:00:27. > :00:32.Hello, and welcome to Stormont Today. In Brussels, they have been
:00:32. > :00:36.haggling over-rate �130 billion bail-out for Greece. But here, our
:00:36. > :00:40.MLAs have been talking tough as well.
:00:40. > :00:44.I am afraid there is not an answer I can give. I am not going to play
:00:44. > :00:47.with him. And the Social Development Minister
:00:47. > :00:52.was not in the mood for playing either.
:00:52. > :00:56.As I had said in the past, it people would just eremite, God gave
:00:56. > :01:01.us two ears and one mouth, and I am sure he will benefit from that
:01:01. > :01:05.advice. For back to where it all began.
:01:05. > :01:10.What brought the former First Minister, now David Trimble, back
:01:10. > :01:16.to parliament buildings this evening?
:01:16. > :01:22.To add a gentle prose to the events of the seething, my guest is Martin
:01:22. > :01:27.Lynch. We are all watching the pennies and
:01:27. > :01:31.the pounds these days, and the arts are no exception. My guest tonight,
:01:31. > :01:38.playwright Martin Lynch, obviously we have had the recent controversy
:01:38. > :01:43.over funding. You must be feeling pleased you have got your money?
:01:43. > :01:47.I feel a relief it has been reinstated.
:01:47. > :01:54.Funding for the answers right across the board is a tiny
:01:54. > :01:59.proportion of government funding. That straddles right down to
:01:59. > :02:09.funding for the cathedral quarter. �300,000. This is nothing. Add
:02:09. > :02:19.water generates, I get a small grant, I did a play last year, and
:02:19. > :02:23.we get about 2000 �5,000. Extra money is spent in bars and
:02:23. > :02:30.restaurants, and so we know that actually art and culture is a money
:02:30. > :02:40.generator, so it is stupid to cut that.
:02:40. > :03:03.
:03:03. > :03:09.D C D art as an easy target? Do we do not live by bread alone.
:03:09. > :03:13.People will tilt all kind of things to survive in this world, in the
:03:14. > :03:21.arts and culture generally, there are a huge part of what we do. It
:03:21. > :03:29.is right across the social spectrum. It is everyone who participate in
:03:29. > :03:33.the art. We have just done a number of plays,
:03:33. > :03:43.right across the spectrum, loads and loads of people come and enjoy
:03:43. > :03:51.
:03:51. > :03:54.Caused a bit of a stir at Question Time earlier which some members not
:03:54. > :04:04.happy about how the culture minister, Caral Ni Chuilin and to
:04:04. > :04:04.
:04:04. > :04:56.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds
:04:56. > :05:01.I am in discussion with other colleagues about how we do that.
:05:02. > :05:11.What I have said is that in relation to the council's going to
:05:12. > :05:12.
:05:12. > :05:53.Apology for the loss of subtitles for 51 seconds
:05:53. > :06:03.Could I reminded the Minister include the words, promoting of a
:06:03. > :06:23.
:06:23. > :06:33.Has she changed her bigoted stance on any of those issues? The I don't
:06:33. > :06:35.
:06:35. > :06:45.feel there is an answer. It was then return of John O'Dowd,
:06:45. > :07:10.
:07:10. > :07:15.education minister. The Good Friday Experience of what is going on here.
:07:15. > :07:20.This is about to young people, children learning in Irish go
:07:20. > :07:30.through the medium of Irish. They come from all walks of life. And
:07:30. > :07:58.
:07:58. > :08:02.all different opinions on many He was extremely critical of the
:08:02. > :08:06.Minister and especially around the issue and especially in relation to
:08:06. > :08:12.the reduction or the increase in pupil and teacher ratio and clearly
:08:12. > :08:20.Sinn Fein cannot have it both ways and it is critical go of what is
:08:20. > :08:24.happening bus-stop can remember finish his question, please? When
:08:24. > :08:29.it will the Minister act in the best interest of the children in
:08:29. > :08:35.Northern Ireland and stop chasing moonbeams, especially the one that
:08:35. > :08:39.is in Middletown. Cannot we welcome them member's interest and
:08:39. > :08:44.particularly in Sinn Fein contributions. It is always good
:08:44. > :08:51.for people to broaden their horizons. Or whatever language they
:08:51. > :08:55.were in, is a welcome the fact. In regards to the funding issue on how
:08:55. > :08:58.the Dublin government fund education, I don't think it is
:08:58. > :09:03.appropriate for me to get involved in that debate but I can tell a
:09:03. > :09:05.member of that we have actually ring-fenced funding for specialist
:09:05. > :09:09.educational needs in this jurisdiction, we have not been
:09:09. > :09:14.involved in cuts in special education needs provision. The
:09:14. > :09:20.money is there and as the member well knows as well, but regards to
:09:20. > :09:24.the overall budget, working alongside the First Minister, we
:09:25. > :09:28.have invested formally in this jurisdiction and so we are not
:09:28. > :09:35.involved in a penny pinching programme around those most
:09:35. > :09:45.honourable in our society. We do face a difficult issues but those
:09:45. > :09:46.
:09:46. > :09:52.are matters that the Executive continues to study. I have said
:09:52. > :09:58.that Middletown, there is an ongoing report being prepared and
:09:58. > :10:03.it will be before the next a 0 South ministerial meeting in May
:10:03. > :10:07.and we will make a decision on the way forward on that occasion.
:10:07. > :10:12.Looking at the wider issue of the Cathedral Quarter, do you see that
:10:12. > :10:15.now as the hub of theatre and arts in Belfast? It is one that cluster
:10:15. > :10:21.of groups and activities that is important. It is not the most
:10:21. > :10:26.important, we have fabulous menus in Belfast, a lyric, the Crescent
:10:26. > :10:30.Arts Centre, the opera house at the Cathedral Quarter as an interactive
:10:30. > :10:34.area draws in not only local people but tourists and will be a focus
:10:34. > :10:41.will stop if you look back at the Cathedral Quarter 10 years ago, it
:10:41. > :10:45.was a derelict community. Donegal Street have been devastated by
:10:45. > :10:51.bombs in the Seventies. I wrote the first paper saying it could become
:10:51. > :10:56.a cultural area and it was picked up and from that, what was a
:10:56. > :11:01.derelict community has die had somebody estimated �2.100000000
:11:01. > :11:04.invested into it. In terms of the arts, there was some debate last
:11:04. > :11:08.week and it brought a lot of different views out and people did
:11:08. > :11:14.say, why not go to some of the bars and restaurants and get them to
:11:14. > :11:19.subsidise and give you some grants to what it? Private income is
:11:19. > :11:24.something we stride to bring into it. We work hard trying to raise
:11:24. > :11:29.private finance every year for our projects, all the arts groups do.
:11:29. > :11:32.There is in the culture in United States for doing so but here there
:11:32. > :11:37.isn't that culture so it is an uphill battle all the time but we
:11:37. > :11:42.do try very hard to breed of private income into the arts.
:11:42. > :11:45.A bid by the SDLP to get the Executive to make opposition to
:11:45. > :11:50.welfare reform its highest priority has failed to get support in the
:11:50. > :11:55.chamber. Sinn Fein supported a motion but the DUP and Ulster
:11:55. > :12:01.Unionists would it against. These reforms are not about
:12:01. > :12:06.simplifying the system, they are surely at tool to cut costs. The
:12:06. > :12:12.Tories also have great expectations for most of the personal
:12:12. > :12:17.independence penance which are to replace the L A go stub their
:12:17. > :12:24.expenditure will be 20% less than that on the D L F. That is money
:12:24. > :12:28.coming from the pockets of people in need. This restructuring will be,
:12:28. > :12:33.reduction, is already under way with people being assessed as being
:12:33. > :12:39.able to walk 100 metres after really demonstrating the ability to
:12:39. > :12:44.walk 10. Northern Ireland has a higher percentage of people on
:12:44. > :12:49.benefits than the rest of UK, largely attributable to the likes
:12:49. > :12:56.of the Troubles. We need a unique solution for what is a unique
:12:56. > :13:02.situation. Here in Northern Ireland, I am sure that all of us who have
:13:02. > :13:09.ever worked in trying to guide a citizen through the benefits system
:13:09. > :13:12.will agree that the system does need to change. It is too complex
:13:12. > :13:22.and Unwin tinkle stop there are too many benefits were there too many
:13:22. > :13:39.
:13:39. > :13:44.different criteria reading too much confusion. Once alliance is
:13:44. > :13:51.supportive of reforming welfare system, in getting people to work
:13:51. > :13:56.were possible, to gain skills and contribute positively to society.
:13:56. > :14:01.We have serious concerns. Bluntly put, you have to be able to get a
:14:01. > :14:07.job or be able to increase you're working hours for the current
:14:07. > :14:11.proposals to mean something other than a poor return. One of the
:14:12. > :14:18.shortcomings I detect and the SDLP and from some of their more local
:14:18. > :14:22.exponents is simply that they are big on rhetoric and strong also on
:14:22. > :14:26.denial, that they live in a state of denial about the realities that
:14:26. > :14:31.we face and perhaps if they were as a more constructive as to what
:14:31. > :14:38.might be done, then perhaps we as an Assembly might benefit from
:14:38. > :14:48.their support and from their advice, rather than... No, I will not be
:14:48. > :14:48.
:14:48. > :14:54.giving way. As I have said to others in this House, as I have
:14:54. > :14:58.said in the past, if people were doing just their mind that God gave
:14:58. > :15:08.us two years and one might, Alastair McDonald will benefit from
:15:08. > :15:08.
:15:08. > :15:11.that his advice. We must recognise that we need to break into
:15:11. > :15:15.generational work and break the cycle of dependency. This will be
:15:15. > :15:19.difficult and it will require all of us in this Assembly to show
:15:19. > :15:25.leadership in supporting the measures necessary to achieve these
:15:25. > :15:29.important cultural and societal changes. After the vote, the SDLP
:15:29. > :15:33.leader head out of the Unionist and Alliance parties for not supporting
:15:33. > :15:37.the motion which was lost by just six votes. Nelson McCausland is
:15:37. > :15:41.telling us he is merely a bailiff for the Tory government in
:15:41. > :15:45.Westminster, let him tell us that outright. There's always room, we
:15:45. > :15:49.have devolution here and there is room for an Executive to be
:15:49. > :15:57.creative and to think ahead and they are not doing that, they are
:15:57. > :16:01.just sleepwalking. With me now it is Mickey Brady from Sinn Fein. We
:16:01. > :16:05.are disappointed with the outcome of this afternoon's did it? Yes,
:16:05. > :16:10.disappointed that there was a division on the amendments and
:16:10. > :16:20.indeed on this it stands up motive because certainly in relation to
:16:20. > :16:28.
:16:28. > :16:31.the Sinn Fein amendment. Obviously you are on the committee that is
:16:31. > :16:34.looking at this as you have had a lot of discussion, the one thing
:16:34. > :16:39.that seems to be coming across is that we don't actually know what
:16:39. > :16:41.impact this is going to have on people, how do you think you can
:16:41. > :16:51.push the Minister or push the government at Westminster to give
:16:51. > :16:52.
:16:52. > :16:57.We're told that parity cannot be broken because of the financial
:16:57. > :17:03.link. We are looking for the minister to do that, and the
:17:03. > :17:08.Assembly. We want them to look at how we can best mitigate the
:17:08. > :17:13.effects and the impact of welfare reform, because it is about cuts,
:17:13. > :17:18.it is ideologically driven. 4th what we are going to try and do is
:17:18. > :17:23.do the best we can to mitigate the effects of welfare reform, because
:17:23. > :17:27.the votes to vulnerable in our society, particularly the disabled,
:17:27. > :17:31.and if you read the British pressure, the disabled have been
:17:31. > :17:35.vilified. This is legislation which has been ideologically driven up,
:17:35. > :17:39.it is more relevant to the south- east of England than it is to
:17:39. > :17:44.Northern Ireland. We have different circumstances.
:17:44. > :17:48.For his change not overdue? Whether or not we have different
:17:48. > :17:52.circumstances, people were on benefits has become something to be
:17:52. > :17:57.ashamed on. I would not agree with that,
:17:57. > :18:02.because my previous benefits -- previous background was working in
:18:02. > :18:08.a JobCentre with people on all kinds of benefits. Prior to that, I
:18:08. > :18:10.worked in a security service office in Belfast. Welfare reform is like
:18:11. > :18:15.the age of though all over again, because we have seen all these
:18:15. > :18:20.changes, they do not really work. They do not help the people who
:18:20. > :18:25.most needed. There is this myth that people like being on benefits.
:18:25. > :18:31.I have never met anyone who has coming to me and said that they
:18:31. > :18:36.love being on benefits. It does not work like that. I deal with people
:18:36. > :18:40.who have been employed for 30 years, and because of the recession they
:18:40. > :18:44.have lost their employment. Those are the people who are also going
:18:44. > :18:49.to be the victims of these cuts, and let's have no doubt about it,
:18:49. > :18:54.these are cuts. The chief constable, Matt Baggott,
:18:54. > :19:00.paid a visit to the Justice Committee on Thursday, his first
:19:00. > :19:05.grilling from MLAs. We will see some of that in a moment, but let
:19:05. > :19:09.us start how we did look at the committee's with the doomed
:19:09. > :19:18.Department of Employment and learning.
:19:18. > :19:22.Option one of creates a number of advantages. It underpins the
:19:22. > :19:26.strength of the economy and would not only included job creation, it
:19:26. > :19:33.also include skills policy and increased productivity and
:19:33. > :19:39.competitiveness. Until this strategy is entirely implemented,
:19:39. > :19:45.you may not have read is in full, and you may misinterpret things. In
:19:45. > :19:50.recent times, there have been very major changes. There is try to --
:19:50. > :19:54.quite a strong connection I have with of Ireland. The the whole
:19:54. > :20:00.thing is around a shared skills, which have come about in recent
:20:00. > :20:06.times. The department will prepare people for new investment. We have
:20:06. > :20:10.150 graduates, for example, who are being employed by companies here,
:20:10. > :20:20.and we are working with universities and colleges to get
:20:20. > :20:25.them on other courses. Option two, skills and Employment Service. This
:20:25. > :20:31.is all-rounder employment law and further education, higher education,
:20:31. > :20:34.the back to pre- devolution. I do think that you have a strong case
:20:35. > :20:42.for linking with the economy, because you are so skilled around
:20:42. > :20:46.The argument may come from others, whether it gets aborted or not. It
:20:46. > :20:52.was certainly articulated earlier that higher education is churning
:20:52. > :20:57.out professionals. They have a case to make about why they are put up
:20:57. > :21:02.to it, as I am just saying to you, that is an issue we are looking at,
:21:02. > :21:07.and it will be a developing discussion, I have no doubt. I am
:21:07. > :21:11.only putting arguments about, I am not expressing an opinion.
:21:11. > :21:19.We have an eight -- we have an impression People will comply with
:21:20. > :21:25.our ethics. We have expectations of people's conduct. If they do not
:21:25. > :21:30.fulfil the expectations, I would be very anxious to correct that. The
:21:30. > :21:33.issue about whether the ombudsman can investigate somebody is a
:21:33. > :21:39.matter for the law changed. What I would say is that if somebody
:21:39. > :21:43.breaks the law, whoever they are, they will be investigated with the
:21:43. > :21:47.full rule of law. There is no it special dispensation, there is that
:21:47. > :21:52.Amnesty, people will be subject to a criminal investigation whether
:21:52. > :21:58.they are removed in terms of the contract on up -- or not.
:21:58. > :22:02.I am not saying all suggesting that. But there is a history of retired
:22:02. > :22:07.police personnel are not co- operating with the ombudsman. They
:22:07. > :22:10.are now being required into the police force, and they find
:22:10. > :22:15.themselves in exactly the same position, as they do not have to
:22:15. > :22:22.drawbridge. You have a serious -- senior member of your staff who was
:22:22. > :22:29.asked a question. I would have left that meeting feeling that staff
:22:29. > :22:38.were not accountable. If there is a lack of clarity, I
:22:39. > :22:41.was not aware that. The word yes cannot be any clearer.
:22:41. > :22:45.There is no room for misinterpretation.
:22:45. > :22:50.There has been much debate about this. I have clarified my own views
:22:51. > :22:59.on this. What you have done is take a simple line.
:22:59. > :23:03.No, I have not. But let me declare. I have spoken to my colleagues on
:23:03. > :23:11.the policing Board and come away with that.
:23:11. > :23:16.If cannot clarify my position? -- can I clarify my position? If there
:23:16. > :23:19.is ambiguity, then and there should be an apology. But I think there is
:23:19. > :23:25.an expectation that people would co-operate with ombudsman's
:23:25. > :23:29.investigations. That is my expectation.
:23:29. > :23:32.The former First Minister, Lord Trimble, was back at Stormont to
:23:32. > :23:37.write for the unveiling of his portraits that will hang in the
:23:37. > :23:41.corridors of power. He paid tribute to the artist, David Nolan, for
:23:41. > :23:45.making him look a vaguely human. I asked him what it was like to be
:23:45. > :23:50.back. The fact that the institutions are
:23:50. > :23:54.here and operating, and operating by people who a dozen years ago
:23:54. > :24:00.vigorously criticised at the very agreement that we made, it's just
:24:00. > :24:04.underlines how right we were to make that agreement. What a shame
:24:04. > :24:09.that the implementation did not go according to plan. We lost a number
:24:09. > :24:13.of years, but it is here and it is working. It is important that it be
:24:13. > :24:19.here and it is important that it works better. It still has a lot of
:24:19. > :24:24.problems to tackle here, which is there to be done.
:24:24. > :24:29.During the Lords now and sitting on the Tory benches. How does that
:24:29. > :24:32.figure he now in future? Do you see yourself actively campaigning for
:24:32. > :24:36.Conservative candidates hearing Northern Ireland rather than the
:24:36. > :24:41.Ulster Unionist colleagues? At the last election that is
:24:41. > :24:46.exactly what I did. I was delighted to support the Conservative
:24:46. > :24:52.candidates. But the next camp -- campaign I am going to have is to
:24:52. > :24:57.get Boris Johnson a re-elected as a Mayor for London.
:24:57. > :25:03.In the meantime, should the Ulster Unionists go into opposition here?
:25:03. > :25:07.That is a decision for them to take. I remember thinking about it and
:25:07. > :25:11.discussing it. We did not have to decide whether or not to do that,
:25:11. > :25:17.but it is obviously a nice decision, and his is a nice decision as to
:25:17. > :25:22.the timing of it as well. So I think I'll leave it entirely to the
:25:22. > :25:27.current party, they are the best people to make the decision there.
:25:27. > :25:36.What about the DUP? How do you feel about them and their move towards a
:25:36. > :25:41.more integrated society? Words are cheap. Actions count. I
:25:41. > :25:45.suspend judgment. The record of the DUP would not encourage me.
:25:45. > :25:49.From the former first minister to the current one, Peter Robinson and
:25:49. > :25:54.Martin McGuinness were in London today. They have trips planned much
:25:54. > :25:58.further afield this year. They will be doing a lot of globe-
:25:58. > :26:04.trotting in the next few months. They met the Chinese vice-president
:26:04. > :26:08.at a state banquet in Ireland. Earth they have been on a trip to
:26:09. > :26:12.London and they intend to go to China in the coming months. That
:26:12. > :26:19.will be after they have already visited the USA and Canada which
:26:19. > :26:26.they will do next month for some Patrick's Day, and India as to buy.
:26:26. > :26:29.-- St Patrick's Day. Some criticism. Amnesty International saying that
:26:29. > :26:33.when they are in China they will have to raise the human rights
:26:33. > :26:38.concerns about Chinese authorities, but business will be enthusiastic
:26:38. > :26:45.about it. Also, academics have already established relationships
:26:45. > :26:49.with China. No doubt they will want an input pulse of academics from
:26:49. > :26:54.the world of science were at Stormont here today.
:26:54. > :26:58.Yes, it was the first meeting of an all-party group. It is considered
:26:58. > :27:04.important in terms of economic growth, but the politicians are not
:27:04. > :27:12.as well-informed about side of it manners as maybe they should be. --
:27:12. > :27:17.scientific matters. They discussed are many different matters. Eight.
:27:17. > :27:21.That was made by a number of scientists, including one from the
:27:21. > :27:24.Royal Society of Chemistry, was that Stormont should really match
:27:24. > :27:27.other devolved administrations in having its own chief scientific
:27:27. > :27:31.adviser. Their results of evidence to
:27:31. > :27:40.suggest in Scotland and Wales that this has helped to drive through
:27:40. > :27:46.technology and science within assemblies. It is a no-brainer.
:27:46. > :27:51.On to a different thing, there was an interesting question today.
:27:51. > :27:56.It was a slightly unusual example of MLAs tried to get to grips with
:27:56. > :28:01.scientific reality. He had a question to the agricultural
:28:01. > :28:06.minister asking whether her department had researched the
:28:06. > :28:10.cancer risks of putting microchips into cats and dogs. This is not
:28:10. > :28:14.something they have been campaigning on, but he was asked by
:28:14. > :28:18.an animal welfare agency to try and get to the bottom of the research.
:28:18. > :28:22.He thinks it is a good thing, but there was a long list of scientific
:28:22. > :28:27.papers from the Department of Agriculture that showed that there
:28:27. > :28:33.might be some risk to laboratory rats and mice, but there was not a
:28:33. > :28:41.risk to the average domestic pet. What is next on your agenda?
:28:41. > :28:45.For I am very busy. We are doing eight re-run of one of my plays,
:28:45. > :28:55.which has been incredibly successful. Then we are doing a big,
:28:55. > :28:59.big show at the Opera House in August. It is based on a group of
:28:59. > :29:07.shipyard workers who was selected to sail on the Titanic after they
:29:07. > :29:13.had built it. Everyone died, so it is a very unique story. They are
:29:13. > :29:20.all aged between 18 and 21. Were they the best of the bunch at
:29:20. > :29:27.were given it as a reward? Yes, two weeks before the Titanic
:29:27. > :29:32.sailed the boss walked in and asked who the best people were. He then
:29:32. > :29:36.told the -- he then said they were sailing on the Titanic. They