:00:26. > :00:30.If yesterday's proceedings amounted to blowing the whistle
:00:31. > :00:34.on normal play at Stormont, then today was definitely injury time.
:00:35. > :00:36.With Sinn Fein members largely absent and business lacking any
:00:37. > :00:41.real sense of urgency, it seemed the parties had at least
:00:42. > :00:43.one eye on March 2nd. But, despite that, the RHI
:00:44. > :00:49.controversy did still make its way on to the agenda for the day.
:00:50. > :00:51.So, tonight, the opposition calls for a public inquiry,
:00:52. > :01:08.Accountability is a very important principle in public life.
:01:09. > :01:10.One veteran politician gives his verdict on the last
:01:11. > :01:23.This is that we the assembly aims, but with a dwindling amount of
:01:24. > :01:26.interest. And joining me with his thoughts
:01:27. > :01:29.on a much quieter day in the chamber is the
:01:30. > :01:33.commentator Chris Donnelly. After postponing the debate
:01:34. > :01:35.on the Economy Minister's plan to mitigate the projected cost
:01:36. > :01:37.of the Renewable Heat Incentive for a public inquiry.
:01:38. > :01:40.today formally called But not all parties
:01:41. > :01:54.were represented in the chamber. Accountability is a very important
:01:55. > :01:59.principle in public life. It is the norm around the world except here.
:02:00. > :02:06.It seems a minister will not take responsibility for a disaster. This
:02:07. > :02:15.calls for the First Minister to stand aside for the duration of the
:02:16. > :02:21.enquiry. The format for the enquiry will seek to have cost recovery for
:02:22. > :02:34.these claims which turned out to be fraudulent. The enquiry should take
:02:35. > :02:40.no more than six months. That is plausible, with updates at two
:02:41. > :02:47.monthly intervals. It should be approved by ministers within the
:02:48. > :02:56.assembly. Sinn Fein have taken the action they have taken because they
:02:57. > :03:01.want to bring down this assembly. They are getting a part-time the
:03:02. > :03:07.heartlands, or should I see the former heartlands. Let's be honest,
:03:08. > :03:12.everyone knows this, everyone watching knows this, if they were
:03:13. > :03:23.really concerned about these issues, they would have been here yesterday
:03:24. > :03:27.and here today. The public by a percentage are overwhelmingly
:03:28. > :03:42.telling me that we have detailed the truth. Having told the truth, he
:03:43. > :03:49.would be sitting beside me. Everyone is entitled to a public enquiry. I
:03:50. > :03:56.do not mind which Minister brings it. But it is an ex-minister of Sinn
:03:57. > :04:01.Fein who is not here this morning. But the actual thing is to do the
:04:02. > :04:06.right thing. The great thing is to have that enquiry. It is still not
:04:07. > :04:13.too late to have it. You can call that enquiry today. The ministers
:04:14. > :04:19.can set that enquiry up. It does not require the consent of your
:04:20. > :04:26.partners. If we were to do that, you would supported. I wanted the public
:04:27. > :04:31.enquiry in accordance with the motion in front of the house today.
:04:32. > :04:40.The motion calls for the ministers to bring forward the plan to lessen
:04:41. > :04:47.liability to the public purse. Arlene Foster Said I want to make
:04:48. > :04:56.sure that there is not a potential overspend. I hope the Minister will
:04:57. > :05:05.continue to stand by that commitment. We are happy for a
:05:06. > :05:19.public enquiry. I do not want a public enquiry on the nature of
:05:20. > :05:27.Chilcot or Savile. We want an enquiry but we want it done quickly.
:05:28. > :05:37.We do not want this having things imposed on us by people who opposed
:05:38. > :05:44.Arlene Foster. She is far too decent for that and too much liked by the
:05:45. > :05:49.public. You want to get rid of her because she is good at what she
:05:50. > :05:51.does. Edwin Poots, speaking up
:05:52. > :05:53.for his party leader Arlene Foster, and that motion was passed
:05:54. > :05:55.on an oral vote. More RHI in the chamber today -
:05:56. > :06:09.and agreement on the way forward Obviously, Sinn Fein were not
:06:10. > :06:19.present, but all the other parties had committed to some sort of
:06:20. > :06:25.enquiry. I think we saw Mr rehearsal on what we are going to hear the
:06:26. > :06:32.theme of the RHI scheme during the election. Also, it seems that there
:06:33. > :06:40.is a change of tack from the DUP. But, of course, Sinn Fein,
:06:41. > :06:52.decided not to get involved Part of that, they did wanted to be
:06:53. > :07:03.the story. I think it was more about a statement that we are demeaning
:07:04. > :07:14.the legitimacy of the institution and we have called for the
:07:15. > :07:18.resignation of the First Minister. They recognise that the public would
:07:19. > :07:22.want to see that the ministers are still interested. We will talk about
:07:23. > :07:24.later. Thank you. Yesterday, James Brokenshire
:07:25. > :07:27.was very much at the centre of things on this
:07:28. > :07:30.side of the Irish Sea. Today, he was back in Westminster,
:07:31. > :07:32.briefing MPs on the current
:07:33. > :07:43.state of play here. For our part, we will continue to
:07:44. > :07:51.stand by our part of the deal fast agreement and do everything we can
:07:52. > :08:01.to safeguard political stability. -- Belfast agreement. It has not always
:08:02. > :08:07.been easy with more than a few bumps on the road but with strong
:08:08. > :08:12.leadership, issues which might have brought the institution Stone have
:08:13. > :08:16.been resolved through dialogue. Northern Ireland has been able to
:08:17. > :08:20.present itself to the world in a wave which would've been
:08:21. > :08:24.unrecognisable a few years ago -- a modern dynamic and outward looking
:08:25. > :08:32.and Ireland which is a great place to live, work invest in and do
:08:33. > :08:37.business with. The country has come so far and we cannot allow the games
:08:38. > :08:44.to be made to be derailed. Yes, we have an election and once that is
:08:45. > :08:48.over we need to be in a position to continue building a Northern Ireland
:08:49. > :08:54.that works for everybody. That is the responsibility on all of us and
:08:55. > :09:00.we all need to raise to that challenge. Does he accept that the
:09:01. > :09:10.problem remains that calling a public enquiry into the RHI scheme
:09:11. > :09:16.order photo making it clear that he supports a public enquiry, public
:09:17. > :09:20.confidence will sink even lower than make restoration of the executive
:09:21. > :09:28.even more difficult. That is what people are telling me on the street.
:09:29. > :09:39.The basically need clarity. We are having an election here any fog. It
:09:40. > :09:50.is clear that the issues surrounding the RHI scheme are largely central
:09:51. > :09:54.to the election being cold. It is critical with regard to establishing
:09:55. > :09:59.confidence once again with the public in relation to what has taken
:10:00. > :10:03.place. Could the Secretary of State confirm that post-election, the
:10:04. > :10:09.framework of a dissolve the assembly, of the is the settled
:10:10. > :10:14.framework for moving forward and that joint authority with the
:10:15. > :10:21.Republic Ireland or renegotiation of the agreements in place do not form
:10:22. > :10:27.part of his plan for moving forward. If he does not give certain
:10:28. > :10:34.particular, for the draft will orca. I can see that that is absolutely
:10:35. > :10:40.the approach they take to this. It is about getting through the
:10:41. > :10:43.election and the re-establishment of the executive and the
:10:44. > :10:51.re-establishment of devolved government. How I hear all the broad
:10:52. > :10:55.discussions, that has to be the focus. We need to re-establish the
:10:56. > :10:58.trust in the institutions we have saw the country can move forward.
:10:59. > :11:01.The Secretary of State, making it clear he wants to see Stormont
:11:02. > :11:03.up and running again after the election.
:11:04. > :11:05.Chris, the big question is, how easy will that be to achieve?
:11:06. > :11:08.Because it looks as though Sinn Fein wants big changes
:11:09. > :11:14.before it will agree to rejoining a devolved administration.
:11:15. > :11:26.I think he is definitely the most prominent Secretary of State to say
:11:27. > :11:35.a few no. Now we have the collapse of the institutions, it looks as if
:11:36. > :11:43.Sinn Fein, if not renegotiating previous agreements, are looking for
:11:44. > :11:46.some clarity in that regard. They may be want these to be
:11:47. > :11:57.front-loaded. That is clearly something that the DUP will be
:11:58. > :12:02.looking to resist. It does look like some form of direct rule is on the
:12:03. > :12:07.cards. Could we be looking
:12:08. > :12:23.at a prolonged period of direct It is certainly on the case that
:12:24. > :12:25.National Assembly Irish government are wanting more involvement in the
:12:26. > :12:38.talks which will have to take place with regard to Brexit. Obviously, in
:12:39. > :12:39.the past, the British woman has resisted Irish involvement in any
:12:40. > :12:44.discussions. Meantime, while Sinn Fein MLAs
:12:45. > :12:46.had absented themselves from the morning's business,
:12:47. > :12:47.the Infrastructue Minister, Chris Hazzard did put
:12:48. > :13:01.in an appearance, It
:13:02. > :13:08.department solves every problem with every rural road, so we have to
:13:09. > :13:17.prioritise. When it comes to schools, we want to repeal the writ
:13:18. > :13:26.which has the shortest distance. Schools go above what is above them,
:13:27. > :13:32.but that, cannot be up around every corner to solve them. We have been
:13:33. > :13:42.fairly fortunate so far that the weather has been mild, but we have
:13:43. > :13:45.invested millions of pounds in sorting out the network you be
:13:46. > :14:04.rejoining the budget of hundreds of millions of pounds if we were to
:14:05. > :14:10.properly do it. The A5 and A6. Can he assure the construction industry
:14:11. > :14:14.that the proposed road works and improvements on these will happen.
:14:15. > :14:27.It is very clear that the funding is in place going forward. As Minister,
:14:28. > :14:32.I have left clear instructions with regard to the executive power
:14:33. > :14:44.priority projects, such as the A5 and A6. With the number of
:14:45. > :14:48.departmental board 's priorities, a recently published my decision to
:14:49. > :14:54.accept the independent factors report. We will begin to gauge with
:14:55. > :14:55.the community the number of issues we are having which have arisen from
:14:56. > :15:08.that. For tourism and commuters, will
:15:09. > :15:12.there be a time schedule outlined? There are a number of issues making
:15:13. > :15:14.it difficult to outline a very accurate timescale in relation to
:15:15. > :15:22.moving forward with the York Street Interchange, not least the funding
:15:23. > :15:24.difficulties that we faced. I would suggest have been exacerbated by the
:15:25. > :15:27.Prime Minister Barak statement today, around Brexit, and it is very
:15:28. > :15:35.clear we are heading for a very hard Brexit, in any rate. The member can
:15:36. > :15:40.say here, here, till the cows come home, but when farmers lose out on
:15:41. > :15:44.various grounds for various things the cows will be coming home to an
:15:45. > :15:51.empty shed because at the end of the day we are able to facilitate...
:15:52. > :15:56.Right enough. Europe has been good to hear two-year research projects,
:15:57. > :16:02.at the end of the day, and it is one such project that has suffered at
:16:03. > :16:04.the hands of Brexit, and cheers at the other side of the house, that of
:16:05. > :16:05.the situation we have found. warning of
:16:06. > :16:08.the implications of Brexit. The Justice Minister also
:16:09. > :16:10.faced her final Question Time of the mandate today
:16:11. > :16:12.and she was asked about the mistakes made in the
:16:13. > :16:14.investigation of the murder Earlier this month, it was revealed
:16:15. > :16:21.that 40-year-old Damien McLaughlin, who is charged in connection
:16:22. > :16:23.with the murder, has breached his bail conditions
:16:24. > :16:25.and not been seen by police The DUP MLA Trevor Clarke asked the
:16:26. > :16:35.Justice Minister about the matter. I would like to begin by expressing
:16:36. > :16:40.my heartfelt sympathy to the family of David Black, no one should have
:16:41. > :16:44.to endure what they have done and I have spoken to the family over the
:16:45. > :16:48.past week in relation to events reported in the media. The
:16:49. > :16:51.monitoring of bail conditions of the matter for the Belize and while the
:16:52. > :16:54.PSNI falls on the remit of my department, they have only
:16:55. > :16:57.operational autonomy. Consequently it would be inappropriate for me to
:16:58. > :17:02.interfere with that and therefore cannot involve myself in individual
:17:03. > :17:09.cases or operational cases. I understand the PSNI has issued an
:17:10. > :17:12.unequivocal apology to the black family, and commissioned a review of
:17:13. > :17:18.the processes and I agree with their ascension that all sectors should
:17:19. > :17:24.reflect. This is a failure. This is a hireling embarrassing and
:17:25. > :17:28.representable act, that this may have involved this man, and I think
:17:29. > :17:31.to apologise to the family of Mr Black isn't enough, so I am asking
:17:32. > :17:40.the Minister can I ask again to review a decision? In terms of my
:17:41. > :17:47.decision, as I said, it's not a decision that operationally rests
:17:48. > :17:50.with me, it ultimately is with the courts and PSNI, with bail. That
:17:51. > :17:56.said, I'm appalled by what has happened and I'm not scared to
:17:57. > :17:59.Sayed, even though it is outside my jurisdiction in this matter. I have
:18:00. > :18:03.made my feelings clear to the Chief Constable how this has been allowed
:18:04. > :18:08.to happen, so I can give the member assurance that I do have a focus on
:18:09. > :18:12.this particular issue, to try and ensure that it won't happen again,
:18:13. > :18:15.we have in terms of the bail review, something ongoing within my
:18:16. > :18:19.department since October. It is something that I have asked my
:18:20. > :18:21.officials in light of this, and I say that reluctantly, because it
:18:22. > :18:24.should not be in light of this because this should not have
:18:25. > :18:27.happened, but I have asked my department to expedite it in any way
:18:28. > :18:33.they can that can give comfort to black family because... The black
:18:34. > :18:37.family have gone through enough, and this will keep continuing to raise
:18:38. > :18:40.those issues with him Billy Mack them, and it is devastating and I
:18:41. > :18:44.think we need to do generally start putting victims Hirst that are
:18:45. > :18:48.victims first here, too insecure that they are being put first. Does
:18:49. > :18:52.the Minister agree that this is a shocking indictment of our criminal
:18:53. > :18:57.justice system about that when someone charged with aiding and
:18:58. > :19:05.abetting one of the most horrendous murders of recent years was treated
:19:06. > :19:09.with such kid gloves by the system, or by the courts, through serial
:19:10. > :19:12.relaxations of his bail removed to tagging restraint, reduced the
:19:13. > :19:20.number of days he had to sign, allowed him out to attend hotel spa
:19:21. > :19:26.weekends... And then surprise surprise, he skipped bail, and the
:19:27. > :19:30.police don't discover it for over a month. Could they be a more shocking
:19:31. > :19:35.indictment? Can the Minister tell us, have any lessons being learned?
:19:36. > :19:42.Both by the judiciary, who are not above reproof in this matter and the
:19:43. > :19:48.police. Have any real lessons being learned? Is she satisfied about
:19:49. > :19:54.that? Again, I am appalled that this particular case. And have any
:19:55. > :19:57.lessons being learned that might if they haven't been, Mrs Biggar, then
:19:58. > :19:59.there's that we should be and I think that's all I can say, without
:20:00. > :20:00.reiterating. Claire Sugden accepting
:20:01. > :20:02.the shortcomings of the system. A late addition to the day's
:20:03. > :20:05.business was an urgent oral question about the future of a GP
:20:06. > :20:07.practice in Portadown, Bannview Medical Practice has 5,200
:20:08. > :20:13.patients on its books, but now faces closure, after its
:20:14. > :20:26.last remaining doctor resigned. The fifth January 2017, a new GP
:20:27. > :20:29.contract confirms to the health and social care board that they would
:20:30. > :20:35.take on the band view medical practice from early March 20 17. --
:20:36. > :20:36.Bannview Medical Practice. Yesterday, officially that
:20:37. > :20:41.contractor withdrew their intention to take on the practice. What is
:20:42. > :20:47.your response to the anger of the patients in Portadown, and was the
:20:48. > :20:54.contract signed as a stalling tactic because of the organised patients
:20:55. > :20:57.rally? I can say to all patients that they will continue to use
:20:58. > :21:01.receive safe clinical services and the board will monitor that. We have
:21:02. > :21:07.in place medical and nursing cover, we have arrangements with other
:21:08. > :21:10.practices, in terms of out of hours independent prescribers. All work
:21:11. > :21:12.collectively as part of a team to make sure that patients have access
:21:13. > :21:16.to first is deeply services which they rightly are entitled to. I
:21:17. > :21:19.think it is important that we don't scaremonger, it is important that we
:21:20. > :21:23.are responsible about this. What I will ensure and the board have been
:21:24. > :21:26.asked to do is to direct every member of the surgery to make sure
:21:27. > :21:32.that they are fully abreast of the situation,. The macro to say we are
:21:33. > :21:39.extremely disappointed, is an understatement. It isn't
:21:40. > :21:44.scaremongering. I am sad that this is left on the DUP. I have supported
:21:45. > :21:48.you as chair of this committee, we have all decided to take the
:21:49. > :21:52.politics out of health and I still want to take out at the politics. We
:21:53. > :21:54.are at the end of the road when it comes to did you beat writers,
:21:55. > :22:00.especially in Portadown, but not only that, this week my colleague
:22:01. > :22:08.and I are meeting with a GP practice in west Belfast a Belfast issue now
:22:09. > :22:11.as well. Actually believe I'd and very much behind taking the politics
:22:12. > :22:18.out of the situation. The reality is... The reality is for all the
:22:19. > :22:24.people do have confidence, more transformation is the happen,
:22:25. > :22:26.companies need to be having the institutions, that health decisions
:22:27. > :22:29.are being taken by the right reason, and they need to know that the
:22:30. > :22:34.ministers taking the decisions had a quality, report, and integrity and
:22:35. > :22:38.respect the -- dins disrespect... The backbenches can chapel they
:22:39. > :22:39.wish. The reason we are in the situation is because the DUP
:22:40. > :22:41.arrogance. Pure and simple. Michelle O'Neill single-handedly
:22:42. > :22:43.facing down her critics The final serious piece of business
:22:44. > :22:46.today perhaps best reflected the situation Stormont now
:22:47. > :22:48.finds itself in. The opposition parties brought
:22:49. > :22:50.a motion recognising The DUP opposed it and Sinn Fein
:22:51. > :23:04.did not turn up for it. That kind of sums it up in terms of
:23:05. > :23:09.how Sinn Fein, and the DUP can I have run government. For the last
:23:10. > :23:18.ten years. Protect the individuals, protect the parties, never mind the
:23:19. > :23:24.country. This is ten years of failure. Of scandals, of debacle, of
:23:25. > :23:30.disappointment. I hope the people have had enough. I hope the people
:23:31. > :23:34.say on the 2nd of March we will look to parties who want to put the
:23:35. > :23:40.country first, ahead of the party, and ahead of the individuals within
:23:41. > :23:43.that party. Ultimately, for power-sharing to work it is more
:23:44. > :23:46.than simply the right institutional design them and we can forge you
:23:47. > :23:50.make improvements in that regard but other leader has TB trust,
:23:51. > :23:55.partnership and mutual respect, and most clearly we do not have that.
:23:56. > :23:59.Whatsoever. We have instead dysfunction, characterised by
:24:00. > :24:03.bickering, political instability, ultimately to the situation to you
:24:04. > :24:07.today where institutions are seriously imperilled. It is
:24:08. > :24:11.profoundly sad that it has come to this. But I think we need to be
:24:12. > :24:18.honest. The reason why we are at this point is because one party,
:24:19. > :24:25.Sinn Fein, did not like the outcome of the election, and they saw, in
:24:26. > :24:31.RHI, an opportunity to have a rerun. They haven't been talking... There
:24:32. > :24:36.haven't been talking about RHI, they've been listing various
:24:37. > :24:39.nationalist and republican totems in the run into the election, and we
:24:40. > :24:43.will face them on those issues and we will prevail in the election. We
:24:44. > :24:49.are here to talk about the failure of the Executive, and all you had to
:24:50. > :24:54.do is look around. I don't even need to make a speech to illustrate the
:24:55. > :24:59.failure of this executive. But I will give it a go. It is utterly
:25:00. > :25:04.surreal what has gone on in this building today. The oxygen has been
:25:05. > :25:10.dragged out of this place. The public are just bemused and people
:25:11. > :25:14.keep talking about the anger out on the streets. People aren't angry, Mr
:25:15. > :25:20.Deputy Speaker, they are utterly furious that we have got to this
:25:21. > :25:25.point. Strange atmosphere around the base today, and I have noticed it
:25:26. > :25:30.since we came in as one. You wouldn't know what to make of it, Mr
:25:31. > :25:36.Debord is big. The debating of Sinn Fein's benches, they have always
:25:37. > :25:45.bounced around, there's never any one on the DUP benches... We at only
:25:46. > :25:48.in a vacuum. This is the way the assembly ends. You know, if not with
:25:49. > :25:55.a bang with a sort of whimpering and innuendo. We slink away. Achieving
:25:56. > :26:00.what question not having achieving what? Nothing for them. For them,
:26:01. > :26:09.strategic decision they have decided Stormont is over. The only thing
:26:10. > :26:14.that will bring them back here is if the continuance of Stormont so
:26:15. > :26:18.serves their ends because the DUP decides after the election for the
:26:19. > :26:25.sake of office to fill Sinn Fein's boots with more concessions. Yes,
:26:26. > :26:28.you can have a Stormont under mandatory coalition if you are
:26:29. > :26:35.willing to pay that impossible price, and Sinn Fein is testing you.
:26:36. > :26:36.To see just how desperate you are to hang on to power.
:26:37. > :26:40.And Chris Donnelly joins me for a final word.
:26:41. > :26:41.Eamonn McCann talked about
:26:42. > :26:44."a whimpering diminuendo of interest".
:26:45. > :26:47.No-one up here today could have been in any doubt we are heading
:26:48. > :26:59.No, there's no doubt, and as a matter of interest there was one
:27:00. > :27:02.political party, Sinn Fein, singularly not present, most of the
:27:03. > :27:07.Brits in vain representatives clearly hitting the ground. Most of
:27:08. > :27:10.the selection conventions have taken place, the running registry
:27:11. > :27:13.campaign. Some of the other parties think that Sinn Fein have caught a
:27:14. > :27:16.march on them and they won't be long behind in catching up, now. It is
:27:17. > :27:21.interesting that that that two People
:27:22. > :27:25.Before Profit candidates will be running in West Belfast.
:27:26. > :27:33.What do you make of that? with seats going down from 60 to
:27:34. > :27:36.256, it means that for Sinn Fein to hold onto therefore, people bought
:27:37. > :27:40.for their profits, and SDLP and it would her to lose out. Both of those
:27:41. > :27:45.candidates when you consider that there is a large unionist
:27:46. > :27:48.population, and not enough to have one quota, but enough to be
:27:49. > :27:52.kingmaker. I think it is likely that there is going to be one People
:27:53. > :27:56.Before Profit in Jerry Kyle, and one other, whether it will be Alex
:27:57. > :28:00.outwards, or another People Before Profit, who knows? I would think it
:28:01. > :28:05.is more likely to be Alex Attwood, there isn't a second candidate who
:28:06. > :28:10.has a profile in the constituency at the moment. Claire Sugden cleared
:28:11. > :28:13.today, hoping to be back after the election, independence, East
:28:14. > :28:16.Londonderry, of course. Maybe a justice minister once again? There
:28:17. > :28:19.is no doubt that her profile has been raised to to the fact that she
:28:20. > :28:24.felt though rolled I think it is extremely unlikely that she would
:28:25. > :28:30.get that role again. Really when you consider it for Sinn Fein to agree
:28:31. > :28:33.Claire Sugden to take that role, will have been seen retrospectively
:28:34. > :28:37.almost as a concession to the DUP, and the whole reason we are where we
:28:38. > :28:39.are because they are calling time on that. Fascinating times.
:28:40. > :28:43.That is it for this evening, but don't forget to join me
:28:44. > :28:46.for The View on Thursday night at 10.40 on BBC One.
:28:47. > :28:51.Until then, from everyone in the team, good night!
:28:52. > :28:54.That I will faithfully execute the Office...
:28:55. > :28:58.And will to the best of my ability...
:28:59. > :29:02.The Constitution of the United States...
:29:03. > :29:19.With visitors to Northern Ireland on the rise,
:29:20. > :29:23.City tours, folks, hop on, hop off.