.the commercial fishing of wild salmon. In doing so, I recognise
:17:21. > :17:28.that the continuation of commercial fishing for salmon is a complex and
:17:28. > :17:32.contentious issue. Fishermen have harvested salmon for hundreds of
:17:32. > :17:37.fears off the North Antrim and county down coasts. -- hundreds of
:17:37. > :17:41.years. They recognise steps must be taken to ensure the long-term
:17:41. > :17:44.survival of the species. They have shown this commitment by not
:17:44. > :17:48.fishing in 2012. There is a need to achieve a balance between
:17:48. > :17:55.conservation and fishing but they allowed for the sustainable
:17:55. > :18:00.harvesting of salmon in the future, should stock levels permit this. --
:18:00. > :18:04.that may laugh. I will therefore introduce legislation to impose
:18:04. > :18:08.mandatory cessation of commercial wild salmon fisheries to take
:18:08. > :18:11.effect in the 2014 season. This would remain in place until such
:18:11. > :18:21.times as scientific evidence confirms that a sustainable surplus
:18:21. > :18:24.of fish is over conservation limits for a number of years. I wish to
:18:24. > :18:28.consider recreational fishing of wild salmon. That is against the
:18:28. > :18:32.public interest. I'm pleased to say many recreational anglers
:18:32. > :18:38.understand this and have, in general, supported my call for a
:18:38. > :18:46.voluntary catch and release during 2012. It is essential catch and
:18:46. > :18:53.release before Broad caught salmon continues. It maintains social and
:18:53. > :18:59.economic benefits while ensuring the continuation of salmon. I am
:18:59. > :19:08.introducing legislation to impose mandatory catch and release across
:19:09. > :19:15.the jurisdiction, with effect from the 2014 season. I will also
:19:15. > :19:18.legislate the sale off this from Paddy 14.
:19:18. > :19:22.Planning permission from houses in rural areas is on the rise. Alex
:19:22. > :19:29.Attwood work and the increase, which she said reflects the
:19:29. > :19:35.importance of strong rural communities. -- which he said.
:19:35. > :19:43.What we have been trying to do is make it easier for forming rural
:19:43. > :19:45.drivers and non-performing will all do well this -- farming and none
:19:45. > :19:50.for mink and rural dwellers to build homes in the countryside. I
:19:50. > :19:55.would like to confirm that with one figure. Compared with a similar
:19:55. > :20:05.quarter last year, approvals for new single dwellings in the
:20:05. > :20:13.
:20:13. > :20:18.countryside are up from 83.9-EDF 0.5, and replacement dwellings in -
:20:18. > :20:22.- are up to 92%. Does the Minister accept there is a perception to
:20:22. > :20:28.rural attitudes between the east and west of Northern Ireland, and
:20:28. > :20:33.the role of land used generally? Bat is a fair question. It would
:20:33. > :20:39.have been more accurate 18 months ago. When I looked at the profile
:20:39. > :20:45.of decisions and recommendations for approval and refusal, there had
:20:45. > :20:49.seemed to me to be a disparity. When I spoke to MLAs across parties
:20:49. > :20:53.in this chamber, there seemed to be deferential treatment of
:20:53. > :20:56.applications in some areas, especially the west compared to the
:20:56. > :21:03.east and daring, with in some particular areas of the West. That
:21:03. > :21:10.is why, because of the evidence that was coming forward to me from
:21:10. > :21:13.planning officials and representatives, I thought that
:21:14. > :21:17.there was a point consistent with the sentiment of that question.
:21:17. > :21:23.When you look at the application of policy here and now compared with
:21:23. > :21:28.then, that perception is less acute. I would not be continuing the
:21:28. > :21:31.review unless I thought there was further interpretation required in
:21:31. > :21:38.order to ensure consistency and in order to ensure the proper
:21:38. > :21:43.flexibility of the policy. I thank the Minister for his answers so far
:21:43. > :21:51.and his acknowledgement of the right of the rural people to have a
:21:51. > :22:01.home in a place where they were born. Is the Minister cover cent of
:22:01. > :22:01.
:22:01. > :22:11.the problem that might have arisen where it is commonly known that the
:22:11. > :22:18.rural countryside is becoming like Donegal? I had reason to write to a
:22:18. > :22:22.former Secretary of State of this place, criticising him win in the
:22:22. > :22:28.House of Lords he said about six months ago, when it came to English
:22:28. > :22:34.rural countryside policy, you didn't want to have what happened
:22:34. > :22:39.in Northern Ireland, as he saw it, over there. The reason why I wrote
:22:40. > :22:45.to Lord King, formerly Secretary of State of this place, was to point
:22:45. > :22:50.out to him that he should know better.
:22:50. > :22:54.The agency to half with attracting jobs to Northern Ireland has come
:22:54. > :22:57.under scrutiny following news of a new pay deal for its Chief
:22:57. > :23:02.Executive. Their representative of Invest NI appeared before the
:23:02. > :23:09.Enterprise Committee last week, as we come here in our weekly look at
:23:09. > :23:19.committee business. Has a bonus been paid for the last
:23:19. > :23:22.
:23:22. > :23:29.three years? A performance element, I would commit. Will the salary be
:23:29. > :23:39.backdated? That payment has now been made. Once the renegotiated
:23:39. > :23:43.package was approved by the minister, the minister for finance.
:23:43. > :23:52.The postal there is being paid what his previous contract entitled him
:23:52. > :23:58.to get. Is the post holder down money? He is paid what was due
:23:58. > :24:05.based on the rich eat -- renegotiated package. Just to be
:24:05. > :24:09.perfectly clear, if the performance element had been paid, it would be
:24:09. > :24:19.an additional over 20,000 above what he actually would have been
:24:19. > :24:20.
:24:20. > :24:24.paid for one year. �20,000 a year? About �7,000 a year for three years.
:24:24. > :24:29.The request for hard facts is helpful and important. We would
:24:29. > :24:32.want to be helpful to the committee. I am sure the committee will
:24:32. > :24:37.appreciate this would not be a proper forum to discuss, for
:24:37. > :24:42.example, the performance of the Chief Executive or anything. I
:24:42. > :24:48.would want to try and lay that as a barometer at the start. As far as a
:24:48. > :24:54.hard facts are concerned, the Chief Executive applied for a post which
:24:54. > :25:02.was advertised on the basis that there would be a salary of �160,000
:25:02. > :25:10.per year with a performance-related element of the total remuneration
:25:10. > :25:16.package equivalent to 30% of that. It became clear with the passage of
:25:16. > :25:22.time that performance related pay was discredited, as a concept if
:25:22. > :25:27.you like, and that presented a difficulty for Invest NI because
:25:27. > :25:33.the Chief Executive had applied for a job, been successful, and then
:25:33. > :25:42.agreed a contract based on that remuneration package. Given those
:25:42. > :25:50.difficulties, Invest NI sought approval to renegotiate the package
:25:50. > :25:55.with the department. That approval was granted. A new package was
:25:55. > :26:00.renegotiated with the Chief Executive, all normal due process
:26:00. > :26:07.was followed, and does remunerations have been put in
:26:07. > :26:10.place. You said nothing had been paid in relation to performance-
:26:10. > :26:20.related salary over the last few years. My conclusion I am drawing
:26:20. > :26:21.
:26:21. > :26:26.from that, but Chief Executive's position was paid �160,000? 160,000
:26:26. > :26:35.up until the last three years, and then the back dated element, there
:26:35. > :26:41.is no agreed position at this point in time, so once that was agreed
:26:41. > :26:48.and had ministerial approval which was six weeks ago, that was then
:26:48. > :26:52.paid to the Chief Executive. point being, what he had been paid
:26:52. > :26:57.over this last wire, he said nothing had been paid in relation
:26:57. > :27:02.to performance management? Correct. That clears that up for me, thank
:27:02. > :27:05.you. Let's talk about the census. The
:27:05. > :27:11.figures were published today. How do some of the revelations square
:27:11. > :27:15.with what has been happening on the ground? They headline from the
:27:15. > :27:19.census was that the Protestant population has fallen to 48%, so
:27:20. > :27:25.for the first time, the fact but it has dropped below 50 is quite
:27:26. > :27:31.significant. -- that it has dropped. It probably would have been a big
:27:31. > :27:34.story were it not for all issues today. It caused me to reflect on
:27:34. > :27:37.Peter Robinson's speech at his party conference a couple of weeks
:27:37. > :27:44.ago. We will remember in that speech, he made an appeal to his
:27:44. > :27:47.party faithful and said, there is a portion of the Kaka lit -- Catholic
:27:47. > :27:50.community that if Unionists could strike a deal that would secure the
:27:50. > :27:56.union for a lengthy period into the future. Figures suggest he might
:27:56. > :28:01.have been on to something with that. For the first time we see hard data
:28:02. > :28:06.that 21% describe themselves as Northern Irish. Since the figures
:28:06. > :28:10.today, we have had scenes on the streets of protests and violence,
:28:10. > :28:13.and that can't have failed but to have a negative impact on those
:28:13. > :28:19.very same Catholic quarters he might have wanted to appeal to.
:28:19. > :28:23.it seems no time since he was making that speech thing there is a
:28:23. > :28:28.difference on the part of some of those individuals in identifying as
:28:28. > :28:31.Northern Irish, but not necessarily British? If we do what I think
:28:32. > :28:36.Peter Robinson is doing, and cast our minds forward into the next
:28:36. > :28:39.decade and what might happen, another intriguing question to ask
:28:39. > :28:42.his, his argument was framed around the notion that people would be
:28:42. > :28:46.presented with a question as to whether they would like the border
:28:47. > :28:49.to disappear tomorrow, but if we look at the Scottish experience,
:28:49. > :28:54.would be question be more important, given the figures we have seen