12/11/2012 Stormont Today

Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up in the next 30 minutes -

the gloves are off as MLAs discuss allegations of sectarianism in

boxing. I do not think children in any sport should be subject to that

sort of abuse. It is ugly, horrible and wrong. And with a ringside seat

our Political Reporter Stephen Walker joins me with his insight.

A motion calling for the formation of a new Northern Ireland Amateur

Boxing Association separate from the existing all-Ireland governing

body was passed in the Stormont chamber this afternoon. The debate

was conducted against the backdrop of an ongoing stand-off between the

Department of Culture, Arts and Leisure and Sandy Row Boxing Club.

They are poor at accessing funding and lack of facilities exacerbates

this was that one of the problems could be foreseen is given the

dominance of one community, it will entrench the situation. There needs

to be promotion and encouragement of the sport in Protestant areas,

in working-class areas. There's a perception of the money will go

into the north and west of Belfast. She needs to demonstrate she acts

for all of Northern Ireland, there are issues around sectarianism in

the sport whether we admitted or not. The minister needs to

demonstrate the processes are there to ensure sectarianism has been

taken out of the sport and everyone participating is free from

intimidation and harassment. Could I come to what I think is the long-

term important issue. That of how boxing should be organised. In

boxing, as in other sports in Northern Ireland, if you are big

participant who wishes to box for the UK because you regard that as

the country of your birth, and the country of your allegiance, you

cannot do it. Because the recognition is given only to the

Irish Amateur Boxing Association. We have clubs in premises not fit

for use the stock we visited clubs who have newspaper stuffed in the

Sealink to keep the snow out while they were training for boxing. I

plead with those in charge to move with a haste to ensure it is

delivered fairly across all sections of the committee but also

simplify the process and make it accessible to every club, even

those with limited capability. Boxing is a poor infrastructure.

The money is to be welcomed. We have to look at the issue of the

boxing club because members are aware I represent the area and have

close knowledge of it and the challenges they face. Challenges in

terms of repeated instances of discrimination, sectarianism

against the club and members. We have fish issue of an All Ireland

Boxing Organisation which appears to be a cold house for Protestants

boxing. It is the responsibility and if they're not prepared to

address a, there are other remedies as far as the fraternity is

concerned, for example the club has been is affiliated on the grounds

that they don't have proper access and Northern Ireland clearance but

they do and can prove they do. have endured 10 years of

sectarianism. I am puzzled why the issue has not been raised with

previous culture ministers and now it is raised when we have a Sinn

Fein culture minister. A member of this house calls for a separate

Boxing Association but I feel this to be a mistake. As we know, soccer

is notorious for sectarianism... Which has dogged it over the

decades. The supporters are recognised as the best in Europe

and they're not sectarianism. Sectarianism and raised his head,

we need to challenge it, confronted and challenge it and condemn it and

resolve it. We need to move on. I am not ignoring the facts there was

insolence and allegations still around what happened. In fact, I am

on a record as condemning it and I'll do it again. I do not think

children involved in any sport including boxing should be subject

to that sort of abuse. It's ugly, horrible and it is wrong. I want it

to beat the affiliates with the Amateur Boxing Association. I

warned them to do that and what's more the boxing family want them to

do that because it's good for the support -- good for the sport. If

it wants to create its own affiliation it is up to them. It is

up to them. The criteria mentioned, it does not exclude. Sunday row has

been affiliated to the Irish Amateur Boxing Association so they

are entitled to an expression of interest. The Sports Minister,

Caral ni Chuilin. That amended motion calling for the formation of

a new Northern Ireland Amateur Boxing Association was passed with

48 votes in favour and 42 against. Our Political Reporter, Stephen

Walker, is with me. Let's talk about that boxing debate first,

Stephen. Anelays took up traditional positions. -- MLA plu

Mac at. Yes, we've heard many of the arguments before the start

they've been well documented in the press and newspapers. And

particularly surrounding this particular club and sectarianism.

The major development tonight is the motion supporting the

establishment of a Northern Ireland Boxing Association which is a major

development was the sports minister said if the club wanted to

affiliate to their association she would not have a problem with that

but it's clip from listening to the debate there are real concerns over

the issue of funding and that was something people came back to time

and time again and on the issue of funding, it was made clear she

feels boxing does have a history of underfunding and it's an issue she

says she is keen to address. other issue in the chamber, the

allocation of funding was subject to interesting discussion. It was.

This relates to an announcement made last Wednesday night talking

about economic measures and the leader was concerned about the way

the measures were announced. Why is it that once more last week this

executive make an announcement that was billed as a key economic

announcement, not to this House but to the media. Is there nothing

further you can do to curb to the office contents this executive has

for this house? I thank him for his point of order. This is an issue I

can assure him I raised continually with the executive. I also have put

a letter to bit ministers on the issue as well. -- to the ministers.

I say to the whole House this is an issue for the ministers and for the

executive, I always encourage ministers to come to his house with

statements of importance but it is up for the ministers to decide what

statements are important and what are not. I do have some sympathy

with the member on the point of order that his raised but these

issues lie with the executive. Those are the views of the speaker

responding to a question from Jim Allister. What's interesting about

funding is some people will be pleased if their pet projects get

money, others will be disappointed if money is taken away from their

projects. The danger is if some of the money is not spent, it will be

returned to the Treasury, one example is the building project on

the A five. There was concern it could cost executive millions of

lost funds by the end of the year the project does not go ahead. This

is high economic stakes. Stephen, for the moment thank you.

Well, the Finance Minister picked up on that point made by Mr

Allister, telling the House he's not afraid of scrutiny. Here's

Sammy Wilson outlining the detail of the budget realignment measures.

I am happy to make statements to the House and have then queried by

members. I do not think there's any intention of running away from the

scrutiny of members of this house when it comes to announcements

which need to be made and I look forward to the scrutiny of the

members who are in the House today to take the transforming your care

reform programme. This will not only transform the way it had

services are delivered to the benefits of citizens but will also

benefits of citizens but will also realise savings. The recurrent

savings from 2014/15 onwards and this is per year are estimated at

nearly �26 million. It represents a good return on this investment.

There's some �6.4 million of resource funding left on -- and

allocated because the remaining bids did not meet the requirements

of the scheme. This funding was then made available for

reallocation and it transpired there are significant delays in the

delivery of the road schemes. The delay has been most acute in

relation to the A five. The delay has resulted in an easement of

reach of development of a �31 million and in this financial year

and the executive agreed this would be managed by allowing the

department to reallocate internally to other areas on the condition

that this funding would be returned to the road schemes in 2013/14 and

2014/15. The funding will be used to accelerate wrote structural

maintenance and Northern Ireland projects. The delay has been caused

by legal action being taken and the issue remains unresolved and for

each month that passes, they will be an easement of �10 million which

means they could be up to an additional �50 million a returning

to the centre in this Bernacchi efforts of my officials carried out

an analysis of under Spencer -- and the... There was scope for

departments to surrender funding in the period 2013/15. It's important

for members to recognise in overall terms the spending performance in

2011/12 was good. The reduced requirements so rented by it

departments were greater than expected and successfully utilised

Meaney the underspend fell with in Do you believe that all departments

have declared their requirements at this stage and how confident are

you that a larger level reduced requirements were not present

themselves in generate? If there is likely to be an underspend, don't

leave it to the last moment because we do not have the flexibility that

we used to have in previous years, albeit we have negotiated some

flexibility. We do not have the open-ended flexibility that we had

in previous years to carry money forward. When we make announcements

which carry genuine effort by the Executive, to try and improve the

situation, I just find it intolerable that the first thing

that some of the commentators in Northern Ireland do is pick over it,

to see what bad news they can get out of it, rather than present it

as positive work for this Assembly. There are times we get things wrong

and deserve to be beaten for it but when we get things right we deserve

a credit. On that note, when people do get things right, they deserve a

bit of credit and I wonder if the minister would agree with me that

John O'Dowd and indeed previous education ministers fought very

hard, very, very hard for funding for building of schools and also

schools are States. I know old habits die hard but I wonder if the

minister of woke up this morning thinking how am are going to get at

Sinn Fein today? That is what it feels like on this side of the

house. I am coming to my question. Would the Minister agree with me

that the money secured by John O'Dowd for maintenance is money

very important for the schools estate? I have got to say, I am

surprised that the member's response because if she thinks I

wake up in the morning and think how can I get at Sinn Fein today,

she must think that I lead a very sad life! If one looks at the

statement, I have a funny way of getting that Sinn Fein. There are

�130 million worth of getting at Sinn Fein and the Education

Minister in the statement because there is �90 million directly for

schools budget, there is �10 million for capital investment next

year, for schools maintenance, there is money for schools

maintenance in this particular year and it all amounts to, I cannot

quickly add it up but it amounts to well over �120 million. I do not

think that the member can honestly say that I look at ways of getting

at Sinn Fein. Can I say this to the House, I do have my difficulties

with some Sinn Fein members. And ministers as well. But judgments

will not be made and let me emphasise, Mr Speaker, judgments

will not be made on the basis of whether I get on with the minister

or do not get on with the minister. Judgments will be made on the basis

of do we have money, is there a problem, has the Minister presented

that problem and made a case to justify needing extra money? If he

or she does, I do not care what party they come from.

The Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson. Following the murder of David Black,

the Justice Minister David Ford, told his fellow MLAs there has been

a review into the security of prison officers. But first, here is

Mr Ford answering questions on the reopening of a hostel for ex-

prisoners, including sex offenders, in a residential area of north

Belfast. Is the Minister aware of widespread

concern in the community in relation to his decision to house X

sex offenders at Thomson House. Given the fact that there are well

over 2000 school children who use the Antrim Road at that area, going

to and from school during the course of the day, would the

Minister accept that he should reflect on this and review the

decision with a view to at least creating a moratorium on the

reintroduction of X sex offenders so that the Community could at

least have an opportunity to see how the situation might develop in

the future? Well, if that Mr McGuinness for that point but when

he refers to my decision, it is not my decision. Thompson house has

been accommodating offenders for 30 years, many of whom have been sex

offenders during that time. During that time there has been no

incident involving any child in the immediate area of Thomson House, by

a resident of Thomson House. The practical reality is the best

public protection that could be provided is by committing --

accommodating offenders in appropriate accommodation with the

level of supervision that exists in Thomson has, supporting the work

done by probation and others with their clients and externally. At

his best way of protecting the people of North Belfast and every

other area, and not somehow suggesting that we can solve the

problem by moving them to a different area. The reality is, the

record of all hostels which accommodate offenders, is an

exceptionally good one in terms of supervision and the public

protection they provide. I want to pay tribute to the professionalism

of the staff who continue to do a difficult job in a challenging

environment despite the shock, anger and sadness at the senseless

murder of a valued colleague. I have said several times we should

not underestimate the vital role prison officers to play in society

in terms of working with offenders to address behaviour, to

rehabilitate, to reduce the risk of reoffending and to enhance public

safety across Northern Ireland. This is a role which we are

continuing to build on. Members will be aware that the criminal

justice inspection conducted and announced inspection of the prison

in March 2012. While the final report has not yet been published,

initial feedback has been encouraging and it has recognised

it as an improving establishment. Can the minister did tell whether

there have been any reviews of security for a prison officers both

within and outside the prison complexes in recent weeks?

Certainly I can assure Mr Elliott that there have been significant

review of security measures for individual prison officers, both on

the issue of home security, the issue of weapons and the issue of

security going into establishments and leaving them. I do not think

the house would expect me to go into detail but there has been

significantly work done. I have had meetings with the Chief Constable

and others. I will be meeting the minister with responsibility for

the home protection scheme later this week. I can assure the member

that a possibility for further knife crime and the state will

remain under consideration and I will consider any additional

measures which would be effective in reducing knife crime. I thank

the Minister for his response. The previous two knife amnesty is led

to 14,000 knives being handed in. Does the Minister accept the while

this low-cost initiative is a useful measure among others to help

tackle the serious problem within our society? I appreciate the point

he is trying to make in how things are operating and how they worked.

The fact is, as he correctly highlights, there were nearly 1,500

weapons handed in in the two Amnesty's of 2006. However, the

total cost of that was �300,000. When he describes that as the low

cost, I am not sure it is an effective use of money in it

straitened times. I am open to any specific arrangements which would

seem to make a real difference. The reality is, we did not see that

particular amnesty, as opposed to a general trend in the use of knives

and crimes paying dividends. The Justice Minister, David Ford.

An upcoming visit to Northern Ireland by the minister responsible

for welfare reform in Westminster, Lord Freud, was just one of the

issues addressed by Stormont's Social Development Minister, Nelson

McCausland today. First though, Mr McCausland was asked about the

implementation of a pay-as-you-go system for people using oil to heat

their homes. This exciting new technology has the potential to

allow householders to pay for oil when they use it similar to how

people pay for their electricity and gas. I take a personal interest

in this. It is something I identify as a priority issue, along with

other aspects of addressing fuel poverty. The technology was piloted

for three months and was evaluated by Carillion Energy Services and

the Housing Executive. Both of those housing schemes were positive.

Those who took part in the pilot said they would recommend the

technology to other has told us. I'm disappointed that it is taking

so long to get this up and running but there are important issues to

be resolved in ensuring we address issues with the cost of the product

and the running cost associated with it. Thank -- I thank the

Minister for his update. Can the Minister give a firm timescale

given that we are now in the depth of winter as to when this scheme

will be mainstream? I welcome the fact that the member gave credit

for this, this issue of people giving credit for something which

has been achieved seems to be breaking out as a habit in this

house. I am disappointed it has taken so long. I cannot give a

timescale at present. It would be wrong to do that because there are

two issues of importance in there about the cost of the product and

the running cost. We need to get this right because it is such an

important issue for people, in terms of the cost of fuel and the

fuel poverty that can arise as a result. I'm disappointed we have

not quite got there yet but I continued to make it a priority. I

do not believe this is the place to go through the finer details of our

negotiations with Lord Freud. As the member will be aware, the

Welfare Reform Bill is currently going through the committee stage

of the Assembly and I have been listening to the views of the MLAs.

Those who have responded to the call for evidence and other

stakeholders who have been attending events held by my

department, I remain committed to hearing ideas on how we can

mitigate the negative aspects of welfare reform without reaching

parity. In my statement on 22nd October, I said that Lord Freud has

a genuine interest on the specific challenges which are facing us in

Northern Ireland. He has accepted my invitation to visit us in

November to discuss how we can address the impact of housing

benefit changes. He is aware of some of the issues in Northern

Ireland on how the housing sector can contribute to finding solutions.

Given the possible influence that could be exerted during the visit

the minister has referred to, is he concerned that because of a range

of delays, the committee, which is considering it, is aiming to

collude their work on the very first day of his visit? Is that a

missed opportunity? No, I do not think it is a. It is a matter of

real concern. I am content that the visit he is making is very much to

engage with and to listen to views which will be expressed. However,

it has to be borne in mind this is a devolved matter. The conversation

that must take place primarily is between obviously the committee and

stakeholders but priority -- primarily between myself and the

minister. We should not get the hold of this thing of running off

to Westminster or seeking to short- circuit things and some way or

think there is an easy answer by talking directly to Lord Freud. The

key thing is it is a devolved matter, it is a matter for the

Northern Ireland Assembly within the constraints we are aware of and

whatever comes Ford from the committee, I would certainly want

to give serious consideration to. Nelson McCausland. Our political

reporter, Stephen Walker, is with me again. Stephen, there was also a

motion on help for the construction industry today. That is right. It

was an SDLP inspired debate. It was after the pattern group in

Ballymena went into administration. Joe Byrne called on the Executive

to do more to help the construction industry. One issue which is

causing big problems and massive job losses, bankruptcy, pain being

experienced by workers and managers of the construction company. I have

got to say to members, if they wish to have more money put into

construction works, the first thing we have got a dig is where within

the programme for government will that construction set? What parts

of current spending do we sacrifice to do that? And thirdly, if we are

going to do that, how can we ensure that it is going to have overall

benefit for the Northern Ireland economy, one of course there are

all of the other competing interests? Sammy Wilson there.

Stephen, what should we be looking out for tomorrow? It is interesting,

because we had a debate about boxing. The debate about sport

continues. Stephen Agnew will be petitioning to make sport --

athletics a priority. Later there is a debate about the legacy of the

Paralympic Games so a lot of sport around tomorrow. And of course, our

First and Deputy First Ministers are on foreign shores? That is

right. They are on their way to China leading a delegation. They

are taking 35 companies with them. They are going to Shanghai and Hong

Kong. It is a huge market. What the first and Deputy First Minister are