:00:25. > :00:26.Hello, and welcome to Stormont Today.
:00:27. > :00:28.And we're done - the last session of the current
:00:29. > :00:30.Assembly has been and gone, and it's anybody's guess
:00:31. > :00:34.when the new, reduced intake of 90 MLAs will be here
:00:35. > :00:39.Perhaps fittingly, today's highlight was the debate over the very issue
:00:40. > :00:42.that contributed so much to the collapse of the
:00:43. > :00:45.devolved institutions - the Renewable Heat Incentive scheme.
:00:46. > :00:48.But we also heard from the new leader of Sinn Fein
:00:49. > :00:50.in the north and her plans for the future.
:00:51. > :00:53.The Finance Minister reveals the terms of the public inquiry
:00:54. > :01:10.'S there is an urgent need, Mr Speaker, to get to the facts of the
:01:11. > :01:13.RHI scheme, to identify negligence, incompetence, alleged corruption and
:01:14. > :01:14.abuse and to hold those responsible to account.
:01:15. > :01:19.Michelle O'Neill sets out her stall ahead of the election.
:01:20. > :01:26.They need to change their attitude. They need to come at the
:01:27. > :01:32.negotiations after the election with a really meaningful approach to make
:01:33. > :01:33.sure they represent all sections of society.
:01:34. > :01:36.And we've saved the best to last - Professor Rick Wilford
:01:37. > :01:40.is here with his thoughts on the last day of Stormont.
:01:41. > :01:43.It was revealed last week that the Finance Minister
:01:44. > :01:45.would call a public inquiry into the Renewable Heat
:01:46. > :01:49.But today Mairtin O'Muilleoir put the meat on the bones
:01:50. > :01:51.of his plan for the Assembly - announcing who will lead
:01:52. > :01:53.the inquiry, when it will start and even,
:01:54. > :02:01.The Minister revealed all in the chamber this afternoon.
:02:02. > :02:17.I now have in place, Mr Speaker, chair, a retired Lord Justice of
:02:18. > :02:21.Appeal,. I'm very pleased he has agreed to lead the enquiry and I
:02:22. > :02:30.know he will be unflinching in his pursuit of the truth, unscrupulous
:02:31. > :02:34.-- and scrupulous. I've agreed he will be supported by two panel
:02:35. > :02:41.members. The team will begin its work on the 1st of February and will
:02:42. > :02:48.report as quickly as possible. Openness and transparency will be
:02:49. > :02:54.key touchstones for the team. In terms of key requirements I pointed
:02:55. > :02:57.to earlier, the investigation will have the power to compel witnesses
:02:58. > :03:03.and evidence. Every stone will be turned, there will be no dark
:03:04. > :03:07.corners. It will be impartial and objective. It will be tasked with
:03:08. > :03:12.getting to the truth of the RHI scheme. I will not interfere in this
:03:13. > :03:18.work. It will be entirely independent. There is an urgent
:03:19. > :03:24.need, Mr Speaker, to get to the facts of the RHI scheme, to identify
:03:25. > :03:29.negligence, incompetence, alleged corruption and abuse, and to hold
:03:30. > :03:35.those responsible to account. Can I ask, why the Minister has not
:03:36. > :03:38.insisted on a preliminary report so the electorate can go to the polls
:03:39. > :03:43.with relevant information on this scandal is to mark why he has not
:03:44. > :03:48.confirmed a timeline for publication and also outlined a process for the
:03:49. > :03:56.independent appointment of the two panel members referred to in the
:03:57. > :04:00.report? Thank you. I know there's an election coming, and I know it is at
:04:01. > :04:07.times difficult to appease the unions that I have a memory recently
:04:08. > :04:15.of the Ulster Unionist Party wanting enquiry. You got one. Do not
:04:16. > :04:21.prejudge the actions. You will act in an impartial and objective
:04:22. > :04:28.matter. He will be scrupulous and unflinching. What discussions have
:04:29. > :04:31.you had with the chair so far with reference to legal costs and also
:04:32. > :04:37.the time frame to ensure the findings can be brought forward as
:04:38. > :04:44.soon as possible? I assure the hopes of the member that we will
:04:45. > :04:55.expeditiously get a report. That said, these are matters for the
:04:56. > :04:59.chair. If I was pressed, I think it would be appropriate for us to have
:05:00. > :05:06.a report six months after the enquiry starts. But that, in my
:05:07. > :05:13.view, is a matter for the chair. Where will it be held? We don't
:05:14. > :05:21.know. I have a desire to see the enquiry held in public session on TV
:05:22. > :05:25.and in that regard I know of building whether our committee rooms
:05:26. > :05:29.which have TV coverage which can be broadcast. But at the moment the
:05:30. > :05:30.decision is continuing. Mairtin O Muilleoir,
:05:31. > :05:33.not giving too much away just yet about where he'd like to see
:05:34. > :05:39.the inquiry sitting. What do you make of
:05:40. > :05:49.it had to be somebody I think somebody from the legal profession
:05:50. > :05:54.and I think is a good choice. We don't know yet who will be the two
:05:55. > :05:58.fellow panel members. It's no surprise that there will be at least
:05:59. > :06:03.three. The venue does not matter. I think what matters are the terms of
:06:04. > :06:09.reference. And of course he has been given free rein to give to draw up
:06:10. > :06:12.those terms of reference because the act under which it is established
:06:13. > :06:22.provides for the Minister to be able to reference -- influence this. The
:06:23. > :06:27.key thing is there will be compatibility of witnesses and
:06:28. > :06:32.evidence. And if necessary witnesses can be compelled to give evidence
:06:33. > :06:38.under oath. I think this will be a no holds barred enquiry. The main
:06:39. > :06:42.issue is that it is not going to issue an interim report before the
:06:43. > :06:44.election. It is going to be a shadow cast over the election.
:06:45. > :06:47.No public sittings until after March second.
:06:48. > :06:50.Six months seems to be the target date for it to be
:06:51. > :06:54.in a position to report back - is that over-ambitious?
:06:55. > :07:03.It could be, because of course the witnesses some of whom will be
:07:04. > :07:07.compelled to come and give evidence, they will bring legal teams with
:07:08. > :07:12.them and there could be a lot of legal argument. So if they are
:07:13. > :07:13.meeting five days a week the six months I think nine is probably more
:07:14. > :07:17.likely. All things RHI also
:07:18. > :07:18.dominated questions Simon Hamilton told MLAs
:07:19. > :07:22.he still hopes to reveal the names of everyone on the scheme,
:07:23. > :07:25.despite a judge issuing an interim injunction to prevent
:07:26. > :07:36.the publication of hundreds Yesterday one of the assurances you
:07:37. > :07:40.gave to the house was in respect of the robustness of your scheme and
:07:41. > :07:45.yet this afternoon we learnt that some 300 boiler owners have managed
:07:46. > :07:48.to block or thwart your promise to this house and to the citizens of
:07:49. > :07:52.Northern Ireland to deliver the names of boiler owners. In those
:07:53. > :07:58.circumstances would you publish the names of those others who are not
:07:59. > :08:04.currently blocked by the injunction? I very just received the news and I
:08:05. > :08:11.haven't seen the full judgment yet. I will consider it in full before
:08:12. > :08:16.making any decision. I'm sure you like me wish to have the fullest of
:08:17. > :08:20.transparency around the names, that is still my objective. That is what
:08:21. > :08:24.I was seeking to do by making the announcement that I did last week.
:08:25. > :08:27.We had to run through a process which the department undertook in
:08:28. > :08:35.pretty quick time given the volume of work. I signal my intention to
:08:36. > :08:40.publish the names inconsistent with the process is laid out. I deeply
:08:41. > :08:45.regret the injunction that has been sought and awarded this afternoon,
:08:46. > :08:51.because I think in and of itself it prevents full transparency, and
:08:52. > :08:54.obviously I will take the time to consider what can now be done in the
:08:55. > :09:02.circumstances. As the minister given any thought to publishing an
:09:03. > :09:06.anonymous list that could provide some geographical detail, dates and
:09:07. > :09:11.payment, so we could get a sense of the level of applicants that are
:09:12. > :09:17.credible and the level that are not? Thank you. I think it is asked in
:09:18. > :09:24.the appropriate spirit. The whole purpose of doing this was to seek to
:09:25. > :09:29.instil better public confidence. He said it was going to be challenged,
:09:30. > :09:34.I suppose it was. What I've heard about the judgment is it is not
:09:35. > :09:41.permissible to publish the names of members of the association. However,
:09:42. > :09:46.I am happy to look and I will look at other options. I think it is
:09:47. > :09:49.interesting the member says there is something short of the full
:09:50. > :09:52.disclosure which the court is now preventing from happening which may
:09:53. > :09:56.help to instil public confidence. That is what I want to do. That is
:09:57. > :10:00.what my objective is, and I certainly will look at the option
:10:01. > :10:05.which you have mentioned along with others to hope to achieve that
:10:06. > :10:09.purpose of maximum transparency with the aim of instilling public
:10:10. > :10:13.confidence in the scheme. Is it his own ultimate ambition to publish the
:10:14. > :10:17.names and addresses of all participants when they applied and
:10:18. > :10:23.if so when does he expect to be able to do so? That is what was my
:10:24. > :10:27.publicly stated position, it is the position I stated in writing to
:10:28. > :10:33.recipients of the scheme. Because I believe that there was a public
:10:34. > :10:38.interest, clear public interest, in having maximum transparency. That
:10:39. > :10:41.was my intention. To publish business details and a geographical
:10:42. > :10:44.information as well as other information. I still hope to be able
:10:45. > :10:45.to do that but obviously I will have to reflect on the judgment that has
:10:46. > :10:45.been made. 24 hours after assuming the mantle
:10:46. > :10:49.of Sinn Fein's leader at Stormont, Michelle O'Neill sat down
:10:50. > :10:51.with our political editor, Mark Devenport, who asked her how
:10:52. > :11:05.precisely she'd got the job. It was an appointment by the
:11:06. > :11:09.President and I was chosen to lead the party and I am honoured to do
:11:10. > :11:14.that. Other parties have elections with candidates and campaigns. Why
:11:15. > :11:19.not Sinn Fein? It has its own internal process. They ratified my
:11:20. > :11:26.position and I'm very pleased they did. You are obviously now going to
:11:27. > :11:28.face interaction which, according to some predictions, will be quite
:11:29. > :11:34.brutal. What you see main challengers? The public will have
:11:35. > :11:39.their say and we will deal with all the issues but we said we can't
:11:40. > :11:43.return to the status quo. We need change and attitude from the DUP. We
:11:44. > :11:50.can't tolerate their debts respect for the public. And we can't be part
:11:51. > :11:53.of institutions like that. Do you think Arlene Foster is someone you
:11:54. > :12:01.can work with? I don't have a choice. If the electorate returned I
:12:02. > :12:05.will work with them. But I will only work with them on the basis of
:12:06. > :12:10.respect and equality for all citizens. That is the any situation
:12:11. > :12:16.where I believe our party can be part of that institution. Would you
:12:17. > :12:22.be relaxed about a rate of a long period of direct rule? Others need,
:12:23. > :12:26.the negotiations after the election with a real meaningful election to
:12:27. > :12:31.want to make sure they represent all sections of society. We seen heavy
:12:32. > :12:38.actions of the DUP, things like the decision to remove ?50,000 first
:12:39. > :12:45.disadvantaged children to learn Irish. That is petty. For myself, as
:12:46. > :12:49.an Irish republican, and for my party, we want to make sure we look
:12:50. > :12:54.after all citizens. Not interested in just looking after the needs of
:12:55. > :12:59.nationalists and republicans. We are interested in looking after the
:13:00. > :13:03.needs of all. We've seen in the past has been a failure by the British
:13:04. > :13:06.Government and the Irish Government. To make sure they deliver on the
:13:07. > :13:13.presence was the issues identified in previous negotiations. We have
:13:14. > :13:18.outstanding issues. We could get the point where there is full and 20 and
:13:19. > :13:23.of the agreements that have gone for. That is where we need to be.
:13:24. > :13:30.You mentioned legacy. Across the border we have Unionist MPs saying
:13:31. > :13:32.there is a witchhunt against former soldiers and they want to
:13:33. > :13:36.essentially see that brought to a halt. If there was any move to
:13:37. > :13:41.prevent these prosecutions going ahead, what response would you have?
:13:42. > :13:44.The Stormont house agreement identified mechanisms to deal with
:13:45. > :13:49.this. The British Government are hiding behind the cloak of national
:13:50. > :13:54.security. That is not the way to do it. We support truth and justice.
:13:55. > :13:58.For everybody that is different full stop some families just want
:13:59. > :14:02.information. Someone call cases. It is making sure that we have a range
:14:03. > :14:06.of mechanisms which avoided been agreed by the sword and house
:14:07. > :14:13.agreement that allows us to get to the truth for all those families.
:14:14. > :14:22.Funny, I believe my job is absolutely about trying to heal the
:14:23. > :14:25.past to get up place where we deal with the legacy issues.
:14:26. > :14:26.Michelle O'Neill talking to Mark Devenport.
:14:27. > :14:32.Why is she the right choice from Sinn Fein's point of view?
:14:33. > :14:40.I think it represents a generational shift. I think that is important.
:14:41. > :14:45.She's also someone without any IRA I gauge and I think that is a plus for
:14:46. > :14:49.them. They are seeking to project an image of moving on. And also
:14:50. > :14:54.becoming civilian eyes and female friendly. We now have three female
:14:55. > :14:58.political leaders in Northern Ireland. She is the third in the
:14:59. > :15:06.space of a year. To what extent is she likely to be frankly a junior
:15:07. > :15:14.partner in an overarching all Ireland leadership team? I expect
:15:15. > :15:18.she brings the status and wait with her. I don't think she is in the
:15:19. > :15:23.pocket of Gerry Adams but Sinn Fein work in mysterious ways. She is
:15:24. > :15:27.quite clearly not going to step outside the party line on any
:15:28. > :15:31.significant issue, so I think she will play an equal role. She is
:15:32. > :15:36.junior, so no doubt she has a lot to learn and I think she recognises
:15:37. > :15:41.that herself, but it is a fresh face for the party, as they contend with
:15:42. > :15:44.another election. OK. We will talk more about that election at the end
:15:45. > :15:48.of the programme, thank you. Paul Givan kicked off the last
:15:49. > :15:50.round of Ministerial question Bedroom tax mitigation and funding
:15:51. > :15:54.for community halls are issues which have loomed large in recent
:15:55. > :16:01.weeks for the Minister, The necessary legislation was
:16:02. > :16:06.approved by the Assembly on the 16th of January. This legislation gives
:16:07. > :16:11.the parliament the necessary powers to make accurate and timely payments
:16:12. > :16:14.to the estimated benefit claimants who may be impacted by the
:16:15. > :16:20.introduction of the social side sector claimant. They will be paid
:16:21. > :16:23.for weeks in arrears and the payments will be made in the current
:16:24. > :16:29.financial year. There is a whole range of mitigation measures we have
:16:30. > :16:33.had to introduce to implement the welfare in Northern Ireland, the
:16:34. > :16:38.bedroom tax being one of them. All the plans were being run through
:16:39. > :16:42.according to a proper time frame, in the normal course of the business of
:16:43. > :16:47.politics, there was no risk whatsoever of not having in place
:16:48. > :16:55.the legislation to mitigate against this. Nobody could have legislated
:16:56. > :17:03.against the actions in respect that Sinn Fein had. We have to make sure
:17:04. > :17:07.the most vulnerable are not impacted. The community halls
:17:08. > :17:15.capital grant pilot programme was launched on the 19th of October 2016
:17:16. > :17:21.and closed in November 2016 with 800 applications received and following
:17:22. > :17:26.a robust procedure, up to 90 projects were accepted for financial
:17:27. > :17:29.assistance. Was it only for Orange halls to apply because I know to
:17:30. > :17:33.some of the media seemed to be putting it out there that this was
:17:34. > :17:38.some sort of sectarian scheme? Was it available for all of the
:17:39. > :17:43.community? May be the Minister could tell us of the organisations which
:17:44. > :17:47.will benefit from the scheme? The answer very clearly is absolutely
:17:48. > :17:52.not. This programme was opened all types of facilities with a hole
:17:53. > :17:56.which is used by the local community, and applications were
:17:57. > :18:01.received from church halls, JHA clubs, Masonic calls, community
:18:02. > :18:06.groups and many others. I ask this question without any malice, but can
:18:07. > :18:10.he understand the way that a number of the funding schemes have ruled
:18:11. > :18:15.out, there is a perception from some within our community that the
:18:16. > :18:21.decisions are secretary and? I think the very point the member raises, it
:18:22. > :18:26.is a perception. Whenever we look at the way the funding was allocated,
:18:27. > :18:29.and in terms of the community calls, this was something that whenever I
:18:30. > :18:35.was out in the community, people were saying we have a need.
:18:36. > :18:38.Applications were being put into a pilot scheme which we recognise
:18:39. > :18:45.would be very important to those groups, and so you have the GAA when
:18:46. > :18:50.sitting from this, parochial halls within the Catholic Church
:18:51. > :18:54.benefiting from this so any suggestion that this in any way had
:18:55. > :18:59.a sectarian agenda is completely false and I have Minister had no
:19:00. > :19:01.role whatsoever in assessing any of the applications.
:19:02. > :19:02.The Communities Minister, Paul Givan.
:19:03. > :19:04.Meantime the Health Minister has blamed a breakdown
:19:05. > :19:06.in communication for a disagreement between the Belfast Health Trust
:19:07. > :19:08.and families of several very sick children, over access
:19:09. > :19:12.Yesterday, the BBC revealed that three children who suffer
:19:13. > :19:15.from a severe muscle wasting disease - Spinal Muscular Atrophy -
:19:16. > :19:23.are waiting to hear if they will receive the drug.
:19:24. > :19:29.Clinicians in the Belfast health and social care trust made a clinical
:19:30. > :19:34.decision to use the extended access programme to provide this drug in an
:19:35. > :19:39.individual case to treat SMA. On this basis, the extension of this
:19:40. > :19:43.programme was made on the basis of the clinicians in the Belfast trust.
:19:44. > :19:48.I am aware of the concerns of parents with children with SMA. I
:19:49. > :19:52.raised concerns with the trust who assured me that urgent action will
:19:53. > :19:56.be taken to make contact with families involved. I understand
:19:57. > :20:00.direct contact will be made this Thursday and there will be a
:20:01. > :20:08.face-to-face meeting with the clinical team in the hospital. Is
:20:09. > :20:12.there any assurance that those three children do meet this suitability
:20:13. > :20:16.tests, that they will face a very real prospect of getting access to a
:20:17. > :20:20.life changing and life-saving drug, given that the health Department
:20:21. > :20:25.does not have to pay for the drug and simply provide the theatre space
:20:26. > :20:29.and medical staff to administer it. It is not for me to decide who
:20:30. > :20:34.should get access to what drug and the trial but obviously, I want to
:20:35. > :20:36.make sure that these families who are dealing with very complex
:20:37. > :20:41.challenging conditions to make sure they have every support and every
:20:42. > :20:44.lifeline possible. I think obviously that has been a breakdown in
:20:45. > :20:47.communication and we will need to rectify that problem and that is
:20:48. > :20:48.something I have asked the trust to do.
:20:49. > :20:51.Michelle O'Neill, who continues until the election in her role
:20:52. > :21:27.A suspect in the case of David Black has had his case reviewed. Last
:21:28. > :21:34.year, he was given leave to change his bail so he could go on a three
:21:35. > :21:42.day spa holiday. That same individual has now not been seen
:21:43. > :21:44.since the 18th of November. There are of course conditions and
:21:45. > :21:50.circumstances in which bail should be denied but the course must be
:21:51. > :21:53.satisfied that there are reasonable grounds for continued detention
:21:54. > :22:00.before a denial of bail can be justified, and there are potential
:22:01. > :22:05.grounds for the denial of bail. Grounds that a defendant may fail to
:22:06. > :22:09.turn up for trial, interfere with witnesses and so on. And while this
:22:10. > :22:14.case is a bad case and a hard case and there may be others like them,
:22:15. > :22:20.we should not draw conclusions about the character of the police and
:22:21. > :22:24.criminal justice systems in the way that some of the extravagant
:22:25. > :22:29.language has suggested today. I am not going to defend Mr McLauchlan in
:22:30. > :22:35.any way, but I do note that his original bail was set in May 2014
:22:36. > :22:40.and I can't help thinking, if he had been remanded in custody, we would
:22:41. > :22:45.be having a different debate now. When they say all these good things
:22:46. > :22:49.to entice Unionists to thinking that a united Ireland would be some sort
:22:50. > :22:54.of Utopia, great place to live, when we all realised it wouldn't be, but
:22:55. > :23:01.then the very next day they will sound side-by-side with hardliners,
:23:02. > :23:05.with placards outside Knock HP. As I have already said to this Assembly
:23:06. > :23:10.before, this review is currently underway. It will establish facts
:23:11. > :23:13.about the bail decisions in Northern Ireland and I do not want to
:23:14. > :23:17.pre-empt the outcome but I would hope we would find a conclusion to
:23:18. > :23:20.that in the coming weeks. But it is vital that Northern Ireland has an
:23:21. > :23:26.effective framework for bail which properly balances the needs for
:23:27. > :23:28.victims and defendants so how have asked for this work to be completed
:23:29. > :23:31.as soon as possible. And on this final day
:23:32. > :23:35.of the mandate, Steven Agnew brought forward the first sole
:23:36. > :23:36.Green Party motion. The motion called for urgent
:23:37. > :23:40.legislation to expand the role of the Assembly Commission
:23:41. > :23:42.for Standards to allow for investigation into alleged
:23:43. > :23:52.breaches of the Ministerial Code. We need an Independent, open and
:23:53. > :23:56.transparent process for investigating ministers. I have
:23:57. > :24:02.always failed to understand the opposition to this from some in this
:24:03. > :24:05.House, but I think given recent events, if the Assembly was to
:24:06. > :24:12.oppose this again today, there would be public anger. This would be the
:24:13. > :24:18.last decision made by this Assembly. And I would call on members not to
:24:19. > :24:24.waste this opportunity, to send a clear signal of the standards of
:24:25. > :24:30.accountability we expect of the next Executive. This Assembly has deemed
:24:31. > :24:34.this Assembly of good conduct and to be fit for purpose and the
:24:35. > :24:38.mechanisms are in place under the Northern Ireland act 1988 to
:24:39. > :24:42.correctly deal with any breaches. I have said in several occasions in
:24:43. > :24:45.respect of many varying matters, but find myself saying again today that
:24:46. > :24:50.bad legislation is worse than no legislation. Even if we were not
:24:51. > :24:56.standing on the edge of another election, the call to bring forth
:24:57. > :25:00.urgent legislation lacks any understanding of the process
:25:01. > :25:04.involved. The Assembly commission can investigate members of this
:25:05. > :25:08.Assembly, then it seems reasonable that a similar process should be in
:25:09. > :25:18.place to hold ministers to account. Can you believe this? In the months,
:25:19. > :25:26.this is the DUP, why should we have this model to create conditions
:25:27. > :25:30.where none exist. Where it is better to have no legislation than bad
:25:31. > :25:35.legislation? Would Pam Cameron explain to people where it is that
:25:36. > :25:41.she sees that where we are trying to create issues where none exist? What
:25:42. > :25:45.will have you been living in?! We don't have openness and transparency
:25:46. > :25:49.about public dealings, then we see at the crease in trust, and if the
:25:50. > :25:56.trust continues to decrease because there are no accountability
:25:57. > :26:03.mechanisms two mechanisms at work, it turned to complete cynicism. Yes,
:26:04. > :26:10.we have a code of conduct, yes, there is a ministerial code, but
:26:11. > :26:16.there is no mechanism to investigate in any Independent sense, whether or
:26:17. > :26:17.not a minister has fallen short of the standards thereby imposed. And
:26:18. > :26:20.that is deliberate. And that motion passed
:26:21. > :26:22.on an oral vote. Let's have a final word
:26:23. > :26:29.with Rick Wilford. Are you expecting the brutal
:26:30. > :26:34.election campaign that Arlene Foster has talked about? Guess, I think it
:26:35. > :26:41.will be pretty bitter. I think we already hear the sound of sectarian
:26:42. > :26:47.trenches being dug. I just want to contrast Jim McAllister. There are
:26:48. > :26:54.so many issues which are overhanging the election, not least the no plan
:26:55. > :26:59.enquiry into RHI, the Irish language act and Brexit which is looming ever
:27:00. > :27:04.larger, and now the Assembly will not have a role. There will not be a
:27:05. > :27:10.legislative consent motion. That was a result of the Supreme Court ruling
:27:11. > :27:15.today. I think it will be bitter. It will be protracted, six weeks. So I
:27:16. > :27:18.am not sure whether we will see any significant changes. A real
:27:19. > :27:22.opportunity for the opposition parties I think because there are
:27:23. > :27:29.some open golf here, not least over RHI, but I think it will be bitterly
:27:30. > :27:34.fought and will leave a lot of people licking their wounds. You
:27:35. > :27:38.have listed a number of areas on the political landscape which are likely
:27:39. > :27:42.to come up on the election campaign, will they be critical? Are those the
:27:43. > :27:47.issues on which people will decide how to vote? Or will it inevitably
:27:48. > :27:51.come down to Orange versus Green? On hopes that this is an occasion when
:27:52. > :27:59.the electorate, and let's hope a greater share of the electorate get
:28:00. > :28:03.out of and vote, bring their rational behaviour and not be pulled
:28:04. > :28:10.into the same old voting of the past. One thing we cannot predict is
:28:11. > :28:15.what Sinn Fein is asking, namely a change in attitude particular yonder
:28:16. > :28:17.part of the DUP. You cannot legislate for that or behavioural
:28:18. > :28:22.change, so goodness knows how long this will be put back together, even
:28:23. > :28:24.if there can be an agreed platform at some stage on a whole raft of
:28:25. > :28:26.policy issues. And that's it for tonight -
:28:27. > :28:31.and for this run of Stormont Today. The Assembly is formally dissolved
:28:32. > :28:33.on Thursday of this week - and then all attention will formally
:28:34. > :28:36.shift to the campaign trail as the parties do battle
:28:37. > :28:38.to keep their numbers up As to what happens after that,
:28:39. > :28:42.it's still anyone's guess - but rest assured, if and when
:28:43. > :28:45.the politicians are back up here on the hill,
:28:46. > :28:48.we'll be here too to bring you full Until then, we'll have full coverage
:28:49. > :28:52.of the unfolding political story, as usual, on The View and on Sunday
:28:53. > :28:54.Politics. For now, though, from everyone
:28:55. > :29:02.in the Stormont Today team, bye-bye.