:00:29. > :00:39.Hello, and welcome to Stormont Today. As the Department of Health
:00:39. > :00:43.confirms, another baby is being treated for what appears to be
:00:43. > :00:48.pseudamonis in Wales. We have identified what are a number of
:00:48. > :00:53.potential problems and will be getting a report back tomorrow in
:00:53. > :00:59.terms of the potential for it to come from a water source water.
:00:59. > :01:03.That has been the case elsewhere. It used to lead to catcalls if from
:01:03. > :01:06.Unionists. Now it just makes them laugh. What's so funny? It is the
:01:06. > :01:14.right of any nation to have a mechanism in place to decide their
:01:14. > :01:15.future, and can he assure me that we're still in line for a united
:01:15. > :01:21.Ireland in 2016? LAUGHTER
:01:21. > :01:27.With me throughout, Oliver Wilkinson from the great Healing
:01:27. > :01:32.Through Remembering. Now, the past is a topic that comes
:01:32. > :01:38.up time and again here on the Hill. Oliver Wilkinson is from the
:01:38. > :01:43.organisation Healing Through Remembering. Tell us what you do.
:01:43. > :01:46.We're a voluntary organisation, been in existence about ten years,
:01:46. > :01:51.put simply, our purpose is to discuss and debate issues of how to
:01:51. > :01:55.deal with our past. Is it more than a talking shop? What are you hoping
:01:55. > :01:58.to achieve? Well, we want more and more people to do the kinds of
:01:58. > :02:03.things that the members of our organisation are doing, which is to
:02:03. > :02:07.have very difficult conversations about contentious issues that
:02:07. > :02:14.haven't been discussed in the past in the hope that over time we can
:02:14. > :02:18.ensure that we learn from our past. We can assist and support our
:02:18. > :02:22.elected politicians in determining what's best for our future, and for
:02:22. > :02:26.our children or our grandchildren we can have a much more peaceful
:02:26. > :02:31.outcome. What do you think you have achieved in the ten years you have
:02:31. > :02:36.been in existence? Perhaps the most important thing is we have brought
:02:36. > :02:39.together approximately a hundred people now who come from very
:02:39. > :02:44.different backgrounds and who have been able to have the kind of
:02:44. > :02:48.conversations that simply weren't possible ten years ago. We have
:02:48. > :02:53.made contacts with our political and community leaders right across
:02:53. > :02:57.Northern Ireland and further afield. We have both learnt from them and
:02:57. > :03:00.helped them to see what we're doing they can do in a similar way, and
:03:00. > :03:03.in that way we can begin a conversation which generates over
:03:03. > :03:12.time and makes it possible, as I say, for those difficult
:03:12. > :03:18.conversations that we have avoided and neglected, the Seamus Hainny
:03:18. > :03:22.business of "Whatever say, say nothing" becomes "whatever you say,
:03:22. > :03:26.say something." Thank you. If you fancy being the next Police
:03:26. > :03:30.Ombudsman, sorry, you have missed the deadline. The post was
:03:30. > :03:35.advertised in December to replace Al Hutchinson. A short list is
:03:35. > :03:39.being drawn up for intervurs in February. In the interim, there is
:03:39. > :03:45.an interim ombudsman. Here is highlights from today's questions.
:03:45. > :03:51.We start with that policing issue. Who was consulted on an issue to
:03:51. > :03:59.appoint an interim ombudsman? issue of the interim ombudsman
:03:59. > :04:01.really is the responsibility of the Department of Justice. It's their
:04:02. > :04:08.responsibility to ensure the continuity of the functions of the
:04:08. > :04:12.office of Police Ombudsman. On January 17, the outgoing Police
:04:12. > :04:19.Ombudsman announced his intention to delegate his statutory functions
:04:19. > :04:25.to appropriate levels within his office pending appointment of a new
:04:25. > :04:31.Police Ombudsman. He say announced that he did that in an attempt to
:04:31. > :04:35.wait until the new appointment. This is the third position he's -
:04:35. > :04:41.his latest position is on the basis of legal advice which he has
:04:41. > :04:45.received. His legal advice differs from that provided by the Attorney
:04:45. > :04:50.General to the dodge dodge which we have seen and con-- Department of
:04:50. > :04:55.Justice which we have seen and confirmed that the office of the
:04:56. > :05:03.Police Ombudsman can continue to work. It has caused a stir on this
:05:03. > :05:06.side of the Channel, but what about our own border? I thank the Deputy
:05:06. > :05:10.First Minister for His very comprehensive reply. Does he agree
:05:10. > :05:16.with me it is the right of any nation to have a mechanism in place
:05:16. > :05:24.to decide their future, and can he assure me that we're still in line
:05:24. > :05:27.for a united Ireland in 2016? LAUGHTER
:05:27. > :05:37.I mean - LAUGHTER
:05:37. > :05:37.
:05:37. > :05:45.I have to leave - a supplemented question needs to relate to the
:05:45. > :05:53.original item. This has taken some eggs...
:05:53. > :06:01.I suppose a lot of people will be wondering what the member in the
:06:01. > :06:05.past has done for a united Ireland. Strip searching is under review, as
:06:05. > :06:09.the Justice Minister revealed. Significant progress has been made
:06:09. > :06:15.with regard to the implementation of recommendation 8 of the prison
:06:15. > :06:19.review team. Prison officials conducted a review of both the
:06:19. > :06:23.capabilityabilities and limitations of full body scanners. This review
:06:23. > :06:27.is complete. I received a copy last week, and following discussions
:06:27. > :06:32.with officials, I'll give considerations to the findings of
:06:32. > :06:39.whether there is any scope for a pilot for alternative search
:06:40. > :06:47.capabilitys in prison establishments. Thank you very much.
:06:47. > :06:54.Can I thank the Minister for His answer? Will he give a commitment
:06:55. > :06:58.if the technology which he is appraising at present takes us to a
:06:58. > :07:04.full body search - will he implement it? I can certainly
:07:04. > :07:09.assure the House that if it is possible to find a technology which
:07:09. > :07:12.provides greater dignity for prisoners and staff whilst
:07:12. > :07:17.maintaining the absolute security of prison establishments dealing
:07:17. > :07:22.with the issue of contra band being smuggled in or out, I and the
:07:22. > :07:26.Prison Service will be willing to move. We have already heard the
:07:26. > :07:30.Speaker's comments on supplementary questions that grow legs. It seems
:07:30. > :07:34.it's catching. The Minister will be aware that Colin Duffy was
:07:34. > :07:38.campaigning on this issue at the weekend. Does the Minister want to
:07:38. > :07:41.comment on his release from custody? And what is he doing to
:07:41. > :07:47.reveal how the criminal justice system manage that particular case?
:07:47. > :07:50.THE SPEAKER: Order. Order. A supplementary question. Our members
:07:50. > :07:53.have an imaginaryry mind around all of this, and certainly the
:07:53. > :07:58.supplementary commission has very little to do with the original
:07:58. > :08:05.question. Can I ask the Justice Minister does that indicate he has
:08:05. > :08:08.abandoned futile attempts to change the badge, the name and the symbols
:08:08. > :08:14.of Her Majesty's Prison Service? THE SPEAKER: Order. Order once
:08:15. > :08:17.again. Once again, the member knows - he knows so well he's totally out
:08:17. > :08:20.of order. The question raised to the Minister has absolutely nothing
:08:20. > :08:26.to do with the original question. Let us move on.
:08:26. > :08:36.Now, the Health Minister has told the Assembly he hopes to update the
:08:36. > :08:36.
:08:36. > :08:38.House fully on the ongoing investigation into the outbreak of
:08:38. > :08:42.skeudomonis tomorrow. Three babies have died since the outbreak in
:08:42. > :08:48.January and another is being treated for the infection.
:08:48. > :08:53.All necessary precautions are being taken to avoid the spread of
:08:53. > :08:58.infection. Biodecontamination of the Intensive Care part of the
:08:58. > :09:02.neonatal unit at the hospital is complete. The affected area in the
:09:02. > :09:08.hospital will remain closed while a team of specialists continues to
:09:08. > :09:13.attempt to identify the most likely source of the infection. All other
:09:13. > :09:20.maternity sources and wards of the Royal Jubilee Hospital are fully
:09:20. > :09:25.operational and working as normal. Expectant mothers should attend
:09:25. > :09:34.their appointments as normal. This can be found in natural
:09:34. > :09:38.environments in food and water. Infections are normally seen in
:09:38. > :09:43.immunocompromised patients. These outbreaks have occurred throughout
:09:43. > :09:48.the world as these infections are mainly immunocompromised. The Trust
:09:48. > :09:52.continues to monitor the situation and a teleconference is in progress
:09:52. > :09:57.at present. This is an evolving situation. Further updates will be
:09:57. > :10:01.issued. We have identified a number of potential problems. And we will
:10:01. > :10:07.be getting a report back tomorrow, all being well, in terms of the
:10:07. > :10:14.potential for it to come from a water-sourced problem, and that has
:10:14. > :10:17.been the case in all the outbreaks of pseudomosni elsewhere. We can't
:10:17. > :10:23.at this stage say that's the cause of the problem, but it's certainly
:10:23. > :10:28.one of the areas being investigated. Being a microorganisimism, this can
:10:28. > :10:35.leave in very clean environments, and obviously the whole issue of
:10:35. > :10:38.hand hygiene is absolutely critical not just for staff but also those
:10:38. > :10:42.visiting these facilities. I would urge people to whatever hospital
:10:42. > :10:46.facility they're visiting to actually use best practising as set
:10:46. > :10:50.out by the hospitals because we need to ensure that hospital-
:10:51. > :10:56.acquired infections are reduced and very often that can be members of
:10:56. > :11:04.the public who introduce those infections to the facilities. In
:11:04. > :11:08.terms of this particular facility, we'll continue to identify where
:11:08. > :11:17.this problem has come from. Hopefully, we'll get to the nub of
:11:17. > :11:25.it in the future. We're facing big Fiennes over management of
:11:25. > :11:29.Strangford Lock. The wildlife trust has complained.
:11:29. > :11:34.The Minister joins me now. What sort of fines are we talking about,
:11:34. > :11:37.what sort of figures? Hopefully, there will be no fines, but if we
:11:37. > :11:42.were to find ourselves on the wrong side of the fraction, then the
:11:42. > :11:46.fines would start at around �7 million. That's why I have made it
:11:46. > :11:50.my purpose since I became Minister six or seven months ago to build a
:11:50. > :11:56.much moor robust case about how we're going to deal with the issue
:11:57. > :12:02.of the horse mussels in Strangford Lock, how we're going to protect it
:12:02. > :12:08.going forward, how we're going to avoid further EU fractions against
:12:08. > :12:13.us, and how we're going to further develop that resource, unique in
:12:13. > :12:17.the scale of the protections it has. Some of the criticism has been that
:12:17. > :12:22.they haven't been able to get the department of agriculture to play
:12:22. > :12:28.ball. What's going on? There is no doubt in my point of view if they
:12:28. > :12:34.were in the same room or if indeed the interests, environment,
:12:34. > :12:38.agriculture and fishery were represented through the Marine
:12:38. > :12:42.Organisation Association that manage the loch. These tensions
:12:42. > :12:45.that have existed... You have the same executive table... Yes, but
:12:45. > :12:50.departments are departments, and as we know, sometimes they don't join
:12:50. > :12:55.up very well. Sometimes in the past there have been tensions between
:12:55. > :12:58.those who want to protect the environment and who may want to
:12:58. > :13:03.protect fishery or agricultural interests. In the last six months,
:13:03. > :13:06.I think both departments have been working a lot better in getting a
:13:06. > :13:11.better action plan in order to better deal with the issue of
:13:11. > :13:17.infraction on the one hand and to better protect these very valuable
:13:17. > :13:20.mussel reefs we have in Strangford loch in order to sustain that area
:13:20. > :13:25.of the world and in order to use it in a positive way going forward.
:13:25. > :13:31.has the fishing industry been protected at the expense of the
:13:31. > :13:36.future survival of the lock? If you were to look at it over the last 20
:13:36. > :13:40.years, you conclude no, because trawling has been banned from the
:13:40. > :13:45.loch. That wasn't in the interests of the fishing industry as they saw
:13:45. > :13:51.it. Last year two areas of Strangford Loch became no-fish
:13:51. > :13:55.zones. There are two further areas that will be no-fish zones. If you
:13:55. > :14:00.look at the direction, more and more, there is less and less
:14:00. > :14:04.fishing going on in the loch, partly because there is less fish
:14:04. > :14:07.and partly because the Government has been more robust in stopping
:14:07. > :14:12.fishing because of the damage that has been caused to the reefs, but
:14:12. > :14:17.there is more that we need to do, and I am hoping that the EU
:14:17. > :14:21.authorities when they meet with my officials tomorrow will see there
:14:21. > :14:25.is a new phase of management of the loch to protect the mussels on the
:14:25. > :14:29.one hand, to restore on the other and to ensure that going forward
:14:29. > :14:39.the risk of fines is limited, the protection of the environment is
:14:39. > :14:40.
:14:41. > :14:50.secured and that the fishermen have For the first debate of the day was
:14:51. > :14:54.
:14:54. > :15:00.brought by an unknown. First she had warm wishes for for her fellow
:15:00. > :15:06.members. I wish you all a happy Chinese new year. The eradication
:15:06. > :15:09.of child poverty comes up frequently in the Chamber but some
:15:09. > :15:14.MLAs appeared irritated by the wording of the motion today. Its
:15:14. > :15:21.stated that a quarter of children here live in poverty and called for
:15:21. > :15:27.the education minister to target extra resources at them. The policy
:15:27. > :15:32.has been exposed totally that grammar-schools accept pupils on
:15:32. > :15:37.the basis of their academic ability. The report says that their chances
:15:37. > :15:41.are dictated by the affluence of where they are instead of their
:15:41. > :15:46.actual ability. There are swathes of the north where academic
:15:47. > :15:52.selection is no longer used and in some grammar-schools it has been
:15:52. > :15:59.dropped altogether. Those schools are still of a high quality and
:15:59. > :16:06.continued to deliver for the students. To characterise the Child
:16:06. > :16:16.poverty levels is not just strictly accurate in that sense, I would
:16:16. > :16:16.
:16:16. > :16:22.refer members to report where a drop in absolute child poverty
:16:22. > :16:26.levels was dramatic. I'm not making any particular party political
:16:26. > :16:32.point, but clearly something was done at that time which was right
:16:32. > :16:36.and which was impressive. And we as an Assembly need to examine the
:16:36. > :16:41.work of our predecessors at that time and see what different
:16:41. > :16:46.circumstances exist today. As the proposer of this motion, instead of
:16:46. > :16:54.getting up and addressing the core issues of the heart of these
:16:54. > :16:58.proposals, taking another opportunity to have a go at our
:16:58. > :17:05.educational system, namely the grammar school. Pin it on whoever
:17:05. > :17:09.you like, but do not give any claim to the department that happen to
:17:09. > :17:16.have control over education for the past five years. It is the fault of
:17:16. > :17:23.everyone else. It is regrettable that the tone and content of what
:17:23. > :17:27.he started his proposals with were way off the Mark. Where there was a
:17:27. > :17:32.pupil - teacher ratio of the right side of 30 pupils, there is now the
:17:32. > :17:39.absolute certainty of a pupil - teacher ratio on the wrong side of
:17:39. > :17:42.30 pupils. So the sad reality of life today in our region for
:17:42. > :17:47.children in primary schools from the most deprived backgrounds is
:17:47. > :17:51.that things are worse today than they wear last year. And the
:17:51. > :17:58.unfortunate sad consequence of where we are with our budgeting
:17:58. > :18:02.process is that they are likely to remain in a very bad place. Oliver
:18:02. > :18:06.Wilkinson, the Secretary of State recently asked the parties to come
:18:06. > :18:11.and talk to him about the past. Do think that is worthwhile? What
:18:11. > :18:16.would be a solution to how we properly deal with the past?
:18:16. > :18:21.pleased to see that this issue has come back onto the agenda. It
:18:21. > :18:27.disappeared for quite some time after the Consultative Group on the
:18:27. > :18:33.Past report was all but buried. That is a shame. But if things are
:18:33. > :18:38.beginning to change, and if our political leaders have the courage
:18:38. > :18:42.- and the use that word deliberately - I'm thinking of
:18:42. > :18:52.something risen by an American writer who said his tree, despite
:18:52. > :18:55.
:18:55. > :19:00.its wretched pain, cannot be unlived. But we hope that as our
:19:00. > :19:03.political leaders find the courage to have the kind of conversations
:19:03. > :19:08.that are taking place right across the Community, we may find we do
:19:08. > :19:13.not have to live the horrible history that many of us have had in
:19:13. > :19:19.the past again. So do you think that politicians, because there is
:19:19. > :19:25.a lack of consensus, between the parties, are they out of step with
:19:25. > :19:30.the wider public? I think they are at risk of that. There are very
:19:30. > :19:33.positive conversations taking place, because they needed to take place,
:19:33. > :19:39.at community level so that communities can live together and
:19:39. > :19:45.full-forward. I think politicians are a little bit behind what the
:19:45. > :19:48.community is doing. In November or Basil McCrea stirred up controversy
:19:48. > :19:54.when he proposed that the entire employment and training committee
:19:54. > :19:57.should go on a fact-finding mission to San Diego in California. The
:19:57. > :20:01.City's universities are famed for their research which has become an
:20:01. > :20:11.important economic driver. But the idea was dropped amid complaints
:20:11. > :20:13.
:20:13. > :20:18.that it was a junket. But it may not completely have gone away.
:20:18. > :20:24.You will have noticed some media coverage recently about a possible
:20:24. > :20:32.visit to San Diego. Some members thought it was not a good idea. Do
:20:32. > :20:38.you think it would be important for some people, even not in this
:20:38. > :20:46.committee, that there should be the visit to San Diego for people like
:20:46. > :20:50.ourselves? I cannot comment because I do not
:20:50. > :20:58.understand what is going on with the departments, I cannot comment
:20:58. > :21:07.on whether it is appropriate for up a committee visit. But considering
:21:07. > :21:12.other regions which we can learn from, if I may consider the
:21:12. > :21:19.committee's point of view, just a basic question of should we learn
:21:19. > :21:29.from other regions, I think absolutely. I was in California for
:21:29. > :21:30.
:21:30. > :21:34.three years and spent two years, self funded, because the
:21:34. > :21:40.transformation in that area was incredible. If I had not done that,
:21:40. > :21:44.I would not be here today talking with some knowledge of what was
:21:45. > :21:50.achieved there. What I would urge the committee not to include in
:21:50. > :21:57.criteria up like that is what it cost a couple of extra quid on a
:21:57. > :22:07.plane ticket if the prize is additional GDP. I think that could
:22:07. > :22:11.
:22:11. > :22:17.be forgiven. Apart but the criteria, I thought that was useful. This
:22:17. > :22:23.session is not considering any trip, I make that clear. It is about
:22:23. > :22:33.taking information. For many people there are any concept of poker has
:22:33. > :22:37.
:22:37. > :22:41.come from television and cinema. Looking at poker games in films.
:22:41. > :22:47.Games were players could bet anything they owned, gold watches,
:22:47. > :22:50.title deeds. This could not be further from the game that we love
:22:50. > :22:55.and we play. I would like to highlight the changes in the past
:22:55. > :23:01.40 years which have led us to where we are now. The first important one
:23:01. > :23:05.is the introduction of Tournament Poker. That occurred in Las Vegas
:23:05. > :23:10.in 1970 with the World Series of Poker Tournament being developed to
:23:10. > :23:14.try to find the best poker player in the world. It is essential to
:23:14. > :23:18.know that in a poker tournament there is a flat fee, a fixed fee.
:23:18. > :23:24.The Blairs are given a certain number of chips and the object is
:23:24. > :23:32.try to win them all. The chips do not have a monetary value. It is
:23:32. > :23:37.not possible within the tournament to spend more money. Poker has been
:23:37. > :23:47.with us near enough for ever. Where I grew up there are a number of
:23:47. > :23:49.
:23:49. > :23:55.card games that were played, some to the extreme. But poker is the
:23:55. > :23:59.game that has lasted through most of them. And I know many people in
:23:59. > :24:06.my constituency would go to their friends' houses at the weekend and
:24:06. > :24:10.sit and play poker and enjoyed it. And it is far from some people's
:24:10. > :24:17.impressions of a group of men sitting in a room drinking and
:24:17. > :24:25.smoking. As a matter of fact, most people playing cards and especially
:24:25. > :24:29.poker, do it alcohol-free. Politicians love their memoirs.
:24:29. > :24:35.Even if sometimes they are notoriously hard for booksellers to
:24:35. > :24:40.shift. Unless it is Thatcher or Tony Blair. More often than not the
:24:40. > :24:46.bargain bucket beckons. All the Zane the latest politician to tell
:24:46. > :24:51.all his Peter Hain. Remember him? The permatan secretary of state.
:24:51. > :24:55.was a man of with a long and interesting career and these will
:24:55. > :25:02.be interesting memoirs. He was secretary of state here for a time
:25:02. > :25:06.and spent most of his time trying to persuade the DUP to go into
:25:06. > :25:11.government with Sinn Fein. He reveals that he used a kind Paisley
:25:11. > :25:16.Junior as a way to get to Ian Paisley senior, to persuade him to
:25:16. > :25:20.do the deal with Sinn Fein. Where Sinn Fein is concerned he said that
:25:20. > :25:25.at that time the leadership was weary and he felt this was the only
:25:25. > :25:30.point, that if they did not do a deal then, the entire project would
:25:30. > :25:36.have been in vain. Peter Hain had some interesting reflections on our
:25:36. > :25:40.political leaders, past and present. He doesn't eat. The aforementioned
:25:40. > :25:46.Ian Paisley senior described as a real gentleman with old fashioned
:25:46. > :25:51.manners. Peter Robinson said to be the brains behind the DUP and an
:25:51. > :25:56.astute tactician. No surprise there. Martin McGuinness also, well-
:25:56. > :26:01.mannered and polite and always asking after family, but not such a
:26:01. > :26:06.flattering portrait of the Alliance leader David Ford who is described
:26:06. > :26:11.as, pernickety, quick to take offence at some imagined slight and
:26:11. > :26:15.in many ways the least flexible of them all. I'm sure it is not an
:26:15. > :26:19.opinion that David Ward would have of himself. Last week Peter
:26:19. > :26:26.Robinson said he wanted to see a single Unionist Party and today we
:26:26. > :26:31.hear of some contact between the two parties. Well David McNarry,
:26:31. > :26:37.the Ulster Unionist MLA, described Peter Robinson as an obstacle to
:26:37. > :26:43.Unionist unity in the past. But now he says that some of the two
:26:43. > :26:46.parties have been in talks. He says one of those involved is the DUP
:26:46. > :26:52.finance minister at Sammy Wilson. And he further tells us that since
:26:52. > :27:00.the election, the Ulster Unionists only minister, Danny Kennedy, has
:27:00. > :27:03.been going to briefings with DUP ministers. He spoke to Danny
:27:03. > :27:08.Kennedy this afternoon and he confirmed that this was an option
:27:08. > :27:14.open to him since the election. He said he did not always necessarily
:27:14. > :27:18.a tent and he declined to comment further or do an interview. Some
:27:18. > :27:24.Debi MLAs have not been hiding their displeasure at what has been
:27:24. > :27:28.revealed. So watch this space. We have not been able to speak to Tom
:27:28. > :27:32.Elliot, the current party leader, because he has been in Scotland. It
:27:32. > :27:36.will be interesting to see what he can tell us when he returns will
:27:36. > :27:40.start we hear a lot about international truce commissions,
:27:40. > :27:46.but there's no guarantee that people who take part in such a
:27:46. > :27:51.commission would tell the truce? There is not. And I suppose when we
:27:51. > :27:55.look at events like the South African truth Commission we can see
:27:55. > :28:00.that there are many flaws in something like that, as there are
:28:00. > :28:04.positives. I think we can do it better. With leadership from our
:28:04. > :28:09.political leaders and with the full participation of our community, we
:28:09. > :28:16.can find a truth which helps to heal and helps the Community to
:28:16. > :28:20.move forward into a time when we would be able to look back and see
:28:20. > :28:25.the things of the past as being of the past and with a much brighter
:28:25. > :28:29.future for our children. Thank you for being our guest this evening.