25/11/2013 Stormont Today


25/11/2013

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Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Coming up on the programme tonight,

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the failed tactics of the past. United condemnation of a car bomb

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left in Belfast city centre last night. It could have caused death

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and misery and mayhem in our city centre. Of that, there is no

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question. A man who kept his faith with

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politics - MLAs reflect on the life of Father Alec Reid. An

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extraordinary individual who made an incredible contribution to the peace

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process. Someone who was a friend of all of us in this chamber.

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And here to cast his eye over proceedings is our political

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reporter, Stephen Walker. Proceedings today were dominated

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with fresh condemnation of a terrorist attack. This time Members

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focussed their anger on last night's partially exploded bomb at the

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entrance to the Victoria Square car park in Belfast. The attack has been

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blamed on dissident republicans. The DUP's Jonathan Craig brought the

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motion to the Assembly. On Sunday night at nine o'clock

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approximately, and individual returning to his own home was

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confronted by three masked men, the car hijacked, a bomb put in it and

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he was forced to drive to the entrance at the Tahrir Square,

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Musgrave Street police station. -- Victoria Square. Those are the

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failed tactics of the past. A bomb with over 60 kilograms, of

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explosives, it could have caused death, misery and mayhem in our city

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centre. Of that, there is no question. These people need to know

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they have no support whatsoever in the community, that the vast

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majority of the people throughout Ireland -9 in the vast, vast

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majority, to move the whole process forward, there is a democratic way

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forward to pursue a united Ireland. So my message is simple. They need

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to stop and they need to stop now. And there is no way that we are

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going back to those days of conflict. Only politics works and

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those that have carried out this act, which involved, incidentally, a

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constituent, a man who was terrorised by this event. The fact

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is we should be saying to those people that carried it out, yes, you

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have carried out the failed tactics of the past. Politics works, nothing

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else will work in terms of bringing about change and peace and stability

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to our community. There is no point me using the word conned them. We

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use it ad nauseam. What we must do is to identify those who are

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responsible, track them down and make them subject to the rule of

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law. In the absence of that, the public will conclude that these

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people are, in essence, free to do what they want will stop I have said

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before. People seem more wedded to the struggle than any possible

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outcome because they must know that what they are carrying out can

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achieve no political outcome. We stand here today as representatives

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of Northern Ireland showing that democracy is what changes the way

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things are managed. Should we not, and not just as a gesture but as a

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body of all 108 of us, walk from this building together to this city

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and make that statement a statement of solidarity by the people's

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elected representatives against these people's and, not by doing

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that showed to these people that there is a better way?

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Our political reporter, Stephen Walker, is with me. Political

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reaction to the bombing was not just confined to the Stormont chamber.

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That's right. The first and deputy first ministers, Peter Robinson and

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Martin McGuinness talking about jobs with which Telecom and in many ways

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they were saying that the launch of these jobs was the symbol of the new

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Northern Ireland and then we had the bomb attack in the headlines was not

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as far as that was concerned, that was a sign of the old Northern

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Ireland. They were asked about the bomb attack and this is what they

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have to say. We are community. We cannot handed over to the police and

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say solve that problem, it has to be the community which gets engaged in

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dealing with this issue and that means providing information which

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means making it clear to the people that we will not change course

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because of it. The vast majority of people want to live normal lives and

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they who find themselves in this little cocoon from a bygone age will

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at some stage wake up and recognise that they are totally disengaged

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from the community and that does absolutely nothing whatsoever for

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the community. The Secretary of State has also been talking about

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what happened. Yes, to Reza Villa said this was a reckless and callous

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attack -- to Reza billions. She said families were forced and commuters

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disrupted and businesses were disrupted. She said this was

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ordinary people going about their daily business. She said the economy

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was being held to ransom by this and she said it had to stop. Reaction

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from Dublin as well? Some reaction, one said it was nothing short of

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attempted murder and it comes in the way of recent incidents will stop he

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said all of this had been perpetrated by people who have no

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political support. He said it has to stop and likes of the other people

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we have been hearing today, he said anybody with information should come

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forward and contact the PSNI. Stephen, for now, thank you. Rural

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crime and how to deal with severe weather were issues dealt with by

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the Agriculture Minister at Question Time today. First, though, helping

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the farming community with literacy problems.

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I am aware that the level of literacy can cause some members of

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the rule community to encounter difficulties when completing forms.

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Many interactions with customers involve the completion of such forms

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for various schemes and grants that are a minister. Where local offices

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can explain these and the information needed, they are unable

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to provide a level of assistance that would fill in a form. The

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charity is well placed to support rural areas where anxieties and

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difficulties are faced. This organisation receives funding

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through the tackling rural poverty programme. And my depart provides

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services -- my department. Staff in the local offices will advise that

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the organisation can provide assistance to those with learning or

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literacy issues. Appropriate guidance will be put in place to

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ensure that the issues are handled with sensitivity. There are many

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things that farmers can do to prepare for winter and the charities

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have been very active in supporting training. One college embarked on a

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programme of workshops, publications and face-to-face advice during

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summer and this work will continue throughout the winter. Many attended

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open days and attendees receive training on livestock management

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topics including for the assessment and stock take. Grassland and

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measurement, increasing efficiency and soil improvement. I am pleased

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to report that with the support of these colleges and improved weather

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in the summer this year, fodder yields have increased significantly.

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Stocks on most farms have recovered to levels which are balanced with

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projections. Livestock farmers are well prepared going into this

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winter. Will be minister condemned the scurrilous accusations of

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commerce made in the North Antrim press that some farmers are hoping

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for another bad winter because the compensation they received was an

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easy way to make money? I have not received a report that I would

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absolutely condemn that. People and seeing the distress it is course.

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Rural crime is a worrying and escalating problem. What new

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initiatives has she taken to tackle this trend? I agree with the member

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and we have seen quite a number of cases highlighted recently.

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Particularly around cattle theft. I regularly engage with the PSNI and

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chief constables and the Department of Justice to talk about how we can

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work together because the levels of rural crime are concerning. I

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recently met the Minister for Justice on the 14th of October when

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we talked about the rural crime unit established and we now have

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appointed Mr no plans to announce any cultural

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bursaries yet, it is my intention to launch another bursary scheme this

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year. The bursary scheme is aimed at broadening the appeal of the Irish

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language and offers opportunity irrespective of traditions

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backgrounds for eligible applicants to have a chance of attending an

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Irish language summer course. The scheme also helps participants and

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financial outlays which may occur as a barrier to access. I thank the

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Minister. Can the Minister give an assessment of how she thinks it

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could be encouraged among the Unionist community? The leaflet

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initiative is about making language accessible to all and I think that

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the initiative encourages that. This week, leafleting will take place

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across Fermanagh organised by the grand Lodge of Ireland to bring

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young people from Protestant Catholic backgrounds to explore our

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cultural richness and ensuring learning through music and language

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and culture and such events provide a good opportunity to promote this.

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Another celebration will allow people across the community to

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celebrate our cultural heritage. Following on from the previous

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question's supplementary question, with the Minister agree that one of

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the things that will attract the Unionist community to take part in

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Irish line which classes was the Irish language was not used as a

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political tool by politicians? You have dished deliberately just done

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that! -- you have just done that. And this is experiences like that

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where it is truly unhelpful and not very supportive where people from

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your constituency are learning the Irish language, it is not giving

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good leadership and agree with you are we need to not politicise any

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language. If the Minister satisfied that things end Derry-Londonderry

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have been promoted during the year as City of Culture?

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There are always complaints and concerns at times where I thought

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they were passed by but I have met many groups and not just the big

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ticket events but many groups within the community who are not only happy

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that the have not been involved but to try to strengthen the legacy from

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this year and beyond and that is across the community. Can I ask the

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Minister what her department has done or is doing for the annual

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shutting of the Gates pageant as a major cultural event? I am not aware

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of the department giving any specific support for that. They have

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been part of the cultural programme and what I can do is chat with them

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to see if there are any requests. We are certainly supportive. As a woman

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living in north Belfast there are many things we can look towards the

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apprentices for as regards what we need to do because up and down the

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road it almost becomes a tale of two cities. Caral ni Chuilin.

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Current careers advice is failing our young people, that was the

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message coming from the floor of the chamber today as MLAs discussed a

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report by the Employment and Learning committee on careers

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education here. Work experience should be used in a

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very meaningful way by introducing students to the work environment.

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Currently they are many flaws in the system and students have to find

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their own placements and if they are unsuccessful they can spend a week

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picking litter from the school grounds. An information gap does

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exist and there is a weak understanding of the labour market.

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There appears to be little awareness of the different routes to success.

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Young people pursue educational journeys where they do not find

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works relevant to their qualifications when they leave

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school. What makes a good careers service? This has been alluded to by

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other people. A motivated careers teacher and we need ongoing careers

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development for these teachers. Secondly create better school and

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business links where there are opportunities for teachers to

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experience the world of the work environment and vice versa. I

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welcome the recommendation to place a requirement on schools to inform

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students in the years ten, 11 and 12 of the variety of opportunities that

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exist, academic and vocational routes. This is a key recommendation

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of the report. As the committee chair has recommended, crucial to

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delivering on that responsibility will be adequate resources. One

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thing we heard last week is that the majority of young people currently

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going through education will be employed in jobs that have not yet

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been invented. It is hard to get our heads around that but it highlights

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the fact that the jobs market is changing and young people need to be

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equipped for that market. We do not want to limit the horizons of our

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students in Northern Ireland. We should look at it from a global

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point of view. It is not just Northern Ireland, it is not just

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Scotland and the UK, it is the whole world and we must find our place

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there. We have decided to begin a formal review of careers strategy

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and careers provision. It will take into account the recommendations of

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the employment and learning committee enquiry report. I cannot

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overstate the importance to the transformation of our economy of

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effectively investing in our people and developing their skills. I

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believe that good careers policy and delivery structures should be

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considered a foundation stone of a strong economy. Key to this is

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ensuring a good match between supply and demand.

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A new focus on careers advice. Now, Robin Swann is with be now. Are you

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pleased at this outcome? I am pleased. Our main agenda was to get

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the Minister and the education minister involved in making sure our

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careers service is fit for purpose. In those closing comments he talked

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about supply and demand and that was the thrust of why we started the

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enquiry. We see a number of young people leaving our education system

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with no prospect of employment but we have employers and business

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crying out because of a skills shortage so it is important to get

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those two things matched up. For many of us careers advice was

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limited. What changes do you think need to happen? Ltd, I think, would

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be a benefit or even a step up from some of the evidence we saw in the

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enquiry where we saw systemic and other examples of poor careers

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advice. There was also very good examples. We want careers advice to

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become a statutory requirement in the schools provision so that

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schools must require -- must provide it. Careers teachers should have a

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qualification in careers teaching. We found it a surprise that actually

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most careers teachers are actually the history teacher or the PE

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teacher who has a spare period in the week rather than a specifically

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trained teacher. It varies from school to school, obviously, but in

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many it is a bit of an adjunct. Would you like a focused approach

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where it is taught as a core subject. That is one of the

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recommendations in the report. We would like it to be part of the

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curriculum because that is the only way we feel we can embed it in the

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education system so that young people have the opportunity to make

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sure that their careers prospects and careers guidance are the best

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they had to offer. The whole work landscape has what just -- has

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changed so much. One criticism often levelled at schools is that they

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encourage children to take the wrong subjects and pursue wrong subjects.

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Subjects that might have been appropriate ten or 20 or 30 years

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ago but may not be appropriate now. It is one of the things that we did

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find as well, the jobs that our young people will be looking for are

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jobs that have not been created. It will not be the jobs in medicine and

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law that have always been seen as the safe and reliable jobs and

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professional professions that the parents want their children to go

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into so we have two look into the future and that is what we have been

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getting from the industry as well, to make sure we're giving children

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and young people the skills to go into the future job market. We have

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recently got back from the future employment forum where we had that

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90% of jobs in the next ten years will require a basic qualification

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in ICT and we should be investing in our young people to make sure those

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qualifications are in place. Very interesting to see that does indeed

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happen and if the ministers take on the advice that you are giving

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there. Robin Swann, thank you.

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It was a busy day for the Culture Minister as she was also called upon

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to answer a motion concerning the transferring of broadcasting powers

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to the Assembly. A DUP petition of concern prevented a vote, but the

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Assembly was divided on the issue. Sinn Fein tabled the motion, which

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also called for Irish language and Ulster Scots funding to be

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transferred to the Assembly. There are a host of practical and

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operational reasons why it would be a good thing to have powers over

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broadcasting devolved to the north, an idea also being promoted in

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Scotland and Wales. The main argument in my view for such a move

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is to create an environment where decisions on what is broadcast is a

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result of a local decision making process. The Irish language

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community makes up a sizeable section of our community. Those

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Irish speakers and the Ulster Scots communities have the right to have

:21:17.:21:20.

their ways of life reflected on the TV screen. While there have been

:21:21.:21:23.

improvements in recent years and there is absolutely no doubt about

:21:24.:21:28.

that it has happened in quite a haphazard way and still does not

:21:29.:21:33.

have secure funding. Surely that cannot be the most appropriate way

:21:34.:21:37.

to make provision for what is a significant section of the

:21:38.:21:42.

population. 15 years after the Good Friday agreement we have no real

:21:43.:21:46.

movement on promoting the Irish language and the Ulster Scots

:21:47.:21:52.

dialect. The Department of arts and leisure have paid lip service to

:21:53.:21:54.

promoting languages but they have failed to deliver the changes we

:21:55.:21:57.

have seen in Scotland and Wales for example. This debate is too

:21:58.:22:04.

important to be discussed in 90 minutes. These decisions should be

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considered carefully by the executive before any proposals are

:22:08.:22:12.

agreed. I am not to wear that this has even been mentioned at the

:22:13.:22:16.

executive. In the light of that it would be wholly inappropriate for

:22:17.:22:19.

decisions such as this to be made on the hoof or on the basis of a short

:22:20.:22:25.

Assembly debate. Certainly we would be prepared to consider the issue in

:22:26.:22:28.

the longer term and take into account all of the arguments. In any

:22:29.:22:33.

event, further devolution issues should be for the first and the

:22:34.:22:37.

deputy first ministers to negotiate with the UK Government. An

:22:38.:22:42.

independent panel would need to fully scrutinised by ability of this

:22:43.:22:48.

proposal, specifically costings. Would we be able to fund this

:22:49.:22:51.

ourselves without the subsidy from the rest of the UK's licence fee

:22:52.:22:57.

payers? At the risk of sounding blunt, it strikes me as little point

:22:58.:23:03.

in devolving broadcasting into a situation where decision-making can

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be slow or indeed characterised by total deadlock. Our overarching

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policy is to support a multi-language strategy. This motion

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continues to measure the subject in orange or green and that was

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referred to in the opening statement. There is the disparity

:23:24.:23:26.

between the Irish language body and the abilities of the Ulster Scots

:23:27.:23:32.

language body. There is little point in this becoming a Sinn Fein power

:23:33.:23:37.

game in an attempt to detach Northern Ireland from the UK.

:23:38.:23:43.

Northern Ireland is of enormous economic importance and the content

:23:44.:23:50.

on other channels touches all of our lives here and shapes our opinions

:23:51.:23:56.

on international and national subjects. Broadcasting policies and

:23:57.:23:59.

funding remain the responsibility of Westminster. The BBC in particular,

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but not on its own, should not be able to short-change us. If we had a

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role in the credibility of the BBC and other networks we can ensure

:24:13.:24:15.

that the North is properly represented and valued across the

:24:16.:24:17.

whole networks. Caral ni Chuilin.

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Earlier MLAs marked the passing of Father Alec Reid who died in Dublin

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on Friday. He was a key figure in the Northern Ireland peace process,

:24:25.:24:27.

acting as a go-between with the IRA and politicians. The tributes were

:24:28.:24:33.

led by the Deputy First Minister. An extraordinary individual, who

:24:34.:24:36.

made an incredible contribution to the peace process. Someone who was a

:24:37.:24:46.

friend of all of us in this chamber. It is a long way from

:24:47.:24:51.

Tipperary to the disadvantaged streets of West Belfast but for over

:24:52.:25:00.

40 years Father Alec Reid laboured on behalf of the community that he

:25:01.:25:07.

was so much a part of. An image of Father Alec Reid depicted crying

:25:08.:25:12.

over the bodies of some army corporal 's will live for ever in

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our memories. A real act of grace and compassion and images that went

:25:18.:25:26.

right across the world. He was a man who, when it came to the pursuit of

:25:27.:25:30.

peace, would not give up on the pursuit of peace and anyone who met

:25:31.:25:37.

with him and talked with him, especially in the run down to the

:25:38.:25:41.

cease-fire, knew that he was not going to be derailed. Today we hear

:25:42.:25:47.

there may be a documentary broadcast tonight which will include comments

:25:48.:25:52.

which I imagine the Unionist community will find utterly

:25:53.:25:57.

unacceptable, but I hope that was not the abiding memory of Father

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Alec Reid. Through the many decades of the troubles many people were

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very critical of organised religion and said that the churches did not

:26:05.:26:08.

do enough to end the troubles. They did not like to get involved in

:26:09.:26:13.

controversial issues, they did not like to roll their sleeves up and

:26:14.:26:16.

get their hands dirty. Father Alec Reid did. Those outside the

:26:17.:26:22.

political limelight to deserve much of the praise and whose contribution

:26:23.:26:28.

by its very nature may be -- may never become fully known and Father

:26:29.:26:32.

Alec Reid was definitely one of those. Father Alec Reid kept the

:26:33.:26:37.

faith, not only in his Christian witness but kept the faith in

:26:38.:26:40.

politics that there was another way of bringing real change.

:26:41.:26:42.

NI21's John McCallister with his tribute to the late Father Alec

:26:43.:26:44.

Reid. And I'm joined again by our

:26:45.:26:49.

Political Reporter, Stephen Walker. The house was united in paying

:26:50.:26:53.

tribute to Father Alec Reid. Yes, I think it was one of those rare

:26:54.:26:57.

occasions when unionists and nationalists and the Alliance and

:26:58.:27:00.

independence came together to pay tribute to Father Alec Reid. He was

:27:01.:27:05.

an individual who, as we heard, he was not just known in Belfast, he

:27:06.:27:09.

was known right across Ireland and regarded by some as the father of

:27:10.:27:13.

the peace process and he was an international figure who stood up

:27:14.:27:17.

for his community. He was sometimes controversial but an individual who

:27:18.:27:22.

you would say was a Christian to his fingertips and anything that he did

:27:23.:27:25.

was with Christian intent. A quick look ahead to proceedings. A

:27:26.:27:30.

few busy things. For ministers will appear tomorrow. John O'Dowd is

:27:31.:27:34.

talking about education. Danny Kennedy will talk about road racing

:27:35.:27:39.

and after lunch question Time with Martin McGuinness and the employment

:27:40.:27:44.

minister. One of the committees tomorrow will be pretty topical.

:27:45.:27:48.

Yes, the procedures committee has a lot on its plate. They are looking

:27:49.:27:53.

at standing orders, talking about the Attorney General and the

:27:54.:27:56.

Attorney General's right to participate in proceedings. In

:27:57.:28:00.

recent days John Larkin has been in the news every day so he is a figure

:28:01.:28:04.

that will pop up again tomorrow. The committee is also looking at the

:28:05.:28:08.

emergence of political parties during this mandate. Obviously big

:28:09.:28:15.

interest in that. There will be a review of topical questions which is

:28:16.:28:19.

something that has been introduced in this Assembly term. They will

:28:20.:28:22.

look at it to see if it is actually working so a lot at -- a lot on

:28:23.:28:27.

their plate tomorrow. No Richard Hass? No, he has gone back to

:28:28.:28:32.

America for Thanksgiving and then he will be back in Belfast on the 9th

:28:33.:28:37.

of December and there will be two weeks of talks and may hope for a

:28:38.:28:41.

agreement by Christmas. Thank you very much indeed.

:28:42.:28:44.

That's it for tonight. I'll be back at the same time tomorrow night.

:28:45.:28:48.

Until then, from everyone on the team, bye bye.

:28:49.:28:54.

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