:11:05. > :11:10.Hello and welcome to Stormont today. Another tax deadline is looming, do
:11:10. > :11:13.not worry it is not a personal income tax. But if you have a view
:11:14. > :11:19.on corporation tax and whether it should be lowered, you only have
:11:19. > :11:22.until Friday. Cannot make up your mind? Stay tuned. We will hear from
:11:22. > :11:27.a business champion and an opposing view.
:11:27. > :11:31.Plus, they are the good guys, aren't they? The Community
:11:31. > :11:38.Relations Council that is, so why when they were at Stormont did it
:11:38. > :11:48.turn out like this? Tom Elliott fights to keep order at an
:11:48. > :11:48.
:11:48. > :11:53.Albert Einstein like to say the hardest thing in the world to
:11:53. > :11:57.understand is income tax. At least he did not have to grapple with the
:11:57. > :12:04.issues of corporation tax. But to give us his take, I am joined by a
:12:04. > :12:10.Michael Ryan, vice-president of Bombardier Aerospace Belfast. Give
:12:10. > :12:15.us your pitch, why should we lower corporation tax? It is generally
:12:15. > :12:20.agreed within our society here that we lag behind most of the
:12:20. > :12:25.indicators first is the UK for the wellbeing of the our community in
:12:25. > :12:29.Northern Ireland. Those indicators are driven in many ways by the
:12:29. > :12:33.effectiveness of our economy here and our economy depends on
:12:33. > :12:36.businesses. If our economy depends on businesses them one of the ways
:12:36. > :12:40.to influence that is to increase the size of the businesses in
:12:40. > :12:46.Northern Ireland. The Assembly will be debating this tomorrow, we hear
:12:46. > :12:53.lots of talk about job creation, it could have re -- create 4,500 jobs
:12:53. > :12:56.a year. But we could lose money from the block grant. There has
:12:56. > :13:03.been at an argument about how much it could cost first is the number
:13:03. > :13:08.of jobs it could create. What we have been doing for the last 20
:13:08. > :13:13.years has not closed the gap. If we want to do something differently,
:13:13. > :13:17.what we have done his lookout side and looked at the data and looked
:13:17. > :13:21.at the evidence and the reduction of corporation tax is one of the
:13:21. > :13:26.tools that we begin will help us close the gap with the rest of the
:13:26. > :13:30.UK. The consultation has been extended until this Friday and the
:13:30. > :13:34.cynics would say that it is because the quality of responses is not
:13:34. > :13:38.there, people are not interested or it is not being argued well enough.
:13:38. > :13:42.You said yourself that tax is a difficult it issue for all of us
:13:42. > :13:46.individually and for corporations as well. We have had a lot of
:13:46. > :13:50.elections lately, we have had a lot of issues that have been asked of
:13:50. > :13:55.the tax payer and all of our citizens. That is another one on
:13:55. > :13:59.top of that. I do not think it reflects a lack of interest or
:13:59. > :14:05.opportunity. The critics say there is not one shred of evidence that
:14:05. > :14:09.it will create many jobs and it could benefit the rich. There is a
:14:09. > :14:15.lot of evidence, when we have looked at data from Estonia,
:14:15. > :14:20.Singapore, from the south of Ireland. It does not benefit the
:14:20. > :14:24.rich. If our businesses are no different from the businesses in
:14:24. > :14:28.the rest of the world our businesses will reinvest that in
:14:28. > :14:32.their businesses and that will eventually bring more tax in total
:14:32. > :14:42.as revenue for Northern Ireland from, for our society here. We will
:14:42. > :14:44.
:14:44. > :14:48.return to the subject later. Nelson the course and is now no
:14:48. > :14:52.stranger to interrogation. Let us hear from Martin McGuinness, who
:14:52. > :14:56.revealed among other things that he is considering taking the Executive
:14:56. > :15:01.on the road. First here he is answering questions on the memorial
:15:01. > :15:07.fund. Naturally I understand that this is an issue that has been in
:15:07. > :15:16.the media recently. A lot of people have been frustrated at the length
:15:16. > :15:20.of time it has taken. I am very pleased to confirm that we now have
:15:20. > :15:30.the necessary authorisations in place for the memorial budget for
:15:30. > :15:37.
:15:37. > :15:43.2011-12. Over �3.5 million has been distributed so far. Along with a
:15:43. > :15:52.total of �4.4 million provided in 2010-11 that has more than doubled
:15:53. > :15:56.the total in 2008-nine. When it exerts the terms and conditions of
:15:56. > :16:01.the letter of off-air, further funds will be released. That will
:16:01. > :16:06.enable the fund to be distributed to individuals whose applications
:16:06. > :16:14.have been assessed. Fancy a visit from the Executive, it seems Mr
:16:14. > :16:21.McGuinness wants to take meetings out and about. The Executive
:16:21. > :16:26.recognises the particular difficulties of up island life. It
:16:26. > :16:32.hopes to develop policies and projects that will improve
:16:32. > :16:36.conditions for islanders. They have indicated that they are broadly
:16:36. > :16:45.content with development so far. friend the Deputy First Minister
:16:45. > :16:49.for underlining the importance for ensuring that the island is
:16:49. > :16:52.properly serviced by the administration and the government
:16:52. > :16:57.departments in Northern Ireland. Will the Deputy First Minister
:16:57. > :17:03.today ensure that when it comes to implementation that OFMDFM will
:17:03. > :17:08.play an active role in making sure that there is delivery. We have had
:17:08. > :17:15.a lot in terms of commitment in the action plan but we need to see
:17:15. > :17:20.delivery on the ground which will benefit the people off the island.
:17:20. > :17:25.I think I can say on behalf of both the First Minister and myself that
:17:25. > :17:29.we do recognise the importance of giving as much support as we can to
:17:29. > :17:37.the islanders. Those of us who have been to the island, and I have been
:17:37. > :17:39.there myself, during the course of last year. We appreciate and
:17:39. > :17:44.understand the particular exceptional difficulties which
:17:44. > :17:51.islanders have, which people who are here on the mainland do not
:17:52. > :17:54.have. From our perspective, recognising the challenges faced by
:17:54. > :17:59.islanders, and they are different from here, means they do need to be
:17:59. > :18:04.addressed in a different way. Nelson McCausland was back taking
:18:04. > :18:09.questions with a very different brief, social development. Here he
:18:09. > :18:12.is facing a question on reform of pensions for women. Will the
:18:12. > :18:19.Minister confirm that he will work with DWP to ensure that changes
:18:19. > :18:23.brought about as a result of this bill or the widen 10 shirt and a
:18:23. > :18:30.reform that are advertised as widely as possible so that people
:18:30. > :18:35.can prepare for the financial future. I can in -- ensure the
:18:35. > :18:39.member of that. It is essential that we keep close contact with DWP
:18:39. > :18:44.in London as this process moves forward and that all the
:18:45. > :18:50.information is disseminated as widely as possible. So that people
:18:50. > :18:53.are not caught unawares and a fully aware of any implications.
:18:53. > :18:57.minister and the house and I am sure the wider community will be
:18:57. > :19:02.aware of the concern that there is come particularly among the small
:19:02. > :19:07.number of women who will be adversely affected by this. Members
:19:07. > :19:11.are working to minimise that change. Given that it will come before the
:19:11. > :19:14.Assembly, can the Minister outlined the period of time that the women
:19:14. > :19:20.will get to make belated preparation for a retirement that
:19:20. > :19:24.they did not expect to come when it now appears it is going to?
:19:24. > :19:30.Speaker, the amount of notice that an individual woman would receive
:19:30. > :19:35.would obviously depend on her date of birth. That could range from
:19:35. > :19:41.four-and-a-half years to nearly seven years. Women whose state
:19:41. > :19:45.pension age is due to increase the most have a longer period of notice
:19:45. > :19:50.than those affected earlier forum the increase is smaller.
:19:50. > :19:54.The main topic of debate in the chamber was the Budget, yet again.
:19:54. > :20:00.It was passed on a cross-community voting and the Minister dismissed
:20:00. > :20:07.his critics as whingers. One of those who voted against it was a
:20:07. > :20:13.single Green MLA, Stephen Agnew. The speakers as you are a whinger.
:20:13. > :20:15.That seems to be his attitude. He thinks that everybody else is being
:20:15. > :20:22.unrealistic. It is clear that the Budget could be allocated in
:20:22. > :20:29.different ways. It failed on the green new deal, which I think as
:20:29. > :20:33.well as being a good forward step, I think it would be a fairly major
:20:33. > :20:36.economic driver and has support from the business community,
:20:36. > :20:42.environmental groups and trade unions. I think that is something
:20:42. > :20:48.that this Budget it has failed to protect public services through
:20:48. > :20:52.Gram Mensing cuts through revenue- raising measures. And it has failed
:20:52. > :20:57.to provide the necessary funding so we can keep the cap on fees. Those
:20:57. > :21:02.are three fundamental issues on which this Budget fails. In terms
:21:02. > :21:07.of the green you deal, that is about making homes more efficient.
:21:07. > :21:10.But the money is not there to fund it. That was it when that has been
:21:10. > :21:14.made in previous debates. It is where you put your priorities, to
:21:14. > :21:21.me that should be one of the key priorities. It is not for this
:21:21. > :21:27.Executive and it is not within the budget. I know we're going to come
:21:27. > :21:36.on to it later but the cost of corporation tax if we go down that
:21:36. > :21:39.route would be similar to what the cost of the green new deal would be.
:21:39. > :21:48.So why are we in leaning towards that rather than the green New
:21:48. > :21:53.Deal? Do you think that talk by parties has been cheap? I think
:21:53. > :21:56.that yes. They are saying we are doing the green new deal but
:21:56. > :22:03.clearly it is not sufficient and there is not a genuine commitment
:22:03. > :22:06.to it. What we have got is a pilot scheme but we have had pilot
:22:06. > :22:14.schemes in the PUP Republic of up Ireland that have produced an
:22:15. > :22:24.immense of this. We can look at other countries examples, it does
:22:25. > :22:25.
:22:25. > :22:31.reduce jobs, it does reduce heating bills and it does reduce energy use.
:22:32. > :22:38.You're objecting to corporation tax as well? I will be supporting the
:22:38. > :22:41.motion that the Assembly should have the power. I think we should
:22:41. > :22:47.decide hearing Northern Ireland Water our corporation tax rule is.
:22:47. > :22:52.But I will be warning against of this had rushed into reducing and
:22:52. > :22:57.because it will result in cuts to public services and potential job
:22:57. > :23:01.losses with no guaranteed return. Michael Ryan, you heard it there,
:23:01. > :23:08.it will be cuts to public services with no guaranteed return. I do not
:23:08. > :23:17.believe it has to be cuts to public services. We have had to improve
:23:17. > :23:20.our competitiveness by 15% over the past five years. There is room
:23:20. > :23:28.within public services are to improve competitiveness without
:23:28. > :23:32.losing jobs. I think the green New Deal is a good thing in principle.
:23:32. > :23:34.The corporation tax, the data is there, the evidence is there, and
:23:34. > :23:38.looking forward to a future for Northern Ireland which is better
:23:38. > :23:42.than what we have now means that we have to do this.
:23:42. > :23:47.You would think that having the Community Relations Council to hand
:23:47. > :23:54.might lead to some good vibes among members. But the OFMDFM committee
:23:54. > :24:00.had to be suspended after tensions run high last week. It all started
:24:00. > :24:04.politely enough for with discussion of recent events in Belfast.
:24:04. > :24:11.Looking at the new stories of this week we start the week with a Rory
:24:11. > :24:18.McIlroy story of about Northern Ireland within the international
:24:18. > :24:24.global context. By the end of the week the story leading on the BBC
:24:24. > :24:30.News is riots in Belfast. I do not want to put that us either or us. I
:24:30. > :24:34.want to say that those her choices. I do think that tackling the issues
:24:34. > :24:44.that remain is an economic investment worth making with long-
:24:44. > :24:45.
:24:45. > :24:50.term consequences. Particularly for people in the most at vulnerable
:24:50. > :24:55.and weakest areas. There is an assertion that community relations
:24:55. > :24:59.can be a class obsession. There is no doubt that the people who pay
:24:59. > :25:03.for it are the people at the front end of some of the most week and
:25:03. > :25:07.vulnerable communities. It is useful to note that the correlation
:25:07. > :25:12.between poverty and conflict is very high. All the studies that
:25:12. > :25:17.have been done shows that there is a significant correlation in terms
:25:17. > :25:23.of the areas that suffer most in terms of conflict are also the
:25:23. > :25:27.areas with the highest levels of deprivation. Therefore, bringing
:25:27. > :25:37.together reconciliation on the one hand and of regeneration on the
:25:37. > :25:40.
:25:40. > :25:50.If anybody examined the conflict over the last 40 years, you can see
:25:50. > :25:52.
:25:52. > :26:01.clearly that poverty and conflict are not linked. That is my problem
:26:01. > :26:07.with the CRC all along. If you look back on their funding, it would be
:26:07. > :26:15.very hard to point to some progress where people have been changed from
:26:15. > :26:19.what they are doing to a different way of looking at things.
:26:19. > :26:24.correlation is that the areas that have suffered the most in the
:26:24. > :26:32.conflict are also areas of intense poverty. That is beyond doubt. I am
:26:32. > :26:42.not saying that poverty caused it? Look at the people involved in the
:26:42. > :26:43.
:26:44. > :26:49.conflict. Did they all come from poverty? Most of them did not.
:26:49. > :26:56.question in terms of which areas suffered the most tended to be
:26:56. > :27:03.areas of the most intense poverty, on both sides. What the G A A is
:27:03. > :27:12.trying to do what the Irish Football Association, anybody who
:27:12. > :27:22.was at Windsor Park in the night to remember in 1996 who goes there now,
:27:22. > :27:40.
:27:40. > :27:50.it would make a difference. I was sitting in a restaurant last year...
:27:50. > :27:55.Sorry, I will suspend the meeting. One minute later, the Sassoon
:27:55. > :28:05.reconvened with one notable absence. Did Tom Elliott press the ejector
:28:05. > :28:06.
:28:06. > :28:10.button? I am not going to storm a way the
:28:10. > :28:17.way -- storm away the way that Francie Molloy has done but I agree
:28:17. > :28:22.with some of the sentiments. poet Francie Molloy's allegation to
:28:22. > :28:28.David Jeffrey but he refused to comment.
:28:28. > :28:31.Twitter can get politicians into trouble. Ian McCrea has upset Sinn
:28:32. > :28:39.Fein after he tweeted that it was great to see Tyrone beat in the
:28:39. > :28:43.Ulster semi-final and that he hoped Donegal would be to Londonderry to
:28:43. > :28:51.keep the celebrations out of Mid- Ulster.
:28:51. > :28:55.If you put things out on Twitter, they are out in the public domain.
:28:55. > :28:59.Journalists see these things and, if you look at what Peter Robinson
:28:59. > :29:06.said last week about reaching out to other communities, what he saw
:29:06. > :29:12.as the Catholic or the nationalist community, that is the theory, but
:29:12. > :29:15.Ian puts it into practice on the ground with silly comments like
:29:15. > :29:23.this. It sends a very negative message about what some regard as
:29:23. > :29:33.the real face of the UUP. Does he need to apologise? He needs to
:29:33. > :29:38.apologise and withdraw his comments. The G A A does our lot to bring
:29:38. > :29:43.people in off the streets. He should withdraw the Commons and
:29:43. > :29:49.recognise it for what it is. Have you been speaking to people in D G