:00:27. > :00:29.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up in the next 30 minutes:
:00:30. > :00:33.The controversy surrounding the opening of Northern Ireland's first
:00:33. > :00:39.private abortion clinic. The Health Minister warns that the law on
:00:39. > :00:44.abortion isn't toothless. If some people that they can get away with
:00:44. > :00:48.not observing it, they may find that the law is not a paper tagger,
:00:48. > :00:52.but one with a lot of teeth. I would caution any physician who
:00:52. > :00:57.would seek to challenge the law. Plus, getting on his red and white
:00:57. > :01:03.jumper - one MLA reveals his struggles with the Education Bill.
:01:03. > :01:06.This bill is a sort of where's wally for every politician. We have
:01:06. > :01:09.to search through it from top to bottom, from word to word to try
:01:09. > :01:17.and understand what it means. Ulster Bank chiefs are summoned
:01:17. > :01:24.back to face MLAs. It's true that the incident was a major disaster.
:01:24. > :01:26.There's no doubt about that from the bank's perspective.
:01:26. > :01:30.The imminent opening of a private abortion clinic in Belfast this
:01:30. > :01:34.week was the subject of an urgent oral question by the TUV MLA Jim
:01:34. > :01:37.Allister. Mr Allister asked the Health Minister, Edwin Poots, if
:01:37. > :01:45.the Marie Stopes clinic will be monitored to ensure what he called
:01:45. > :01:47."strict compliance with the law on abortion". First and foremost, all
:01:47. > :01:52.health and social care organisations must comply with the
:01:52. > :01:55.law in Northern Ireland. The current framework, the health and
:01:55. > :02:02.personal Social Services quality improvement and regulation Northern
:02:02. > :02:08.Ireland order 2003 is an didation - - additional safe guard which is
:02:08. > :02:13.Aprillyable. Dlrb applicable. I have asked whether the current
:02:14. > :02:22.regulations apply to this establishment and if not to require
:02:22. > :02:27.amendment. Is it not the case that the current RQIA monitoring
:02:27. > :02:34.arrangements by virtue of the manner in which they're constituted
:02:34. > :02:39.and the powers given would ensure only that the unborn or killed in
:02:39. > :02:44.hygienic conditions and would not address the wider concerns of how
:02:44. > :02:49.many abortions will be conducted in this clinic, on what basis they
:02:49. > :02:54.will be conducted, will the basis be verified and transparent? And
:02:54. > :03:00.how it will be seen that all of those matters are in entirely
:03:00. > :03:03.within the law in Northern Ireland on abortion? As the minister on
:03:03. > :03:09.this issue will he give assurance that those are the matters at the
:03:09. > :03:14.end of that exercise will be addressed? The member will recall
:03:14. > :03:17.that in August I confirmed that officials were developing a data
:03:17. > :03:22.collection system to collect robust statistics on terminations taking
:03:22. > :03:26.place in Northern Ireland. It is my intention that all terminations
:03:26. > :03:33.taking place will be recorded by this system. So work is still
:03:33. > :03:39.ongoing on this matter. Can the minister outline to this House in a
:03:39. > :03:49.time frame for the publication of the guidance on the issue and if he
:03:49. > :03:50.
:03:50. > :03:55.can detail the rationalal of the delaying guidelines? Unfortunately
:03:55. > :04:01.I can't. The truth is that the guidelines have been produced twice
:04:01. > :04:04.and they have been take ton court twice and the judicial reviews have
:04:04. > :04:11.been upheld twice, once by those who were supporting abortion and
:04:11. > :04:17.once by those opposed to abortion. There is, it is a huge legal
:04:17. > :04:22.minefield. If individuals Carrie out terminations of pregnancy,
:04:22. > :04:26.which are outside of the legislation, then they are breaking
:04:26. > :04:31.the criminal law and in breaking the criminal law, they are subject
:04:31. > :04:37.to a sentence of up to life imprisonment. To that extent, I
:04:37. > :04:41.think those who are engaging in the clinic would be well advised to
:04:41. > :04:45.observe the law and I know that some journalists might be it's a
:04:45. > :04:49.paper tagger, but that's because it has been largely observed. If some
:04:49. > :04:54.people think they can get away with not observing it, they may find
:04:54. > :04:58.that the law is not a paper tagger, but one with a lot of teeth. I
:04:58. > :05:01.would caution any physician who would seek to challenge the law.
:05:01. > :05:08.Given the fact that this organisation has come to Northern
:05:08. > :05:13.Ireland quite quietly and quickly, does the minister, could he explain
:05:13. > :05:17.why if his department knew why guidance and clarification was not
:05:17. > :05:21.issued, as soon as the minister and the department was aware of this
:05:21. > :05:25.group coming to Northern Ireland? The clinic itself may have been
:05:25. > :05:30.capable to be regulated, it depended on the nature of the work
:05:30. > :05:33.and indeed of those who were carrying it out and could only be
:05:34. > :05:37.properly assessed whenever we actually got to this point. Which
:05:37. > :05:42.is somewhat unfortunate. What we will seek to ensure that in
:05:42. > :05:45.Northern Ireland the law is not broken and we have made very clear
:05:45. > :05:49.how the law stands in Northern Ireland on abortion. Could I ask
:05:49. > :05:52.the minister whether or not he agrees with the current law that
:05:53. > :06:00.exists in Northern Ireland? And if so, given that there are documented
:06:00. > :06:04.cases of women being unable to access services on the NHS, due to
:06:05. > :06:09.the lack of guidelines, for doctors, does he not agree then that there's
:06:09. > :06:15.nothing to fear about the clinic and indeed, does he welcome it in
:06:15. > :06:21.that it will ensthaur women are able to access Health Services that
:06:21. > :06:28.they're entitled to under the existing law? Well, over the course
:06:28. > :06:33.of the last 45 years, since the 1967 Abortion Act was passed in
:06:33. > :06:38.England, Scotland and Wales there's been 6.4 million abortions, over
:06:38. > :06:43.10% of the existing population in GB. If we were to equate that in
:06:43. > :06:46.Northern Ireland with a population of 1.8 million, it would equate to
:06:46. > :06:50.around 200,000 abortions. Regrettibly I understand there has
:06:50. > :06:55.been up to 50,000 women who have travelled to England for abortions.
:06:55. > :07:00.But the figure left between that is 150,000 people who are alive in
:07:00. > :07:05.Northern Ireland, who may not, Mr Deputy Speaker, have been alive.
:07:05. > :07:10.I'd expect around half of those are women. Whenever you talk about
:07:10. > :07:14.choice, they're living a life where they have the choice to marry, to
:07:14. > :07:18.have children, the choice of what work they do, the choice of what
:07:18. > :07:22.education they do. Had they been aborted, they wouldn't have any
:07:22. > :07:24.choice in life. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots. The abolition of the
:07:24. > :07:27.education boards and their replacement with a single Education
:07:27. > :07:29.and Skills Authority is the key element of the Education Bill,
:07:29. > :07:35.which was voted through overwhelmingly on its second stage
:07:35. > :07:38.on the floor of the house this evening. The bill is supported by
:07:38. > :07:45.both Sinn Fein and the DUP, with the Ulster Unionists the only one
:07:45. > :07:50.of the main parties opposing it. This day has been a long time
:07:51. > :07:54.coming. The need for reform was recognised as far back as 2002. In
:07:54. > :07:58.my view, education is too important to wait any longer and the bill
:07:58. > :08:01.sets out the overall aim of education to contribute to the
:08:02. > :08:04.spiritual, cultural, social, intellectual and physical
:08:04. > :08:11.development of children and young people and of the community at
:08:11. > :08:14.large. The board system is ageing. The model is no longer fit for
:08:14. > :08:18.purpose. We as elected representatives in this House have
:08:18. > :08:21.an opportunity to replace it with a model to meet the needs of our
:08:22. > :08:27.communities, children and young people and our economy. We must
:08:27. > :08:32.seize that opportunity. I think it would only be right and proper that
:08:32. > :08:37.we place on record our appreciation and thanks to those who threw many
:08:37. > :08:42.difficult and challenging years in education, in our education and
:08:42. > :08:46.library boards have provided a service to our educational family.
:08:46. > :08:53.It has not been easy. They have gone through a multiplicity of
:08:53. > :09:02.changes. They've had various direct rule ministers and initiatives. Of
:09:02. > :09:10.course, I think it would be fair to say that we need to remember where
:09:10. > :09:16.ESA comes from. I'm glad that ESA didn't have its creation in the
:09:16. > :09:19.normal political structures, but ESA had its Genesis in the
:09:19. > :09:24.Department of Education. Given the past record of Sinn Fein, we must
:09:24. > :09:29.treat this bill with healthy mistrust. Given that the last
:09:29. > :09:33.Education Minister seemed to list ton no-one, and that the department
:09:33. > :09:39.often seems to be of that mind too, the Ulster Unionist Party are
:09:39. > :09:42.opposing the legislation. This bill is a sort of where's Wally for
:09:42. > :09:47.every politician. Swre to search through it from top to botd om,
:09:47. > :09:51.from word to word, to try and understand what it means and why
:09:51. > :09:56.it's been written in such a way. Hidden in every clause, sentence
:09:56. > :10:02.and schedule could be a Wally of hidden Sinn Fein chicanery. There
:10:02. > :10:05.is a case for change. The ESA journey has been a long one. No-one
:10:05. > :10:09.will argue with the review of public administration which was
:10:09. > :10:15.launched in 2002, with the aim to deliver modernisation and reform
:10:15. > :10:18.across the public sector. RPA suggested the need for a new single
:10:19. > :10:22.education and skills authority. It seems to make sense when you
:10:22. > :10:27.compare Northern Ireland with say authorities like Birmingham. Just
:10:27. > :10:32.one cautionary note, Northern Ireland is not Birmingham. It took
:10:32. > :10:37.years to get the executive, to get it to the executive and the sharp
:10:37. > :10:41.contrast it flew through the executive. It would lead one to
:10:41. > :10:43.speculate whether some sort of a deal was done. The SDLP's Sean
:10:43. > :10:47.Rogers. Our Political Correspondent, Gareth Gordon, is with me now.
:10:47. > :10:52.Gareth, let's stay with education, first of all. This debate over ESA
:10:52. > :10:57.has been around for a long time. very long time indeed. In fact the
:10:57. > :11:02.idea of one single authority to replace the five education and
:11:02. > :11:06.library boards was first mooted around ten years ago. It was due to
:11:06. > :11:11.become law in January 2010. It became one of the prime examples
:11:11. > :11:14.used by Stormont's many critics to flag up what they would say was the
:11:14. > :11:21.executive's failings. Some months ago we were told the parties had
:11:21. > :11:25.reached agreement, just last month the legislation was passed by the
:11:25. > :11:31.executive. Today, it had its second reading in the House. That's why
:11:31. > :11:37.MLAs were debating it. It passed comfortably by 77 votes to 15. The
:11:37. > :11:40.Ulster Unionist Party opposed it. It was a pretty convincing result.
:11:40. > :11:43.So does this mean the Education Bill in its present form is
:11:43. > :11:46.effectively over the line? Well, if it was over the line, there would
:11:46. > :11:49.be no point in committees. Now it goes to the committee stage. It
:11:49. > :11:53.will face scrutiny there. There are some people think the whole thing
:11:53. > :11:56.is much too big, it's a bureaucratsic monster which will be
:11:56. > :12:01.beyond the control of politicians. The Education Minister denied that
:12:01. > :12:04.very strongly today. The DUP had big concerns, certainly they had
:12:04. > :12:09.big concerns about a lack of safe guards for the control sector
:12:09. > :12:15.within the legislation. They feel that has largely been dealt with by
:12:15. > :12:20.the establishment with something called the control schools control
:12:20. > :12:23.body. They're unhappy with special clauses for the Irish language. The
:12:23. > :12:26.fact there are fewer points of contention is illustrated that the
:12:26. > :12:31.debate was due to go on for an hour-and-a-half more than it did go
:12:31. > :12:34.on. The Health Minister, Edwin Poots, certainly made his views on
:12:34. > :12:44.the opening of a Marie Stopes clinic in Belfast crystal clear
:12:44. > :12:45.
:12:45. > :12:50.There was a lot of emotion today. We didn't hear anything new. Edwin
:12:50. > :12:54.Poots warned the law is not a paper tagger and the clinic would be well
:12:54. > :12:59.advised to observe the law. They say they will fully observe the law
:12:59. > :13:04.as it is anyway. People here will be watching to see what happens. It
:13:05. > :13:07.opens later this week. This is far from over. Thank you.
:13:07. > :13:10.The first-ever housing strategy produced for Northern Ireland was
:13:10. > :13:12.launched by the Social Development Minister. Nelson McCausland told
:13:12. > :13:21.the Assembly there will be a fundamental review of how social
:13:21. > :13:26.housing is allocated. The strategy articulates for the first time what
:13:26. > :13:31.we see as Government's three main roles in relation to housing and
:13:31. > :13:36.these are, firstly, to help create the right conditions for a stable
:13:36. > :13:41.and sustainable housing market that supports economic growth and
:13:41. > :13:45.prosperity. Secondly, to provide support for individuals and
:13:45. > :13:49.families to access housing, particularly the most vulnerable in
:13:49. > :13:55.society. Thirdly, to set minimum standards for the quality of new
:13:55. > :14:00.and existing homes and for how rented housing is managed. The
:14:00. > :14:06.strategy sets out how a plan to fulfil these roles under five
:14:06. > :14:12.themes. These are: Ensuring access to decent, affordable, sustainable
:14:12. > :14:17.homes across all tenures. Secondly, meeting housing needs and
:14:18. > :14:22.supporting the most vulnerable. Thirdly, housing and welfare reform.
:14:22. > :14:28.Fourthly, driving regeneration and sustaining communities through
:14:28. > :14:31.housing. Fifthly, getting the structures right. The economic
:14:31. > :14:36.context in which I am launching this strategy is clearly a
:14:36. > :14:40.challenging one. The Northern Ireland Housing Market is emerging
:14:40. > :14:45.from a turbulent period. There are hopeful signs that the market is
:14:45. > :14:50.beginning to stabilise with prices now at more sustainable levels. I'm
:14:50. > :14:54.keen to do more to help create the right conditions for longer term
:14:54. > :14:59.market stability. Addressing the supply issue won't be easy. I'm
:14:59. > :15:03.keen to work with the private sector and others to identify and
:15:03. > :15:08.develop viable solutions and today I am announcing my intention to
:15:08. > :15:13.establish a housing supply forum for this purpose. I'm also keen to
:15:13. > :15:18.maximise the number of new social homes we can bring forward within
:15:18. > :15:23.the budgets available. Building new social homes will help us both meet
:15:23. > :15:27.housing need and have a significant positive impact on the construction
:15:27. > :15:32.industry and the multiplier effect on the economy in general. My
:15:32. > :15:36.strategy contains proposals to make more effective use of existing
:15:36. > :15:41.social housing stock. Undertake a fundamental review of how we
:15:41. > :15:45.allocate social housing, improve the way we support people to live
:15:45. > :15:49.independently and do more to prevent homelessness. Does the
:15:49. > :15:53.Minister have any intention of seeking additional funding from the
:15:53. > :15:57.Executive to enable the construction of more, much-needed
:15:57. > :16:02.social homes than currently planned and budgeted for? The priority for
:16:02. > :16:06.me at the moment is to make sure that the money that has already
:16:06. > :16:09.been allocated to the Housing Executive is used and we do not end
:16:09. > :16:13.up in a situation where there is an underspend. That is a
:16:13. > :16:18.responsibility that we are putting clearly to the Housing Executive
:16:18. > :16:21.and to the Housing Association. There is money in the Budget. I
:16:21. > :16:23.want to be sure that all of it is spent.
:16:23. > :16:26.The Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland.
:16:26. > :16:28.The First Minister, Peter Robinson, provided an update on what the
:16:28. > :16:31.Executive is doing to try to resolve the contentious issue of
:16:32. > :16:34.parades. First though, Junior Minister Jonathan Bell was asked
:16:34. > :16:44.about funding for a programme promoting development in ethnic
:16:44. > :16:45.
:16:45. > :16:51.minority communities. I am pleased to be able to advise the member
:16:51. > :16:58.that an extension to the current minority ethnic fund will commence
:16:58. > :17:02.with immediate effect and run until 31st March 2013. The information
:17:02. > :17:07.was conveyed to the minority ethnic sector last week. The extension
:17:07. > :17:12.will allow for engagement and consultation around the development
:17:12. > :17:20.of a racial equality strategy and how it relates to a longer term
:17:20. > :17:29.fund. Officials will be meeting to discuss the fund and the strategy
:17:29. > :17:35.itself. Thank you, Mr Speaker. Thank you to the Minister for
:17:35. > :17:41.conveying this very good news. Unfortunately, this fund really has
:17:41. > :17:46.been granted on a six-monthly basis in the last year-and-a-half. I
:17:46. > :17:52.would like to hear an assurance from the Junior Minister that from
:17:52. > :17:57.next April that this fund will continue but will continue on a
:17:57. > :18:07.much-longer basis in order to provide that continuity and that
:18:07. > :18:12.certainty for the sector? We are still working with the sector on
:18:12. > :18:17.the racial equality strategy and what they specifically want out of
:18:17. > :18:21.the fund because we want the strategy and the funding to be
:18:22. > :18:25.interconnected so they can develop both what the ethnic minority are
:18:25. > :18:31.reflecting they need and the support requirements they have.
:18:31. > :18:35.Thank you very much, indeed, Mr Speaker. Can I welcome the Junior
:18:35. > :18:45.Minister's news. Unfortunately, minority ethnic communities still
:18:45. > :18:45.
:18:45. > :18:49.remain the target of vile racism by certain in our sections. Will he
:18:49. > :18:53.add his voice to all the other people in the community who are
:18:53. > :18:58.asking for any information out there to be passed on to the
:18:58. > :19:04.police? I fully talk about any form of criminal behaviour to do with
:19:04. > :19:09.racism, whether it is homophobia, racism, attacks on people's homes,
:19:09. > :19:16.attacks on people's property, attacks on people's ethnic heritage
:19:16. > :19:20.and life, that goes without saying. There has been a discussion at
:19:20. > :19:25.Executive level on the issue of parades and associated protests. At
:19:25. > :19:29.the last meeting of Party Leaders we discussed the best approach to
:19:29. > :19:34.establishing the views of all the stakeholders. Suggestions will be
:19:34. > :19:38.brought to a further meeting on the best process to advance the issue.
:19:38. > :19:46.The right to assembly, the right to express cultural identity, the
:19:46. > :19:54.right to protest and the rights of those living and in proximity to
:19:54. > :19:58.parades are the right to protest. The Deputy First Minister and I
:19:58. > :20:03.have met with various participants on both sides of the argument and
:20:03. > :20:07.we remain committed to facilitating discussions in any way that is
:20:07. > :20:11.helpful. We have indicated our determination to agree a process on
:20:11. > :20:15.taking this complex issue forward before the year ends.
:20:15. > :20:21.Thank you very much. I thank the First Minister for his statement.
:20:21. > :20:25.Will he also give a commitment the OFMDFM will consult with all
:20:25. > :20:29.parties that any alternative brought forward for the Parades
:20:29. > :20:33.Commission is not that that was worked out coming from the
:20:33. > :20:37.Hillsborough Agreement? Well, I would have thought that we were
:20:37. > :20:42.consulting with all parties when we talked to Party Leaders unless the
:20:42. > :20:49.member is saying Party Leaders aren't representative of the party
:20:49. > :20:53.that they lead? So I hope we have met that. Of course, the parties
:20:53. > :20:59.are all represented on the Executive as well. There is no
:20:59. > :21:03.intention on the part either of the Executive or of the Party Leaders
:21:03. > :21:07.to stifle discussion and debate. We want it to be as wide as possible.
:21:08. > :21:12.We want to encourage people to take part and that is why we are looking
:21:12. > :21:15.at what the processes will be so that people can feed into those
:21:15. > :21:17.processes. The First Minister, Peter Robinson.
:21:17. > :21:20.The Agriculture Minister was also facing questions at the dispatch
:21:20. > :21:27.box today. Here's Michelle O'Neill outlining why she has opted to
:21:27. > :21:32.maintain the Agricultural Wages Board. The Agricultural Wages Board
:21:32. > :21:38.structure is a valuable forum and importantly is used as a benchmark
:21:38. > :21:43.for the wider agri-food industry. I launched a public consultation on
:21:44. > :21:47.the review of the board structure. I gave careful consideration to the
:21:47. > :21:56.responses received. I believe the decision I have now reached is in
:21:56. > :22:01.the best interest of agricultural workers here. It will now continue
:22:01. > :22:04.to protect the rights of low-paid agricultural workers by ensuring
:22:04. > :22:07.enforceable employment conditions which can only have a positive
:22:08. > :22:11.impact on the sustainability of the rural economy. Can the Minister
:22:11. > :22:20.tell the House how much the Agricultural Wages Board has cost
:22:20. > :22:28.the taxpayer? I can advise the member the cost of maintaining the
:22:28. > :22:37.Agricultural Wages Board has been somewhere in between �20,500 and
:22:37. > :22:40.�26,500. It's helping us to retain skilled individuals who want to
:22:41. > :22:45.work in the industry and helping us to attract people into the industry.
:22:45. > :22:48.The reality is the agri-food sector is continuing to do well. We have
:22:48. > :22:52.to continue to make sure we have the people who are available to
:22:52. > :22:59.work in that industry and this is a way to protect those workers. I
:22:59. > :23:02.appreciate that managing slurry can be challenging. However, since the
:23:03. > :23:06.closed period was introduced farmers have worked hard to protect
:23:06. > :23:09.water quality. There has been significant investment in new
:23:09. > :23:16.slurry storage tanks and slurry is being used more efficiently.
:23:16. > :23:19.Farmers have been investing in advanced slurry-spread machines.
:23:19. > :23:23.These machines provide more flexibility in the slurry-spreading
:23:23. > :23:30.process and deliver a range of productive and environmental
:23:30. > :23:33.benefits. The scheme has provided �2 million for over 200 of these
:23:33. > :23:42.advanced red machines. Water quality in our rivers is improving
:23:42. > :23:46.and it is important farmers keep up the good work. Can I ask if she has
:23:46. > :23:50.any discussions - has had any discussions with the Health and
:23:50. > :23:56.Safety Executive associated with farmers not being able to spread
:23:56. > :24:01.slurry on to their fields? There's ongoing work with the farming
:24:01. > :24:06.community in terms of preparing for the closed period and for the
:24:06. > :24:10.difficulties they might find themselves in. DOE are the
:24:10. > :24:13.enforcers so we have to continue to work with them. I haven't met HSE
:24:13. > :24:17.on this issue. But anybody who is involved in this area of work
:24:17. > :24:19.regularly engage with each other because it has to happen.
:24:19. > :24:21.The Agriculture Minister, Michelle O'Neill.
:24:21. > :24:24.The Enterprise and Finance Committees held a joint meeting
:24:24. > :24:26.last week. They were being briefed by the Ulster Bank regarding the
:24:26. > :24:33.compensation scheme following its systems failure earlier this year,
:24:34. > :24:37.as we can hear now in our weekly look at committee business. All our
:24:37. > :24:44.customers are being returned to the financial position they would have
:24:44. > :24:48.been in had the incident not occurred. We have provided redress
:24:48. > :24:56.of over �18 million to nearly 300,000 customers in Northern
:24:56. > :25:00.Ireland. What happened over summer was unprecedented in the RBS Group.
:25:00. > :25:05.The level of service our customers experienced during this period was
:25:05. > :25:12.unacceptable and it caused widespread frustration and
:25:12. > :25:17.inconvenience. It's true that the incident was a major disaster. It's
:25:17. > :25:22.also clear that we had issues with regard to the contingency plan
:25:22. > :25:30.relating to our systems operating as they should have. The last
:25:30. > :25:34.meeting was on 5th July. And one of the issues was raised then, was the
:25:34. > :25:38.issue of compensation. That particular session was watched
:25:38. > :25:45.intently by both members of the public and the media. What we were
:25:45. > :25:50.told then was in regard to compensation - you said we will get
:25:50. > :25:56.something finalised in the next two or three days so that is the end of
:25:56. > :25:59.this week or early next week. We left that meeting and the media and
:25:59. > :26:05.the public were under the impression that within a few days
:26:06. > :26:10.we would have a compensation scheme in place. So one week passed, two
:26:10. > :26:15.weeks passed, three weeks passed, four weeks - eight weeks passed
:26:15. > :26:20.before something was eventually published on 31st August. I think
:26:20. > :26:27.that is scandalous because there was obviously a lot of difficult
:26:27. > :26:32.questions at that time that were given by members. We felt extremely
:26:32. > :26:37.misled by those comments in July and August. When I came before you
:26:37. > :26:41.in July it was our intention to launch the redress programme
:26:41. > :26:45.reasonably quickly. And we thought we could. But then as we got into
:26:45. > :26:48.the complexity, we decided to go into a more broad consultation
:26:48. > :26:51.process. You shouldn't have given that commitment if you had an
:26:51. > :26:56.understanding of the situation which most of us did at that time,
:26:56. > :27:04.you should have been honest and said, "We don't know when a redress
:27:04. > :27:09.scheme will be put in place." I got the impression at that time on 5th
:27:09. > :27:12.July there was already a habit from Ulster Bank of giving the
:27:12. > :27:17.impression to ourselves and the media that something would be in
:27:17. > :27:23.place next week, or the following week, so we were being thrown a
:27:23. > :27:29.line. I think that is unacceptable. I understand your views. As I was
:27:29. > :27:39.saying, we decided to go into a wide consultation process, which we
:27:39. > :27:43.did. We met with quite a number of bodies. We took feedback. That took
:27:43. > :27:49.us a number of weeks. When the programme was ready, we launched it.
:27:49. > :27:57.As I said, since that date, from what we are seeing so far, it's
:27:57. > :28:03.gone reasonably well. Why would it be that the FSB, a significant
:28:03. > :28:09.organisation, make the words, make the comment, "the general
:28:09. > :28:14.perception of the compensation element is that it is derisory"?
:28:14. > :28:20.believe the reason that term come up and come out in the first day we
:28:20. > :28:28.announced it is because the focus went straight to the �20. We have
:28:28. > :28:31.said already that �18 million has been given to 300,000 customers.
:28:31. > :28:34.That's �60 per customer. Stephen Cruise of the Ulster Bank
:28:34. > :28:38.ending that look at the joint meeting last week of the Enterprise
:28:38. > :28:42.and Finance Committees. Gareth Gordon is with me once again.
:28:43. > :28:50.What is likely to catch our attention tomorrow? Mark, our
:28:50. > :28:53.health correspondent has uncovered some shocking management practices
:28:53. > :28:57.going on at Northern Ireland, the Northern Ireland Fire Service,
:28:57. > :29:01.including today the fact that a number of unapproved bonuses were
:29:01. > :29:07.paid to senior officers. The Health Minister will make a statement on
:29:07. > :29:17.the issue in the Assembly tomorrow and that MLAs will get a chance to
:29:17. > :29:25.
:29:25. > :29:30.comment. There's also a debate up here on the... They are calling on
:29:30. > :29:34.anyone with information to give up on this harrowing chapter of our