18/02/2014 Stormont Today


18/02/2014

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Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up on the programme.

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The Health Minister hopes new legislation on tobacco retailers

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will stop young people smoking. Northern Ireland has the highest

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smoking prevalence in the UK and every year around 2300 people in

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Northern Ireland die from smoking-related illnesses.

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The Justice Minister's still under fire for changing the criteria for

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the Chief Constable's job. What the Minister now accept that he

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made an error of judgement in the way he handled the whole issue of

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changing the criteria for the appointment of the chieftains to?

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And the political commentator Alex Kane joins me in the studio.

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A bill to create a register of tobacco retailers

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A bill to create a register of selling cigarettes to under 16s has

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A bill to create a register of are 357,000 smokers in Northern

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Ireland and about 2,300 people die from smoking-related illnesses every

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year. The main purpose of this bill is to

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make sure that the minimum age of Sail policy for tobacco products is

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more rigourously applied by retailers. This will be achieved by

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introducing tougher measures for noncompliance. It is a well-known

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fact that the majority of smokers take up smoking before they reach

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adult hood. Most smokers will have tried their first cigarette and many

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will have become addicted before they are legally allowed to purchase

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tobacco products. In Northern Ireland, more than 357,000 adults

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are smokers. This represents 25 per cent of the population. Northern

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Ireland has the highest smoking prevalence in the UK and every year

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around 2300 people in Northern Ireland die from smoking-related

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illnesses. Members will be aware that on the 3rd of February, the

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assembly approved a legislative motion. The amendment concerns the

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retail packaging of tobacco products, more commonly referred to

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as standardised packaging. The effect is to provide the Secretary

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of State with the powers on a UK wide basis. These revelations may

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impose requirements in relation to the appearance of and markings on

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tobacco products as well as the internal packaging in any wrappers.

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Another important amendment was in relation to who can still -- apply

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as a tobacco retailer. This was a significant issue and was discussed

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at length by the committee. We took the view that given the

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responsibility involved in selling tobacco, somebody who has a serious

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conviction should be prevented from registering as a tobacco retailer.

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After consideration, the department proposed an amendment which is

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contained in clause four. A allowed to register as a tobacco

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retailer for a period of five years from the date of the conviction. To

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those who are not here today, and I wonder why they are not, for those

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who say this is the nanny state or this is unacceptable, it is very

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clear that society has had a sea change in its view on smoking. Thank

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you, Mr Speaker. Can I just point out to the member, and I support his

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views on smoking, I am supportive of all the measures against tobacco,

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but most of the people saying it is the nanny state have been his party

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colleagues. By their absence, I think they are realising the tide is

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inexorable. They have always made it very clear that they pose not on

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health issues but on employment issues. They are defending their

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constituents jobs. Where riders agree was that perhaps

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by a fine of ?1000 per the retailer could profit, even by losing his

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licence. It is important that there was an increased fine for stopping

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an officer from gaining access to evidence that would perhaps allow

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conviction. I am pleased, following lobbying by the committee, the

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Minister has agreed to increase that to ?5,000. Listening to the debate

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this morning, it is one of the best reasons why this assembly should

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only ever grant accelerated passage in exceptional circumstances because

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when you look at the work the committee, the engagement they had

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with the department, and to be fair to the Department, they were

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receptive on how to improve a piece of legislation, he talked about the

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amendment he was particularly strong on, and this is a better

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amendment he was particularly strong today? Which is almost a novelty in

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Northern Ireland. It is a good sign. It is one of the few occasions

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when they have taken a bill quite literally from start to finish

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without great acrimonious. Actually, for most of the time, they had a

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very serious debate about it. There was not any of the dissension in the

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DUP ranks which we have seen about cigarette packaging but it was

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referred to very clearly. There was nice little interplay between Jim

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Wells and John McCallister. East Antrim and North Antrim are both DUP

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held constituencies and fewer people smoking fewer cigarettes so fewer

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production means unemployment. The cycle is going to last for the next

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two years. No Assembly Member wanting to defend their seat wants

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to go to that electorate and say the consequence of what we have done may

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result in thousands of people being let off. You don't oversimplify it

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but it is not wrong to say that fundamentally, in a sense, the

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debate can be distilled down to jobs versus health. That is exactly what

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it is and that is not unique to Northern Ireland. We should not

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forget that. It is 25% of adults smoking in Northern Ireland but when

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I was born in the 1950s, it would have been 70% so it has gone down.

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Ynyr Llwyd and has gone down. It is going to continue to go down because

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you can't bombard people with the reality of smoking and expect them

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to compete -- continue to smoke. You had Edwin Poots playing the health

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card very clearly in the chamber today but you have got Sammy Paulo

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in Westminster and here and Ian Paisley Junior in Westminster saying

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this is about jobs and what is best for constituents. They don't want to

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encourage people to smoke but if they do, they want to make sure they

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come from their constituency. Every sitting member will have to make

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that argument in defence of their own constituency. I am surprised

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that Edwin Poots has not made a stronger case

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that Edwin Poots has not made a Health Service. It is also a cost in

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terms of long-term health. I am surprised he is not offering that. A

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quick point on John McCallister that accelerated passage should only be

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used in exceptional circumstances. He thinks it is better legislation.

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It is always better legislation. It usually comes with terrorism or

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economic stuff when you push them through very quickly but some of the

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nuances are lost and it is only three or four years later you

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realise you should have taken your time.

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Alex Kane, thank you for now. The Justice Minister, David Ford, told

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the Assembly he did nothing wrong in his handling of the appointment

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criteria for the post of PSNI Chief Constable. Mr Ford was asked if he

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had made an error of judgement during Question Time today. The

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Justice Minister was also asked about changes to legal aid and the

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financial implications of the Richard Haass proposals.

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Leaving aside the proposals that came out of the Richard Haass

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process, does the Minister accept the status quo is not tenable and if

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so what pressures and what ideas does he have to deal with the

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pressures? I am thinking of coroners courts, Article two compliance under

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the European Convention of human rights. What additional resources

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does he envisaged for putting this right? I appreciate the question. I

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am not sure I agree with the premise that the Richard Haass process

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failed given that some of us has been spending several hours a week

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this year trying to make the process tie together. What is absolutely

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clear is that if we do not have the historical investigations unit they

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will need to be significant work done by the Department of Justice

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which is already underway in preparatory form to deal with issues

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around the fact that some have been found to be not Article two

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compliant. There are funny mental issues that will have to be

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addressed to deal with some of those points. It is clear that anything we

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do in that area will require some very considerable investment,

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whether it is done under the Richard Haass process or something separate.

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On the basis of the information currently available, there

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On the basis of the information invited stakeholders to submit their

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views on the proposals and work on sorties might be aware of any

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additional data on the subject to submit any additional evidence

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regarding the impact. I acknowledge these reforms may require

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practitioners to consider more efficient models and adapt for the

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future. However, the nature of legal aid reform is such that there is

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such a long lead-in time allowing firms to adjust their practices. How

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can the Minister seriously suggest, and I agree with him that there

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needs to be reductions in legal aid, but how can he seriously suggest

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that there will be no impact upon the profession? This certainly are a

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small number of solicitors firms which gained significant income from

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criminal defence work but they are the people who have the most

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opportunity to adjust their business models to make sure they take into

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account the changes. The simple reality is, even if you exclude the

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very high cost cases, we are still looking at the average cost of a

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Crown Court case in Northern Ireland being double the cost of a Crown

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Court case in England and Wales. That is unsustainable. Will the

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Minister accept that he made an error of judgement in the way he

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handled the whole issue in the change of criteria for the

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appointment of Chief const? No. I carried out my functions entirely in

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accordance with the legislation to leave the Policing Board to carry

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out its functions. I have nothing that I did wrong, I did it precisely

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as I should have done it. Thank you. We'll minister not accept

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it was a mistake that he didn't consult or talk to policing bird

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dashboard and isn't a matter for them to make this decision? I really

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would love to know how I didn't consult with the policing board when

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this matter has been discussed since May of last year. A clearly

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irritated David Ford. The Enterprise Minister has rejected a call from

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the Alliance Party that murals should be removed from the route of

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the Giro Italia. Arlene Foster said that provided they are not of a

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paramilitary nature, the murals should remain to celebrate our

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cultural heritage. The Minister also answered questions on

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firstly, the number of flights in and out of our airports. I do hope

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that we will be able to make some announcement in the near future in

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relation to new routes. Obviously, it is critical and I am on record

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many times as saying if we want to see more tourists coming to Northern

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Ireland, we need to have more direct access. Canada remains very much,

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for me, a key area where I would like to see direct access coming in

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and we continue to make progress in that market. But, of course, we want

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to see more connectivity through Belfast, through the international

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or the city in terms of European destinations, as well, so we will

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continue to work within airports. We believe that, if we are successful

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in being able to bring the Rugby World Cup to both jurisdictions in

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2023, it will make a huge difference in terms of how people view the

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island and also, in terms of our tourism potential. Frankly, as a

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rugby fan, I'm very excited by the prospect as well. In terms of flags

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and emblems, obviously, this has been an issue which has caused some

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people in Northern Ireland a concern in terms of the IRS you. We would

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hope that when they are playing in Northern Ireland, Northern

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Ireland's position in the UK will be respected and, of course, when we

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are playing in the Republic of Ireland, their position will be

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respected because, bid for the Rugby World Cup is absolutely nothing to

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do with flags and emblems, it is do with sport. What would the Minister

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think about the current proposal that perhaps we should refrain from

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displaying election posters, flags and emblems, murals along the route

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for the duration of the Giro d'Italia in order to sell Northern

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Ireland even more effectively? I have no to the ongoing discussion

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around this issue. Let me be clear on it. As regards election posters,

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the dap to leader has already indicated that we will be more than

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happy for them to be taken down right across Northern Ireland

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because we don't need election posters to get the vote out,

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frankly. So that much is very clear, but I have noted the comments of the

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Alliance Party in relation to flags and murals. Let me

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issues in and around murals and flags in working-class areas right

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across Northern Ireland? Does he think it would be better to

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encourage communities to deal with the issues, and I do commend the

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work that has been going on in various communities, and indeed,

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speaking to my colleague for East Belfast, he informs me a very

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effective programme has been happening in east Belfast, for

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example, where they have managed to take away some of the paramilitary

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murals and put up murals to CS Lewis and others in East Belfast, and I

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welcome that because I hope he's not suggesting we get rid of me was

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completely. Murals are actually come if he listens to what he said, he

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said get would have murals, they are part of a cultural expression, right

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across Belfast. And Northern Ireland, and I think it would be sad

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if the visitors Northern Ireland couldn't engage in appreciating the

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rich cultural heritage that we have here in Northern Ireland.

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Paramilitary murals, of course they should never have gone up. But I

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have to say, pronouncements from here won't solve that. Working with

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communities will, and I commend those in this House who do work with

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that. Working with communities will, and I commend those in this House

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who do work with the committees and tried to solve those problems.

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Arlene Foster. And cycling was also on the agenda for the Regional

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Development Minister today. Danny Kennedy was asked about election

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posters on the Giro d'Italia route and if bikes could be allowed on

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buses. But first, the Minister was asked about damage to the road

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network caused by the recent bad weather. A number of roads in

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Northern Ireland has suffered damage as a result of recent tidal events

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and storms. I have today placed in the assembly library a comprehensive

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list of those locations where roads have been subject to sea wall

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damage, or undermining as a result of storm damage since the turn of

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the year. During last week's severe weather, short section of road

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between... Collapsed. We are assessing the situation to repair

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them as soon as possible. We have carried out remedial works as a

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number of locations. And preparatory work is underway in the advancement

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of works at other locations, however, it could be sometime before

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the impact is known. And necessary repairs are fermented and the full

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cost is realised the estimate cost is currently 1.2 million. However,

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this figure could increase significantly once detailed

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inspections of sea defences are completed. Given your

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responsibilities for lamp posts and road signs, what is your view on

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restricting election posters from the various routes of the Giro

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d'Italia? My party colleague Robin Swan, was the first person to

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advocate that the political parties in the run-up to the European

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elections should available opportunity to promote the area

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positively and therefore, not show the election posters until after the

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event. I agree with those sentiments, and I have other parties

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in that spirit will agree with that suggestion. Would he agree with me

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at important that we extend the removal of election posters to flags

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that are turned to rags and other paramilitary paraphernalia? Which

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are along the route of the Giro d'Italia? We don't like to see the

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flag of the UK run to a rag, on any lamp post. And again, against that,

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I appeal that if there are such incidences, and they can be dealt

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with, appropriately, then it's a case. But there is a significant

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difference between cultural and other murals, that many visitors and

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tourists will like and expect to see. And illegal memorials and

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monuments to paramilitary organisations. Recently, we haven't

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had a proper cycle visibility on buses. I've spoken to the local

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company and they have have rear vehicle and internal solutions for

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bicycle transport on buses, and these can be attached to existing

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stops, so I see no reason why this issue cannot be progress. Can I ask

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him would he be willing issue cannot be progress. Can I ask

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it will work? One of the successes that we are constrained by in terms

:20:47.:20:50.

of room, available room for bicycles, to be placed on trains, I

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know the train company has a political policy at the moment on

:20:59.:21:04.

that. I'm happy to explore opportunities either to the private

:21:05.:21:09.

sector or indeed via the train company as to how it can be improved

:21:10.:21:12.

upon. The Roads Minister, Danny Kennedy. Business wasn't just

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confined to the chamber today. A group from county Fermanagh met with

:21:16.:21:18.

the Enterprise, Trade and Investment Committee at Stormont to discuss

:21:19.:21:21.

wind energy. Renewable energy is a growing industry in Northern Ireland

:21:22.:21:24.

and the Fermanagh Trust wants to see more engagement with the local

:21:25.:21:28.

community on the subject. And joining me now is the trust's

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director, Lauri McCusker. What was the purpose of today's meeting? The

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purpose was to talk to the politicians and the stakeholders

:21:40.:21:41.

about what communities can have in terms of renewable energy. And not

:21:42.:21:47.

campaigning against it nor campaigning for it? What is your

:21:48.:21:51.

position on it. In terms of wind energy, renewable energy, it is the

:21:52.:21:57.

community's involvement. If they want to be involved, then we are

:21:58.:22:00.

supportive but of communities have an issue, then it needs to be taken

:22:01.:22:04.

on board by the politicians and planners. Very often Trinity 's do

:22:05.:22:09.

have an issue with it for that they feel quite nervous about it and they

:22:10.:22:12.

feel they are not heard by the big companies. Big companies, they say,

:22:13.:22:19.

coming over their heads, to profit from the local environment. That is

:22:20.:22:22.

how some group to see it. Absolutely. One of the key issues is

:22:23.:22:27.

how the communities engage with this process of energy? In Northern

:22:28.:22:31.

Ireland, we have a successful track record of credit union movements,

:22:32.:22:35.

development of enterprise centres, and committed playgroups, and other

:22:36.:22:38.

things, but in terms of energy, communities have a limited role but

:22:39.:22:44.

it's been put upon them. Today's event was to explore how community

:22:45.:22:50.

's can engage in energy discussions and builds on something which

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happened to Mexico in London with the Department of climate change, a

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document saying committed to route it should have ownership of this

:22:57.:23:00.

process. How can they benefit from some of these developments? Well,

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process. How can they benefit from generated by communities. In

:23:03.:23:16.

Northern Ireland, we don't have target, so their committees are

:23:17.:23:21.

playing an active role rather than a passive role. We need to turn the

:23:22.:23:27.

discussions on its head, where to develop a lead discussion to get a

:23:28.:23:31.

communities into the heart of it. Would you like to see, for example,

:23:32.:23:36.

big companies who set up wind farms and other renewable energies, where

:23:37.:23:40.

some of their profits are ploughed back into the local community? For

:23:41.:23:46.

there to be a tangible benefit? There are committed benefit from

:23:47.:23:49.

summer wind farms for the many would argue it's not enough but some

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companies are stepping up to the plate now. If you look at what's

:23:53.:23:58.

coming out of London, the Government there is insisting, following their

:23:59.:24:02.

strategy, committees might be offered a shared in the ownership of

:24:03.:24:06.

these developments that community is. -- communities. What about the

:24:07.:24:15.

damage to the beauty of the local natural environment which can have a

:24:16.:24:22.

big impact in terms of jobs? Communities need to being gauged and

:24:23.:24:28.

have their say in this process -- engaged. 80%. Communities, to many

:24:29.:24:42.

of them, they are hosting this development but don't have a say in

:24:43.:24:45.

it. Interesting to hear your thoughts. Lauri McCusker, thank you.

:24:46.:24:52.

Breakfast, we often hear, is the most important meal of the day and,

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it seems, that's something all our MLAs can agree on. Today they passed

:24:56.:24:59.

a motion calling for more to be done to make sure all schoolchildren are

:25:00.:25:02.

fed properly before school. But first, the chair of the Health

:25:03.:25:05.

Committee began by passing on her condolences to the families of two

:25:06.:25:09.

young people who died as a result of eating disorders. The awful

:25:10.:25:12.

tragedies particularly in relation to particular eating disorders that

:25:13.:25:17.

have resulted in the untimely deaths of a number of young people, and I

:25:18.:25:22.

do want to take this opportunity to send our

:25:23.:25:35.

a result of this particular illness. Many children prepared the school

:25:36.:25:41.

day both, coming to school adequately prepared. A proper

:25:42.:25:46.

nutritional breakfast is an essential part of this preparation.

:25:47.:25:50.

The primary purpose of the school is to educate. Not to provide catering

:25:51.:25:57.

childminding service. The primary responsibility for ensuring children

:25:58.:26:00.

arrive at school with a good breakfast in their stomachs and

:26:01.:26:03.

ready to learn lies with the parents. It's about food. It's about

:26:04.:26:08.

the quality of food. And it's about getting pupils to enjoy eating good

:26:09.:26:17.

food. And it's about a preference of growing, cooking and eating good

:26:18.:26:22.

food. And, essentially, underpinning all of that, it's about health. We

:26:23.:26:32.

note that Paul diet is detrimental to children's learning. And

:26:33.:26:36.

concentration and behaviour and it can affect participation in school

:26:37.:26:40.

-- poor diet. We know children from low-income households and those

:26:41.:26:44.

living in poverty are at greater risk of poor nutrition and are more

:26:45.:26:47.

likely to have unhealthy food and have insufficient amounts food. John

:26:48.:26:50.

O'Dowd. And Alex Kane is with me again. A rare enough event then,

:26:51.:26:58.

cross-party agreement on something in the chamber. The importance of

:26:59.:27:00.

children coming to school properly fed. It's one of those odd things, I

:27:01.:27:05.

agree with them but John O'Dowd or any other MLAs was to feed my

:27:06.:27:11.

children at 7am, they are more than welcome. You can't force them to

:27:12.:27:15.

eat. The bigger issue is not food. A lot of teachers will tell you it's

:27:16.:27:18.

children who are coming in tired. Because they been watching

:27:19.:27:23.

television, playing games on their phones and computers, tired because

:27:24.:27:26.

they are struggling into bed after a short nights sleep for the buck the

:27:27.:27:29.

real problem for the children will eat when they choose to eat. It ties

:27:30.:27:33.

in with his other issue at the moment, the common funding formula,

:27:34.:27:45.

in with his other issue at the there a fair argument for saying

:27:46.:27:49.

that but, again, comes down to the actual difficulty of making children

:27:50.:27:52.

need. Yes, you can provide free school meals, have a breakfast club

:27:53.:27:56.

for them, but the reality is, with most children, five or six years

:27:57.:28:01.

old, 13 or 14, setting them down and saying, you must eat, that's the

:28:02.:28:05.

real problem and it's not going to be addressed by free school meals

:28:06.:28:09.

all saying, they should eat breakfast together. It's not

:28:10.:28:14.

possible to solve that with kids. The Alliance Party has announced its

:28:15.:28:16.

Belfast candidates for the council elections. Someone is throwing his

:28:17.:28:22.

hat into the prodigal wringer. Duncan Morrow, very high-profile. He

:28:23.:28:31.

established a high profile for himself. -- political wringer. --

:28:32.:28:44.

ring. He is allowing himself to have something bigger down the line in

:28:45.:28:50.

the assembly. That's an interesting point. We will see if you are right.

:28:51.:28:53.

Thanks, Alex. That's it for now. There's no edition of The View this

:28:54.:28:57.

week because of the half-term break. But I'll be back here next Monday

:28:58.:29:00.

night at the usual time of 11.20pm. Until then, from everyone in the

:29:01.:29:02.

team, bye bye. Should Britain have entered

:29:03.:29:06.

the Great War? Britain's decision

:29:07.:29:08.

for war was a disaster not just for this country,

:29:09.:29:11.

but also for the entire world.

:29:12.:29:15.

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