29/11/2011 Stormont Today

Hello and welcome to Stormont Today. Despite a gloomy economic forecast

coming from the Chancellor, there has been some good news for us in

his Autumn Statement, with up to �200 million more to spend on

public services over the next three years. Also tonight, Emilys call

for tougher sentencing for violent crime against older people. We need

to send a clear message that a tax on the elderly will not be

tolerated, and that, if you attack an elderly person, you are going to

go to prison. And he was firing shots across the chamber at the

Deputy First Minister. I think that was called a cheap shot. But that

is not unusual coming from Gregory. Keeping me company tonight is a

pensioner activist, Ivan Baxter a. There was some good news for

pensioners and the Chancellor's Autumn Statement that the basic

pension going up by �5.30 next year. But is that enough? It is less than

we would have liked, of course, because the Chancellor is now using

an inflation rate, of the CPR, which is less than the previous

inflation rate, the retail price index which was 5.8% this year, so

we have lost 0.6% already. If that continues into the future, people

will in fact lose quite a few 1,000 pounds of their pensions over a

period of time. For less well-off pensioners, I would have thought

any increase would have been welcome, given how tight things are.

The air was a concern that the Chancellor might not even give the

5.2% during the last week or so. There were rumours going around

that he would not be able to afford it, but he has done that and I

suppose we should be pleased that he has given us 5.2% when we were

looking for 5.8%. 5.2% is better than nothing, really. War or other

main issues worrying pensioners at the moment? The biggest concern

pensioners have is getting through the winter. There is a lot of fuel

poverty among pensioners in Northern Ireland. More so than on

mainland in Great Britain, because we depend heavily on oil, add or

oil has increased, as you know, considerably over the last couple

of years. This year, they have reduced the winter grant by �50 for

ordinary pensioners, and for those who are 80 years and over, it has

been reduced by �100. This has seemed to be a rather peculiar

thing to do, given the price of oil is going up. At one time, you could

have bought a tanker oil for the winter fuel brand. Now you can only

by less than half of and 900 litre tank of oil. So, not only is the

amount of the winter fuel brand going down, but the value of it has

gone down considerably, because of the oil price inflation. We'll talk

more about that later. It was at u p double act that Question Time to

stop it when Pitts faced questions on the winter weather and healthy

eating. But first it was financed and by Stormont Today, the like to

bring breaking news. His Sally Wilson going green? -- is Sammy

Wilson going green? I must say, I think his question probably would

have required a little more research than it has demonstrated,

because as he will know, renewable sources, especially wind energy,

which seems to be the main renewable source we are promoting

in Northern aren't, is much more expensive than all -- in Northern

Ireland, then much -- than all the other sources of electricity. The

cost of energy from wind, as opposed to energy from gas, is

about 3.5 times more per unit, and therefore, if we're looking at ways

of reducing energy consumption and energy bills, the one thing we

certainly would not be doing is relying on the untested and

expensive technology which there is from renewable sources. Indeed, I

suspect that a more effective way of getting energy costs down, and

we have got to do this, given that we have caught a �200 million bill

across the public sector, the quicker way of doing that is to use

energy more efficiently. Then it was on to rates, and they then got

their own back on the minister. notice that the minister has taken

to wearing dark glasses. And I think I would be seeking some form

of the skies if I was presiding over the Department with a great

debt of �150 million. Can I asked the minister to swap his dark

glasses for his rose-tinted glasses, and to tell us what serious

proposals he has to reduce this debt? I can assure you I do not

need dark glasses. Because there are not too many bright, shining

lights are coming from the side of the chamber, anyway! Can I just say,

he has raised an important point, but, I would like to see some

consistency, not only from members of his party, but members of other

parties, as well. Of course we have to pursue those people who do not

pay the right for packs which has been levied -- to write poll tax

which has been levied, but just before I came into the chamber

today, there is a balance to be struck, in times of economic

difficulty, do we pursue those who have not been able to pay their

rates to the ultimate, take them to court, bankrupting them and putting

them out of business? I guarantee that if we pursue did a corny it --

the draconian line implicit in his question, he would be criticising

me for something different, namely, for putting people on the dole. I

hope he understands that there is a complexity here, and there's a

balance to be struck and we will pursue those who do not pay their

rates, but equally, we have got to have recognition that, in a

difficult economic climate, some people will not pay their rates,

and refuse to pay their rates, and we go after those, there are some

people who cannot pay their rates, and it is a balance, and we have to

make a judgment. Despite the fact that we're at in a recession, we

have brought the Great Britain and the debt burden down -- the Great

Britain and the debt burden down.. Held next, and Edwin Poots may

manage the biggest budget in the Executive, but can he forecast the

weather, as well? I will wait and see what the good Lord sends us. I

trust that it will not be as cold as last year. And we hope to have

some savings and there are plenty of areas that we can spend money on,

always towards the end of the year we tried to buy in more operations

and reduce the waiting lists for cardiac care, and orthopaedics. We

have ample opportunities to spend money that his insistence. At the

moment we are �15 million short of the total budget. We can make that

up over the next number of months. I am confident that if we get a

warm, wet winter, that we will be able to spend all the resources we

have. Nicky Brady of Sinn Fein asked, would the Minister consider

giving extra winter fuel payments to the terminally ill? We actually

do support some are very vulnerable people, and through the winter, we

assist them. It is a very worthy idea, and if we can facilitate them

to do it, we certainly will do that. It is quite challenging to be able

to identify a those who are most in need, without excluding people who

are in real, genuine need. But we are wholly sympathetic to the

notion. We will forget the cold spell of last year. Our pensioners

worried about that bad weather, given how difficult it is to find

the money to pay the bills? They are certain to be worried. We found

last year that there were around 700 pensioners who died because of

the Cold War because they did not have enough food to eat, -- because

of the cold, or because they did not have enough food to eat. And

then of course, some of them did not have the money because they

were using it for food, not hitting. So these unexplained deaths

amounted to over 700. We will be worried if we get another winter

like that with the winter fuel brand going down and oil prices

going up, that it will be more than 700 this year, at that will be an

absolute disgrace for a well of country, despite the fact that we

have economic difficulties, we're still, in global terms, a well-off

country. It looks like the Stormont Executive is in line for up to �200

million more to spend on public services over the next three years,

as a result of measures in the Chancellor's Autumn Statement.

George Osborne announced a review into regional pay for public sector

employees, that could ultimately lead to pay cuts for 230,000

public-sector workers in Northern Ireland. I asked our economics

editor Jim Fitzpatrick if it would make a difference. People on the

streets of Belfast and Northern Ireland asking themselves, after

the Chancellor's Autumn Statement are they better off or worse off,

and the answer seemed to be a bit of both. In terms of the headline

figure, and the impact on the storeman budget, we are better off.

Sammy Wilson had feared that they could have seen a budget cut. In

fact we have seen �200 billion more or coming to Stormont to spend over

the next three years. Most of that will be infrastructure spending

poor roads and railways, so that is good news, but the sting in the

tailors for public-sector workers. There are 230,000 people employed

in the public sector here and the Chancellor has told us that after

their PP's comes to an end they will only see their pay increase by

1%, instead of 2%, up to 2015. When inflation is currently at 5% that

is a real terms reduction in living standards. What is more, there

could be worse to come for workers in Northern Ireland, because the

Chancellor announced a review of public sector pay, to consider the

idea of regional variation. If there was the Asian in Northern

Ireland, it would certainly not mean pay increases, because

currently, the median pay in the public sector is 40% lower than it

is you and the private sector. So the starting point of any

negotiations is a downward trend. That is the news tonight, good or

bad, a bit of both. U p m p Nigel Dodds wanted more detail on the

statement. It is good to see some effort made to boost growth. How

will it play out in practice? We need to see the fine print. We have

to see what happens now with the 60% of the banks that are southern

Irish own. And we have to see what this means in terms of the Barnett

consequentials. We have to see what at actually means. Northern Ireland

will benefit to the tune of �142 million over the next two years

which is good news for construction and those involved in capital

projects. How will that trickle- down? It comes straight across in

the Barnett formula. There is very significant investment on

infrastructure coming up across the United Kingdom. That will benefit

Northern Ireland directly. But the detail of it, which projects are

chosen, is in hands of local politicians and the Executive.

that money is ring-fence? That is quite clear. One of the issues talk

about is this idea of regional public-sector pay. We have to see

how the consultation pans out. It could be to the benefit of Northern

Ireland, because it has poor property costs, and some are like

London, it could bring more activity to Northern Ireland. But

it is worth looking at what we have done right across the board for

families. We had added the only last week on fuel. What the

Chancellor has managed to do on fuel prices is significant. The

planned Labour increases have not come about. As a result your duty

is 10 pence lower than it would have been under Labour. -- fuel

One budget that has been ring- fenced his help. Despite that,

changes on the way and we need to change our mind set about what we

want from hospitals. John Compton is delivering his report to the

health minister this week. Last year it was nearly bankrupt. I

asked him if that was still the case. There was a debate about what

should and should not be in the Budget settlement. We know at what

we have got. We have got about �4.7 billion. It is not easy in a health

and social care because we do have demands. However, we are looking at

how we will spend that money and that is what the review is about.

Have you come up with a golden figure, the number of hospitals we

should have? We haven't. It is about the quality of treatment and

care for people. He explained what that is an show evidence. We need

to get away from thinking about hospitals as a separate entity.

They are part of one a system of care. Do we have to change our mind

set about how hospitals operate? need to change our mind set about

what we want out of hospital care. People want the best outcome and

when we are able to explain why it is better to reorganise services,

no-one disagreed. If you look at some of the services we have

reorganised, some of the cancer services for example, I think

people understand you get a better outcome. What is not reasonable is

to ask people to travel to make someone else's life convenient. If

people have to travel, it is because the outcome will be better.

One of the difficulty for people in rural communities is we do not have

great infrastructure in terms of public transport. Is there anything

in your report that says we need to look at that if we are going to

close or stop services in particular areas, expect people to

travel further? We heard people talking about the poor road

infrastructure, particularly in the West. It goes to the heart of

joined-up government. The review will say something about trying to

make that more real and it will reflect on rural transport because

it is an issue. People are talking about this as a once-in-a-lifetime

issue. Is there that political well throughout to implement the changes

you are recommending? I hope so. The difficulty is there aren't any

neutral decisions. If people said we do not want to implement your

review, I can tell you now there will be changes anyway. It will

happen in an unplanned and disjointed manner. I would hope

that the political system would recognise the need for change and

support the change. It is right it is challenged to make sure the

change is designed to deliver a better service, but I hope there

will be support for it. MLAs had voted for mandatory prison

sentences for people who commit violent crimes against older people.

The motion was passed by a narrow majority.

When need to send a clear message that attacks on older people, or

senior citizens will not be tolerated and that if you attack an

elderly person, you are going to go to jail. Clearly an message has to

get out there tougher sentences are important in relation to this type

of violent crime. I cannot agree with mandatory sentencing in this

context. I do not believe that you can simply have a mandatory minimum

sentence and believes that that inflexible instrument will cure all.

A pensioner paedophile assaulted a young boy. The father of that young

boy took it upon himself to go round to that pensioner's house. He

struck him. He broke his jaw. Now, should back father go to jail for

seven years or any time, or should he be treated through a suspended

sentence, for example? In his is a difficult issue for older people,

not just experiencing crime, but the fear of crime and living with

that feeling of fear. How big an issue is it and would you like to

see tougher sentences? Well, we condemn all attacks on older people,

but they are actually relatively rare. The thing is, there is a fear

of crime which is prevalent amongst older people and it was one of the

main concerns. The pensioners were concerned about sentencing policy,

they were more concerned about preventive measures. One of those

is seen policemen out on the beat. By and large, that would be a

solution that would sit well with pensioners - a more visible

approach to the prevention of crime. Thank you.

The Deputy First Minister has been back at his desk here in Stormont

for a number of weeks, but earlier today he was back in the Chamber

reporting to members on a North South Ministerial Council.The issue

of the A5 road scheme and his recent unsuccessful foray into

southern politics both came up for discussion. Roy Beggs was one of a

number of MLAs seeking guarantees on funding promises from the Dublin

Government. Given the withdrawal of the �400

million, this is a significant amount to have been withdrawn and

then is to be a re examination on the affordability of any such

project. Can he advise how certain we can be of even the offer of �50

million, given that the 400 million has been withdrawn? Well,

government has gone on record and made it clear that 25 million

sterling will be made available. I agree with a member that it is

hugely disappointing for all of us. I know especially for your own

constituency because it is a flagship project along with the A5.

So, the challenge for all of us is how we ensure that the commitments

made to our flagship projects are brought to fruition. It is not a

question of whether or not the product are going to go ahead, it

is a matter of how they are going to go ahead and how they will be

funded. From our own perspective in the Executive, we need to have

certainty around the issue that you raised that the Irish government

are going to find the other 350 million, which will be the balance.

That is what our discussions are about at the moment, about getting

certainty and getting certainty from the Irish government that they

are totally and absolutely committed to the construction of

this road as aware Executive and this Assembly is. What relevance

does the Deputy First Minister think there might be for Northern

Ireland, given the Irish Republic's forthcoming EU presidency? I ask

that because of the irrelevance of the Irish Prime Minister's

involvement in the recent elections. I think that is what is known as a

cheap shot, but that is not unusual coming from Gregory. Obviously the

Irish presidency of the EU in 2013 was discussed at the meeting. No

doubt that will offer opportunities for all of ours. -- or of us.

Stormont's hosting its own version of MasterChef tonight. Young people

with learning difficulties have been cooking up a feast under the

watchful eyes of some local chefs. It's all part of a drive to get

better opportunities and jobs. I am doing a surf and turf been a

show called Vanessa. I am really looking forward to it. -- with a

chef called Vanessa. How important is it for you to be involved?

Really important. I want to follow it in my parents's footsteps.

they caterers? Meyer parents showed me how to cook and they take a lot.

Might that inspired me -- my dad inspired me. He encouraged me to go

and get my food and hygiene certificate. Fantastic. What do you

hope to do after this project? Do you want to work in a restaurant?

want to get the qualifications to go into the Merchant Navy and

travel the world. That is my dream. When I come back maybe I will start

up a chain of restaurants of my own. It is a fantastic opportunity for

them. You might get a new trainees here? I hope so.

The public sector strike planned for tomorrow has left many MLAs in

a quandary - to cross or not to cross the picket line. So I asked

Martina Purdy how the issue would play out. As you know, it could be

the biggest right for decades in Northern Ireland and it is going to

be interesting to see who crosses the picket line and he does not

tomorrow. We are expecting picket at three gates at Stormont in the

morning, probably from 7:30am. The expectation is that the number of

committees will meets -- meat. there is a party split when it

comes to supporting the strike? does appear to be Unionists bursars

nationalists. -- versus. There was a challenge in the chamber today?

Yes regarding murders during the Troubles. That was ruled out of

order. There has been a trend in the Assembly of Unionists accusing

the Irish government of various things. And we had various

portraits around parliament buildings and a new one has been

unveiled. That is right. Eileen Bell was the only woman to have

been Speaker here and she was appointed in 2006 before she was

endorsed by the members, which was the protocol at the time. She was