:00:29. > :00:35.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. We'll be talking money, or rather
:00:35. > :00:39.the lack of it. The bills are piling up and there is plenty of
:00:39. > :00:44.anxiety facing the Minister and students over tuition fees cool.
:00:44. > :00:47.This MLA have the answer? Before he would ever consider going to the
:00:47. > :00:51.executive that the department of employment and Learning itself
:00:51. > :00:57.should also be operating efficiently and that this shortfall
:00:57. > :01:01.in funding is meant internally and by the colleges and universities
:01:01. > :01:07.themselves And it was back to the Budget for the finance Minister but
:01:07. > :01:11.have been back to basics? I think in one case a minus was put in
:01:11. > :01:21.instead of a plus and therefore you got a different outcome in terms of
:01:21. > :01:21.
:01:21. > :01:25.the amount of cash the Department of Agriculture bid for.
:01:25. > :01:28.Exam stress is just one of the problems facing our students just
:01:28. > :01:33.now. There is also the gruelling question of tuition fees and the
:01:33. > :01:37.prospect of a potential hike. Some �1,200. For now it is a weight game
:01:37. > :01:43.while the Minister makes up his mind. In the meantime I'm joined by
:01:43. > :01:48.the outgoing President of Queen's Student union. Welcome to the
:01:48. > :01:54.programme. Good evening. Do you have any debts yourself? I do
:01:54. > :01:59.indeed. I left university two years ago with a tuition fee debt of
:01:59. > :02:04.�20,000. That included my student future, as well as the course costs
:02:04. > :02:08.and the student living allowance as well. How much stress is this
:02:08. > :02:12.causing students on campus, this notion of a hike? Indeed it is
:02:12. > :02:17.causing students stress because of the uncertain future with tuition
:02:17. > :02:21.fees in Northern Ireland, as well as the exams and course materials
:02:21. > :02:23.they've got to be concerned about. But for the families and electorate
:02:23. > :02:28.of Northern Ireland they were promised under the last Government
:02:28. > :02:32.a response in July. We still don't have a proposal of a date on the
:02:32. > :02:36.table for this tuition fee arrangements moving into 2012.
:02:36. > :02:40.it is a few more months you will have to wait. Stay with us, Gareth,
:02:40. > :02:45.because we'll come back to that. At the start of business this
:02:45. > :02:52.morning members paid tribute to the former Irish Minister for finance,
:02:52. > :02:58.Brian Lenihan, who died last week aged 52. He fought a brave battle
:02:58. > :03:05.against pan country attic cancer. On behalf of the SDLP and at a
:03:05. > :03:09.personal level I wish to extend our sincere sympathy with Brian
:03:09. > :03:16.Lenihan's wife, Patricia, on this sad and untimely death of a person
:03:16. > :03:20.who had yet so much to safer. To his entire family circle and to his
:03:21. > :03:28.party, Fianna Fail, for whom he dedicated so much and gave so many
:03:28. > :03:35.of his time. To his many friends, friends whom he had both cross-
:03:35. > :03:45.party and indeed outside politics. I sympathise. A true politician and
:03:45. > :03:46.
:03:46. > :03:56.a gentleman. He bore a great burieden of course
:03:56. > :03:56.
:03:57. > :04:00.during the great -- burden of course because of the state of the
:04:00. > :04:04.economy and the Irish Republic and at the same time because of the ill
:04:04. > :04:08.health he suffered. And yet in all of dealings I had with him he
:04:08. > :04:13.always had that bouncy optimism, both in terms of his own health and
:04:13. > :04:18.things were getting better and he was recovering, and also in terms
:04:18. > :04:25.of what could be done for the economy in the Irish Republic.
:04:25. > :04:31.think he will be a huge loss. Apart from being a first class politician.
:04:31. > :04:37.He was a very decent human being. He was very affable. He was good
:04:37. > :04:42.natured. He was very kind hearted, and he was always willing to
:04:42. > :04:46.thereon the debates and discussions that were taking place. I think he
:04:46. > :04:51.will be sorely missed, and I think all of us who worked with him in
:04:51. > :04:55.the past will remember him as someone who made a contribution, a
:04:55. > :05:05.positive contribution to life in this island. When he first made the
:05:05. > :05:06.
:05:06. > :05:12.public announcement of his illness in late 2009 he won admirers from
:05:12. > :05:16.all sides of the Dail, while battling a personal struggle for
:05:16. > :05:22.his survival. On behalf of the Ulster Unionist Party I would like
:05:22. > :05:29.to convey my sympathies to his wife, children and the family circle.
:05:29. > :05:33.speaks volumes that he was there to do the best conceivable job for his
:05:33. > :05:41.constituents, for his party, for the people of Ireland and, as
:05:41. > :05:46.others have said, for recognition of the responsibility. He will be
:05:46. > :05:50.sadly missed, because political life could do with many more people
:05:50. > :05:53.like Brian Lenihan to carry that sense of obligation, that sense of
:05:54. > :05:58.commitment, alongside that sons of good humour and partnership and
:05:58. > :06:02.willingness to relate to other people. I wish to express the
:06:02. > :06:07.condolences of myself and the Green Party to Brian Lenihan's family.
:06:07. > :06:12.Cancer has taken from us talented politician but perhaps more
:06:12. > :06:17.importantly at the young age of 52 a son, a husband, and a father.
:06:17. > :06:22.Economy Minister Arlene foster was answering questions this afternoon,
:06:22. > :06:27.but first off it it was new Minister who has joined his party
:06:27. > :06:30.leader at the executive table. The alliance member for North Down is
:06:30. > :06:37.now in charge of the department of employment and Learning and his
:06:37. > :06:41.Question Time was about one thing: tuition fees. At present in
:06:41. > :06:46.Northern Ireland universities have to find savings of �28 million over
:06:46. > :06:51.the next two years. That amounts to a 12% cut in terms of the public
:06:51. > :06:54.support that we give to those universities. Already that comes at
:06:54. > :06:59.a time when the levels of investment in universities in the
:06:59. > :07:02.rest of the UK are increasing. We do have a very strong record in
:07:02. > :07:06.Northern Ireland of having two world class facilities and it is
:07:07. > :07:13.important that we maintain that and do not fall behind what's happening
:07:13. > :07:18.in theest of the UK. If the �40 -- in the rest of the UK. If the �40
:07:18. > :07:22.million gap has to be passed on the universities that would have
:07:22. > :07:26.catastrophic consequences for them and would entail a reduction in the
:07:26. > :07:29.number of students and the closure of a number of departments. It
:07:29. > :07:32.would be difficult for us to sustain an argument that we had
:07:33. > :07:39.world class facilities. We are trying to give out a message that
:07:39. > :07:44.Northern Ireland is open for wis. - open for business. What they will
:07:44. > :07:48.be looking for is a guarantee that we will have highly skilled
:07:48. > :07:52.workforce and that includes highly skilled graduates through our two
:07:52. > :07:55.universities. Thank you Mr Deputy Speaker, does
:07:55. > :08:00.the Minister not agree the onus should be on the universities and
:08:00. > :08:02.the colleges to ensure that they are operating a streamlined
:08:03. > :08:05.management structure where it is efficient and also before he would
:08:05. > :08:09.ever consider going to the executive that the department of
:08:09. > :08:14.employment and Learning itself should also be operating
:08:14. > :08:18.efficiently, and this shortfall in funding is met internally and by
:08:18. > :08:22.the colleges and universities themselves? I agree with the thrust
:08:22. > :08:27.of what the member is saying. Efficiencies are important in terms
:08:27. > :08:31.of my own department I am wholly committed to that. I know both the
:08:31. > :08:35.universities are equally committed to finding efficiencies themselves.
:08:35. > :08:39.It is important to put down a marker that universities aren't
:08:39. > :08:42.there simply to act ads companies trying to drive out costs to the
:08:42. > :08:47.lowest common denominator. They are there to make an investment in
:08:47. > :08:51.terms of the future of the society as a whole. There is this notion
:08:51. > :08:55.out there as well that both universities are sitting on some
:08:55. > :09:00.pile of reserves that we can tap into to address. This now, I've
:09:00. > :09:04.asked my officials to drill down and test those argument fully and
:09:04. > :09:08.spoken to both Vice Chancellors, who are prepared to co-operate with
:09:08. > :09:12.my department examining those types of arguments. Both universities at
:09:12. > :09:17.the moment do have reserves but these are committed to capital
:09:17. > :09:20.investment. A lot of that is contractually committed as well. It
:09:20. > :09:25.is important that members are aware that when talking about the use of
:09:25. > :09:30.reserves to plug a gap this, �40 million issue is a recurring cost
:09:30. > :09:40.throughout every year. You can only dip into rerves once. Then they
:09:40. > :09:45.were exhausted -- reserves once. Then they are exhausted.
:09:45. > :09:49.Then it was on to enterprise, trade and investment. When asked about
:09:50. > :09:54.inward investment, the Minister was pleased to have good news to report.
:09:54. > :09:58.In relation to the current market, obviously it remains quite volatile.
:09:58. > :10:06.However, the pipeline of new projects remains good, particularly
:10:06. > :10:11.I have to say in the financial services, ICT and software sectors.
:10:11. > :10:14.Invest Northern Ireland are encouraged by the level of interest
:10:14. > :10:19.in Northern Ireland. That's something we'll continue to work on.
:10:19. > :10:24.In fact the potential Northern Ireland office's new business is
:10:24. > :10:31.out of this world. Cyber connectivity is important to us.
:10:31. > :10:35.That's why Project Kelvin linking us to America was such a key
:10:35. > :10:38.investment force. We now have quicker connectivity between New
:10:38. > :10:42.York and Northern Ireland than New York has with San Francisco. That's
:10:42. > :10:46.something we should be proud of. Aligned with that when we get
:10:46. > :10:48.people to connect into Northern Ireland we must have the
:10:49. > :10:53.connectivity within Northern Ireland. That's what the member is
:10:54. > :10:59.referring to. But it was back to Earth with a bang with this MLA
:10:59. > :11:02.crying foul on the lack of funding for the Milk Cup football
:11:02. > :11:07.tournament. Very tox press disappointment that you have no
:11:07. > :11:11.good news for the Milk Cup. With Minister for oversight with the
:11:11. > :11:15.tourist board did you agree with their decision, which seems to
:11:15. > :11:20.beggar belief that Northern Ireland Milk Cup could only score half the
:11:20. > :11:25.marks available on branding as a Northern Ireland venture? If you
:11:25. > :11:30.don't agree, what steps will you take to make sure that the great
:11:30. > :11:36.wrong done against Northern Ireland Milk Cup is righted? I thank the
:11:36. > :11:41.member for his question. One key factor in why the Milk Cup and the
:11:41. > :11:44.Foil Cup didn't score highly is because they are primarily sporting
:11:44. > :11:50.events. Notwithstanding the fact they do bring a number of tourists
:11:50. > :11:53.to Northern Ireland and the greater north-west. Because of that and
:11:53. > :12:00.because my good friend and colleague Gregory Campbell has been
:12:00. > :12:03.lobbying me in relation to this issue, I have asked my officials to
:12:03. > :12:07.discuss alternative funding arrangements with the department of
:12:07. > :12:11.culture, arts and leisure, and Sport Northern Ireland. But I do
:12:11. > :12:16.need to say that the long-term sustainability of both events has
:12:16. > :12:20.to be considered. That's key noint all of this. Certainly we'll look
:12:20. > :12:25.to be positive and find a solution in relation to this year but in the
:12:25. > :12:29.long term public funds cannot be permanently guaranteed for specific
:12:29. > :12:33.events. Therefore we need to look to a plan in relation to the medium
:12:33. > :12:36.to longer term. In relation to this year I've asked officials to have a
:12:36. > :12:40.look at this matter. If you want to see more from
:12:40. > :12:50.Question Time or indeed anything else that's been going on in the
:12:50. > :12:52.
:12:52. > :12:56.chamber or committee, go on-line to The finance Minister took up quite
:12:56. > :13:00.a bit of Assembly time today. He had to ensure he had the legal
:13:00. > :13:05.right to spend all that lovely money, and once the budget was
:13:05. > :13:10.mentioned it opened up a raft of complaints, but as usual Sammy
:13:10. > :13:19.Wilson had his answers ready. When I caught up with him to talk about
:13:19. > :13:26.future plans it was mistakes of the Some people make mistakes in their
:13:26. > :13:30.accounts or bills came in after, in relation to single farm payments
:13:30. > :13:38.and finds from the European Union. And it came in after the money had
:13:38. > :13:41.been agreed. That's what is called XS accounts, and, in some cases,
:13:41. > :13:45.because mistakes were made, we asked to to make sure that doesn't
:13:45. > :13:49.happen again. Other cases were because they couldn't have foreseen
:13:49. > :13:59.the money at the specific time the money was given to them. What
:13:59. > :13:59.
:13:59. > :14:04.mistakes were made? In one case, a- was put on instead of a+. Therefore,
:14:04. > :14:09.we got a different amount the agriculture department bid for.
:14:09. > :14:12.Someone else had a bill as a result of EU fines, and therefore had to
:14:12. > :14:18.make money available for that and there was a mistake in the
:14:18. > :14:20.teachers' pension scheme, �3 million. Fortunately, we had an
:14:21. > :14:25.underspending, and therefore we were able to facilitate the
:14:25. > :14:29.mistakes but, really, it shouldn't happen. And I hope systems have
:14:29. > :14:33.been put in place to make sure it doesn't happen again. What about
:14:33. > :14:39.the issue of you revisiting the Budget? It was pushed through late
:14:39. > :14:43.in the last term. Do you need to revisit it? No, the budget was
:14:43. > :14:50.agreed, I believe, and it was the right Budget. It hit all right
:14:50. > :14:54.priorities. The economy, providing money for the health service, and
:14:54. > :15:00.helping the disadvantaged. But I always said that the Budget would
:15:00. > :15:04.be a living document because we do have, over the next four years,
:15:04. > :15:08.opportunities to look for new revenue streams. We couldn't have
:15:08. > :15:11.realised immediately or in new ones which will come on board, but we
:15:11. > :15:17.are good opportunities with political decisions being made to
:15:18. > :15:22.baps make some savings on the cost of government, for example, and
:15:22. > :15:25.also savings coming through mean we will have more money to allocate.
:15:26. > :15:29.Over a four-year period, there will be additional money hopefully
:15:29. > :15:35.available and the pressures departments are finding and we will
:15:35. > :15:38.build up provide money for them. �40 million, a hole in the budget
:15:39. > :15:43.of the employment and learning department. If you don't increased
:15:43. > :15:47.tuition fees, your party promised it wouldn't do that, so is the
:15:47. > :15:51.minister going to get the money to ensure he doesn't have to push
:15:51. > :15:55.tuition fees up? The first of all, I don't want to pre-empt the
:15:55. > :16:00.consultation. It will be completed in a few years' time. It will be up
:16:00. > :16:04.to the minister to decide what he wants to do in relation to that,
:16:04. > :16:08.and he will then bring it to the executive. People say they don't
:16:08. > :16:14.want to see an increase in tuition fees. If that's the case, they
:16:14. > :16:18.simply can't leave him to find the money. I think he will be at this
:16:18. > :16:22.stage saying, it that the decision of the Assembly and the executive,
:16:22. > :16:28.where is the money coming from? I accept, if that happens, it will be
:16:28. > :16:32.a pressure, and we will have to facilitate it. Students are facing
:16:32. > :16:36.exam pressure this week and they would like to know they went up to
:16:36. > :16:41.get an extra �1,500 next year, so why won't you give them a broad
:16:41. > :16:45.hint, they won't have to pay more money? First of all, they won't,
:16:45. > :16:50.because any decisions will not apply until next year anyway.
:16:50. > :16:55.That's the first thing. Secondly, I can't pre-empt what all of the
:16:55. > :17:04.parties on the executive are going to do. We are only one party out of
:17:04. > :17:10.five. We have said that, as far as we are concerned, fees should not
:17:10. > :17:14.increase, but we will wait to see what recommendation the minister
:17:14. > :17:21.brings forward and the executive will decide. I don't think anybody
:17:21. > :17:25.on the executive would appreciate the second-guessing what the
:17:25. > :17:31.Assembly will decide on this matter. If it comes to the crunch, and you
:17:31. > :17:38.have the money, tuition fees will stay down? As far as the budget is
:17:38. > :17:41.concerned, no decision was made on tuition fees, there was a
:17:41. > :17:47.consultation document which went out, and one of the options and
:17:47. > :17:51.that was, fees would go up to I think it was �4,500. I can't
:17:51. > :17:57.remember the exact amount of money. Until that was decided, no money
:17:57. > :18:03.went into the budget for it. The minister made it quite clear, there
:18:03. > :18:07.is no money in his Budget at present for the freezing of tuition
:18:07. > :18:11.fees and the executive and the Assembly makes that decision. Until
:18:11. > :18:15.then, we will have to decide where the money comes from. Sandy Wilson
:18:15. > :18:22.wasn't giving too much away their the tuition fee hikes are not
:18:22. > :18:25.popular at Stormont and the post them is the chairman of the
:18:25. > :18:29.Department of Employment Committee, who joins us now. Have you any
:18:29. > :18:32.insight into what the minister might do on this issue? We have had
:18:32. > :18:36.some discussions with them and he did say that the political reality
:18:36. > :18:40.is that given that the DP and Sinn Fein are allocated that they will
:18:40. > :18:43.be no increase, that probably the way it's going to go, but it will
:18:43. > :18:48.leave a huge black hole in the finances of both universities and
:18:48. > :18:51.colleges. �40 million is what the minister these to ensure there is
:18:51. > :19:00.no hikes, but that money will have to come from another department, so
:19:00. > :19:04.what do you sacrifice for it? said to Sammy Wilson today, the
:19:04. > :19:07.first mistake gave a commitment that money would have to be found.
:19:07. > :19:13.-- the First Minister gave a commitment. If we don't find the
:19:13. > :19:18.money, you risk the reputation of our universities, and that could
:19:18. > :19:22.affect research funding and all sorts of things, so we have to be
:19:22. > :19:26.prepared not to sacrifice the future of young people. Gareth,
:19:26. > :19:30.this lot of speculation in the press so that students have it too
:19:30. > :19:39.easy, they spend their loans on things like drinking in the pub and
:19:39. > :19:44.taxis. What do you say to those critics? When we see first hand,
:19:44. > :19:49.students and a serious financial difficulty currently. There's
:19:49. > :19:55.15,000 undergraduates in Belfast, and the commercial debt owned by
:19:55. > :20:00.them is estimated at �100 million. Indeed, the total debt of graduates
:20:00. > :20:04.from our institutions within Northern Ireland is �1.3 billion of
:20:04. > :20:08.government sponsored money, so there is a major issue here. The
:20:08. > :20:11.week before the election, he made a statement saying we all agree on
:20:11. > :20:15.the importance of keeping fees at the current levels and we are
:20:15. > :20:19.committed to that so I would ask him before he takes any look at any
:20:19. > :20:24.proposals on the table, what has changed between now and then? He is
:20:24. > :20:27.in office and I would ask him to remain true to oneself and not into
:20:28. > :20:35.a modern liberal Democrat here in Northern Ireland. The consultation
:20:35. > :20:38.closed on Friday but a department needs time to sift through them.
:20:39. > :20:42.What I have asked for because it's very important, is forced to have a
:20:42. > :20:45.debate in the Assembly and that will take place in the last week of
:20:45. > :20:49.the Assembly. The consultation will be before the committee the week
:20:49. > :20:54.before that. If you were betting on this issue, would you say it's very
:20:54. > :20:57.unlikely tuition fees would go up? Yes, that's what I think but what
:20:57. > :21:01.is now emerging, and you heard it in the Budget debate today, the
:21:01. > :21:06.money will have to be found from somewhere. It's not just for �2
:21:06. > :21:09.million, but �28 million of efficiency is. We are facing a sick
:21:09. > :21:14.of it and redundancies in the university sector and the prospect
:21:14. > :21:18.of closing one of the campuses of one of the universities. Gentlemen,
:21:18. > :21:24.we have to leave it there but thank you very much. Time for a look at
:21:24. > :21:27.some of the committees. Little by Earsham from the general public,
:21:27. > :21:31.but there are an essential part of the Government here. Especially if
:21:31. > :21:35.they do their job properly. Keeping an eye on their ministers, so we
:21:35. > :21:40.start with the Health Committee and the new minister who was quizzed
:21:40. > :21:48.about security breaches on the side of the old Beaver Park Hospital.
:21:48. > :21:55.This is a matter for the Belfast Trust. Why, six or seven years
:21:55. > :22:04.after his it no longer being used, we are selling the building? It has
:22:04. > :22:10.had a 22.7 acres identified. It could have been used for
:22:10. > :22:14.development of homes for people. This is beyond me. I think it
:22:14. > :22:20.demonstrates poor management that we still own a property,
:22:20. > :22:23.particularly after coming out of the boom we just had. One can only
:22:23. > :22:28.imagine what that land in south Belfast would have been worth in
:22:28. > :22:32.2007, so instead of sitting on a problem we should have had, money
:22:32. > :22:38.could have come back into the estate. Obviously, that's not the
:22:38. > :22:42.case. Whatever we sell it at now, will be after reduced value to what
:22:42. > :22:46.it would have been sold in the later period. In terms of security
:22:46. > :22:54.breaches, first of all I deplore the security breaches which have
:22:54. > :22:58.taken place. I don't think the individuals involved, taking other
:22:58. > :23:03.people's information and posting it on the internet, and selling of
:23:03. > :23:07.information, are behaving in any way acceptable. But I also have
:23:07. > :23:12.concerns that the breaches took place in the first instances. It's
:23:12. > :23:15.hard to see not a sight of that size. And I understand that, at
:23:15. > :23:23.this moment in time, the Belfast Trust are reducing the security on
:23:23. > :23:27.the site, how best to manage the situation now. But I think that it
:23:27. > :23:31.is a situation but we should never have been in in the first instance.
:23:31. > :23:36.Obviously, what you're saying in relation to disabled people, they
:23:36. > :23:42.won't be discriminated against in the new regime, the new regulations,
:23:42. > :23:48.but according to the report, they are being discriminated against so
:23:48. > :23:53.what are you doing about that as a department? It was quite clear that
:23:53. > :23:59.private operators said they would have to bring in a six-seater
:23:59. > :24:01.minibus and that would be an extra cost for everybody. It didn't
:24:01. > :24:07.matter whether they had a disability or not. There was a
:24:07. > :24:13.charge for that. The disabled person didn't ask for a six-seater.
:24:13. > :24:17.They asked for a taxi. At the minute, there's no way to get an
:24:17. > :24:20.individual taxi driver behaving in that way and they shouldn't be.
:24:20. > :24:23.It's a matter of general law. You cannot just go where the person
:24:23. > :24:27.simply because they have a disability. At the present time
:24:27. > :24:33.with enforcement officers, unless he's committing a specific taxi-
:24:33. > :24:36.driver offence, his cars not roadworthy etc, I don't think
:24:37. > :24:42.there's a lot enforcement officers can do it against bad. There could
:24:42. > :24:46.be a complaint to the quality commission and that taxi driver
:24:46. > :24:50.could go into trouble. Would tax the operating licensing, it brings
:24:50. > :24:55.in a regime which operators are to be responsible for their drivers.
:24:55. > :24:59.There have to operate the business properly, reasonably, lawfully. If
:24:59. > :25:04.they allow drivers to do that sort of thing, we will stand down hard
:25:04. > :25:09.on the operator, and say, you have to bring your drivers in line. And,
:25:09. > :25:14.if you don't, you will lose your licence. Now for the latest in
:25:14. > :25:20.gossip and concerns involving our MPs. I caught up with Mark
:25:20. > :25:24.Devenport. He detected some discontent over the DUP and Sinn
:25:24. > :25:29.Fein plans to create a new post, principal Deputy Speaker. I asked
:25:29. > :25:33.him what all the fuss was about? This is about the DUP trying to
:25:33. > :25:38.keep good way promise which Ian Paisley made to Sinn Fein last time
:25:38. > :25:43.around when the Speaker got his job ante so that the UUP would support
:25:43. > :25:48.a nationalist Speaker, Sinn Fein speaker, in the future. Willie Hay
:25:48. > :25:51.is now back in the job, but the compromise has been but they said
:25:51. > :25:56.this job would rotate halfway through this is humbly and we're
:25:56. > :26:01.expecting the current deputy to get it but as part of that deal, Sinn
:26:01. > :26:04.Fein is requiring Francie Molloy gets enhanced status so her
:26:04. > :26:09.enhanced if -- the new job has caused annoyance to the other
:26:09. > :26:14.deputy speakers. Why is no one happy? They think there's no need
:26:15. > :26:20.for this new job. Francie Molloy is a person likely to get it above the
:26:20. > :26:24.other deputy speakers. So what they are saying that, instead of as
:26:24. > :26:27.being a job simply kept for Sinn Fein, it should be rotated amongst
:26:27. > :26:31.the parties. I don't think they will get that through but it is
:26:31. > :26:35.sick of the Kent the Ulster Unionists had joined with Alastair
:26:35. > :26:40.in pushing this motion and amendment tomorrow. Away from here
:26:40. > :26:49.today, the British and Irish parliamentarians were addressed by
:26:49. > :26:53.the to shock. Yes, he was picking up from the Queen's visit saying
:26:53. > :26:57.that now there has been a healing of old wounds between Britain and
:26:57. > :27:00.Ireland and they can move on in their relationship, be on the
:27:00. > :27:10.presuppose says, trying to confront the global financial crisis
:27:10. > :27:13.
:27:13. > :27:17.together. -- beyond the peace process. But he did talk about his
:27:17. > :27:21.being significant, the termination of the Irish Republic, to hang on
:27:21. > :27:24.to its low corporation tax rate, which is something people here are
:27:24. > :27:28.advocating we should match, although there was controversy
:27:28. > :27:33.between the politicians about that over the weekend.
:27:33. > :27:36.Well, corporation tax is a big issue but so student fees. Do you
:27:36. > :27:40.think kick-starting the Northern Ireland economy shouldn't just
:27:40. > :27:45.focus on corporation tax but a package of measures is required,
:27:45. > :27:49.something to help students perhaps? I think last year and the last
:27:49. > :27:54.programme for government, we saw investing in a knowledge-based
:27:54. > :27:56.economy for the future of Northern Ireland about important ribbon Ford.
:27:56. > :28:02.We do one thing Northern Ireland exporting talents elsewhere, going
:28:02. > :28:05.to Europe, Australia, America, and bringing their talents away. Some
:28:05. > :28:10.people may go away and then come back and invest them back into
:28:10. > :28:13.Northern Ireland and that's what we need. We need more investment
:28:13. > :28:18.within the future of the generations in Northern Ireland. We
:28:18. > :28:27.don't want people to mortgage their future away with crippling debt and
:28:27. > :28:31.a tuition fees. What advice do you have for the ministers including
:28:31. > :28:36.the student minister? Invest in the future of Northern Ireland and take
:28:36. > :28:40.stock of what is important. For Trade and Investment and business,
:28:40. > :28:45.enterprise, and education, not only primary, secondary but higher
:28:45. > :28:51.education. And also a question of whether education should be
:28:51. > :28:56.monitored by one department. Very briefly, you're leaving your job at
:28:56. > :29:01.Queen's now and you're not attended by a going into Assembly politics?
:29:01. > :29:05.Not at the minute. This is an example of the concerns out there.
:29:05. > :29:09.I'm going to do a postgraduate in England, so currently, an
:29:09. > :29:12.undergraduate degree is not enough for students to get a degree so
:29:13. > :29:17.they have to go elsewhere to get a postgraduate degree so I would last
:29:17. > :29:21.Assembly to take that into account as well. The we wish you luck on
:29:21. > :29:25.that, Gareth. That is all from Stormont Today. We are back