24/01/2012 Stormont Today


24/01/2012

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Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. And while Oscar may have nodded in

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the direction of Northern Ireland with a short film nomination and

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yet another nod for Kenneth Branagh, which of our MLAs has been giving

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the best performance? Here's Mike Nesbitt doing

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bewilderment. Or would you prefer the angry young

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man type? What is the response? Let as Ram it

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through, not bother with due process. Get rid of the committee

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stage because we know best. And my leading man tonight,

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economist John Simpson. The economic reports remain pretty

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bleak. John Simpson can give us his analysis of the picture. I

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mentioned the Oscars and the creative industries and along with

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tourism, those are the green shoots? Tourism gets good muddles

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and Sammy Wilson does as well in terms of being in charge of finance.

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Tourism is followed by the food industry doing quite well. The

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construction industry is at the bottom and manufacturing. So the

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economy is worrying but it is not all worrying. A so the Programme

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for Government has been well digest it now, a week on the right track

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to some kind of recovery? Programme for Government on the

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economic side particularly is a big improvement. But it is still to

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aspirational. I think we will see many arguments about what they mean

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by the different state friends and what they are doing to make them

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come to life. Where are the jobs and the skilled people going to

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come from? All these things we are waiting for. But with the finance

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minister's economic background, he should be the man best placed for

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it? Sammy Wilson does have a background in economics and indeed

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teaching that he needs to be careful that he does not let his

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emotion carry him away from some logic. I think we might be thinking

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in different directions about the rates changes. A Taps and sinks are

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being replaced at the Royal's neo- natal unit after an inspection

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uncovered the source of the fatal pseudomonas outbreak. The new taps

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will have an ultra-violet light feature, which will kill bacteria.

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Here's the minister Edwin Poots making his second statement to

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members in as many days. Firstly there has been some

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concerns about the impact of this a brake on the ability to maintain

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neonatal provincial and in Northern Ireland. At present the neonatal

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network is managing well. However the number of babies requiring

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neonatal care can change from hour to hour. Well established

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arrangements are in place to make sure that when babies require it

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they can be translated to different units in Northern Ireland or

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another part of the UK or Republic of Ireland. I want to reassure

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women that delivery wards and all other services are operating as

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normal. Expectant mothers should attend appointments as scheduled. I

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wish to thank staff across the health sector for their continued

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dedication and commitment in caring for babies at this difficult time.

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I know all staff across the entire health sector work tirelessly to

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provide a safe and caring environment for patients and I

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would express my gratitude to the Mall. In addition I pay tribute to

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the work of the Public Health Agency in providing expert advice

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and to the Health and Social Care Board as they ensure that neonatal

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services remain available for babies.

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Now the source has been identified, questions are being asked about how

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the contaminated water reached the babies. There's also the further

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matter of the death of a baby in Altnagelvin before Christmas. The

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Chief Medical Officer, Michael McBride, told me what the

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Department of Health did after the death. When the identified the

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incident at Altnagelvin and became aware that it was apparently

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related to a tap within the unit, week issued the guidance again to

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all the Trusts across Northern Ireland reminding them again of the

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information that we have previously issued. But there was no sense at

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that stage that the taps should have been checked? I think it was

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fair to say we had high standards of infection control across all

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intensive care units. So there is no suggestion that we had a problem

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and indeed prior to these outbreaks, every indication was that all of

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the arrangements currently in place were working well. Clearly once we

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get the a brick under control there will be the opportunity to ask

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questions around, are the things that we could or should have done

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differently? Those are questions for another time. But it is

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important that we look back on this experience and particularly the

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tragic consequences, and ask those questions. What are the lesson that

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we can learn? What are the steps we can take to ensure that this does

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not happen again, to the best of our ability. Do you drink it could

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have been prevented? I would be speculating, we need to investigate

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in some detail the causes, the possible contributory factors. We

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do need to provide those answers in due course because the last thing

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we want is for this to occur again. Could more have been done between

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the baby dying in Altnagelvin to the three babies dying in the

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Royal? I suspect the answer to that question would be yes. Will the

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committee now be asking for further details or will you wait for the

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outcome of the inquiry? I think it would be prudent to wait for the

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outcome of the inquiry but we will be keeping a close eye on this. One

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of my committee colleague asked if taps would be replaced in other

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neonatal unit snout as a result of finding the second source and I

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think the answer to that question should be yes, it should be carried

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out as quickly as possible. Is a hospital fit for purpose? Does this

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raised questions about the new children's hospital that was

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planned some time ago? Question time can often be a bad

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tempered hour, but not today, with the regional development minister

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in fine form. Also up this afternoon was the social

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development minister, Nelson McCausland, who managed to upset

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one member. But let's start with Danny Kennedy taking a question

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from a party colleague. The minister will be aware in his

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own network Transport report that average journey times through

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Ballynahinch where as low as just under eight miles an hour. Would

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the minister agreed that this has a serious adverse effect on

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businesses, tourism, commuters across the South Down area?

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grateful to the member for his supplementary question and his

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interest in this particular scheme. I have had many occasions to travel

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through Ballynahinch and also enjoy the facilities offered by

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Ballynahinch in terms of shopping and other facilities. And I want to

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stress that it would be my hope and intention that we could proceed

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with a Ballynahinch bypass as quickly as possible. I'm interested

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as roads minister in upgrading the network of roads throughout

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Northern Ireland. Ian am listening closely and have taken the

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opportunity to meet with local representatives from that area,

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advocating that scheme. Also with business people. I am aware of the

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arguments and it is a matter of moving this scheme forward as

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quickly as we can. I thank the Minister for his response. I

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noticed the minister was indeed in my constituency last Wednesday

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morning. And he had a number of representatives around him. I was

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in the office dealing with constituents but he never thought

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of coming and saying, come out and talked to us. Things were just as

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highly charged as the next topic came up - electric cars. I am

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impressed by the minister's illuminating answer. But could I

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ask him to throw some more light on how people could actually be

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encouraged to take that first tentative step to requiring

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electric powered vehicles? I thank the member and as usual he is not

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plugged in, he is sometimes wired up! There are specific charge.

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Locations which have been identified throughout Northern

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Ireland. Each of these will have two dedicated car park spaces which

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will be located in priority car park locations. And of course home

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and workplace charging will be charged under existing home and

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workplace pictures the bills. We are putting in place the mechanism

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to allow people to take up this scheme and perhaps a bale of it.

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Electric vehicles are now just coming onto the market and the plug

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in car Grant allows buyers to receive a grant of 25% towards the

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cost. Up to a maximum of �5,000. social development it was

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homelessness and increased levels of repossession that had the

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interest of members. Here is the minister responding to Paul Maskey.

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We are not yet clear are the implications of welfare reform so

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it is impossible to predict precisely where we will be. But I

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think the proposals we're bringing forward will adopt a comprehensive

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approach to deliver what we need in the next period.

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I thank the Minister for his reply. In relation to giving his answer to

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the members already, he made reference to a wider ranging

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definition of homelessness. Especially those people who

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unfortunately find themselves on the street. What is the Minister

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and the Department looking at in the chick here in relation to that

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issue and straw and the distinction between that type of definition and

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people who have their property repossessed? The first question

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their around how many are actually homeless and the meaning of

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homelessness, under the Housing Law in 1988 a prisoners' home as if

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they have no accommodation. Furthermore a person can be treated

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as homeless even if they have accommodation that may not be fit

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for their needs or have a double. Last year more than 10,000 people

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on the waiting list were assessed in this manner but I stress this

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does not mean they're actually homeless. People assessed as

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homeless may be living in temporary accommodation, staying with friends

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or even in many cases, living in their own home. The Housing

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Executive estimate approximately 10 people sleep rough on streets of

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Belfast on any given night but members must realise that this is

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by their own choice if they can describe it like that. Often their

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folk who are living with circumstances and situations. No

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one needs to be sleeping on the streets and there is enough

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accommodation across Northern Ireland for anyone who needs it.

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pilot pay-as-you-go scheme for people using home heating oil has

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started recently but Mike Nesbitt had a query. I thank the Minister.

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Returning to the Pay As You Go pilot scheme, could the Minister of

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for clarity on the ownership of the heating oil in domestic tanks using

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this technology and in the event of theft, who would bear the risk, the

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During the pilot scheme the tank will be fitted with an antique

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Tampa device. -- Antique tampering device. Mike Nesbitt said he was

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appalled at the number of times ministers ignored questions. He

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said it was an abuse of democracy. Obviously welfare reform is going

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to be a huge issue for all of us in the coming weeks and months.

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have seen what happened in the House of Lords with regard to the

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debate on maximum benefits. Northern Ireland was left out of

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the discussion, but we all know what that means. Parity will have

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to be kept with what is happening across the water otherwise the

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Budget will be in difficulty. We will be hearing much more

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discussion about the impact of the cut in off their benefits. It is

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the situation where Hobson's Choice will have to do. Is Stormont the

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visitor attraction it could be? Are nationalists put off coming to

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parliament buildings because of Lord Carson's statue? Well, it

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seems there is evidence that it's not as cross-community as it could

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be. Here's Martina to explain. According to the latest minutes of

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the Assembly committee, they have commissioned an audit to see

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whether Stormont is welcoming enough. It has been suggested in

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the minutes that people are not coming to Stormont because their

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culture is not been reflected. Previous reports have indicated

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that Unionists are more likely to visit Stormont. This audit has been

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going on and efforts had been made to make sure of symbols and

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language are more reflective of nationalists.

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Money is tight. You have heard about some changes that could be

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made. Yes. There are issues around the childcare scheme here. It is

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thought it is to generous and people who use it should move to

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the voucher scheme. With me now is Sinn Fein's Barry

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McElduff. How do you know there are more Protestants than couplets that

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visit Parliament Buildings? A survey was carried out in 2009

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and it demonstrated that in the West, 10 % of the people surveyed

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said they had been to Stormont. In the greater Belfast area the figure

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is 39 %. Unionists tend to identify greater with the building the brand

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do nationalists of historical reasons. But things are changing.

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This evening, Belfast Community Gospel Choir are in the long haul.

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Progress is being made. As a commission member, I am duty-bound

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to push this agenda a little bit more and tried to have more out

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reach to places like Tyrone and Fermanagh, so people feel

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comfortable about coming to Stormont. Is there not an issue of

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distance? Yes, but Stormont is not Irish language friendly. If he were

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to go to the Welsh Assembly, the Scottish parliament, you will see

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institutional reflection of languages. You do not see that here

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at Stormont parliament buildings, and you are talking about where

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there is a burgeoning Ivey school movement. People coming here would

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like tours in at the Irish medium. I am not saying I am facing a brick

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wall, but this is typically the stuff of debate at the Commission.

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Is it just about language, or would you prefer to see other symbols

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around the building, something along the lines of the flak?

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would like to see neutrality or equality. Perhaps along with the

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Lord Carson statue they could be because of other prominent Irish

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men or women. These are the things which I think the commission should

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have a serious discussion around. Thank you for joining us.

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The Rates Bill is passing though the House using accelerated passage.

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This means a Bill can pass through all stages in as little as ten days

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instead of the usual months as it skips the committee stage. Jim

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Allister questioned the Finance's Ministers motives for using this

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process, but Sammy Wilson was adamant it was the right way.

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The key measures contained within the Bell Rock arm important on a

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number of levels, not at least due to the fact that the funding will

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allow a number of businesses receiving help to be roughly

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doubled and the level of support increased by around 50 %. Given

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that help is needed now, the funding raised through the levy, it

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would be pure show if we did not implement the measures until 2013

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what we hope the recovery will be on the way. For that reason, it is

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important the motion go through by accelerated passage rather than

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take the normal route. The use of accelerated passage is not

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something that I take lightly and having been on the other side of

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the process as the chairman of a committee and as a backbench member,

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I fully understand why people and members would wish to have the

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opportunity to properly deal with legislation to the scrutiny, which

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normally takes place line by line and the committee. And I also

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recognise that it is a means of ensuring that legislation is fit

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for purpose and when we finish, we have the best piece of legislation

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possible. How were there, it is important we balance again that --

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against that these packages are focussing on taking the strain from

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businesses during the economic downturn and insuring a further

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decline in the high streets is halted. For that reason, I believe

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it is important that we get the measure through the assembly

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quickly so that it can be in place for the start of the rate year in

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2012. If there had been the urgency, if there had been the anxiety, it

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could have manifested itself a lot sooner than now. It is not that we

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have had time because since this committee and assembly came into

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existence, we have been wasting time. This is the first legislation

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apart from the hang of the budget that has come before this House and

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what is the response of the Special Operations Executive? Let us push

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it through. Let us not bother with due process. There are other

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private members' motions that we could bear to spend our time on. I

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do pick it sends out a very wrong and disappointing, but to me not

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surprising message, from this House. We can't wait to avoid it due

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process, we can't avoid to rush it and accelerate its, whether it is

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exceptional or not. Well, despite Mr Allister's

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protests the Bill did move to it's second stage. The Finance Minister

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explained to the House that the legislation will allow him to

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introduce a 15% levy on the largest shops, which will help fund a small

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business rate relief scheme. There was general agreement for the plan,

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but members reminded the Minister they would hold him to his promise

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of a full non domestic rate revaluation in 2015. It is

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important to look at these changes in proportion. The levy, first of

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all, is a temporary change and it will only last for three years. On

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average, the levy will cost about �66,000 per year, Per store. That

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represents again on average 0.19 % of the individual store's turnover.

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That put it into context. Businesses who form part of a

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larger chain should not benefit from the skins. Mortarboard

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business premises will be excluded. It is necessary to have a fair and

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transparent process for the long- term. The revaluation in 2015

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should rebalance the rating system. There should be no delay in

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implementing this. The necessary preparatory work should be carried

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out well in advance. There may be better ways of bringing believed to

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small retailers in the longer term, but these would take some time to

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bring forward under the existing rating system. A rating review is

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planned and perhaps that will afford the opportunity to hone a

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more accurate instrument in the future. I appreciate the

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difficulties of the small businesses. I hear what the large

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retailers are saying, but I must say there is not the same level of

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large retailers going to the war as are small businesses. -- to the

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wall. The big stores like Tesco are not happy about this. Is it a good

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idea? I have said on record I thought it was a poor idea and it

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is not one I would like to support. I think it has damaged. First of

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all, it will not make a difference to the troubles of small businesses.

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If you look around the streets, particularly Belfast, there are so

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many empty shops. We need the economy took stop brewing again. I

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did not like this because it has offended the large stores. They are

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saying they are been giving -- being given an extra charge. If it

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was a fair system, it would not need this adaptation. We need the

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new revaluation and the minister is pain the pros -- paying the price

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for delaying it. We do need to revitalise the economy, but the

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short answer is the programme for government is tackling this slowly.

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There is not a sense of urgency and when the Finance Minister is

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shifting five or six or �8 million, getting at first publicity, it

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seems to me it is the wrong price to pay for the problems we are

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tackling. They say every picture tells a

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story and that was certainly true in Stormont today. People

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recovering from addiction to drugs and alcohol displayed artwork they

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had produced as part of a programme at the Dunlewy Substance Abuse

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Centre based in north Belfast. They help former addicts, including 14-

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year-old Demi Kelly. I was on drugs and I got into

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Dunlewy. They asked me to do a photo shoot and I agreed. What sort

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of hell did you get? That I could do better and I had made mistakes.

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Tell me about a picture. What were you thinking of when you put it

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together? I was thinking I could have fun without being in bother

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and that I just thought I would do a picture of being happy. I took a

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picture of me being happy and edited it. They said it would be up

0:28:320:28:37

at Stormont so I came today and I was relieved it was up.

0:28:370:28:41

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