:00:25. > :00:29.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up on on the programme
:00:30. > :00:32.tonight: The Environment Minister is in feisty
:00:33. > :00:39.form as he pulls the plug on the Planning Bill. The majority of
:00:40. > :00:43.parties in this assembly will certainly be behind me and they will
:00:44. > :00:50.be giving my statement the thumbs-up, not the fingers.
:00:51. > :01:02.Another day and another row between Sinn Fein and the DUP over
:01:03. > :01:07.education. The only two schools you are interested in. Let's dispel this
:01:08. > :01:11.myth. And the News Letter's Sam McBride is
:01:12. > :01:15.with me to look back at today's events.
:01:16. > :01:18.The Environment Minister has withdrawn the Assembly's Planning
:01:19. > :01:22.Bill because of legal concerns. Mark H Durkan said changes to the bill
:01:23. > :01:26.backed by the DUP and Sinn Fein could run counter to the European
:01:27. > :01:31.Convention on Human Rights. The bill was introduced by Mr Durkan's
:01:32. > :01:36.predecessor, Alex Attwood, in June. But today, Mr Durkan pulled the plug
:01:37. > :01:40.on it. Since taking a office, I have had meetings with key stakeholders
:01:41. > :01:44.including representatives of the business community in Northern
:01:45. > :01:48.Ireland, Local Government and environmental groups and academics
:01:49. > :01:53.from Queen's and the University of Ulster in order to listen to their
:01:54. > :01:59.thoughts on the planning Bill as amended at consideration stage. I
:02:00. > :02:05.have carefully and fully studied the legal advice obstained by my
:02:06. > :02:08.predecessor and I have made that advice available. It is now clear
:02:09. > :02:16.that the intent of the amendments was not to introduce new planning
:02:17. > :02:20.powers, but to make OFDFM a new planning authority in Northern
:02:21. > :02:26.Ireland. I have grave reservations about the amendments to the Planning
:02:27. > :02:33.Bill and the restriction of the right to judicial review for legal
:02:34. > :02:38.procedural and evidential reasons. Therefore, after very careful and
:02:39. > :02:42.lengthy consideration, I have decided not to move the planning
:02:43. > :02:49.Bill to further consideration stage either now or in the future.
:02:50. > :02:53.Has the minister sought or received any advice, any legal advice from
:02:54. > :02:58.the Attorney-General in relation to this matter and can he confirm
:02:59. > :03:06.whether it is consistent with any legal advice he has received?
:03:07. > :03:10.I have not sought advice from the Attorney-General nor have I received
:03:11. > :03:17.advice from the Attorney-General. I have received legal advice from an
:03:18. > :03:21.eminent QC in this field and that is legal advice that I have shared with
:03:22. > :03:26.this House. It is legal advice available to the public. I have not
:03:27. > :03:32.heard any legal opinion contrary to that advice and I have spoken to
:03:33. > :03:39.many lawyers, many academics and many planning experts over the past
:03:40. > :03:46.four months. A proposed power grab in terms of economic planning was so
:03:47. > :03:55.ill conceived, so badly thought through, so arrogant that it is
:03:56. > :04:00.actually illegal and can I ask the minister if he will tell and confirm
:04:01. > :04:04.to the House that he will stand firm in continuing to offer responsible
:04:05. > :04:13.leadership because no doubt he will come under various pressures to
:04:14. > :04:19.change his mind? The member used the term power grab. That's not a term
:04:20. > :04:24.that I intend to use today. This statement is about planning. It is
:04:25. > :04:28.not about politics. In light of the fact this decision was taken
:04:29. > :04:32.subsequent to the Tracey Ruling which indicated that a minister who
:04:33. > :04:37.failed to bring a controversial decision to the full executive was
:04:38. > :04:41.in breach of the Ministerial Code. Why is there minister defying that
:04:42. > :04:45.ruling today and breaking that Ministerial Code?
:04:46. > :04:49.People will ask when they hear an accusation that I might be breaking
:04:50. > :04:56.the Ministerial Code. People, the public will rightly ask what is the
:04:57. > :05:01.Ministerial Code? If someone is deemed not to be in breach of the
:05:02. > :05:05.code for denying someone the right to donate blood based on their
:05:06. > :05:09.sexuality or for promoting public disorder, they are not in breach of
:05:10. > :05:15.the court, but for trying to prevent bad law from coming in, I am. I
:05:16. > :05:19.don't think so. I can only act on the legal advice that I have seen.
:05:20. > :05:28.Given the fact that the minister in the past has described the use of
:05:29. > :05:32.titions of concern as putting up two fingers to other parties. How many
:05:33. > :05:37.fingers is he putting up to other parties today? I recall my
:05:38. > :05:43.description of the abuse of a abuse of petition of concern. Not the use.
:05:44. > :05:48.The abuse of a petition of concern when it was able to be used by one
:05:49. > :05:55.party, one party to thwart the wishes of other parties in the
:05:56. > :06:00.assembly. Now, as it stands, the majority of parties in this assembly
:06:01. > :06:08.will certainly be behind me and they will be giving my statement the
:06:09. > :06:11.thumbs-up, not the fingers. Mark H Durkan in robust form in the
:06:12. > :06:13.chamber today. I'm joined by the News Letter's Political
:06:14. > :06:16.Correspondent Sam McBride. Sam, was the announcement today by the
:06:17. > :06:20.minister a surprise? It was a surprise in that it seemed to appear
:06:21. > :06:23.in the order paper at short notice. There was a ministerial statement to
:06:24. > :06:28.be confirmed which is what I saw when I loblegd at it a few days ago.
:06:29. > :06:32.Last night it seemed to' merge last night that there was going to be a
:06:33. > :06:35.statement. The legal advice which seems to be the basis of what
:06:36. > :06:41.happened today leaked out last week. It was referred to by the m are and
:06:42. > :06:46.it emerged and I think it left him in a position where given that his
:06:47. > :06:51.party opposed this, it was going to lose power to, it was never going to
:06:52. > :06:55.be popular, it gave him a clear hook on which to hang this decision and
:06:56. > :07:00.the fact that that advice came from one of the top five or six planning
:07:01. > :07:04.QCs in the UK gave it a certain amount of clout from outside the
:07:05. > :07:08.political system. The statement certainly provoked
:07:09. > :07:13.strong, passionate reaction in the chamber, didn't it? Yes. From, it
:07:14. > :07:25.was massively noticeable from the press gallery in the Sinn Fein side
:07:26. > :07:30.there was silence. I think it was silence. But in the DUP side, there
:07:31. > :07:33.was just constant baying. There was the sort of heckling that you get
:07:34. > :07:37.when a party is really unhappy about something and that told a real story
:07:38. > :07:41.because Sinn Fein are not the people who have been driving this. They
:07:42. > :07:44.voted in the same lobbies as the DUP when this came up in June these
:07:45. > :07:47.amendments which were controversial at the time, but it is the DUP who
:07:48. > :07:50.really wanted this. What do you think are the
:07:51. > :07:54.implications for planning of what happened today? That's what is at
:07:55. > :07:58.the heart of this? And it is easy to amid the politicking of it, but the
:07:59. > :08:03.planning Bill was one of the Bills that it tied up lots of area of
:08:04. > :08:07.planning law. It tried to put into statute things that had been in
:08:08. > :08:13.advice really from the minister. It did things like it increased the
:08:14. > :08:17.fines for people who flout planning laws and tightnd the restrictions of
:08:18. > :08:21.tree restriction orders. Lots of practical things like that and
:08:22. > :08:25.that's now lost. It maybe resurrected as a private members
:08:26. > :08:28.bill. That would take a long time and planning is going to go to
:08:29. > :08:36.councils. So it is gone now. Briefly, what did you make of Mark
:08:37. > :08:41.Durkan's performance? It was gutsy. He came of a political age here. He
:08:42. > :08:47.showed he was no weak young minister who is going to be railroaded. Doing
:08:48. > :09:00.this when Peter Robinson and Martin McGuinness were out of the country.
:09:01. > :09:03.Had a political astuteness. The Social Development Minister
:09:04. > :09:05.faced questions today and it was welfare reform that dominated
:09:06. > :09:09.proceedings. Nelson McCausland told MLAs that he hopes to bring more
:09:10. > :09:11.details of the reforms in front of the Assembly soon. I ask the
:09:12. > :09:13.minister to confirm when discussions involving the First Minister, the
:09:14. > :09:17.Deputy First Minister and the Finance Minister were on a Welfare
:09:18. > :09:23.Reform package of getting measures for Northern Ireland concluded? This
:09:24. > :09:28.has been a major area of work for myself and for the department over
:09:29. > :09:33.the past year. There were very detailed and lengthy discussions and
:09:34. > :09:40.intense discussions with those at Westminster, with DWP and DFP have
:09:41. > :09:45.an engagement with the Treasury in that regard. We got to the point at
:09:46. > :09:50.the end of June where we had the negotiation with Westminster. We
:09:51. > :09:58.have had the interm discussions with OFM and with DFM and also
:09:59. > :10:03.discussions with the Finance Ministry as well, Finance Minister
:10:04. > :10:06.and we are at a point where we have put together, I believe we have got
:10:07. > :10:12.a package of measures that will result, if they were implemented in
:10:13. > :10:17.a much better situation for Northern Ireland than if we were to take
:10:18. > :10:21.welfare reform as it is. Is the minister in a position to say
:10:22. > :10:25.when he is going to bring the Bill back to the House? I have indicated
:10:26. > :10:29.in response to that question, that I think it would be good for the
:10:30. > :10:35.general public to be aware of the contents of the particular package
:10:36. > :10:40.for Northern Ireland. For a range of reasons. That's an additional
:10:41. > :10:44.reason. The information that was passed on by the Finance Minister is
:10:45. > :10:47.information that has been in the public domain for sometime. The
:10:48. > :10:52.Prime Minister has spoken about it. The Secretary of State has spoken
:10:53. > :10:56.about it. Other Westminster ministers from DWP have spoken about
:10:57. > :11:00.this and from the Treasury. So there is a concern there that over a
:11:01. > :11:05.period of time, you get into a difficult position there in terms of
:11:06. > :11:09.potential penalties. But this is not a matter that is just for me. It is
:11:10. > :11:12.a matter which is for the entire executive and therefore, I believe
:11:13. > :11:16.it is right and proper that as soon as possible we get this into the
:11:17. > :11:21.executive and get it out into the public domain and into the assembly
:11:22. > :11:29.for further discussion. You spoke in broader terms about welfare he
:11:30. > :11:36.reform. I -- Welfare Reform. Which wonder if there is any analysis to
:11:37. > :11:40.the loss of income to families by the welfare reform changes brought
:11:41. > :11:45.in by the Tory Government? There are good parts in Welfare Reform and
:11:46. > :11:50.parts which are not so good and you have the Treasury attempt to limit
:11:51. > :11:54.the increase in expenditure on welfare benefits over the next
:11:55. > :11:59.number of years. There are winners and losers in these things. That is
:12:00. > :12:06.the case often. But I would just pick up on one point and that's some
:12:07. > :12:11.of the figures that have been quoted in the media about the cost to
:12:12. > :12:16.Northern Ireland have been unrealistic. We need to be careful.
:12:17. > :12:21.We make people aware of the issues and get accurate information out as
:12:22. > :12:24.far as possible and not create situations where people have
:12:25. > :12:30.unnecessary fears. There are concerns. We all share them, but we
:12:31. > :12:38.should not, I think, exaggerate and create unnecessary fears.
:12:39. > :12:41.The Social Development Minister, Nelson McCausland. The differing
:12:42. > :12:45.stances of the two main parties over education is well known, and they
:12:46. > :12:47.came to the fore today as the Education Minister made a statement
:12:48. > :12:51.on Shared Education. So shared education is not a bolt on or an
:12:52. > :12:56.optional extra. It is fundamental to delivering good schools and central
:12:57. > :13:01.to my vision that every learner should achieve his or her full
:13:02. > :13:05.potential. Good education comes first, but equality and good
:13:06. > :13:09.rerations add to the case for change. Choice can't be at the
:13:10. > :13:15.expense of good education and neither can it be at the cost of
:13:16. > :13:18.separation because of religious belief. Such separation is bad for
:13:19. > :13:24.children and bad for society. Let me turn to the recommendation on
:13:25. > :13:29.academic selection 18 to 20. Would surprise no one when I say I welcome
:13:30. > :13:32.and endorse them. Some people have criticiseted the group for including
:13:33. > :13:37.these recommendations. They claim they are nothing to do with sharing.
:13:38. > :13:42.Those people are missing a very important point. Sharing means
:13:43. > :13:50.education without barriers. Without segregation. The group's advice is
:13:51. > :13:55.very clear. Selection discriminates, selection divides, selection is a
:13:56. > :14:01.barrier to children from low income families. It is disappointing that
:14:02. > :14:05.yet again the minister has lit the litmus paper to create more
:14:06. > :14:08.contention and controversy around an issue whereby there shouldn't be
:14:09. > :14:13.controversy and there is a time when the minister is under ex-tensive
:14:14. > :14:17.pressure in relation to the common funding formula. I think he would
:14:18. > :14:21.have been better spending his time addressing that problem rather than
:14:22. > :14:26.putting another problem and other problems on the table today.
:14:27. > :14:30.However, Mr Speaker, can I on behalf of the committee say that
:14:31. > :14:36.recognising the growth of popular and sharing among schools is
:14:37. > :14:40.something which we should celebrate in terms of the schools that have
:14:41. > :14:47.been successful in relation to that issue... Pressure goes with the job.
:14:48. > :14:52.That's how you deal with the pressure with I is the important
:14:53. > :14:56.thing. I can assure you that as has been recently evidenced in the media
:14:57. > :15:02.when I challenged political parties to come up with alternatives, they
:15:03. > :15:04.are left fumbling to come up with alternatives. You have another three
:15:05. > :15:10.days to come forward with alternatives to my proposals around
:15:11. > :15:15.the common funding formula and I wish you well.
:15:16. > :15:18.The minister does put a heavy emphasis on the education and skills
:15:19. > :15:22.authority. Without stating the obvious, how long can he run that in
:15:23. > :15:26.shadow form and continue to fund that? When is he going to bring the
:15:27. > :15:32.legislation back and how does he hope to get it through the House?
:15:33. > :15:36.This cannot go on forever. Both myself and the executive need to
:15:37. > :15:39.make up its mind whether they want to deliver that programme for
:15:40. > :15:44.Government commitment or they don't and that day is coming to us
:15:45. > :15:49.realisation. I suspect now we are not going to meet the programme for
:15:50. > :15:55.Government commitment. This is the last number of weeks in October. I
:15:56. > :15:58.have a programme for Government signed up to by other executive
:15:59. > :16:03.parties to have it established by 2013. I suspect that is missed. If
:16:04. > :16:09.it is missed, the executive will have to make up its mind. Do they
:16:10. > :16:16.want to continue with it, but it is coming to make your mind up time.
:16:17. > :16:24.These will be taken forward through area planning. Can he inform the
:16:25. > :16:30.House of Such all ability schools are rejected by the majority of
:16:31. > :16:35.people will he endeavour to enforce this on a community? There is
:16:36. > :16:39.another one defending the Protestant working class. You are not
:16:40. > :16:46.interested in the Dixon Plan. You are interested in two schools in the
:16:47. > :16:51.Dixon Plan. There are only two schools that you are interested in
:16:52. > :16:56.the Dixon Plan. Let's dispel this myth.
:16:57. > :17:00.John O'Dowd challenging the DUP's support for the Dickson Plan. The
:17:01. > :17:04.provenance of the eggs we eat and the conditions in which the hens
:17:05. > :17:06.that lay them are housed was on the Agriculture Minister's plate at
:17:07. > :17:16.Question Time today that, along with the health of our woodlands and
:17:17. > :17:23.forests. The disease whose scientific name, it is tracked over
:17:24. > :17:30.100 species of plants. This includes ash trees and bilberry, over 600
:17:31. > :17:35.hectors of woodland has been felled. The December is continuing to spread
:17:36. > :17:46.within areas infected in previous years in the Antrim plateau. We
:17:47. > :17:50.found scattered infections in Tyrone and Fermanagh. Once the disease is
:17:51. > :17:53.well established in the woodland environment, it is impossible to
:17:54. > :17:57.eradicate and as this is the case in south-west Scotland and parts of
:17:58. > :18:02.Wales, we are close to that point in the north of Ireland. Since 1st
:18:03. > :18:07.January 2012, it has been illegal to keep laying hens in battery cages. I
:18:08. > :18:11.am pleased to report that all of our producers are compliant with that
:18:12. > :18:14.directive. Can you confirm whether we are
:18:15. > :18:19.imforting eggs into this country now which are being illegally produced
:18:20. > :18:24.in other countries? I can confirm that it is Germany and Italy who are
:18:25. > :18:29.the two member states who are not compliant. There were 11 others, but
:18:30. > :18:34.when legal action was taken against them, they became compliant. We have
:18:35. > :18:38.Italy and Germany that are not compliant. There is free movement of
:18:39. > :18:42.table eggs so we can't stop the movement in, however, I can say that
:18:43. > :18:45.in the past six months inspectors have not encountered any
:18:46. > :18:48.consignments from any of the two member states that are non
:18:49. > :18:57.compliant. The recent announcement of an
:18:58. > :19:02.outbreak of ash dieback in county Leitrim is regrettable, but not
:19:03. > :19:07.unexpected. The disease often spreads from recently planted trees
:19:08. > :19:16.to older trees by the release of spores of ineffected spores.
:19:17. > :19:22.Officials have kept counterparts in Dard and the forest service aware of
:19:23. > :19:29.how they plan to eradicate this outbreak. Our surveillance has been
:19:30. > :19:32.increased and has not found any sources of the disease in older
:19:33. > :19:37.trees. Many constituents have planted out
:19:38. > :19:44.land using ash and using department grants. They had to remove the trees
:19:45. > :19:50.when ash dieback was found. Is there any grants available to replant the
:19:51. > :19:55.areas? In June, I announced grant support for any of the woodland
:19:56. > :19:58.owners affected. If you have had to remove trees, we have put grant
:19:59. > :20:01.support in place that will help you to replant with alternative species
:20:02. > :20:04.because we want to continue to be planting trees. This is something
:20:05. > :20:08.that will scare landowners and they will be careful about what they are
:20:09. > :20:13.planting so what we are doing is, we we have announced grant support that
:20:14. > :20:23.will encourage replanting with species that are less susceptible to
:20:24. > :20:25.these types of December. The Agriculture Minister, Michelle
:20:26. > :20:28.O'Neill. Poverty, deprivation and mental
:20:29. > :20:31.health - all serious social issues affecting people here, but what's
:20:32. > :20:34.the best way to deal with them? Earlier today MLAs supported a
:20:35. > :20:37.motion backing social investment programmes. John McMullan from the
:20:38. > :20:40.Bryson Charitable Group joins me. Thank you very much for joining us
:20:41. > :20:44.on the programme. Let me ask you to explain what the social enterprise
:20:45. > :20:48.model is? OK, Mark. It is really not that complicated, but it may sound
:20:49. > :20:50.that. It is when a charity changes the way it does business rather than
:20:51. > :20:56.looking for grants, it looks for contracts. So for an organisation
:20:57. > :21:02.like Bryon, instead of getting a grant and doing 100 homes helping
:21:03. > :21:06.people to keep warm, we can do 6,500 or 7,000 homes. It allows you to
:21:07. > :21:11.scale up. It is a different way to do business.
:21:12. > :21:15.And Bryson Group is at the forefront of developing that notion of
:21:16. > :21:20.thinking? We have developed our social enterprise model over 15
:21:21. > :21:26.years. It allowed us to grow over 15 years and we are employing 693
:21:27. > :21:30.people today. Turnover is at ?34 million. A year? Per year. It is a
:21:31. > :21:34.lot of money and you employ a lot of people? It is a big part of the
:21:35. > :21:38.economy. That's why we are glad to see the assembly debating this issue
:21:39. > :21:42.of investing for social good and social investment.
:21:43. > :21:45.It is because we are a big part of the real economy.
:21:46. > :21:50.When you talk about, not using grants, but bidding forcrats. Give
:21:51. > :21:55.us some sense of the contracts that you are bidding for and winning? In
:21:56. > :22:02.Northern Ireland, we hold about 60% of the domestic recycling programmes
:22:03. > :22:05.which councils. So we have to bid and keep our costs right and win the
:22:06. > :22:09.business and we take a different way of doing business. We are driven by
:22:10. > :22:14.maximising the quality of materials and recycling them in Northern
:22:15. > :22:18.Ireland. 35% of our materials go into local companies for
:22:19. > :22:22.remanufacturer. There is a further 1,000 jobs supported in Northern
:22:23. > :22:25.Ireland as a result of that. It is about being clever how you deliver
:22:26. > :22:28.services. Bhaes your definition of profit?
:22:29. > :22:31.Profit is really interesting. We require a profit. We need the profit
:22:32. > :22:35.to reinvest, but our profits are locked in because we are a charity,
:22:36. > :22:39.our money is all used for social purposes. The profit we make allows
:22:40. > :22:45.us to invest in people and invest in services and develop new services.
:22:46. > :22:48.You have ex-ended d extended that model outside Northern Ireland which
:22:49. > :22:51.is a good model for other companies and other charities in Northern
:22:52. > :22:56.Ireland perhaps to look to? Well, absolutely. We have doubled our size
:22:57. > :23:03.in the Republic of Ireland and we have had our first contracts in
:23:04. > :23:05.North Wales in Conway. For us, it is good for Northern Ireland. It is
:23:06. > :23:10.good for jobs in Northern Ireland. We bring back our profits and we
:23:11. > :23:13.reuse them in services here. Is it letting Government off the hook? No,
:23:14. > :23:17.it is working in partnership with Government and helping Government to
:23:18. > :23:27.deliver its services, deliver better services. That are better targeted
:23:28. > :23:30.and delivering better outcomes. The consultation on proposals to
:23:31. > :23:33.change how schools budgets are allocated is to end this week. The
:23:34. > :23:37.proposals were under discussion at last week's session of the Education
:23:38. > :23:42.Committee and there was little support for them around the table.
:23:43. > :23:48.This is disappointing to say the least. I have to say that we have
:23:49. > :23:55.had what can only be described as the most shambolic attempt by the
:23:56. > :23:59.Department of Consultation. Hear. Hear. We are four out of the five
:24:00. > :24:06.education and library boards potentially losing 80% of funding
:24:07. > :24:12.and we had two consultation events. One in Omagh which was advertised on
:24:13. > :24:21.a Friday for a Wednesday at which four parents arrived. We had another
:24:22. > :24:27.one in Belfast which ends up being the beneficiary of which 40 people
:24:28. > :24:31.attended. Most of the people there, were people who were losing as a
:24:32. > :24:35.result of this consultation. The message has to go out, please
:24:36. > :24:38.listen. You know, the Prince pals that I have spoken -- principals
:24:39. > :24:43.that I have spoken to, the parents that I have spoken to are very, very
:24:44. > :24:46.concerned. I declare an interest here as a chair of a board of
:24:47. > :24:53.governors. It is within budget, etcetera, etcetera, I can't see how
:24:54. > :24:57.our schools can make cuts any further. We can't switch the heat
:24:58. > :25:04.off. That's the stage. There is no maintenance being done. The question
:25:05. > :25:08.about the use of children. I have no problem if the minister wants to
:25:09. > :25:12.sort of consult children in something like this, but it depends
:25:13. > :25:16.how much weight you give it. There is adults that don't understand this
:25:17. > :25:21.formula, so there is not much hope for the kids. I accept the
:25:22. > :25:24.criticisms around the public meetings that have been organised
:25:25. > :25:28.and I know nothing about the one in Omagh, but I do know the one in
:25:29. > :25:35.Belfast was well publicised. There is no doubt about that. But it is a
:25:36. > :25:40.feature of these consultations that most people prefer to make written
:25:41. > :25:47.submissions. The issue is those who already face obstacles. They are in
:25:48. > :25:52.a situation where there is no parental expectations in terms of
:25:53. > :25:56.educational achievement and that has to be addressed by the education
:25:57. > :26:03.system and you know, I think some people are getting too exercised
:26:04. > :26:22.about the issue. The minister said he will listen and I believe he
:26:23. > :26:25.will. Sinn Fein's Pat Sheehan standing up
:26:26. > :26:34.for his colleague, John O'Dowd. Sam McBride has rejoined me. Is there
:26:35. > :26:40.fractured relations? The office of the First Minister and Deputy First
:26:41. > :26:47.Minister sent an e-mail to Mark Durkan if he was planning to do what
:26:48. > :26:50.he was going to do, he would be in breach of the Ministerial Code.
:26:51. > :26:54.There is open disagreement between the two main parties. Peter Robinson
:26:55. > :26:57.and Martin McGuinness are out of the country. It doesn't seem to make
:26:58. > :27:01.much difference whether they are here or whether they are away. The
:27:02. > :27:10.relations are very strained. They don't really trust each other at the
:27:11. > :27:13.moment. The Maze decision was a big issue for Sinn Fein. And Welfare
:27:14. > :27:17.Reform which we have talked about tonight. A huge unresolved issue? It
:27:18. > :27:21.is a huge issue which comes up to the foreand it dips away, but it has
:27:22. > :27:26.been there the whole time. Nelson McCausland had a plan since before
:27:27. > :27:29.the summer which he thinks can get around the concerns that there are
:27:30. > :27:32.about the Welfare Reforms which he supports, but has not been able to
:27:33. > :27:36.bring it to the executive let alone get it on to the floor of the
:27:37. > :27:42.assembly and have a vote. That's a massive issue about ?5 million a
:27:43. > :27:46.month the Treasury said they will start take from the block grant from
:27:47. > :27:50.January if they can't agree this. He could bring something to the
:27:51. > :27:54.floor of the chamber and it could be blocked by one of the other parties?
:27:55. > :28:00.Which would be disastrous for him. Some people criticised the DUP for
:28:01. > :28:06.not selling the Maze Peace Centre strong enough. Nelson McCausland
:28:07. > :28:10.supports the ethos of what has been proposed by Iain Duncan Smith and by
:28:11. > :28:13.the coalition Government. I think there is really an onus on him to go
:28:14. > :28:17.out and sell it and say this is a good deal if he is going to get
:28:18. > :28:26.people behind him. What have you made of the row over
:28:27. > :28:33.the forthcoming Miss Ulster putty pageant? It -- beauty pageant? It
:28:34. > :28:36.caused me to look at the rules. Delores Kelly seem to be the people
:28:37. > :28:42.who are down as the spondors of this. Today we had Joanne Dobson
:28:43. > :28:47.pull out. It is a throw back to another age. It is not politically
:28:48. > :28:49.correct, but there are all sorts of controversial things going on up
:28:50. > :28:57.here. It will be interesting to see how it
:28:58. > :29:01.ends up. That's it for tonight, but don't
:29:02. > :29:03.forget to join me for The View on Thursday night at 10.35pm on BBC
:29:04. > :29:04.One.