17/04/2012 Stormont Today

Hello, and welcome to Stormont Today. And it's been a day of

meditation and confrontation, salmon fishing and even Eminem up

here on the hill - all of human life. Don't say we don't bring you

variety. Plus, are a handful of fishermen endangering salmon stocks

in our rivers? Those same assurances haven't come from them,

so they haven't given us proper assurances they're getting their

licences and anyone salmon fishing won't be prosecuted.

And relax. A Zen master urges MLAs to connect with their spiritual

side as he leads a meditation walk from Parliament buildings. And

keeping me calm throughout the programme, Jim Haughey of the

Ulster Anglers' Federation. Crisis in the level of salmon

stocks is a topic that's come up more and more frequently here at

Stormont of late. If more isn't done to preserve the fish, then we

could face fines from the EU. With me now to explain is Jim Haughey of

the Ulster Anglers' Federation. Jim, you're very welcome to the

programme. Stocks are dangerously low. How concerned is your

organisation about the way this is being handled? We're extremely

disappointed how this has been handled. The Ulster Anglers'

Federation have been lobbying about salmon stocks for many, many years,

decades in fact. During the course of those decades of lobbying we

have had some successes along the way. We - Michael instituted - in

2003. The Ulster Anglers' Federation we bought out our first

net in 2001. We have been at it a long time, but recently we have

become more and more concerned about salmon stocks. Some of our

rivers have protection under European legislation, and some of

those stocks have reduced very significantly. One particular river,

the River Donny Gall, the stock has fallen greatly. It gets protection

under European legislation. There was immediate action to take the

nets off after the fin stock reduced, but Decal did not, and we

lobbied them for quite awhile to take the same action. Decal chose

not to. We couldn't believe it, but they didn't do it. Eventually we

had to lodge an objection with the Environment Director, and that

forced the issue. We're going to talk about the salmon nets. There

are six currently. Four have licences, provided they don't fish

this year. How receptive is the Minister to your concerns, do you

think? We asked for a meeting with the

Minister in the autumn on the issue, and he is too busy to see us, and

we were not able to get an audience with the Minister. Since then we

have been lobbying at a distance. There was a very significant

lobbying exercise by the anglers at Stormont, a lot of letters written

to Decal, an open debate at Stormonts a very significant

lobbying exercise. That coincided with our objection at Brussels

coming to fruition, so the situation is now that Decal can't

issue licences or - if salmon netsmen are going to net because

they'd be in breach of the Habitats Directive. We'll hear the Culture

Minister answer issues on this in a moment, but first, agriculture and

the ongoing plans to relocate the department's headquarters from

Dundonald. My department has continued to consult with staff in

relation to the relocation of headquarters. A subcommittee of

departmental and staff representatives has been set up

specifically to consult on all issues relating to the relocation.

The first meeting related to that took place in January of this year.

Staff and the department have been kept informed with regular monthly

updates in the magazine. It's my intention that all staff in Dard

will continue to be kept informed of progress and are completely

engaged throughout the whole programme. The previous Minister

gave a commitment to engage with him following the process. I too

stand over that commitment and reaffirm that position. Today the

reengagement has been meaningful. I intend to ensure that continues.

Thank you very much, Mr Deputy Speaker. I thank the Minister and I

am familiar with the argument made by the department the new

headquarters would help ensure wealth across our economy but

surely taking the �26 million and adding it to existing schemes to

tackle rural poverty could do this in a better way without creating

staff uncertainty for those currently working in Dundonald

House which is in east Belfast. The member is being very parochial.

I absolutely stand over the need to bring high value public sector jobs

in our rural economy. I think the benefits speak for themselves in

terms of stimulating the rural economy, in terms of the potential

job creation, the increased local spend, and as I said, I will

continue to consult with staff, and I have received some positive

feedback from staff in terms of the mood, but I think it's important

they're kept informed as we move along the entire process.

Never one to miss a trick, Barry MacElduff can turn any issue into a

constituency issue, but all politics is local as they say.

I ask the Minister if it's her intention to invest further funds

into rural broadband provision rather than handing the money back?

Can money be invested in rural broadband? The Minister will know

of my interest for securing rural broadband for counties in my

constituency. I know he campaigns very strongly for those rural areas.

He's a strong advocate for the rural community.

LAUGHTER But yes, it is my contention to

invest in rural broad band. It has been a priority of mine over a year.

I will continue to do that. I have announced �5 million under this

current phase will be invested, and we're going to work with a

programme on that. But it has to be about targeting the areas that are

under two megabite lanes because they're the areas most effected.Ue

there is no point putting the money into broadband if we can't be sure

it's targeted to rural areas. Angling and salmon stocks falls

within the agriculture department's remit. So here is the Agriculture

Minister. Discussions between the department and the netsmen provides

them with an opportunity to confirm their readiness to conserve salmon

as I called for earlier in January of this year to date - the six

netsmen have provided the department - satisfactorily not to

fish for salmon and have been issued their licences. Discussions

have been ongoing with the two remaining netsmen for the 2012

season. I thank the Minister for Her answer, but could she indicate

to us what will happen if no great such agreement is made? They start

fishing, and we potentially reach EU fines - what action can she make

in such situations and will she ensure us we can't get the

situation where people are granted licences which could potentially

lead to infraction proceedings? Well, the four netsmen who have

received their licences have given assurances to the department and it

was on the basis of those assurances that the licences were

awarded. Those same assurances haven't came from the two remains

netsmen, so they haven't given us proper ashuciouss they're not

getting their licences. Anyone found fishing for salmon will be

prosecuted. The department will make sure we'll do everything we

can to address and honour the EU Habitats Directive. It's very, very

important. That's why we brought this proposal forward in January.

So Titanic has been and gone. Now bring on the Ulf Ryberg covenants,

the next centenary on the horizon. We'll jointly bring forward a

programme based on the principles of an education focus for

reflection, inclusivety, tolerance, respect, responsibility and

interdependence, work on developing this programme has begun, but

organisations supported by my department have already been

planned, a diverse range of activities. The core theme of the

covenant was the preservation of our cherished position of equal

citizenship in the United Kingdom, something the Minister is in office

to destroy, so rather than peddle the fiction that nonetheless this

Minister will supposedly celebrate the covenant, could I ask her for

aassurance that she and her party will not sully this centenary by

imposing herself in some false spectacle of support? Um, well, on

that, Jim, Alastair, I believe in the Irish Proclamation which

charges the children of all of the nation equally, and I recently

attended the event in Dublin, didn't impose himself, didn't sit

on anybody's knee, didn't become a nuisance. I attended the event in

Dublin where Peter Robinson delivered a lecture which referred

to the Ulster covenant. I did so willingly and did so in a

respectful way. Other members of this House were at that event. If

anybody has been silly and imposed themselves, it has been yourself.

It's the largest lake in these islands and Sinn Fein wants to have

Lough Neagh - currently owned by the Earl of Shaftesbury - returned

to public ownership. A motion calling on the Agriculture and

Culture Ministers to convene a working group to consider the

proposal, was passed in the Chamber this morning.

The reality of the situation is you cannot drag a post down into Lough

Neagh without actually paying a fee for it. If a council wants to

develop, if anyone wants to develop anything around Lough Neagh, you

have to pay a fee to the Shaftsbury chaff. If the Dard or any other

person or development want to extract the sound from the Lough

Neagh, again, you have to pay for that. I understand the arguments

he's put forward. I think they're exploring in a working group, and I

don't think anybody would have a difficulty with this, looking at a

working group with better management. You would have to

discuss those issues within that context. There does have to be an

issue raised about if we pursued the line that the member wants us

to go down in purchasing Lough Neagh that comes at a cost. Given

there was no money paid for the loch by the Shaftsbury or their

predecessors in 1641, perhaps they may be magnanimous enough to give

it back to the Irish. I am concerned hidden behind this motion

is the taking away of property rights as stealth towards a united

Ireland and is driven by Marxist and Communist philosophies. If you

add both those together - now, they're just hints at the back, but

they're very much, I feel, driving what is here, and Mrs Kelly hinted

at it already in what she said that there could be something hidden

behind this. I don't feel that this is purely about better management

of the loch although that is what we'd all like to see today. If it

can be done in a voluntary way, I'd be happy enough to do so. I mean, I

know that Mr Malloy spends his every working hour trying to run

Northern Ireland into a united Northern Ireland but I don't think,

to be fair to him that by bringing Lough Neagh into public ownership

we'll actually take a united Northern Ireland one step further

because you're bringing in the public ownership of an integral

part of the United Kingdom and a Northern Ireland Executive which is

born of the four devolved administrations within the United

Kingdom, so it's certainly not the rocky road to a united Ireland or a

rocky river to a loch to a united Ireland. The motion was passed.

There is going to be a working group examining its future. What do

you think of bringing it into public ownership? Our priority is

the fish stocks on Lough Neagh. We have been quite worried about the

fish stocks recently. There seems to be a large element of illegal

fishing going on at the moment. We have been lobbying Decal about that

and the results are under way at the moment of the fish stocks. Fish

stocks are our main point of interest, and it's hard to see how

public ownership of the loch can affect that as the fishing rights

in the loch are owned by the Lough Neagh Fishing Rights Cooperative.

We don't know whether this includes nationalisation of the current

rights owned by the Lough Neagh Fishing Rights Cooperative. At the

moment it's going to be examined, and there are many questions

that'll have to be addressed. not clear the type of ownership

that's coming, but we'll see what's happening in the months ahead.

Thank you. MLAs were urged to enter a new zone

today and connect with their spiritual side. The Vietnamese

master of Mindfulness led a meditation walk from Parliament

buildings down the Prince of Wales Avenue. Earlier, the 85-year-old

Buddist, told a packed Senate chamber of the importance of

focusing on the present and not dwelling on the past. Sounds

familiar! The SDLP's Conall The way you came to encounter those

men who played an important part in our history, in the United States,

why youen countered them because Vietnam was descending into war and

how you felt it was your duty to advocate in the United States, at

that time in the mid-1960s, against a war, to let democracy and

dialogue ring. To let peaceful interaction come through. But

enough of the history, what I would really like to do is ask you all in

joining me in welcoming him and asking thoim share with us some

reflections and some thoughts that will hopefully inspire us and guide

us. I would like to share some of our experiences with you today. We

need to speak to help us take care of our body, our feelings and our

perceptions, emotions so that we can respond with clarity and

compassion and lovingness. When we breathe in mindfully, when we focus

our attention on our in breathe and out breathe -- in Brett and out

Brett we can release the past and ab our future and come in touch

with our body again and become freer in one in breath and out

breath made in mindfulness. When I bring my mind back to my body by

breathing in mindfully, suddenly I find a new possibilities arise and

I think I feel that I have more freedom. There are many ways to

respond to the same challenge. Today your visit, you visit a very

transformed society, as well as one without doubt that is still

transforming. It was not that long ago that when political opponents

that here in this Chamber now sit around the table, talking and

engaging with one another, could not enter into the one room

together. Yet, all of the major political parties now are involved

in a very powerful power-sharing executive. So, I know that it has

been a difficult journey and road for some. Perhaps, you know, some

of us would call it different things and describe it very

differently to each other, but for many of us it has involved

mindfulness. MLAs have been calling for greater support for what's

known as "kinship carers". These are people who take care of

children or young people into their homes when they can no longer be

looked after by their parents and are often relatives or family

friends. It won support from across the chamber. Here's the motion's

proposer Michelle McIlveen. It's very obvious that so many kinship

carers have respond out of instincts to a child in their own

family who has become vulnerable and who needs the adults around

them to act out of love and protection. It's imperative in this

debate, and in all our discussions, that the best interests of the

child are central. Any decision that is are made must fully reflect

and take this into account and on every occasion the individual

child's wellbeing is paramount for all those concerned. As with so

many things, care provision cannot be one-size-fits-all. It's also

important that I put on-the-record that each child requires an

individual care decision and that we have available a variety of

packages of care that can be tailored to a child's needs. This

means that there can be no hierarchy of care. Care must be

developed to ensure each child does indeed matter. While I support the

many kinship kaifrers who responded to the needs of children in their

families, it's important to say that the decisions made in relation

to care for children ensure their safety and put the interests of the

children first. The issue around kinship care can be confusing. Not

all children living in kinship care arrangements will be looked after

children. It's in the appropriate they would be. Many families will

make their own arrangements for children in times of crisis. In

many of our constituents we find families where, because of death,

illness, physical or mental or another family crisis or tragedy,

such as a parent in prison, it has meant children have gone to live

with a close family relative. This may be for a short period of time,

for some, and for others it will become their permanent arrangement.

It's important that the role of families in coming together to

support and protect children within them is valued and supported. The

state should not undermine this, but, at the same time, ensure that

families are not left to cope alone or become so over burdened that

children are then put at risk. politicians are often accused of

being out of touch. Surely not our Culture Minister with her well

documented love of music. Caral Ni Chuilin often tweets about the

tunes she's listening to. Today she admitted that rap music might not

be on her playlist. I confess I had to think who Eminem was. I'm

showing my age. I was thinking it was M & M's I was thinking

chocolate or peanut. I know who he is. The minister siemed seemed to

sympathise with those who were upsthaet acts such as Eminem won't

be able to appear at some North Down music events. That's because

local councillors have blocked any act that's not fit for mainstream

broadcast. Joining me to discuss the issue is the MLA for North Down,

Steven Agnew. You share her concerns? I don't think it's for

councillors to decide what particularly young people should

listen to. I see it as a form of censorship.' restriction of freedom

of expression. If we look back, people protested against The

Beatles and protested against Elvis Presley. With respect, they didn't

have explicit lyrics that weren't fit for broadcast. There were

attempts to ban Elvis from the waist down? That was as big an

issue then as Eminem. I'm not a big fan. It's not the role role of

councils to decide. It's great North Down has been successful in

bringing big acts to Bangor. I would applaud the council offices

who put in that hard work. We are putting that hard work in danger.

We may not be able to get future acts when they see a council that

is trying to meddle in the acts who can and cannot perform at Ward Park.

Councils are objecting to the anti- social behaviour that comes with

concerts like. This one councillor suggesting there were complaints,

50 over the last year's concert? need to address the issues of anti-

social behaviour. We recently had an Orange March in North Down there

was anti-social behaviour in and around that. Any major event that

draws people into the town we need to work with police and other

organisations to ensure that the minimum impact on residents. That

is key, ultimately, you know residents have to be happy with any

event that does take place. By in large, the people of Bangor have

supported the concerts held in Ward Park. It's good the council have a

policy on such concerts. The attempts by CllrS to say what is

appropriate and what is not that is overstepping the remit of the

council. Does it have the last word on it or will it be reversed? The

minister talked about going to the Arts Council? I will meet with

council officers involved in this. I would appeal to the councillors

to change their tune on this issue. And, equally, you know, if the Arts

Council have a role I will seek a meeting with them as well. We will

have to wait and see what happens. Thank you very much. That Zen

master we heard from earlier visited Stormont just as the new

Ulster Unionist leader seeks inner peace for his party. Mike Nesbitt

has been busy soothing nerves. Jim Nicholson has accused colleagues of

briefing against him and trying to ease him out of his job as MEP. I

caught up with our political editor who had all the details.

Nicholson made it clear, on the Sunday Politics that he wanted to

run again in Europe. What happened over the course of the weekend was

that one of the Sunday papers, the Sunday Life said they may want to

replace him with Tom Elliot or Joanne Dobson. In the Newsletter

today and in conversations with the BBC Mr Nicholson made it clear he

is unhappy, as he sees it, about "faceless gutless people", as he

calls them. He will take them on in public and take them out. Senior

Ulster Unionist sources reacting to that saying they are happy that Mr

Nicholson's experience he wants to run again. The two named members of

the Parliament say they would support him and don't intend to

stand against him. Everyone seems to to -- have kissed and made up?

Now, a case of MLAs behaving badly. We had a debate on Accident &

Emergency services in the chamber last month. The Health Minister

referred to comments by Alliance's Kieran McCarthy about, "a village

idiot". He ruled they were out of order. The minister has indicated

that he was prepared to come and apologise to the member. However,

the member, Mr McCarthy, was unwilling to attend to receive and

accept the apology. Order, order. Standing orders are clear. The

speaker's ruling is final. Speaker thinks the matter should

end there. Alliance wasn't happy. They thought, given that the

original insult had been delivered in public, in the chamber, any

apology also should have been delivered in public, in the chamber.

This is what Mr McCarthy's colleague had to say. The speaker

said to Mr McCarthy that the minister would make his apology to

Mr McCarthy in the Speaker's office. Mr McCarthy indicated that was

unacceptable. The insult was made in the Assembly and any apology by

the Minister should be made in the same place. Lord More owe unveiled

legislation of his own? There has been criticism about them not

bringing forward legislation. We see small sessions were we are

debating motions not processing laws. Lord More owe will bring

forward a law dealing with human trafficking. He says his Bill if

implemented will bring in European directives that should make things

safer for the victims of what he refers to as, "a modern form of

slavery". They say if you want to get ahead, get a had. MLAs were

sporting their finest Easter bonnets today. We sent a hatless

Gareth Gordon along to find out why. It was easy. When I suggested it

they were willing to get on board and support Action for Brain Injury

Week. One of the events we are haig is to wear your hat, a fundraising

day. We are urging schools, organisations and colleges to wear

their hat. Wear colourful hat to work or schooled and donate �1 to

Headway. It suits you? It's like Panama hat. The man from Del Monte

says yes. It's sometimes good for a Minister to say, yes. You were

claiming that Steven Agnew had joined the DUP? He was in a red

beret. One last word from you about anglers concerns that are putting

jobs before other considerations? The current proposal from

government is to prioritise job creation. From past IDB exercises

claims about job creation often don't materialise in the event.

Also, the interpretations of whether one job, a claim for

creation of one job is going to give prioritisation over absolutely

everything else. There are issues surrounding this. There is an issue

giving prior tidesation -- prioritisation may be illegal.

There are other European directives that have to be observed. We are

concerned about it. We may be in for another long battle between the

anglers' and the minister. Thank you very much. That is it from

Stormont today. If you can't get enough of politics join us at the