23/01/2017 Stormont Today

Hello and welcome to Stormont Today on what was the penultimate day

of debate in the Assembly chamber in this shorter than

Last week, one MLA suggested the clock was counting

down with a whimper, but today there was still plenty

of important business to be discussed on the hill.

Sinn Fein unveiled its new Stormont leader and in the chamber MLAs spent

more than six hours discussing the Renewable Heat

So, coming up on tonight's programme...

She's just into the top job and weeks from an election,

but Michelle O'Neill is already sure how she wants to move forward.

Accusations after the RHI scandal rumble on during another marathon

Agreements must be honoured. Partnership government must mean

exactly that. Accusations after the RHI scandal

rumble on during another marathon I am suspended from the party for

telling the truth about people in the front bench and those behind

them are guilty of far more serious inappropriate relationships and

behaviour than I am. And joining me with his thoughts

on another busy day in the Assembly is our Political Correspondent,

Enda McClafferty. Everyone knew it would

be announced today - but no-one could be absolutely sure

who it would be. Sinn Fein named Martin McGuinness's

successor as party leader north of the border and,

as the bookies had been suggesting in recent days,

it was indeed Michelle O'Neill Here's what she had to say to party

activists and the media just after lunchtime,

and just to warn you there is some For me to be selected to lead our

party in the North is truly the biggest honour and privilege of my

life. I feel an enormous responsibility on my shoulders and

while I do not are never underestimate my task given the

changing political work locally, nationally and internationally, I

will not let you down. These are challenging times and we have set

ourselves a big objectives, but Republicans have never been afraid

of a challenge. I have never been afraid of challenge and I have never

been afraid to act. As Sinn Fein Minister for agriculture and rural

development I decentralised an entire government department, Lock,

stock and barrel. When the system told me it could not be done. As

Minister for health I ended the DUP's discrimination against gay men

donating blood and I did it because it was the right thing to do. Over

the course of the last number of weeks, one others have shouted from

the sidelines, it was Sinn Fein who stood up and confronted corruption.

It was Sinn Fein who called a halt to the arrogance and intolerance. In

the aftermath of the election, there can and there will be no return to

the status quo. What does that mean? It means Sinn Fein are only

interested in participating in a power-sharing institutions if they

deliver for all of our citizens and if they operate on the basis of

equality and respect. Agreements must be honoured. Commitments must

be delivered. Partnership government must mean exactly that. It means

that regardless of where you come from, what language you speak, what

your sexuality is, what gender you are, that you are treated with

respect. Michelle O'Neil according

to Martin McGuinness has been Unlike him she does not have an IRA

past, but did we learn anything It was interesting but Martin

McGuinness took some time to set out Republican pedigree before regard to

the point when he talked about her role in leadership. He talked about

her father, he was a Republican prisoner. He was a councillor in

Dungannon. We know her uncle is involved in the movement which

fundraisers for Sinn Fein. We also knows that a cousin of hers was an

IRA man shot dead by the SS. She takes a lot of the boxes when it

comes to grassroot Republicans and what they would like to see in terms

of her past and family. There are big challenges piling up

in Michelle O'Neill's in-tray. There will be a short honeymoon

period because she has this election to fight and she knows she will be

in charge of a much smaller party at Stormont because of the fact that

you can analyse will not be returning after George II. She knows

the group would be smaller, but she also knows that the party faces a

big challenge from people before profit in west Belfast and in foil.

She knows in foil the party will be facing a bit of a dogfight for the

last seat because we know Eamon McCann pulled well last time and we

know Martin McGuinness is not on the ballot paper and that could have a

big bearing on the outcome of the election and it could come down to

the last seat between Sinn Fein and people before profit. There are

areas like that when the chalets will face a big fight.

We know the DUP in the last election used the prospect

of Martin McGuinness becoming First Minister to mobilise

its voters, what happens with that this time around,

now that there's a new leader in charge?

The so-called bogeyman is gone for the DUP because last time they built

their campaign around Martin McGuinness as being the big threat

to them in terms of becoming First Minister. This time round I would

imagine the tactic would be different because it is Michelle

O'Neill they are taking on. You can hear the language already talking

about taking on the Republican agenda. It is not about

personalities, it is about the republican movement as a whole in

terms of what they want at Stormont around the Irish lumberjack and

other bills they are proposing to take forward to which unionists

would have difficulty with. That will beat the strategy employed by

the DUP. Here in Northern Ireland, three of the main parties are led by

women. We have Michelle O'Neill, Arlene Foster and Naomi Long. Very

clear in here. Mary Lou McDonald was here as well. You could see that

this felt like a changing of the guard within Sinn Fein. Gerry Adams

is likely to handover party Mary Lou McDonald at some stage. Martin

McGuinness has done that with Michelle O'Neill. We could see the

three big party figures on the island of Ireland in the not too

distant future. It is significant. MLAs spent most of today debating

the plan by the economy minister to cut ?490 million loss to the public

purse of the renewable heating scheme.

The debate started in the chamber a week ago, but was halted to give

The design process by officials and consultants field. The business case

scrutiny process did not identify the problems. All of the evidence

given to the committee did not inform the recommendation. Remember,

the committee recommended the design of this. This house, all of the

parties across this house supported the original, flawed, scheme. The

member might recall that party colleague, William McCrea, used to

sing a little song called excuses, excuses. Does that not some up

exactly her speech and that of Mr done this morning? Trying to spread

the blame to everyone else and running away from the reality. It

was Arlene Foster and Arlene Foster alone who was the minister and alone

signed of this scheme without the cost controls. No matter who else

you might try to smear, that is the irreducible reality. Thank you for

your comment in relation to this. I had hoped you would have listened to

what I have said and what I said was this, this is not, all of the

evidence, I do think this has to go above and beyond party politics. We

have got to step back and look objectively at the evidence before

us. At the evidence in front of the DAC. The evidence we have all heard.

This was not the feeling of a single individual. Indeed, I listened to

the permanent Secretary, Doctor Andrew McCormick, he was at

committee earlier today and effectively what he was saying was

what we have here is the best available. Very different from good,

very different from sound, solid, as good as it gets. Just, within the

context, this is the best available. I think that is a fair assessment. I

would also say Doctor McCormick has done more than anybody I have heard

over the last number of weeks to try to maintain the integrity of these

devolved institutions and I thank him for that. Today, the committee

had the opportunity to shift their position from them did the

regulations to prevent the regulations. They did not. The

minister did not turn up. The member needs to be unaware that her party

did vote against the proposal to close the scheme last February. That

is a fact. You can say you like, you voted against that, as did the

Ulster Unionist party, the closure of the scheme, despite repeated

warnings about the cost that was going to be accrued and lost to the

public purse. Your party voted against closing the scheme. The

simple fact. I know you want at the time, so it is not your fault. Your

party as a party and other members who are still here and you were here

last year did vote to oppose the scheme. On that date, when the SDLP

presented themselves here, they, like other members in this house,

were very mindful that the quick execution and the early closure of

that scheme was placing legitimate businesses and legitimate access to

the scheme, that was putting them at risk, because there were people who

had signed up to a very good, worthwhile scheme at that stage. I

will finish my point. A very good, worthwhile scheme at that time.

Those businesses were in the process of realising orders coming into

their businesses. They were in the process of installing these boilers

and, again, I repeat, with the measures in place that should have

been there from the outset. So, your little red Herring has just died.

For the avoidance of any doubt that people would say to me that he did

not speak until very late, I have a letter to the First Minister. A

letter to Arlene Foster dated 23rd of March 20 16. Three pages of a

four, I give her my permission to put into the Assembly library and

make public. The first paragraph of that, after the introduction, was in

the renewable heat initiative. The first paragraph refers to the fact

that the special advisers advised me to keep the scheme open. All of the

difficulties in the 23rd of March 2016, given to Arlene Foster. It

surprises me when you see the contents of this letter that I am

suspended from the party for telling the truth while people on the front

bench and those behind them are guilty of far more serious,

inappropriate relationships and behaviour than I am. Far more

serious. We have a prize in one hand of some reduction in the public

spend, but we have the risk on the other hand of litigation, of

judicial review and a further waste of public money on expensive legal

challenges. With publication of the Auditor General report ought last

October with the publication of the PricewaterhouseCoopers report, they

could have brought forward the food plan the public deserves. Could he

explain why he, as committee chairman, has been absent from the

committee for the economy and by his two party colleagues have not

bothered to turn up? If his only issue with Sinn Fein is our

attendance at committee meetings when we recognised the full scale of

the impact in terms of these institutions, in terms of public

finance, in terms of public confidence that this scheme has

brought to this Assembly then the member is living in cloud cuckoo

land. This has been a disastrous scheme from start to finish. The

Handling has been disastrous, they provoked -- B proposal is not the

proposition outlined by the First Minister a couple of weeks ago. This

is a sticking plaster The real scandal here is that while

we have people unable to heat their homes and struggling to feed their

family, we have Barnes being raided by the police, empty Barnes, Mr

Speaker, with steam rising off them in the snow. I want that to stop. We

will not block these proposals today, despite our serious

reservations, and I hope that these proposals are a success, not for the

Minister and not for his party, but for the sake of the public who

ultimately are paying the price for this debacle, though they carry none

of the responsibility for it. I, am I department, have cooperated fully

with the Department of Finance and asked -- answered all questions and

queries and provided all requested information and yet no approval has

been forthcoming. The business case process is there to assess value for

money and also regularity and I understand that there have been no

issues raised in respect of either. I know the Finance minister is just

coming into the house and I would be happy to give way to him if he was

to offer approval for the scheme. The areas of concern remain state

aid approval and the fact that we do not have state aid approval. I know

that the commission has been contacted. I do have some concerns

in that regard. The scheme can't kick off on April one without the

stated approval. Also, as the Minister knows, major concerns

around the inspection regime, and I'm sure the Minister will accept

and it will be in his narrative later that without rigorous, robust,

100% inspections, this interim solution will fall. I don't have a

business plan for the inspections regime, I do think it is like a

horse and carriage, both go together. The Minister knows that

state aid approval cannot be sought, and will not be given unless there

is both public finance approval and approval of this house. I am

reluctant to say it is a chicken and egg type situation given the issue

we are debating, but it is. The inspection regime minister is also

well aware of our intentions in respect of taking forward a tender

for 100% site inspection, and I will give him the commitment to continue

to work with his officials, as long as they response to that in good

faith and does keep this issue politics three, which is

unfortunately not a conclusion at this stage.

And that motion eventually passed on an oral vote.

There was just one question time today, education.

Questions were supposed to be asked of the Executive Office,

but despite Michelle O'Neill getting the new top job in Sinn Fein,

neither the First nor Deputy First Minister's positions

So, Peter Weir was the lone Minister facing the Assembly.

I am disappointed that the NUS UWT are engaged in ongoing industrial

action. A recognised negotiating forum for teachers terms and

conditions as the teachers negotiating Council that the

department represents. It is made up of representatives from the Northern

Ireland teaching Council, comprising the five teaching unions and the

management size which comprises representatives from education

authority, C CMS, sectoral interests and the Department. Management side

meets regularly with the teaching Council as part of its work on TMC

and it is committed to moving forward in a constructive fashion.

Can you outline any actions you are taken to ensure teachers will be

adequately played -- paid and work on the conditions and appropriate

support to deliver education for our children and young people. Number of

things in relation to that. In terms of workload there is a key issue

that has been raised by a lot of teachers with May and whenever we

have sought anything from schools and collated responses in terms of

not simply where there could be additional responsibility or

opportunity, but a greater level of flexibility for schools. Why it was

sore, not simply that, but also in terms of suggestions of easing

burdens. It is a tight financial situation and looking well began

these burdens on schools and teachers is important as well. I am

also a bit disappointed for those unions that have taken the view of

non-spike action -- strike action that there is an impact in terms of

non-cooperation around the Inspectorate that can impact on

pupils learning. As regards the broader financial situation I think

it is important that there is a focus of where we move from 2017

because it isn't a big pot of money sitting somewhere that is ready to

be paid to make up for what has happened to date. With the Minister

agree that the potential for a resolution to teachers Bay has been

compromised due to the shenanigans in this assembly? Is the Minister

confident a resolution with some post-election when he abandoned his

post? I am not sure that abandoning is quite the right word on that side

of things, although clearly we have had in terms of issues around the

broader perspective, the fact that the executive has been collapsed by

one party and in particular it has been done ahead of any budget

settlement is not helpful to the overall situation. I think the

opportunity for a greater level of resolution and a greater level of

result the Matiz that people look forward to 2017 and is not realistic

that there is a pot of money out there to cover the situation between

2015 and now, or to backdate that. It is the case that it is not just a

question of finding a one-off pot. If you make changes to the pay and

conditions it is actually having a long-term impact in terms of school

budgets and it places a level of pressure on the baselines within

that so that must be borne in mind. I think the opportunities for that

will be potentially looking forward to 2017. The reality is wait it is

myself or someone else impose the issues remain the same. I think

simply a belief that if there is a change of personality is that it

will suddenly make resolution very easy, I don't think, I think that in

many ways misunderstands the nature of the problem.

Peter Weir on the continuing stand-off on teachers' pay.

The day's business opened with a Matter of the Day

about the gun attack on a police officer in North Belfast last night.

The officer was shot at least twice in the arm while in a car

MLAs united in their condemnation of the shooting.

It could easily have been talking about death here today, and a family

suffering that death, instead of hopefully the recovery that we are

going to see. It could also have been in the open court of the

Garrard, other people killed or maimed in that. Let me condemn it

absolutely and let me also say as a representative for the area and all

the other representatives of that area will be in one voice that

people that vote for us, and I mean that right across the board, are

absolutely opposed to the people who are involved in this. There are many

issues that divide us in this house but it is clear today that there is

an issue that unites us, and that is our unreserved condemnation of what

took place last night. The truth this violence has no place in our

society. All it serves to do is to create heartache, pain and

suffering, and as each and every one of us in this house knows, there are

far too many families in our constituencies who endure that pain

and suffering on a daily basis. This was not an attack on an individual

police officer or an attack on the PSNI, this was an attack on our

entire community. It says all that we need to know about the kind of

people who were involved, that they would attempt to kill a person who

was serving their community and do so with such reckless disregard for

the community in which they serve. These people are nothing but

despicable cowards. They have nothing to offer the people of

Northern Ireland. Mr Speaker, I have no doubt that this attack was

intended to kill. Thankfully the officer is in a stable condition but

we could have been hearing the loss of life this morning. This is not

just an attack on our police service, it is an attack on the

community, an attack on our country. It was reckless, multiple automatic

rounds fired into a public safe -- space and I am disgusted. This is

the first shooting of a police officer that eight years in Northern

Ireland, clearly an attempt by evil people to kill police and also the

general public. Totally random and indiscriminate, as others have said,

gunfire into a forecourt of a Garrard Jinnah built-up area -- a

forecourt of a garaged. There were 12 members of the general public and

the police there at the time. This is my last opportunity to speak to

this assembly. Some of you may be glad to know that I am retiring from

politics, but I hope that in the next assembly no politician has to

stand up and condemn a murderous attack on a police officer. Anyone

who is prepared to wear the uniform should get the support of this

assembly. I pledge my support to the Police Service of Northern Ireland,

incorporating the Royal Ulster Constabulary, and I hope that

everyone else does. Ross Hussey, who said he'll not be

standing for re-election. We return now to the Sinn Fein news

conference and before handing over the reins of power Martin McGuinness

gave a little more insight into why he was stepping down and thanked

Ian Paisley for comments he made on last week's edition of The View,

and again there were plenty of cameras flashing

as Mr McGuinness spoke. I had made a decision well in

advance of the particular circumstances that affect me at the

moment, that come May eight of this year, that would've been the tenth

anniversary of going into government with Ian Paisley, that that was the

right time for me to stand aside, so that a decision that I would have

stood by. Circumstances have intervened, the calling of the

election, the scandals that have existed, and of course we find

ourselves in a situation where it is physically impossible for me to

continue until May the 8th and I regret that very much because I have

very fond memories of working with Ian Paisley for that year that he

was in the office. I have very fond memories of not just building a

positive working relationship with him but we actually built a

friendship that was a real friendship that lasted until the day

he died, and they also want to pay tribute to Ian Paisley Junior and to

Eileen Paisley, Ian 's wife Andy Carroll Paisley for their remarks

during the course of last week. They are all good friends, and they are

all people who like Ian were very dedicated and committed to the

success of the peace process. Martin McGuinness speaking

in Stormont's Long And let's have a final

word from Enda. No surprise that Mr McGuinness

should show his gratitude to the Paisley family for their warm

words about him last week, Enda. Yes, this was his first opportunity

to publicly acknowledge what was said by Ian Paisley, Kyle Paisley

and Baroness Paisley. What Ian Paisley told you on the view last

week. He was also listening to Kyle Paisley 's interview on BBC Radio

four as well of the interview with Baroness Paisley on talkback and it

is clear from what he had to say that his relationship with them runs

very deep and as he talked about there whenever Dr Paisley was in

hospital and they exchanged texts and so on, so it is pretty clear

that what was said by the Paisley struck a chord with Martin

McGuinness. We heard today that the Ulster

Unionist Ross Hussey Well, Ross Hussey would say himself

that he is in poor health and he needs to get to need replacements

and he said in a statement today that that is why he has decided to

step down because he knows it will be a long recovery period for that

and he will essentially be out of politics during that time so it has

taken the decision now that he would be better out outside of politics to

allow time to recover but of course he was a subject of a sting

operation by a Sunday newspaper some months ago when he sent nude photos

of himself to an undercover reporter Andy talked about it today described

as an indiscretion but he said that was not why he was stepping down

from politics, it was purely on the grounds of the South. -- of his

health. And also missing from the chamber

will be the SDLP's Gerry Mullan. He's being replaced on the ballot

paper in East Londonderry by his predecessor, John Dallat,

but all is not well Yes, that's for sure. It's not the

first time we have said that, coming up to an election there seems to be

infighting within the SDLP. It comes down to a clash of personalities

between these men and it goes back to the employment of John Downer 's

daughter in Gerry Mullins office and he employed her when he took over

from John Dallek in the last election and she was let go from the

office and that did not go well with that family and they stopped

speaking from that particular point forward. Now the opportunity is come

round again for him to put his hat in the ring again and there was an

interview panel over the weekend that decided who would run and John

Downer came out on top there and Jerry Mullin is unhappy and says he

is disappointed and taking legal advice. We know he has been in storm

on talking to the party leader and let him know about what is

happening. This is not good for the party because if they are to retain

their seat in East Londonderry they need all their foot soldiers on the

ground in the last thing they can afford right now is to be not

pulling in the same direction for the various workers who do work on

the ground. Interesting times, that is for sure.

The Assembly is sitting tomorrow and we'll have a Stormont Today

So for now, from everyone in the team, good night.

The View holds politicians to account and we ask

the questions that our audiences want answers to.

We reflect what's happening in the political world but I think we also

set the agenda in the interviews that we conduct on the programme.

I always assume that an interviewee is telling the truth