20/11/2012 Stormont Today

Hello and welcome Stormont today. For once, our MLAs were forced to

concede centre stage. The Prime Minister was on the hill but

without any more news for the executive or corporation tax.

A bid to include clerical victims in the historical abuse inquiry

bill is turned down in the latest stage. It is unfortunate that in

the addressing of it, we create a hierarchy of abuse victims. Sinn

Fein MLA, Barry McElduff gives us a preview of the stories that make up

his new memoir. I wasn't the only political person to see the inside

of a prison cell. One ex-prisoner visited me, namely Ian Paisley.

own visitor today is political commentator Alex Kane.

Events inside the Assembly chamber very often get hot and heavy. The

grounds outside can seemer is reen in comparison, not so today. At

rifle of the Prime Minister prompted a buzz. First David

Cameron visited a factory in Craigavon and made the big

announcement of his trip. chairman of the G8 I get to decide

where to hold the big G8 conference next year on June 17, 18. I've

decided the right place is right here in Northern Ireland and we'll

be holding the G8 on the 17th and 18th of June in county Fermanagh. I

think this will be... APPLAUSE

A brilliant advertisement for Northern Ireland. Our visitor today

is the political commentator Alex Kane.

Events inside the Assembly chamber very often get hot and heavy. The

grounds outside can seem serene in comparison. Not today, the arrival

of the Prime Minister prompted a buzz over on that part of the

estate. First, David Cameron visited a factory in Craigavon and

made the big announcement of his trip. As chairman of the G8, I get

to decide where to hold the big G8 conference next year on the 17th

and 18th of June. I've decided the right place to hold it is right

here in Northern Ireland. We'll be holding the G8 in county Fermanagh.

I think this will be a brilliant advertisement for Northern Ireland.

That news was cheered here in Stormont chamber by the enterprise

minister Arlene Foster whose home patch in Fermanagh will host some

of the world's most powerful leaders. It will not surprise you

to know that I am ecstatic that the G8 summit is coming to Fermanagh in

2013. I think it says a lot about Northern Ireland today that our

Prime Minister can have the confidence to come to the most

westerly part of Northern Ireland and have the G8 summit. What he

said today was one of the most beautiful parts of the UK.

Confirmation then of this week's worst kept secret about the G8

coming to Fermanagh next June. I'm joined by Alex Kane. Are you

excited that the prospect of the G8 coming to town? Not particularly.

I'm glad it's not coming to Belfast. Usually Belfast goes into lock down

with anything like this. It's a pre-Christmas Prime Ministerial

visit with good news for Northern Ireland and particularly good news

for the resort which I think is in administration. The resort is in

administration. The last time Britain hosted a G8 sum tit was in

Gleneagles, which has -- summit, it was in Gleneagles, which is a

global reputation. This resort is relatively young and has had

difficulties of its own. Did they choose it because it's remote

because from a security point of view it ticks all the boxes?

think it does tick the boxes. Oddly enough, maybe ironically the fact

that it is having financial difficulties, the Prime Minister

who wants to be seen to be doing something for local economy, you

couldn't do anything better than say, look, here's a hotel which has

difficulties, but I have enough confidence in its ability and in

its staff and the people of Northern Ireland to clifr a big,

world-class -- deliver, a big, world class conference.

political is this on the part of the Prime Minister and the

Secretary of State to say we have lots of choices here but we're

plumping for Northern Ireland? These choices are political. It is

the name of the game. I don't think he could take it to Scotland in

view of what's happening in terms of referendum and independence.

There's not much happening in Wales. Northern Ireland, it is, they're

going to have Londonderry as the City of Culture next year. Also,

because you've had these signs from dissident Republicans, this is a

Prime Minister, clearly saying, over and over again today of the

United Kingdom, this is a splendid place in the United Kingdom, making

his mark, saying he's happy with Northern Ireland. He's happy with

the peace process, telling the world to come here. That's

important. Security concerns must have been a consideration here.

This is, you know, this is not some second-rate gathering. These are

the eight most significant world leaders, probably eight of the most

recognisable people on the planet. To bring them here and be

responsible for their security when they are here is a pretty big deal,

isn't it? Location is perfect. It's surrounded by water. It's not easy

to get to. High visibility all over the place. Let's not forget the

PSNI are one of the best forces in the world when it comes to dealing

with rioting and terrorist threats. It's their whole living, breathing

operation. The Prime Minister will be pleased there was a broadly

positive response to his announcement on the G8. We're not

much clearer about the other thing that we thought he might say

something about, that was corporation tax. Did he hedge his

bets? I think the trouble with corporation tax, I'm not convinced

it's coming. If you get it in Northern Ireland, what happened --

happens to Scotland and Wales? What happens to the relationship, an EU

relationship between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland

and Great Britain? They haven't been squared off. It will go on and

on. I suspect some time maybe next Easter, it will be landed very

gently and just bypassed until forever probably. What are the

implications locally? Our politicians here have invested a

lot in the idea of it. They've said this is something we should be

working hard to get, at the right price, but it would be good news

for Northern Ireland, plc. If it doesn't come, what's the Plan B?

don't think there is a Plan B. Plan A was nothing more than we want a

cut in corporation tax, but we don't want to have to pay for that

ourselves. We don't want that out of the Northern Ireland budget. We

don't want to pay anything else at local level. There is no way,

there's no way the Chancellor can say yes to that without having

every other part of the United Kingdom asking for exactly the same

thing. No special pleading for Northern Ireland? No, I think

that's the thing. Northern Ireland has its own Government. Governments

have to make their own decisions. They have to get away from the

notion that they can constantly go to Number Ten and say we are still

a special case. We are not any more. Let's get over that. Thank you.

Inside the chamber, most of the time today was taken up with the

debate on establishing an inquiry into the historic abuse of children

in care homes and other institutions in Northern Ireland.

There were 79 amendments to get through. Jim Allister wasn't

pleased his amendment to include the scope to include clerical abuse

wasn't accepted by the Speaker. Many victims of abuse, Mr Speaker,

have lobbied courageously to get to a stage whereby this inquiry will

become a reality. They are indeed to be commended for their efforts,

for their determination and for their undoubted courage. Mr Speaker,

we have a raft of amendments today at the consideration stage of this

bill. 79 in total I understand. The vast majority of these have come

from OFMDMF -- OFMDFM. Mr Speaker the issue of who this legislation

should cover is an important one. I want to consider that in some

detail having received representations on this from

constituents. We have to bear in mind that there are children from

Northern Ireland who suffered abuse in the Republic of Ireland and

there are children from the Republic of Ireland who suffered

abuse here. These victims, most of whom are now adults, exist in

jurisdictional limbo. There has been an impression that neither

side, neither jurisdiction wishs to take responsibility. Indeed, I've

raised this matter separately with the Minister for Justice in the

Republic of Ireland. In short, it has been left to be somebody else's

problem. Today, I think, is an important opportunity to say to

those people that they are recognised as victims. That they

will get the time and space to tell their story and all efforts will be

made to ensure that never again will people be exploited and abused

in this way. A number of specific examples have been brought to my

attention. For instance, a young person who suffered gross

malnutrition had to be rescued by the local church of Ireland

clergyman and was sent back to Dublin. Then sent to Northern

Ireland to a relative of the family where he suffered further neglect.

I've been told of a mother whose children were sent to the West Bank

orphanage that closed in 1998 and were denied knowledge of sibling

relationships. I will begin by expressing regret that amendments

which I sought to table to widen the scope of this inquiry to

include clerical abuse are not before the House. I think it is

fortunate, right as it is that we certainly address the issue of

institutional abuse, I think it is unfortunate that in the addressing

of it we create a hierarchy of abuse victims. Those abused within

institutions and those abused outside institutions who

predominantly were the object of clerical abuse. Whereas I've heard

others in this debate say that that issue cannot be forgotten about, it

cannot be swept aside, the reality of this bill is it does forget

about it. I've yet to hear affirmations that that will change.

So I think this was an opportunity to address all abuse, including

clerical abuse and I very much regret it hasn't been taken..

the request of the victims and survivors who have spoken to us, I

would pay tribute to those who have gone before, who are not alive to

see this day and to equally salute their courage and tenacity in

helping us to get to this point and not to underestimate the pain that

they suffered and that they endured during this process. It is pain

that is the most vulnerable. These were children, children who didn't

have mums or dads or step mums or step dads. Or other care givers to

go back to. These were people who were abused and hurt in the most

horrible ways by the people who were entrusted to care for them.

And to provide the support and love for them. That is why we have

defined residential abuse because these were the children who had

nobody else to go back to, whose home and into whose care they were

the victims of those who shamefully should have been there to protect

He is proposing we do away the terms of reference completely. We

believe this would have an effect of detrimental reducing the

detailed remit of the inquiry. extent to which this was a deeply

imperfect Bill is reflected by the House today. The SDLP's Conall

McDevitt and after several hours of debate the vast majority of the 79

amendments were passed. Fresh from welcoming the decision

to hold the G8 summit in her for man -- in her Fermanagh

constituency the enterprise Minister was back to bread and

butter policy issues in the chamber this afternoon. The focus of much

of her Question Time was the utility regulator, just hours after

it emerged that NIE had rejected this ruling on how much it can

charge customers. It is not for me to become involved

in the due process to be followed in determining the price controls.

However, Mr Mr Deputy Speaker, it is important the price control

process ultimately gets to the point where there is an appropriate

balance between ensuring that the energy firms have sufficient

financial cover to make the investments necessary and

infrastructure and that the cost to consumers are minimised.

Thank you. The Minister will know that the commission's indications

are that the utility regulator has failed to act in the public

interest in referring the Phoenix Gas and ultimately the actions of

this utility regulator is damaging confidence in investors and

consumers are ultimately going to be left to pick up the cost. Does

the Minister believe that the utility regulator is damaging

confidence in investors and, therefore, damaging to consumers

who will ultimately be left to pick up the cost? Recent responses to my

department's consultation on the new energy bill have showed firms

do have some concerns about the way in which the utility regulator is

operating and of course, these concerns need to be balanced

against the principle duties of the regulator and indeed of the

department, for electricity particularly, the duty is to

protect the consumer and therefore, there is that balance. It is a

difficult balance. I think that's recognised. Is it within the

actually review the utility regulator's role and if so, is

there any intention to do so in the near future? Well, as I have

indicated, these concerns have been raised in response to the

consultation on the energy bill and I do recognise that there are

genuine issues that we need to address around accountability and

the need to ensure that the regulatory framework for energy in

Northern Ireland ensures the right investment for the future and

that's why I am bringing forward proposals in the new energy Bill

which will ensure provision to ensure that this happens and

specifically I am bringing forward a proposal for a new strategy and

policy statement which will be developed by the Department,

obviously consulted upon and led before the Assembly for debate and

particular strategy and policy statement in the performance of his

duties. But also ensure that the regulator is aligned with the

executive's strategic energy goals, as well. Of course, we are not

suggesting for one minute he doesn't do that at the moment but

what we are doing is we are providing confidence that there

will be greater Coe hereence between policy and regulation and

it's something I I intend to brining before the House so we can

all discuss that issue but I have to recognise those concerns have

been registered with me. Question number four, Deputy

Speaker. Both my officials and the Northern Ireland tourist board have

had discussions with the Belfast visitor and convention pwaour Ree,

and wider hospitality industry to ensure participants in the games

and visitors will have a good experience. Almost 27 seminars will

have been held with local businesses using the tourist

information centres and industry association net w. The tourist

board, convention centre and games company will continue to encourage

the whorld of whole -- whole of Northern Ireland to maximise

The greater Belfast already has 3764 hotel rooms, if you replicate

the 86% occupies and rate achieved for the period that year that will

leave 527 rooms spare for an anticipated visitor numbers of

15,000, would the Minister agree that's a tight fit? Yes, and I am

not asking them all to share. I the G8, as well. We know that there

will be thousands of people that will come to Northern Ireland for

that event, as well. But it is about being flexible. It's about

working with accommodation providers, being innovative in

terms of pop-up hotels, for example. And making sure that we stay very

close to the limited company who are planning the World Police and

Fire Games and that's exactly what we are doing. Arlene Foster. You

may have noticed in some town centres derelict shops and

buildings have had a makeover. During today's environment

questions the Minister said with more funding he would like to give

more towns a facelift but first, here is the Minister giving his

verdict on communication between applicants and the planning service.

Sure, there are as we always know, contact centres levels of delay and

frustration. But I am not being told that that is the broad

experience. If 22% of contacts are being dealt with by the contacts

centre, if 80% of other issues are being responded to by the planning

service within 24 hours, if calls are being answered within 15

seconds of the call being made, all of that suggests that this new

approach to citizen agent developer contact with the planning service,

that it is beginning to bed in more and more and together with access

to the planning where there are over 130,000 points of contact

every month, in my view, that is all helping aid the planning

process, certainly there will be nobody in the planning system,

including myself, who will not call for even better performance than

that. But I think that performance is working and working to the

We do intend to roll out changes to the planning system that will see

applications being made online, rather than the current system made

through the paper process. So, yes, we will continue to look at

opportunities to roll out and improve the service. My answer is

go to Portrush and port Stewart and go to Derry-Londonderry in the -

City of Culture, where I believe that the interventions to mitigate

decay and derelictation have and continue to prove that this is for

a moderate sum of money a worthwhile investment. I did make a

bid which was denied. I did make a bid for monies in September and the

recent economic package, it was denied. But I think that the

argument is gathering pace around the Executive table, that for

relatively small scale of monies deployed to address decay and

derelictation in towns and cities across the north, has added value

in this time of recession. I think the Minister for his reply, I do

have to agree with him that some people now describe Portrush as a

northern kergs of kin -- version of Kinsale. Has the Minister plans for

rolling out his successful scheme to other towns? And indeed to

encourage, if not compel property owners to take a greater interest

in port that's fallen into derelictation? Or is an eyesore?

Well, I have written to the chief executive of Coleraine Borough

Council, acknowledging the good work that's been done, asking him

so that it can be more like Kinsale going forward. If I were to say

today there is a more are to kwroupl on out of -- moratorium,

there will be a rush to the PAC or they would say is this is against

the law, it's against planning The environment Minister Alex

Attwood. Now the Prime Minister's arrival at Stormont wasn't the only

thing prompting a flurry around the House today. Sinn Fein's MLA Barry

McElduff held a reading of his new book. It's described as a memoir of

his experiences at home in Tyrone and in Stormont. Our political

correspondent got a sneak preview of yes, you have guessed it, Keep

It Lit. I have taken risks, I have spoken about my unionist opponents

here at Stormont. One of the stories is explaining the

difference between David McHrarty and David McNarry, now there is a

risk and a half. I suppose my story emNates from Carrickmore, Tyrone,

Really that's my story, I maybe want to provoke curiosity from

people beyond that community as to what makes us tick. I have

something to say and I want to say it and I am saying it in the form

of a book. You have spent sometime at Her Majesty's pleasure, do you

touch on that in the book? I do, I spent some months in the Crumlin

Road remand prison. During that time I learned a lot. I wasn't only

political person who ever saw the inside of a prison cell. In fact,

one ex-prisoner visited me then, namely, Ian Paisley. He was then a

DUP member of the European Parliament and he came into prison

to assess the conditions of the jail for the benefit of loyalist

prisoners essentially. I did ask to meet him and when I discovered he

was in the prison it was made possible for me to meet him. But I

specifically made the request to meet Ian Paisley and he abg seeded

to that request and we had a productive meeting at the time.

you seek permission of the Sinn Fein leadership before writing this

book? I imagine they were a little bit nervous or were they? I got

great support. One of the people that encouraged me to write the

Barry McElduff there. We'll see if that strategy was a sensible one,

when we see the reaction to the book over the next few weeks. Our

guest Alex Kane is with me again. We'll talk about the book in a

moment. But let's have a word about Jim Allister, the former Deputy

Leader of the Assembly group with the Ulster Unionist Party who made

a speech again yesterday about opposition and about the need for a

formal opposition here at Stormont. Not surprised that he should have

done that, but does the case stack up in your view? I think it does

stack up. It's worth bearing in mind that since 1998 every opinion

poll has shown majority, substantial majority in favour of

having opposition at Stormont. All the political parties have talked

about having opposition and at Leeds castle and St Andrews they

talked of the need for opposition. No-one has done anything about it.

Allister, give him his dew, he went into the leadership campaign and

that was his big idea. It doesn't exist now. It's interesting he has

come up with the idea of the private members bill. For all the

talk of opposition, personally I'm supportive, there's huge

difficulties. If you had structures of opposition, do you have to have

a cross-community opposition? If you have a leader of the opposition

does it have to be Unionist and Nationalist working together? If

you have a formal, funded, properly structured opposition, do you have

the situation where you have to have a cap on the percentage and

number of MLAs? At the moment if you have over a certain percentage

you're in the executive if you want. If you're in opposition, isn't it

sensible to say, I'm sorry, you haven't enough to be in Government.

The Deputy Leader of the SDLP floated this idea, saying her party

should be thinking about, it even though it's not what her leader

talked about in his speech. She said it's something we should

discuss. Is it a scenario where we have a Shadow First Minister and

then a deputy Shadow First That's thousand would have to work.

If you are setting up opposition as an alternative to what's been

described, as the Sinn Fein DUP carve-up, I am not sure how you

have a credible alternative which consists of one party and if these

two parties are saying we have a role and relevance and we could be

better than the other two parties, we can show we can work together

then they have to do it together. Here is the thing, surely, politics

is about power, it's about getting your hands on the hrefers of powers,

having control of the purse purse strings. They have that power at

the moment to go opposition they would be giving it up. I am not

sure they have that power. Having observed them since 2007 when the

DUP-Sinn Fein became the two biggest parties, they have very

little input. They have little influence. They're often ignored at

key executive decisions, not told until they arrive at the meeting, a

decision has been taken. A final word about Barry McElduff's book

that he was talking about. Do you think that any unionist politicians

will have a copy of it as a secret pleasure in their Christmas

stocking? Probably if it's given to them as a present! I don't think

they'll rush out and buy it. I am tkphrad to see someone -- glad to

see someone writing about the background to the Assembly because

it can be a fun job and it's an entertaining job and also it's

instructive given Barry's background to see where he is now

and writing, so openly about it. That's good. Would you be happy to

have a copy? Yes, it anybody wants to send me a copy I will happily