28/02/2012 Stormont Today


28/02/2012

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Good evening and welcome to Stormont Today.

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New research has found that Northern Ireland is the happiest

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place in the UK. But does that apply to our MLAs?

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He has not manage to recover from the fact that he is not the

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minister for justice. He knows why. But things are more come as members

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listen to Anna Lo. I am thinking back to the young person who tried

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to take my car. Why did he want to do this? With me throughout the

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programme is Jane Beavis. Sammy Wilson at risk to the wrath

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of bigger retailers when he introduced higher rate for bigger

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stores. Have the bigger stores accepted this now? We are faced

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with a better complete. -- fait accompli. We very much support of

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the rate relief being given to smaller businesses. And that is all

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small businesses, not just shops. The bet that we did not like is

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that it is only larger retailers that have been asked to fund it.

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That is a high burden for them. Many other stores are making

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healthy profits. Surely they should pay a little bit extra to help

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those people who are going under? There is a lot of confusion because

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of the larger turnovers that multiple retailers have. Retailers

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generally make a profit of a 5% margin. But you do not think it

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will cost anybody to pull out of Northern Ireland? We do not say

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that it will result and anybody pulling out. But if a larger format

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Straw became they could, -- store became vacant, new retailers it

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might think twice. The UK and Europe are a relatively attractive

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markets. We are not seem big growth in consumer demand. -- we are not

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see him. Sammy Wilson and Alex Attwood are everywhere. Today, they

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were Question Time's double act. We will hear from the finance minister

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in a moment, but we start with the Environment Minister.

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As I previously indicated, I have two streams of conversation going

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on with the Association of British Insurers animal that. 1 in respect

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of administrative means in the trading -- training of novice

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drivers. The second is a relation to bearing down on the issue of

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cost. One of those factors is that ensures will not let it be known

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that profit and loss as they have in respect of their businesses,

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including here in Northern Ireland. I find that situation and

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acceptable. I believe that information should be shared. Given

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the higher cost of insurance in the north of Ireland, particularly in

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rural areas, I believe they should assure that information. Reform of

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local government has finally been agreed. This is a once and a

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political lifetime opportunity to remodel local government. I think

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it is desirable even if we fight about detail. We need to be mindful

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that we do not have for ever. We now have a deadline of elections in

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May 2014. File that is adequate time to get all the issues, and

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they are big issues around questions of assets and liabilities

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and human resources, we have enough time, but we need to be mindful

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that we apply our mind if it is they will of the Assembly. I thank

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the Minister in light of his response. When people voted in 2011,

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those councillors will remain as representatives of for the entirety

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of the term? Yes, I am pleased to confirm this is a hybrid situation

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that could end up in a muddle. Councillors elected in May 2000 the

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14th, if they are MLAs about time, they will be entitled to continue

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as MLAs and councillors until May 2015. The shadow councils in 2015

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will all Labour shadow until a year later. -- will only be shadow.

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to finance. That will draw spent on consultantss was less than a �60

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million. That is a reduction of �56 million from the level which was

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reported in 2007 and 2000 added. -- 2008. The Executive is committed to

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reducing that level every year. We set the target, then a require that

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any consultancy spend above �10,000 has to be approved by ministers,

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and that has affected the number of applications that has come.

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Ministers can a low were that the threshold within their own

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department. -- at ministers can reduce that threshold. Does the

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minister for see a day when they can do without consultants. It has

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to be kept in mind that we will always require some consultants in

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any public body. There will be occasions when the expertise does

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not reside with them back at department. It may be a one off

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piece of work when there is no point in a employing their

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expertise full-time. While we tried to get consultancy spend down as

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much as possible, and indeed, we can build into the contract that

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consoled hims a train up people with they mack the department, I do

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not foresee a situation where we will not have any consultants. --

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within the department. I should have said a 56% of production, not

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�56 million. A motion for calling for tougher sentences for

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carjacking was passed at this evening. It is about sending out

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the message that if you are involved in this crime, you are

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going to pay for the consequences. We cannot panda to these people are

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we think they are above the law. That is why we felt this amendment

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was necessary. It does not take away from the existing motion, we

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would not want to do that. But they just felt it out a little bit. We

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acknowledged the fact that this is a crime in there should be dealt

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with as a crime. I am not known to my liberal views in relation to

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criminals. Those who break the law should be dealt with. In this

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instance, we have a scenario where the person targeted is generally

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female and alone. Cars are stolen and destroyed. No right-thinking

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individual could or would do anything other than condemn these

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actions. I think there has been 21 carjacking is in Belfast this year.

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That is not acceptable. There needs to be visible community policing.

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There has been a... Community policing should not just be

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comforting phraseology. It should be at the heart of everything the

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police do. The committee have a role, the justice system has a role,

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and the police have a role in bringing this to an end.

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appreciate the PSNI has established a special task force to step up

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patrolling and gather intelligence to make arrests. I am thinking back

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to be done person who tried it could take my car. I wonder why he

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wanted to do this? Breaking the law and putting himself and others at

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Anna Lo mentioned joyriding there, and there is a certain irony to all

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of this, when joyriding figures have had gone down, we have this

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increased threat of carjacking. and they think what some of these

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criminals are doing is carjacking and hijacking. We had the seen a

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week ago where a man was hit with a hammer. The fact is that the

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criminals have stepped up their game. This is the next step, upping

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the ante on it. They are hijacking cars and throwing people out and

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injuring people in the Moses -- in the process. It is very difficult

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to police this kind of crime. indeed. A short time ago, I saw a

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case where Cartwright to be carjackers, but when you look at

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the research out today, it is not only in Belfast, and it is not a

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new crime. There is a media attention on it in recent times,

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and rightly so. But it is happening north, south, east and west Belfast,

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so it is hard to police. But the police are doing all they can to

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address people. The judicial system needs to be doing all it can to

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make sure that sentences are put on people. Interesting figures, up to

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six years for people who have been convicted. That sounds like a fair

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enough sentence for that type of crime. The maximum term but no

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individual can get his 15 years, but the fact is David Ford, the

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Minister, had 26 cases in recent years where people had been

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convicted. And if you add the 26 convictions, it wouldn't even add

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up to 15 years together. The maximum sentence has never been

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imposed on an individual. So the justice department needs to step up

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to the market and make sure that it is made quite clear to anybody who

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is talking about it, there is a lack of confidence, and that

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confidence Mr be restored. The poor state of the economy has

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many knock-on effect, some of which are already being felt now. During

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the boom, many sites were bought and cleared with a view to

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development. But after the bust, they have been left vacant. Many

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are not only are eyesores but pose a danger to locals. Mary Creagh

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would called on the Environment Minister to act. We would like

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property owners to take steps to secure and tidy up premises. There

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are a significant limits to the powers, and this has been

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acknowledged through the answers to written questions by the Minister.

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There are a number of areas in my own constituency, and I have no

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doubt this is the case throughout Northern Ireland, where sites are

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lying and secure. -- insecure. Sometimes this is because a portion

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of land is left were materials were left during building, or other

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areas which have been cleared in readiness for development. In

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today's economic climate and the devastating in Cap -- impact this

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has had on the building trade, the latter example is very prevalent.

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Some may have fencing around them, others no fencing at all. But it

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appears that local councils have no powers to secure a green field

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sites, but can secure site awaiting development. This gap is not filled

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by the Health and Safety Executive either, I Magnus -- a matter which

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was confirmed. This has been referred to us as an urban problem,

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but in fact it is a rural one as well. It does make reference to

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clear sites. There are towns where the developer has come in, demolish

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the building on site, and leave something which looks like the

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Sahara desert. Serious health problems can arise, and am quite

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serious about that. That can go on for years, if the companies go into

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liquidation. During that debate, the Environment

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Minister promised to call councillors together for a summit

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to see how the issue could be tackled, and he said he hoped to

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release money to improve town centres. The motion was carried

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unanimously. Do improving town centres are a big

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issue for your organisation, we have 1,000 shops that closed last

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year, 14% remaining vacant as we speak. Yes, we have seen at the

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highest levels of shop vacancies here in Northern Ireland, and that

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is obviously a worrying feature. So we are looking forward to the

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Minister bringing forward the business -- Business improvement

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District legislation, and one of the ways you can encourage

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partnership and start to invest in and restore those town centres, and

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for the planning reforms to come in, too. Obviously planning is a big

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issue. In terms of regeneration, big stores coming in, we are

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waiting for John Lewis, but what is the experience of other towns and

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cities across the UK? Retell can play a major part in helping

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redevelop. If you look at a place like Cardiff, for example, where

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there is a major new shopping centre, St David's. It has some

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really big names as the anchor stores. That has completely

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transformed Cardiff, lots more visitor numbers there, lots more

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spending, and that has really helped the local economy. Thank you.

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The Justice Minister will be reappointed using a cross-community

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vote and not the previous system, it has been decided. This means the

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current Minister, David Ford, is likely to stay in post. The SDLP

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are not happy, arguing that the post should be allocated in the

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same way as other ministries. Martin McGuinness accused the

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alliance Party of entering into a devilish packed with the DUP and

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Sinn Fein. Complicit in this arrangement was the abandonment of

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the principal opposition for the unprincipled seeking of office and

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power. And indeed by sacrificing principle for office, they got

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their just reward. But there subjugation to the DUP and to Sinn

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Fein is something they will live to regret. And have to say to Mr

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McGuinness, hell hath no fury like a would-be Minister scorned, and

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very clearly, he hasn't managed to recover from the fact that he is

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not the Minister for Justice M elected by this House. And he knows

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why the people of Belfast would not have confidence in him having his

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position. We would have preferred that the Justice Minister was

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elected in the same way as all the other Ministers in this Assembly.

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However, we know that at that time it wasn't possible. Now, the SDLP

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are aggrieved at that, because they felt that the Justice Ministry

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should have been ours. And Albarn McGuinness in his speech talked

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about how Sinn Fein into DUP perversely used and cynically

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gerrymandered the process to exclude the SDLP. Perhaps the

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member hasn't noticed that Sinn Fein didn't benefit from the

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outcome of those negotiations, and neither did the DUP. Some say I got

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it wrong. Certainly not. I got it right! Order, order! That is why

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the DUP belatedly had to run scurrying to get changes made in

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the 2009 Act, because they were asleep at the wheel, couldn't see,

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couldn't read what was in the tour to act, couldn't read what was in

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the 2004 Act, and had to get it changed. That is why some of the

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powers which are now going back for review were taken out. Order!

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Nobody in this House speaks with less credibility on the matter of

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justice than the dissident member for North Antrim. Happily the

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people of North Antrim put him on his box as he squeaked through one

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the ninth count. Mr Speaker, I believe we have a balanced and

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workable way forward. We have shown maturity and made progress on

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matters which eluded those who went before us. I commend the main

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motion to this House, and urge the House to resolve accordingly.

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Now, the Agriculture Minister has warned the next few weeks will be

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crucial for farmers concerned about Schmoll and bird virus. 83 cases

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have been reported after the disease cross to the channel from

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the mainland. It is thought to be carried by midges, and can hit

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cattle and sheep. We are watching the situation very carefully with

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other countries, and still have no confirmed cases here. It has

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reached Luxembourg and Italy, so there are 30 new countries. But we

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still have not detected any cases. We are trying to get as much

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information out there as possible to farmers, so it is a new disease.

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We want farmers to be aware of the new sentence and what they are

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looking for, and if they suspect, they should contact the Department.

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What other sentence? As we enter into lambing season, it will be a

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very good time to detected. When the lambs are born, if there are

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any birth defect, we want the farmer to inform their vets so that

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they can report the situation. In adult cattle, it causes diarrhoea

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and fever. And at this stage, is there any risk that it could be

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passed from animal to animal? this stage we believe it is coming

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from vectors, from midges. So I think there is a lot of research

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going on. Because it is a new disease, trying to establish all

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the contributing factors. worried should farmers be? We don't

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want to put anybody on alert and panic them, the but we have a

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surveillance operation, and we need to watch the situation as we enter

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the lambing season. It will be a key time to establish whether or

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not we have the disease. The former DUP laid it in Paisley left

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hospital today after being admitted three weeks ago for heart problems.

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There was obviously a lot of concern around the building when

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Ian Paisley was rushed into the Ulster Hospital around three weeks

:24:49.:24:55.

ago. In more recent times, we have learned that he was discharged from

:24:55.:24:58.

intensive care and moved to another unit within the hospital, then we

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got a statement from the family confirming that he had returned

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home today. Peter Robinson released a statement that he was delighted

:25:05.:25:11.

by that. Baroness Paisley thanked the medical staff. And she thanked

:25:11.:25:15.

those who sent wishes and prayers, and asked for more privacy while

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her husband recuperates. We have been talking about new technology

:25:19.:25:27.

within the chamber. There was news on that today? Yes, the Welsh

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Assembly is particularly hi-tech, and Stormont has lagged behind a

:25:32.:25:37.

little. The problem has been that if MLAs decide to start texting or

:25:37.:25:41.

tweeting from their phones, it interferes with the microphones,

:25:41.:25:45.

and comes out on the televisions. So a committee on procedures has

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been considering this, and they have decided that there is a way

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round it, and with the use of wi-fi or tablet computers, politicians

:25:52.:25:57.

can get on with their work in the chamber at the same time as debates

:25:57.:26:03.

going on around them. Gerry Kelly, chair of that, has now put forward

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that as a proposal to the commission that runs the building.

:26:07.:26:11.

It is a good move to make. Everybody was up for it, even old

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fogies like me. There also needs to be training to use this type of

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equipment. If you can do it with wi-fi without ruining the sound

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quality for that all-important kit for Stormont Today? Absolutely. We

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have the ability, totally have the ability to bring wi-fi here. That

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would do away with the interference. And the Environment Minister had a

:26:42.:26:45.

lot to say today. He was taking part in the debate which you have

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already heard about disused development sites, and he's hopes

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to spruce up some of the areas that will be open to view by visitors to

:26:55.:26:59.

the Irish Open. He also made a statement about major planning

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applications, saying he was trying to hurry up the planning system in

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terms of some more controversial Big contentious decisions, and he

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promised somewhat seriously that he would clear around seven major

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planning applications tomorrow. He set himself a deadline of the end

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of February. He didn't give any details of exactly what those would

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consist of, but he should have some decisions for us within the next 24

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hours. A final thought from you. One other thing we are doing by

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ourselves here is the plastic bag tax. Where do stores stand and it?

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We have been involved in some voluntary initiatives over number

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of years now, and have managed to halve the number of single use

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carrier bags that were taken through that. The people of

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Northern Ireland take your bags per head than anywhere in Great Britain

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for example. So I think a lot of progress has already been made.

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Clearly we are waiting to see the regulations and how the levy is

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going to be administered, and we want something that is a light

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touch and on burdensome. Do you think it will be a reasonable cause

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to take? We hope we can come up with a system that satisfy as the

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Government and is easy for business. Could thank you for being addressed

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