:00:23. > :00:26.Hello, and welcome to Stormont Today. And with Europe dominating
:00:26. > :00:30.the news all weekend, the troubles of the EU have spilled over into
:00:30. > :00:40.the debating chamber here. And, as for Mr Cameron, the reviews are
:00:40. > :00:42.
:00:42. > :00:48.mixed. He failed to consult any of the devolved institutions.
:00:48. > :00:53.sensible step he has taken, which is to be commended. Protecting the
:00:53. > :00:57.United Kingdom's interests for want has been to the forefront. As the
:00:57. > :01:05.year draws to a close, it's time to reflect on the past - and the
:01:05. > :01:10.culture minister has found some new anniversaries to commemorate.
:01:10. > :01:13.suffrage for men and limited suffrage for women. And is there
:01:13. > :01:18.any sign of Christmas cheer for businesses here? With his thoughts,
:01:18. > :01:21.Alastair Hamilton from Invest NI. Growing a dynamic and innovative
:01:21. > :01:24.economy remains a top priority for the Executive, but with the
:01:24. > :01:29.eurozone debt crisis, and slow recovery in America, it's no easy
:01:29. > :01:33.task. So, in this time of economic doom and gloom, can the Executive
:01:33. > :01:36.achieve its targets? Our guest this evening is perfectly placed to
:01:36. > :01:39.answer that. Alastair Hamiliton heads the organisation tasked with
:01:39. > :01:46.selling Northern Ireland as an inward investment location, as well
:01:46. > :01:53.as supporting home grown companies to create jobs. The jobs that we
:01:53. > :01:59.are supposed be creating, 25,000, is it achievable? I believe it is
:01:59. > :02:09.going to be stretching but it is achievable. We come off the back of
:02:09. > :02:09.
:02:09. > :02:16.tremendous delivery over the last four years. We achieved job
:02:16. > :02:22.creation and that 80% of those jobs must have salaries above the median.
:02:22. > :02:27.We come from the situation where we have a track record of delivery.
:02:27. > :02:31.The climate has got tighter and over the last three months where we
:02:31. > :02:36.all fought we might see more of a recovery, unfortunately, that does
:02:36. > :02:43.not seem to be developing. But I believe stretching targets other
:02:43. > :02:46.way faster challenge ourselves and to challenge the business community.
:02:46. > :02:51.The incoming ministers said he thought that Invest NI would have
:02:51. > :02:55.to change his remit in a were to get those jobs. We have been
:02:55. > :03:01.working on that for the last year and a half. What it means is that
:03:01. > :03:05.we are going to offer our services be on the 2,500 companies in
:03:05. > :03:09.Northern Ireland that historically we have supported. In the new year
:03:09. > :03:13.we will offer advice Reece services and access to other support
:03:13. > :03:16.measures to the entire business population.
:03:16. > :03:20.The appointment of the justice minister was controversial from the
:03:20. > :03:22.start. David Ford was appointed on a cross-community vote - the only
:03:22. > :03:26.Executive minister not to be selected using the D'Hondt method.
:03:26. > :03:35.And it still rankles. But there could be reform in the air, as was
:03:35. > :03:41.revealed in Question Time. I am wondering if there has been any
:03:41. > :03:51.discussions around the issue of using this opportunity to reduce
:03:51. > :03:52.
:03:52. > :03:56.the number of overall government departments in the Executive.
:03:57. > :04:01.number in his capacity of the Ulster Unionist Party will be aware
:04:01. > :04:07.that the options paper does include options which indicate
:04:07. > :04:12.consideration of the number of departments. Of course, that will
:04:12. > :04:16.also be an opportunity for members who follow through on the draft
:04:16. > :04:20.programme for government, as one of the aspects of the truck programme
:04:20. > :04:25.for government was to look at the overall provisions of the assembly
:04:25. > :04:31.during the course of 2012. Whether at this stage all at that stage it
:04:31. > :04:36.certainly will be a matter that will be raised. He will have a full
:04:36. > :04:41.role in terms of the consideration of this element of justice 2012
:04:41. > :04:48.over the next number of weeks. I would hope that this is a matter
:04:48. > :04:51.that we can resolve fairly quickly and painlessly. It seems that the
:04:51. > :04:54.positions that most people recognise are manageable and I
:04:54. > :05:01.would expect that the matter could be resolved within weeks rather
:05:01. > :05:07.than months. Could I ask how the First Minister to indicate how the
:05:07. > :05:14.process will be taken forward? do have that meetings of the party
:05:14. > :05:21.leaders. The committee helpfully ask each of the parties for their
:05:21. > :05:25.views. Some of them provided those queues in more detail than others.
:05:26. > :05:30.Whether they were keeping their cards close to the chest at this
:05:30. > :05:36.stage, I do not know, but they have provided us with the opinions of
:05:36. > :05:42.reach of the parties on that basis. They have drawn up the options
:05:42. > :05:49.paper though, in truth, the options relief all round two stems. One
:05:49. > :05:56.which is effectively the present system of the has suddenly deciding
:05:56. > :06:02.on across community vote, or alternatively doing it by D'Hondt.
:06:02. > :06:12.There are a number of permutations are riding those but they are other
:06:12. > :06:16.
:06:16. > :06:21.two limitations being considered. - - surrounding those. Could I thank
:06:21. > :06:28.the First Minister for his answer. Does the First Minister recognise
:06:28. > :06:35.that as a result of the gerrymandering that brought about
:06:35. > :06:39.the election of the alliance Minister for Justice, it does the
:06:39. > :06:46.First Minister recognise that and recognise the unfairness which has
:06:46. > :06:55.emanated from that? As a result, to Alliance party now has two members
:06:55. > :07:02.in the Executive whereas both the Ulster Unionists... Order, can the
:07:02. > :07:10.member put his question? There were two Questions there and I suppose
:07:10. > :07:18.the quick answer is no end yes. on to arts and leisure. The issue
:07:18. > :07:22.of anniversaries re appears on the question list. What criteria have
:07:22. > :07:32.been used to establish which centenary and the virtues will be
:07:32. > :07:33.
:07:33. > :07:43.supported by the Department over the next decade? -- Centenary
:07:43. > :07:50.
:07:50. > :07:54.anniversaries. My predecessor had... I would encourage another centenary
:07:54. > :08:03.advance, the 1913 Lochhead, suffrage for men and suffrage for
:08:03. > :08:08.women, they will help to prepare more inclusive celebrations. 2012
:08:08. > :08:13.also marks Her Majesty's diamond jubilee. The Department of Culture
:08:13. > :08:18.in London is overseen that event. What corporation has the minister's
:08:18. > :08:22.department been having with the London department? Will she meet
:08:22. > :08:30.Her Majesty she comes to Northern Ireland drawing head Jubilee?
:08:30. > :08:36.have had no discussions with the Department of Culture in England.
:08:36. > :08:44.And what about the Irish language Act? The preparations for it must
:08:44. > :08:52.be costing taxpayers' money, unionists wanted to know.
:08:52. > :09:00.estimated cost for implementation has not yet been established as the
:09:01. > :09:08.legislative approaches still ongoing. I find it somewhat
:09:08. > :09:15.difficult to understand that any preparation for any draft act would
:09:15. > :09:21.come without cost. Given the fact that an Irish language get would
:09:21. > :09:29.require community support and support in this assembly, which she
:09:29. > :09:35.accept that it would be a complete waste of time and money?
:09:35. > :09:42.relation to scoping out, stepping Ed what approach to be taken around
:09:42. > :09:48.an Irish language act, that does not cost a lot of money. Regardless
:09:48. > :09:54.of the latter question, I am preparing an Irish language fact,
:09:54. > :10:01.because this is about rights. Regardless of your position, that
:10:01. > :10:07.is what I intend to do. There will be lots of discussions about the
:10:07. > :10:16.impact of David Cameron's beat go on the UK as a whole. But what
:10:16. > :10:22.about the devolved institutions? Not only did Mr Cameron appear to
:10:22. > :10:26.fail to consult his devolve partners but he failed to consult
:10:26. > :10:31.any of the devolved institutions, despite the fact that his actions
:10:31. > :10:36.could have profound implications for those jurisdictions. Northern
:10:36. > :10:40.Ireland has a land border with the eurozone in the south of Ireland
:10:40. > :10:45.and therefore we are entitled to be consulted about any UK government
:10:45. > :10:53.action which fundamentally impacts the decay relationship with the
:10:53. > :10:57.eurozone. Anything short of that is disrespectful. This is a sensible
:10:57. > :11:07.step that the Prime Minister has taken, one that is to be warmly
:11:07. > :11:11.
:11:11. > :11:17.commended. Hopefully the nature and can make significant progress and
:11:17. > :11:25.we allied ourselves as a European nation state but one which keeps
:11:25. > :11:35.control of its economic and pollution -- political affairs
:11:35. > :11:36.
:11:36. > :11:40.within the nation state. Let us acknowledge that the type of
:11:40. > :11:46.obsequious endorsement of David Cameron's position from the party
:11:46. > :11:56.opposite does not do any good for the economy here, it makes no
:11:56. > :11:57.
:11:57. > :12:02.contribution whatsoever. The United Kingdom retains the power to pursue
:12:02. > :12:07.its own monetary and economic policies that will be based on the
:12:07. > :12:15.interests of the United Kingdom, of which, thankfully, Northern Ireland
:12:15. > :12:18.is still very much an integral part. Other countries will note face
:12:18. > :12:25.uncertainty and lengthy negotiations over every budget that
:12:25. > :12:29.they said. The United Kingdom will have its own destiny. Does David
:12:29. > :12:38.Cameron's stands make your job harder or easier? It all depends on
:12:38. > :12:48.the outcome of his position. If it does not deliver stability in the
:12:48. > :12:50.
:12:50. > :12:55.EU zone then it will make things more difficult. The EU is still an
:12:55. > :12:59.important export location for our companies. The second thing is a
:12:59. > :13:04.round devaluation. If we see euro devaluation that will make it more
:13:04. > :13:09.difficult both on trade and of inward investment. Lastly there is
:13:09. > :13:14.a strong play that the Prime Minister is making around financial
:13:14. > :13:21.services. Our most important area for inward investment into Northern
:13:21. > :13:28.Ireland is the financial services sector. We are the second most
:13:28. > :13:33.important location behind London That was one of the big debates
:13:33. > :13:37.over the weekend, even some of the banks in the City of London may now
:13:37. > :13:41.downsize and potentially look at Dublin or Paris S that something
:13:42. > :13:46.that concerns you? It Does, because it's vitally important for news
:13:46. > :13:49.terms of our foreign direct investment strategy. We have global
:13:49. > :13:52.firms in Belfast and across Northern Ireland that have
:13:53. > :13:57.retracted to a near shore opportunity in London around
:13:57. > :14:00.financial services and anything that risks or jeopardises that will
:14:00. > :14:03.definitely have an impact on our strategy and plans. You mentioned
:14:03. > :14:07.more exports to outside of Europe and the finance Minister yesterday
:14:07. > :14:12.was saying that - playing down perhaps the significance of all of
:14:12. > :14:17.this. We can't ignore the European market, can we? No, it's still 49%
:14:17. > :14:21.of our exports. That is reducing and the Republic of Ireland last
:14:21. > :14:26.year went down by 16%. The rest of the EU went up by 16%. Just to put
:14:27. > :14:34.it into context, it's expected that the growth in areas outside Europe,
:14:34. > :14:39.India, China and Russia and Brazil, will grow by 6% per year up until
:14:39. > :14:47.2016. EU forecast at best 2%. Still important to us, but the focus that
:14:47. > :14:50.we have today is onevers -- skwrrs outside the EU. We recruited trade
:14:50. > :14:54.advisers and one is in Europe. month we finally got confirmation
:14:54. > :14:58.that the education and skills authority will go ahead. But the
:14:58. > :15:02.deputy chair of the education committee, David McNarry, has
:15:02. > :15:06.raised concerns about how Catholic council for maintained schools or
:15:06. > :15:12.CCMS, will move into the new authority. Earlier, I asked him and
:15:12. > :15:19.fellow committee member Colin McDevitt about the plans.
:15:20. > :15:23.understand if people have strong views about the idea of faith
:15:23. > :15:27.because - I believe that can be accommodated. I just think that,
:15:27. > :15:35.you come up with something and you say who's going to benefit from
:15:35. > :15:40.this? We keep on talking about moving on, shared future. All I am
:15:40. > :15:43.saying is come on, let's replicate that for the children. What is the
:15:43. > :15:48.justification for the CCMS not taking the hit in terms of job
:15:48. > :15:51.losses? I think it's worth clarifying that. CCMS have
:15:51. > :15:57.downtkaoeuzed and quite considerably. That's not true.
:15:57. > :16:03.They got �1 million - why, because they got �1 million to recruit
:16:03. > :16:08.people for the post primary review. Those people were to be object a
:16:08. > :16:10.temporary basis. We are now waiting on the the question back to the
:16:10. > :16:16.committee how many are staying and employed. They increased their
:16:16. > :16:20.numbers. You make many criticisms of CCMS. I am not making any.
:16:20. > :16:25.are many to be made. You can't say they haven't got on with dealing
:16:25. > :16:29.with some of the hard realities. CCMS are ahead of the board in
:16:29. > :16:33.terms of facing up to the fact there are empty schools and empty
:16:33. > :16:43.school desks and we need to start amalgamations and changing
:16:43. > :16:50.
:16:50. > :16:53.composition. The real issue going forward is whether we have the
:16:53. > :16:58.courage to enter a debate about building on what we have, rather
:16:58. > :17:01.than trying to destroy it and strt anew. I think if we build on what
:17:01. > :17:05.we have and listen to Protestant Church leaders, leaders in the
:17:05. > :17:08.Presbyterian Church and Methodist Church, their calls for joint faith
:17:08. > :17:11.schools, if we listen to the bishops who saying we want to have
:17:11. > :17:14.a conversation about joint faith schools. Where they make sense and
:17:14. > :17:18.where there is community demand for them and we seize that opportunity,
:17:18. > :17:21.I think we have the great possibility of transforming our
:17:21. > :17:26.education system the way the vast majority of people would like it to
:17:26. > :17:31.be transformed, which is on the values that are cherished and we
:17:31. > :17:36.hold strong, on the really positive aspects of those faith-based values
:17:36. > :17:38.that many schools hold dear, but without in any way perpetuating an
:17:39. > :17:45.artificial segregation which will do the society no particular
:17:45. > :17:50.service in the future. Tkhauz not sound fair enough? My discussion is
:17:50. > :17:53.about a discussion in getting it generated. I have been to see the
:17:53. > :17:57.Minister, I had a very useful discussion with him last week. I
:17:57. > :18:03.hope I can move that on. There was general agreement on a number of
:18:03. > :18:09.issues. Some issues we won't agree with him on, but that's all about
:18:09. > :18:15.discussion and negotiation. What I seem to have had is I have had a
:18:15. > :18:19.brick wall with CCMS. CCMS haven't got any property, they have no
:18:19. > :18:25.assets, they tell me. They belong to the Catholic Church. I am saying
:18:25. > :18:31.would you not gift your property to the schools estate, if we really
:18:31. > :18:35.are serious - let me finish, if we really are serious about having one
:18:35. > :18:40.state-funded structure of education that benefits everybody and doesn't
:18:40. > :18:47.give any exceptions to others. What I want to say is that school he is
:18:47. > :18:53.state worth between �5-6 billion. But a lot is derelict, a lot is
:18:53. > :18:57.empty. What we can't do is to get people to see how we could realise
:18:57. > :19:01.in real revenue terms those assets for the communities in which
:19:01. > :19:04.they're in. They may be parishes, I don't understand parishes, I talk
:19:04. > :19:09.about communities. For the communities in which they're in. We
:19:09. > :19:12.are running around trying to raise money for community halls,
:19:12. > :19:16.associations etc. The The schools close three months in the summer
:19:16. > :19:21.time. They close on a Friday for the weekends and they have the
:19:21. > :19:24.facilities. The one last thing just let me say, if we get there, right,
:19:24. > :19:29.and we are talking about schools going to be closed next year we are
:19:29. > :19:34.going to have announcement after announcement school closures, let's
:19:34. > :19:38.not just close four schools and say those four schools will be
:19:38. > :19:41.amalgamated into the best of the worst, knock them all down, build a
:19:41. > :19:48.brand new state of the art school for all the children in that
:19:48. > :19:51.community, share the assets, pool the resources. Now, I think people
:19:51. > :19:58.and parents will respond to that because who is it going to benefit?
:19:58. > :20:02.Them. Not all parents want that sort of education. Most of them do.
:20:02. > :20:06.Look, there is no evidence to suggest that the real choice that
:20:06. > :20:09.the vast majority of parents is for a one-size fits all type of
:20:09. > :20:12.education system. Parents treasure the diversity in our system and
:20:12. > :20:17.diversity is good. Be it in education, in society. It's good as
:20:17. > :20:20.long as it's built on respect. There's been plenty of speculation
:20:20. > :20:23.about the re-introduction of prescription charges but today, for
:20:23. > :20:27.the first time, the health Minister confirmed he is going to put the
:20:27. > :20:34.issue out for consultation. Edwin Poots was speaking to the Assembly
:20:34. > :20:40.during a rebate on the establishment of -- a debate on the
:20:40. > :20:43.establishment of a a special fund. We spend on a range of cancer
:20:43. > :20:48.medicines. As Minister I am determined to see this investment
:20:48. > :20:53.is used effectively and indeed efficiently. My priority is to
:20:53. > :20:56.ensure all patients here are able to access the full range of Nice
:20:57. > :21:00.approved drugs, including cancer drugs. However, these drugs will
:21:00. > :21:04.need to be paid for in future years and that is the reality which we
:21:04. > :21:11.face and it's the context I am considering a range of options, how
:21:11. > :21:14.this might be done. Including the potential re-introduction of some
:21:14. > :21:20.prescription charges. Such a decision would, of course, be
:21:20. > :21:23.subject to public consultation. This debate is therefore timely,
:21:23. > :21:28.tpwaus highlights the life- threatening aspect of cancer and
:21:29. > :21:33.the ability of modern drugs to help fight cancer. If we were to
:21:33. > :21:38.introduce a small prescription charge, it would actually only
:21:38. > :21:43.apply to 11 11% of all prescriptions. The decision that
:21:43. > :21:48.this Assembly will have to wait, the executive, and indeed I as
:21:48. > :21:54.Minister, is one that we can continue to help many a little, or
:21:54. > :22:00.help a few a lot. I think it's a very challenging one, but I do
:22:00. > :22:04.think that it is important that we give this due consideration and,
:22:04. > :22:08.therefore, I will want to go out to consultation early in the new year
:22:08. > :22:12.as to whether we should re- introduce a prescription charge.
:22:12. > :22:17.Now, toilet rolls, just how much are they costing the Assembly? Well,
:22:17. > :22:20.it's not quite clear, but it seems the bill is rather high and it's
:22:20. > :22:24.been upsetting David McNarry. Just one of the more intriguing issues
:22:24. > :22:30.to arise from our weekly look at the work of the committees,
:22:30. > :22:33.starting with education. I was speaking to an assistant last night,
:22:33. > :22:36.complaining about the fact one computer breaks down, it's �100 for
:22:36. > :22:42.a callout and another computer breaks down the same day a separate
:22:42. > :22:46.person comes out, �200. That's absolutely extortionate. I think we
:22:46. > :22:50.need more information on those kind of activities. We are going to be
:22:50. > :22:55.delving into procurement. I have to say, and anybody who's had even the
:22:55. > :23:00.slightest notion of business, couldn't run the departments here
:23:00. > :23:04.in the manner in which they're run and if you had shares, and the
:23:04. > :23:10.shareholders are the public and taxpayers out there, they would get
:23:10. > :23:14.rid of them. It is rather to me a far too flippant easy-going
:23:14. > :23:17.attitude to how we procure stuff here. I don't think we get value
:23:17. > :23:20.for money at all. I really don't. That's even down to the toilet
:23:20. > :23:26.rolls they flipping use in this this place. I have seen the bills
:23:26. > :23:31.for that and it's astonishing. Not that that's a particular interest.
:23:31. > :23:41.Well, we agreed at last meeting was we would sing the national anthem
:23:41. > :23:45.at the end of this meeting! LAUGHTER. That was unanimous.
:23:45. > :23:50.are telling me yes, there is an authorisation chain which can be
:23:50. > :23:55.accessed. Yes. How can that be not deployed to differentiate between
:23:55. > :23:59.the different expenditure, distinguishing between locums,
:23:59. > :24:04.overtime, staff doctors? understanding is that it's the way
:24:04. > :24:09.the financial management systems can report the information and it's
:24:09. > :24:16.not easy on pay roll terms to differentiate the payment
:24:16. > :24:20.straoeplts, that's -- streams. Completely unacceptable. That's
:24:20. > :24:24.balderdash. I do not accept that as an explanation. It's not a serious
:24:24. > :24:28.approach to tell me that is why you can't answer that question. That is
:24:28. > :24:32.what I am told in terms of when the audit office asked us can you
:24:32. > :24:36.actually pull out the figures for your internal locums and exactly
:24:36. > :24:41.what they were paid, that was very difficult to get us to get from our
:24:41. > :24:46.existing financial systems and I assure you that's my complete and
:24:46. > :24:51.truthful answer to your question. You alluded to a fact about the
:24:51. > :24:56.European work directive and I appreciate that there are doctors
:24:56. > :25:02.who will go on and work for other private paid for out of the public
:25:02. > :25:06.purse, talking about three 5-2, which are paying public money to
:25:06. > :25:10.deal with this. What records are being kept by those who work within
:25:10. > :25:16.that organisation delivering operations and working in theatre
:25:16. > :25:23.and doing all of that in a hospital environment, receiving their money
:25:23. > :25:26.from another account, and how is that ekwauted and and added in to
:25:26. > :25:29.ensure they're not breaching the European work directive and I
:25:29. > :25:34.appreciate that you have alluded that somebody can sign off, they
:25:34. > :25:38.can do it if they want to and allow them to have additional hours on it,
:25:38. > :25:41.it sound like what we were dealing with a few weeks ago over the legal
:25:41. > :25:48.profession where you can write whatever you need at times, but I
:25:48. > :25:51.want to - a breakdown of that and in relation to the 352? That's the
:25:51. > :25:59.responsibility of the individual doctor in the first instance. They
:25:59. > :26:04.have a professional responsibility to adhere to the directive or the
:26:04. > :26:09.regulations, that's their personal individual responsibility and that
:26:09. > :26:12.is an ethical issue for individual doctors. There is then a
:26:12. > :26:20.responsibility on their primary employer to be aware of the main
:26:20. > :26:26.issues, but the information will depend on and information from the
:26:27. > :26:30.individual doctor to the employer and 352 are also subject to that
:26:30. > :26:34.area of regulation. Well, as we heard earlier, Europe is the topic
:26:34. > :26:38.of the moment, both here and Westminster and no doubt all across
:26:38. > :26:42.Europe itself. I caught up with our political editor to hear his
:26:42. > :26:46.thoughts on the developments. Clearly, there's a very different
:26:46. > :26:51.view amongst our politicians about David Cameron wielding the veto and
:26:51. > :26:53.that's the reason why, unlike the Scottish First Minister or Welsh
:26:53. > :26:57.First Minister, you are not getting a big call from the Northern
:26:57. > :27:00.Ireland executive that we must meet Mr Cameron and there is an
:27:00. > :27:05.agreement as to whether he showed a lack of respect to the
:27:05. > :27:09.administrations by not consulting them, that's because in differing
:27:09. > :27:13.ways both the DUP and Sinn Fein sort of symphathise with his
:27:13. > :27:20.concerns about sovereignty. The DUP has said it fairly openly,
:27:21. > :27:23.congratulated him. Sinn Fein is saying they're not going to be
:27:23. > :27:26.obsequience. South of the border they're calling for a referendum,
:27:26. > :27:30.so they're not going to welcome the deal either. You have the parties
:27:30. > :27:33.as ever at Stormont pulling in different directions with the SDLP
:27:33. > :27:36.and the Alliance most concerned about what the Prime Minister has
:27:36. > :27:40.done but the others, either congratulating him, or being
:27:40. > :27:43.ambiguous. Staying with Westminster, and the welfare reforms that we are
:27:43. > :27:49.expecting are going through parliament at the minute. But here
:27:49. > :27:53.at the Assembly we seem to be a bit behind? Yes, it was in the news
:27:53. > :27:56.today because the Church leaders met Lord Freud, the Government
:27:56. > :28:01.Minister in khafrpb of this reform which is going to see this
:28:01. > :28:06.collection of you different benefits, such as disability
:28:06. > :28:10.allowance, all being brought into one universal credit system. It's
:28:10. > :28:13.going through the Lords today and it's due to become law around the
:28:13. > :28:17.spring time. Normally we mirror the legislation across the water when
:28:17. > :28:22.it comes to welfare reforms under what's known as the parity
:28:22. > :28:28.principle, but it looks like there will be a gap, even though Nelson
:28:28. > :28:31.McCauseland seems to be less opposed to these reforms than say
:28:31. > :28:35.his predecessor T looks like the Assembly not going to move quickly
:28:35. > :28:38.enough to get a seamless transition. That could potentially cause some
:28:38. > :28:41.problems, although Stormont is saying at the moment they believe
:28:41. > :28:46.that London will continue to fund the existing system, whilst the
:28:47. > :28:51.transition is worked through. you very much.
:28:51. > :28:55.A final word from you then, it's a big question as well, how do you
:28:55. > :28:58.change our economy from the small family business to some of the
:28:58. > :29:02.globele companies that we would like to see? The good news is we
:29:02. > :29:06.have wonderful examples of large global firms that we can learn from.
:29:06. > :29:09.I think the challenge of supporting small businesses is one we feel
:29:09. > :29:13.acute lie. There's been a lot of talk about it over the years. The
:29:13. > :29:16.good news is skaf investment Northern Ireland in the new year
:29:16. > :29:19.will be going into an area of providing a much wider range of
:29:19. > :29:21.support to small businesses and even here tonight the good news is
:29:21. > :29:26.that since the beginning of April this year our financial support for
:29:26. > :29:29.small businesses is up by 11%. good news for people if they are
:29:29. > :29:35.sitting there and have some brilliant idea? Well, absolutely.
:29:35. > :29:37.We are a country of innovators and inventors and we want to see those
:29:38. > :29:41.people come forward with ideas and take them to global markets. Thank