:00:24. > :00:30.Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up on the programme. Unionist
:00:31. > :00:34.outrage as it's revealed the man accused of the 1982 Hyde Park
:00:35. > :00:37.bombing will not face prosecution. Nobody should be above the law.
:00:38. > :00:41.Everybody should be subject to the law. It seems that because of a
:00:42. > :00:44.letter that was sent to this individual, he has effectively
:00:45. > :00:48.received a get out of jail free card. The Environment Minister says
:00:49. > :00:51.he believes the 5p levy on paper bags should remain in place. There
:00:52. > :01:03.is no justification for doing a bags should remain in place. There
:01:04. > :01:06.unnecessary bag use. I'm joined by Dr Orna Young with her perspective
:01:07. > :01:16.of another busy day on the Hill. John Downey, the man accused of
:01:17. > :01:22.killing four soldiers in the IRA bombing in Hyde Park in London in
:01:23. > :01:27.1982, has walked free from court today. He was revealed that he had
:01:28. > :01:31.been given an official guarantee he would not face trial it has also
:01:32. > :01:35.been revealed that another 186 people wanted for Troubles-related
:01:36. > :01:38.crimes may have received similar assurances. I've been discussing the
:01:39. > :01:42.cases with our political editor, Mark Devenport. I asked him for the
:01:43. > :01:46.assessment of the significant of today's development. Certainly the
:01:47. > :01:51.existence of this scheme was not widely known. There were press
:01:52. > :01:55.reports that Sinn Fein got some kind of assurance about individuals on
:01:56. > :01:59.the runs. The notion that there were 187 letters of comfort, this scheme
:02:00. > :02:03.went on even though the legislation that was meant to deal with on the
:02:04. > :02:08.runs fell when it came to Westminster will come as a shock to
:02:09. > :02:15.many politicians here at Stormont. Are two separate issues at work,
:02:16. > :02:19.aren't there? Yes. Focus on the PSNI's administrative error which
:02:20. > :02:22.the judge called "catastrophic" checking whether the Metropolitan
:02:23. > :02:26.Police wanted to interview John Downey about about the Hyde Park
:02:27. > :02:30.bombing when they found out it was the case not correcting the letter
:02:31. > :02:35.sent out in his case. That is of great importance to the families of
:02:36. > :02:38.the victims the judge took it so seriously in relation to this case.
:02:39. > :02:41.On the wider political scale, if you like, the fact cannot be avoided we
:02:42. > :02:46.didn't know about the existence of this scheme at all. So, when people
:02:47. > :02:49.are saying - oh, there shouldn't have been this particular
:02:50. > :02:52.administrative blunder, there is the bigger political question of whether
:02:53. > :02:56.the scheme should have existed at all. There has been considerable
:02:57. > :03:00.political reaction to the development As you would expect,
:03:01. > :03:03.unionists outraged. The First Minister, Peter Robinson, saying
:03:04. > :03:06.it's a dark day for justice. Justice should have no sell-by-date.
:03:07. > :03:09.Republicans saying, look, the arrest of John Downey was completely wrong
:03:10. > :03:11.in the first place. It was a breach of the commitments that they knew
:03:12. > :03:22.they had even if the wider public of the commitments that they knew
:03:23. > :03:28.don't think it makes anything any easier. It possible to say what
:03:29. > :03:33.happens next? We know that officials will be looking at the letters sent
:03:34. > :03:37.out to see if there are similar administrative errors. It may be
:03:38. > :03:41.republicans will get a second letter saying, we can't give you that
:03:42. > :03:46.assurance. It's possible that this will now provide some kind of
:03:47. > :03:51.precedent for future cases. I think it will stir once again the
:03:52. > :03:57.controversies that we visited a couple of weeks ago in relation to
:03:58. > :04:02.John Larkins call for an end of prosecutions. There was talk of an
:04:03. > :04:08.amnesty. Unionists saying has there been a back door amnesty any in
:04:09. > :04:17.case. There has been political fallout from from today's
:04:18. > :04:21.development we begin with this reaction from the Ulster unionist
:04:22. > :04:26.MLA Danny Kinahan. Who was a close friend of one of the soldiers killed
:04:27. > :04:31.in the bomb attack. You think, what's been going on? Is we are told
:04:32. > :04:37.187 people were getting letters to say that they were no longer wanted.
:04:38. > :04:42.We discover, if I have it right, they hadn't checked them all. Some
:04:43. > :04:48.may have been wanted, some don't. We have a clock up we have to find out
:04:49. > :04:51.what went wrong and find out who is wanted. Families want justice. We
:04:52. > :04:56.all want justice, at the same time we want to move forward. 187 am
:04:57. > :05:02.nesties. We effectively have an amnesty. That why Haas and everyone
:05:03. > :05:05.else want to brush the past under the carpet. That is why they want to
:05:06. > :05:11.talk about immunity. They know that the dirty deal has already been done
:05:12. > :05:15.for many of them. They don't want any search light of truth shining
:05:16. > :05:19.upon it. This judgment opens up that can of worms. I, for one, will make
:05:20. > :05:25.sure that we do explore more fully to find out such truth as we can of
:05:26. > :05:29.just how horrendous the skull dug are you was that went on. It's a
:05:30. > :05:32.black day for justice in the United Kingdom. Of course, nobody should be
:05:33. > :05:35.above the law. Everybody should be subject
:05:36. > :05:42.above the law. Everybody should be because of a letter that was
:05:43. > :05:47.card. That is something that I find offensive. I'm sure a lot of people
:05:48. > :05:51.in the UK find offensive tonight. Where do you think responsibility
:05:52. > :05:55.for this situation rests Well, we all know that at the time of the
:05:56. > :06:02.Belfast Agreement, subsequent negotiation in and around 2000, 2001
:06:03. > :06:05.there were political machinations in relation to the so-called on the
:06:06. > :06:09.runs at that time. Reaction is that it was a good decision. Decision
:06:10. > :06:14.that we were expecting. John Downey should never have been arrested. It
:06:15. > :06:17.was part of an agreement reached in the Good Friday Agreement. I welcome
:06:18. > :06:21.the fact he is now released and free to go home. You said it was a result
:06:22. > :06:25.of a firm agreement with Sinn Fein and the Government? This was part of
:06:26. > :06:30.the Good Friday Agreement where the on the run, as it is termed, had an
:06:31. > :06:35.I agreement where they would be clear to go free. Does this mean
:06:36. > :06:38.that other on the runs are now unlikely to face prosecution? We are
:06:39. > :06:42.dealing with the John Downey case today. I welcome that decision. The
:06:43. > :06:47.fact he is now free to go home. That's as far as we can go today.
:06:48. > :06:50.Sinn Fein's Francie Molloy giving his reaction to Vincent Kearney
:06:51. > :06:55.outside the court in London earlier today. Back here at Stormont, the
:06:56. > :06:57.further consideration stage of the Carrier Bags Bill focussed on
:06:58. > :07:08.whether we should pay for bags made from paper or if they should be
:07:09. > :07:10.exempt from the current 35 p levy. TUV's Jim Allister began by
:07:11. > :07:14.explaining why he is pushing for paper bags to be excluded from the
:07:15. > :07:19.new charge. Ordinary folk in the street find it amazing they are
:07:20. > :07:27.resent offul of the fact that it's proposed on all paper bags we should
:07:28. > :07:33.be paying a tax. A paper bag, by its very definition, leaving it outside
:07:34. > :07:40.on a day like today and where, how long will it be there? It will very
:07:41. > :07:46.quickly, by virture of soaking up the moisture, disintergrate and
:07:47. > :07:52.disappear. It's not something akin to, parallel to, alike to a plastic
:07:53. > :07:58.bag which will withstand the elements for years on end. If paper
:07:59. > :08:04.bags were to be exempt from the levy, as I said, I worry paper bags
:08:05. > :08:07.will substitute the single use plastic bags and we will see
:08:08. > :08:13.millions of paper bags a year being thrown away. Many littering our
:08:14. > :08:20.streets and countryside. I would be interested in Mr Weir clarify
:08:21. > :08:24.whether or not the DUP were instrumental in supporting paper
:08:25. > :08:28.bags. Whether now there is a U-turn by the DUP on that particular
:08:29. > :08:33.proposition? In response to that, all I can say, I can speak for my
:08:34. > :08:38.own position, I'm not aware of the DUP having ainsisted on the Paper
:08:39. > :08:43.Bill, unlike some members in this House who have a full range of
:08:44. > :08:47.events in that regard they may be able to produce something. I cannot
:08:48. > :08:50.deny. Quite frankly, the point on this is, I think this is an
:08:51. > :08:54.opportunity for us to pause and see whether changes are to be made to
:08:55. > :08:57.make this better. If that means, quite frankly, because the
:08:58. > :09:01.legislation that was passed through, I appreciate Mr Allister wasn't here
:09:02. > :09:06.at the time, but in terms of the main parties here, all the parties
:09:07. > :09:09.passed that. If we got things wrong in 2011 we should be big enough to
:09:10. > :09:13.admit we got things wrong. If there are changes to be made, which can
:09:14. > :09:17.improve this, if that means a U-turn, if it means changes in terms
:09:18. > :09:21.of some of the detail within this, I'm perfectly happy to say that we
:09:22. > :09:25.should be U-turning because we should be actually providing the
:09:26. > :09:30.best possible legislation. In relation to parties who have on
:09:31. > :09:37.committees and brought party positions, when I find it back in
:09:38. > :09:40.the chamber, you know, those people are contradicting some of the things
:09:41. > :09:45.that were said. As we look into this whole issue and we thought that the
:09:46. > :09:50.paper issue, you know, was the better way to go forward in relation
:09:51. > :09:54.to paper verses plastic, I shouldn't make it a paper verses plastic
:09:55. > :09:59.issue, to be honest with you, it should be either, it should be about
:10:00. > :10:03.reusable bags and reusing what you have. I'm happy to see if we got it
:10:04. > :10:09.right in 2011, if we got it wrong, maybe we did. Mr Weir and the DUP
:10:10. > :10:22.were supporting the pro-- proposals at that time. He has a right and
:10:23. > :10:26.were supporting the pro-- proposals at it here today. Obviously, what I
:10:27. > :10:31.want to ensure is that the wider consumer gets the best deal. That is
:10:32. > :10:35.irrespective of whether they are purchasing the goods or indeed of
:10:36. > :10:42.protecting the environment. Because I do believe that the initial
:10:43. > :10:47.reasons was the protections of the environment to make it more
:10:48. > :10:53.environmental friendly. The 5p tax seems reasonable. A slight
:10:54. > :10:58.disincentive for disposal, using a disposable piece of material that
:10:59. > :11:02.requires so much energy to produce. It's strange I'm being asked this
:11:03. > :11:06.now. This Assembly has had every opportunity to consider these
:11:07. > :11:12.issues. This policy, as I've said, has been three years in the making.
:11:13. > :11:17.It has been agreed by the executive and passed by this Assembly. We have
:11:18. > :11:23.collectively agreed already a levy on paper bags is justified. There is
:11:24. > :11:29.no justification for doing a U-turn now. As I have already said, the
:11:30. > :11:33.policy objective has always been to reduce or eliminate unnecessary bag
:11:34. > :11:39.use. Whatever materials they are made from. Jim Allister's amendment
:11:40. > :11:45.wasn't passed. Neither was the DUP's which sought exemptions for hessian
:11:46. > :11:49.and cloth bags. Members did support an amendment calling on the
:11:50. > :11:52.department to prepare a report on biodegradable carrier bags, the
:11:53. > :11:55.motion then passed. The plight of fishermen was touched on during
:11:56. > :11:58.questions to the agriculture minister today ahead of a meeting
:11:59. > :12:02.she was to have with them later in the afternoon. Fishermen say recent
:12:03. > :12:07.bad weather means they are enable to fish their quota allocation. First
:12:08. > :12:16.up though, yet again, was the issue of Single Farm Payments.
:12:17. > :12:24.The department set its highest payment target for December 2013 at
:12:25. > :12:27.85%. Significantly exceeded it by finalising 90% of claims. More
:12:28. > :12:29.farmers received their single farm payment in December than ever
:12:30. > :12:33.before. In November 2013 I payment in December than ever
:12:34. > :12:39.that 95er % of claims including payment in December than ever
:12:40. > :12:43.end of February 2014. That target has been exceeded. If relation to
:12:44. > :12:47.the percentage of single farm payment that has not been paid, I
:12:48. > :12:50.think she talks about a 4% or 5%. The could she tell us what it
:12:51. > :12:55.represents in terms of real cash, bearing in mind that it's
:12:56. > :13:00.concentrated in two areas mainly, mainly South Tyrone and North Antrim
:13:01. > :13:05.Don't have an exact figure. We are talking somewhere at about ?9
:13:06. > :13:11.million. We are talking about just 3% of Single Farm Payments, ?255
:13:12. > :13:15.million has been paid out. I'm not dismissing for one moment if you are
:13:16. > :13:19.in a category waiting to be paid, I understand the feeling you have. We
:13:20. > :13:24.are, woing around the clock. I give that assurance to anybody waiting
:13:25. > :13:32.for their payment. Comes around with remarkable regularity. I just wonder
:13:33. > :13:36.does she engage in discussions before winter months on a pre-plan
:13:37. > :13:39.basis to say this is what we are going to do rather than the
:13:40. > :13:44.emergency provisions which she outlined in her earlier answer? I
:13:45. > :13:48.will go further, winter is every year! I engage, as I said, with the
:13:49. > :13:52.minister when required and have done in the past. I do welcome the fact
:13:53. > :13:54.that he has engaged farmers and local contractors to be able to
:13:55. > :13:58.clear roads, particularly in rural areas. That is something we are
:13:59. > :14:01.maybe perhaps the gritters and services that are going around the
:14:02. > :14:05.main roads don't get into the rural areas. I'm keen that is something
:14:06. > :14:08.that is always expanded upon. In terms of my own department what we
:14:09. > :14:12.are doing. We have done a range of meetings, particularly preparing for
:14:13. > :14:19.winter given the winter we have come out of. We have engaged around
:14:20. > :14:23.winter preparedness. A task force, a range of issues. I can assure the
:14:24. > :14:29.member I know when winter is. I do my job carefully. It has been a
:14:30. > :14:32.particularly trying time. It's not the traditional fishing time, the
:14:33. > :14:36.weather prevented any activity taking place at all. I'm meeting the
:14:37. > :14:40.delegation of fishermen this afternoon and will discuss their
:14:41. > :14:43.plight. I want to commend the local charity for the work they have done
:14:44. > :14:59.in terms of supporting the local fishermen through a time of lead.
:15:00. > :15:03.turn to charity to aid their lives and what measures can the Minister
:15:04. > :15:09.put in place, given that there is a change in the season experienced by
:15:10. > :15:14.these fishermen and can she entertain any permanent support
:15:15. > :15:20.schemes, or more consistent support schemes, given the situations they
:15:21. > :15:25.face? The member will be aware that last year, the Executive made a
:15:26. > :15:30.hardship payment to fishermen of around ?400,000, which was welcome
:15:31. > :15:33.at that time. As I said, it is important that we look at what the
:15:34. > :15:37.long-term challenges for the industry because year on year, our
:15:38. > :15:40.weather is getting worse. It is going to be difficult not only to
:15:41. > :15:48.fishermen but a number of sectors so there are challenges, and I think
:15:49. > :15:54.there are longer-term challenges. MLAs discuss the importance of guide
:15:55. > :15:57.dogs following a motion to reclassify them as working dogs. In
:15:58. > :16:05.a moment, we will speak to one guide dog owner who has join me with her
:16:06. > :16:10.dog Chazz. First the flavour of what was said in the chamber. Today has
:16:11. > :16:16.three focuses. One is to celebrate the work of guide dogs since the
:16:17. > :16:21.opening of the offices here in 1984. Secondly, to acknowledge the
:16:22. > :16:26.work that a guide dog does and how the environment can impact on this.
:16:27. > :16:33.And thirdly, to demonstrate support the guide dogs Association as they
:16:34. > :16:43.continue complex work regarding reclassification. Reading through
:16:44. > :16:46.the information, I was astonished that they are not already in the
:16:47. > :16:51.classification, because they do tremendous work working for the
:16:52. > :16:57.majority of the day, seven days a week, 365 days a year, which for me
:16:58. > :17:02.means they meet the working dog criteria and should be exempted. The
:17:03. > :17:07.HMRC definition of working dog is based on the type of food that a dog
:17:08. > :17:16.consumes rather than the work it requires, and I
:17:17. > :17:18.consumes rather than the work it aware of role Hardy dogs play
:17:19. > :17:23.consumes rather than the work it guide dogs. It is not the type of
:17:24. > :17:29.dog, but type of dog that they eat. As guide dogs eat food that is
:17:30. > :17:33.suitable for all dogs, they are not exempt. A working dog is defined as
:17:34. > :17:39.not merely a pet but learning and working methods performing tasks to
:17:40. > :17:45.age matters which aid is human companion. The flaw is that guide
:17:46. > :17:48.dogs fit this description. And that motion passed on an oral
:17:49. > :17:53.vote. With me are Elaine Orwin and her
:17:54. > :17:57.guide dog, Chazz. You are both very welcome to the programme. This is a
:17:58. > :18:03.first, I think, we haven't had a guide dog in the studio before. He
:18:04. > :18:07.has stolen everyone's hearts, that is no surprise. We are very honoured
:18:08. > :18:11.and he does it in every situation we are in. Somebody said they wanted to
:18:12. > :18:18.take him home and you said, "join the queue" . What about the more
:18:19. > :18:25.serious business of speaking to MLAs, how important was? From IM
:18:26. > :18:30.prefatory point of view -- from my point of view, it is very important.
:18:31. > :18:32.It is important these dogs are recognised the work they do, in
:18:33. > :18:36.assisting people with visual impairment to get out and about
:18:37. > :18:40.independently. That is so vital, that we can go into the world,
:18:41. > :18:44.living our lives as independently as we can. I think a lot of people will
:18:45. > :18:49.be surprised to hear they are not actually classed as working dogs.
:18:50. > :18:51.How has that situation come about? The situation has come about because
:18:52. > :18:59.originally, they were just perceived as basically very amenable pets. And
:19:00. > :19:05.basically, it was guide dog owners and the work of the Belfast Mobility
:19:06. > :19:10.Team, who actually wanted to have them classified for the work they
:19:11. > :19:18.do. And they are a lot more than amenable pets? Totally. What
:19:19. > :19:23.difference does Chazz make to your life? He works in several
:19:24. > :19:25.locations. The most crucial one is using and accessing public
:19:26. > :19:37.transport. He has been trained to take me on to buses and trains
:19:38. > :19:41.transport. He has been trained to know you can get on and off the
:19:42. > :19:45.bus, cross the road? Absolutely. The only unfortunate aspect is that
:19:46. > :19:49.still within Northern Ireland, and we are campaigning, we would like
:19:50. > :19:55.audio buses, because we are getting on the bus and we are still reliant
:19:56. > :19:59.on the driver to obviously stop when we need to. So that is another
:20:00. > :20:04.development you would like to see. We would like to campaign for that.
:20:05. > :20:12.Is their assistance for someone like yourself in owning a guide dog? Are
:20:13. > :20:14.there benefits that you can actually have or drawdown because you have
:20:15. > :20:23.got a guide dog? Do you get, for example, assistance with that these
:20:24. > :20:28.-- veterinarian fees? Absolutely, and our charity wants to make sure
:20:29. > :20:34.that these dogs are accessible for everyone with visual impairment. The
:20:35. > :20:38.owner is charged just a nominal fee of 50p and at that extent, guide
:20:39. > :20:46.dogs then take on the responsibility of all veterinary care, of all food
:20:47. > :20:49.for the guide dog for its life and basically to ensure that everyone
:20:50. > :20:55.who wants to access the mobility of a guide dog can. But that means, of
:20:56. > :20:59.course, but the breeding, training and homing of guide dogs is a
:21:00. > :21:02.multi-million pound business for the charity. Absolutely, it really is
:21:03. > :21:08.and a lot of people don't realise this. For the working life of a
:21:09. > :21:15.guide dog, from puppy to retirement, each dog costs in the region of
:21:16. > :21:21.?50,000. A huge amount of money. Chazz has been absolutely brilliant
:21:22. > :21:27.it, I think he is completely not perplexed by the circumstances. His
:21:28. > :21:32.name in the office is Mr cool. Does he take everything in his stride?
:21:33. > :21:36.Absolutely. He is a cross between a Labrador retriever. Guide dogs are
:21:37. > :21:41.matched to the needs of the owner. I am a former teacher and I am out and
:21:42. > :21:45.about campaigning, going in and out of schools, and that I needed had to
:21:46. > :21:46.be that temperament and as you can see,
:21:47. > :22:00.Thank you. We know the cycle race the Giro
:22:01. > :22:03.d'Italia is on its way, but could Northern Ireland also be about to
:22:04. > :22:07.get a velodrome? The Culture Minister was asked just that during
:22:08. > :22:09.Question Time today. Caral Ni Chuilin also discussed the
:22:10. > :22:12.redevelopment of Windsor Park and Irish language funding. But first,
:22:13. > :22:17.to that velodrome and the Minister perhaps feels like she's going round
:22:18. > :22:20.in circles on the subject. We are now only a matter of months away
:22:21. > :22:24.from one of the biggest event ever to come to Northern Ireland hitting
:22:25. > :22:27.the streets. That will say have a massive impact in terms of the
:22:28. > :22:31.interest in cycling and people who feel they can take of the sport.
:22:32. > :22:33.They asked the minister if there is any further development in terms of
:22:34. > :22:38.getting velodrome in Northern Ireland? I know it was previously
:22:39. > :22:40.said that the business case was unsuccessful in the past but is
:22:41. > :22:45.there any development on that and the prospect of getting velodrome in
:22:46. > :22:49.the future? The member will know that the velodrome case previously
:22:50. > :22:58.did the stack up in terms of numbers but there is a study underway -- did
:22:59. > :23:01.not. There is a body pressing forward with the Department of sport
:23:02. > :23:06.and myself for a business case and I look forward to seeing that. I know
:23:07. > :23:12.anecdotally and through evidence and from seeing previous Commonwealth
:23:13. > :23:16.Games and Olympics that the sport of cycling is increasing in popularity
:23:17. > :23:18.and I have no doubt that after the Giro d'Italia, that will continue to
:23:19. > :23:24.flourish and look forward to having the plans for the future. 800 M
:23:25. > :23:26.people will be looking forward to having the Giro d'Italia around the
:23:27. > :23:32.world, and not just that, the emphasis to put forward a commission
:23:33. > :23:39.from business case that will stack up. Will the minister consider that?
:23:40. > :23:42.I am delighted to see so much interest in cycling and indeed for a
:23:43. > :23:46.velodrome. The member is right, we do need to see a business case and
:23:47. > :23:50.we need to sit stacking up, so it is really important that once a
:23:51. > :23:53.feasibility study has been completed and I have discussed it and
:23:54. > :23:55.considered it and met with the governing bodies, with sport
:23:56. > :24:00.Northern Ireland to talk through what the next steps are in terms of
:24:01. > :24:05.a business case, that business case is going to be crucial and it will
:24:06. > :24:05.have the detail that is needed in order
:24:06. > :24:15.have the detail that is needed in provide a velodrome. Then we need to
:24:16. > :24:21.work out what the next steps are, but we have a long way to go before
:24:22. > :24:28.we get to that stage. Given the costs along with the thing she has
:24:29. > :24:32.outlined and that many of the committees have issue with their
:24:33. > :24:35.budgets, aren't there more important things they can't be doing with the
:24:36. > :24:42.budget rather than indulging in the Minister's hobby? I'm not really too
:24:43. > :24:50.sure what the member is trying to prove in the points that she made,
:24:51. > :25:03.other than she is threatening me that if she believes something is
:25:04. > :25:05.contentious, but the member should know the particular remix for the
:25:06. > :25:10.scheme. The question is asked what else we can do and I think as
:25:11. > :25:13.ministers, we are always looking for additionality and the day we stop
:25:14. > :25:16.looking for additionality is the day we should hang our boots up. I have
:25:17. > :25:21.nothing else to say in response to the member's points, I don't want to
:25:22. > :25:28.point to her points other than political. I am progressing with
:25:29. > :25:31.Windsor Park and I have the Belfast City Council, the deadline that I
:25:32. > :25:39.have of them is that there plans, along with the FIA's need to be
:25:40. > :25:44.completed by May. If they are not, I am moving on with Windsor Park. It
:25:45. > :25:47.is unfortunate, but I'm not having any delays to Windsor Park because
:25:48. > :25:50.Belfast City Council have not been in a position to complete their
:25:51. > :25:52.plans for redevelopment. The Culture Minister, Caral Ni
:25:53. > :25:56.Chuilin, in determined mood during Question Time. Joining me now with
:25:57. > :26:01.her thoughts on proceedings is Dr Orna Young. Welcome back to the
:26:02. > :26:06.programme, good to see you again. To go back to the top story, your
:26:07. > :26:11.reaction to the news that John Downey isn't to be prosecuted? I
:26:12. > :26:14.think it is building on a lot of issues around dealing with the past
:26:15. > :26:20.more generally. Certainly, it is feeding into that feeling between
:26:21. > :26:22.the wider victims of the hierarchy, previous discussions we have had in
:26:23. > :26:34.that so previous discussions we have had in
:26:35. > :26:39.how it would progress and this is a step back in terms of confidence in
:26:40. > :26:44.the issue. is confiscated, isn't it? The PSNI handling of the case and
:26:45. > :26:48.the wider issue of the 187 letters that appear to have been sent to
:26:49. > :26:51.individuals? Definitely, there doesn't seem to be this equality
:26:52. > :26:53.across the board in terms of how people are being dealt with.
:26:54. > :26:58.Indeed, the information being given to the families, it is really
:26:59. > :27:03.problematic for the PSNI generally in terms of how we are dealing with
:27:04. > :27:08.the victims' issues across the board. The other issue debated in
:27:09. > :27:12.the chamber today was to do with the paper bag levy, the plastic bag
:27:13. > :27:17.levy. The DUP was accused of doing a U-turn on its view of paperbacks
:27:18. > :27:23.being included in the 5p levy. How significant was this change in the
:27:24. > :27:26.party's position? I think it is less significant than it is surprising,
:27:27. > :27:32.given the fact that it is clearly a U-turn from 2011 and it was made
:27:33. > :27:38.quite clear that basically what it is showing us this the parties are
:27:39. > :27:42.ultimately going back into the electioneering mode, in terms of
:27:43. > :27:46.satisfying particular electorates and constituencies in relation to
:27:47. > :27:51.specific businesses. A lot of the criticism of Stormont is there isn't
:27:52. > :27:56.much primary legislation enacted. This was potentially amending
:27:57. > :27:58.existing legislation, even more complicated. Absolutely and if you
:27:59. > :28:03.think about it, it was quite progressive in terms of a broader UK
:28:04. > :28:08.context and bringing us into line with the Republic and Wales, where
:28:09. > :28:12.it is very successful in terms of the provisions on plastic bags. We
:28:13. > :28:18.also touched about the news that the agriculture Minister was given
:28:19. > :28:22.?400,000 to help fishermen affected by the bad weather. I suppose some
:28:23. > :28:24.people would say it is very not considering the help farmers got
:28:25. > :28:31.last year because of the bad weather? -- fair enough. Yes and in
:28:32. > :28:35.terms of the nature of the work being done, it is a conjugated area
:28:36. > :28:39.and a real issue of the people in those areas where they are reliant
:28:40. > :28:54.in that -- on that and those areas where they are reliant
:28:55. > :28:58.One, when I'll have a rare interview with the Director of Prosecutions,
:28:59. > :28:59.Barra McGrory. Until then, from everyone in the team, goodbye.