:00:09. > :00:10.Tonight, five party leaders determined to win your vote.
:00:11. > :00:13.Can their policies and pledges convince you to back them?
:00:14. > :00:14.Our studio audience put the questions.
:00:15. > :00:16.I'll make sure they get direct answers.
:00:17. > :00:39.Welcome to The Northern Ireland Leaders' Debate.
:00:40. > :00:48.Hello and welcome to The Leaders' Debate.
:00:49. > :00:51.There are just 36 hours to go before the polls open for the Northern
:00:52. > :00:53.Ireland Assembly election and with us tonight,
:00:54. > :00:55.looking for your votes, are the leaders of the
:00:56. > :00:58.Three of them are leading their parties for the first time
:00:59. > :01:02.They are: Arlene Foster, who became the first woman to lead
:01:03. > :01:04.the Democratic Unionist Party, just over four months ago.
:01:05. > :01:06.Colum Eastwood, elected to lead the Social Democratic
:01:07. > :01:12.and Labour Party just over five months ago
:01:13. > :01:15.And Mike Nesbitt, leader of the Ulster Unionist Party.
:01:16. > :01:17.Completing our line up are Sinn Fein's Martin McGuinness
:01:18. > :01:22.The questions tonight come from our studio audience,
:01:23. > :01:25.most of them party supporters, but we've also made room for people
:01:26. > :01:28.who haven't yet made up their minds about whom to vote for.
:01:29. > :01:30.It's a pleasure also to welcome viewers across the UK
:01:31. > :01:36.If you would like to join the discussion, you can tweet
:01:37. > :01:49.Our first question tonight is from Michael Palmer, a clerical officer.
:01:50. > :01:57.Why does it matter who is First Minister? Well, a question that's
:01:58. > :02:02.taxing a few people. The DUP has said it would be a seismic shock, a
:02:03. > :02:08.devastating blow, if Martin McGuinness of Sinn Fein were to
:02:09. > :02:11.become First Minister. Why is that, Arlene Foster? It's very important,
:02:12. > :02:16.and that is why we are here tonight to decide and put forward our cases
:02:17. > :02:19.to the people of Northern Ireland so they can decide who leads Northern
:02:20. > :02:24.Ireland in the future. It's very important who is First Minister, not
:02:25. > :02:30.just in terms of symbolism. Whoever the First Minister is is leader of
:02:31. > :02:32.the largest party and gets to pick first in terms of ministerial
:02:33. > :02:36.appointments, and they probably pick the largest number of those
:02:37. > :02:39.appointments. That's why I put forward a 5-point plan with the
:02:40. > :02:43.vision of a safer and stronger Northern Ireland, and I'm looking
:02:44. > :02:47.for people to return as many DUP candidates as possible on Thursday
:02:48. > :02:52.so I can lead the country in the future. There might be differences
:02:53. > :02:57.in approach on how Northern Ireland moves forward, but why is it a
:02:58. > :03:01.devastating blow if it's not just an appeal to sectarian vote? Not at
:03:02. > :03:06.all. I went across Northern Ireland with a very positive 5-point plan
:03:07. > :03:10.that I put across early in the election campaign because I wanted
:03:11. > :03:15.people to relate to the plan and ask questions about health, education,
:03:16. > :03:19.jobs, infrastructure and household taxes. But you couldn't put a
:03:20. > :03:23.cigarette paper between those five points and the first five points of
:03:24. > :03:27.Sinn Fein. I think you would find Martin had a fundamentally different
:03:28. > :03:30.approach to the union, and we heard a bit of that from his conference a
:03:31. > :03:36.couple of months ago. Conor Murphy has said the fundamental point about
:03:37. > :03:41.chin fame is a united Ireland. We have seen posters around Northern
:03:42. > :03:45.Ireland in nationalist areas saying we want to get to a united Ireland
:03:46. > :03:49.so Martin Hazard completely different vision for Northern
:03:50. > :03:55.Ireland to mind. -- so Martin has a completely different. Martin Kaymer
:03:56. > :03:59.you have said you are not hung up on fancy titles but if you were the
:04:00. > :04:03.leader of the largest party, you would like to change the title to
:04:04. > :04:07.joint first ministers. But you would love to be the largest party. I
:04:08. > :04:13.think any party standing here tonight would like to be the biggest
:04:14. > :04:18.party. Sinn Fein is no different. We are probably the most progressive
:04:19. > :04:24.party in the executive. The most progressive party in the Assembly.
:04:25. > :04:28.I'm not fixated by titles. When I went to the Department for Education
:04:29. > :04:33.a long time ago, all these civil servants were trained to call me Mr.
:04:34. > :04:39.I said I would be happier if they called me Martin. -- call me
:04:40. > :04:47.Minister. I want to deliver for our people. I think if we are loyal to
:04:48. > :04:53.the Good Friday Agreement, as I am, or in Arlene's case, the St Andrews
:04:54. > :05:00.Agreement, what we have doesn't work, unless we have the ability to
:05:01. > :05:03.work together. I am very determined to work positively and
:05:04. > :05:07.constructively with all the readers around here tonight to build a
:05:08. > :05:11.better future for the people we represent. I think the Fresh Start
:05:12. > :05:15.Agreement we have signed up to in November last year gives us an
:05:16. > :05:20.opportunity to move forward. Some of the doom and gloom messages that
:05:21. > :05:24.came from some people about how disastrous it would be if Martin
:05:25. > :05:34.McGuinness was First Minister, it's nonsense, because in reality unless
:05:35. > :05:40.we... Let me put that to the Ulster Unionist Party. I'm a Democrat, and
:05:41. > :05:41.accept the democratic vote we will get on Thursday. Of course we
:05:42. > :05:46.accept the democratic vote we will want to be the largest party, but
:05:47. > :05:53.the DUP are engaged in dog whistle, scaremongering. In north Belfast
:05:54. > :05:56.they have a Zabaleta saying your vote could send us back to the bad
:05:57. > :06:06.old days. What are the bad old days? Apparently they do not apply in
:06:07. > :06:09.Lagan Valley because it's not mentioned there. Arlene says she has
:06:10. > :06:14.a 5-point plan but Peter Robinson had one of those this time last
:06:15. > :06:18.year. What happened to that Northern Ireland plan the DUP has published
:06:19. > :06:27.in the meantime? What Arlene has is a five wood plan. Do not mention
:06:28. > :06:30.Peter Robinson. -- five word plan. APPLAUSE
:06:31. > :06:33.The Ulster Unionists one point plan is to make it work, make Stormont
:06:34. > :06:41.work. That's what I hear on the doorstep. There are different
:06:42. > :06:47.versions of the letters because we have sent three different letters.
:06:48. > :06:53.Back to the bad old days? That was one of the versions, yes. Let's talk
:06:54. > :06:58.about the bad old days. Unlike Mike Nesbitt, I remember the bad old days
:06:59. > :07:03.of pushover unionism. I remember in 1998 when we had a concession to the
:07:04. > :07:06.IRA. I remember what happened in relation to prisoners and what
:07:07. > :07:09.happened to the RUC. The bad old days we talk about is the bad old
:07:10. > :07:18.days in relation to pushover unionism. And is that for every
:07:19. > :07:21.constituent? Yes. It would be a big disappointment to you as the other
:07:22. > :07:27.main nationalist party to have Sinn Fein as the biggest party, but would
:07:28. > :07:31.it be a disaster? No, because I'm a Democrat, and it doesn't matter who
:07:32. > :07:36.the First Minister and Deputy First Minister is. I have said all along
:07:37. > :07:38.its a joint office. We would not have signed up to the Good Friday
:07:39. > :07:46.Agreement of it wasn't a joint office. It doesn't matter is above
:07:47. > :07:50.which door plate. What matters is that one in four of our young people
:07:51. > :07:54.are still living in poverty. It's easy for you to say that because the
:07:55. > :07:58.chances of you becoming the biggest party are pretty slim. That might
:07:59. > :08:02.well be, but this election isn't about who will be first and Deputy
:08:03. > :08:06.ministers, it's about the fact that for nine years we have not lived up
:08:07. > :08:10.to the hopes and ambitions of the public. That needs to change. That's
:08:11. > :08:13.why we need to begin to work together and look at the next two
:08:14. > :08:16.weeks after the election and put forward a programme for government
:08:17. > :08:22.that works for people because they are fed up of failure. People are
:08:23. > :08:25.fed up with immigration, politics not delivering, and this type of
:08:26. > :08:29.politics where people are shouting people down about who will be First
:08:30. > :08:35.Minister, it doesn't matter. It matters what we deliver for people
:08:36. > :08:40.on the ground. David Ford, is it a distraction? Looking at how the
:08:41. > :08:44.executive functions, they are co-equals. The only difference is
:08:45. > :08:50.who shakes the Queen's hand first when she comes to visit. It might be
:08:51. > :08:53.symbolically important for some people, but it doesn't matter for
:08:54. > :08:58.the other 306 to four days of the year. It's quite sad that this is
:08:59. > :09:02.the third election in a row where the DUP's campaign has been based on
:09:03. > :09:05.the politics of fear, not looking forward, but looking back. And this
:09:06. > :09:10.discussion, we are looking back to the bad old days, not looking
:09:11. > :09:15.forward to the future or growing our economy or building a united
:09:16. > :09:18.economy, or meeting the needs of our children to stop them emigrating.
:09:19. > :09:23.It's about who's the biggest. That's not what the people of Northern
:09:24. > :09:30.Ireland want to see happening. Martin McGuinness. First of all,
:09:31. > :09:34.Sinn Fein did not begin this debate about who will be First Minister and
:09:35. > :09:38.Deputy First Minister in the aftermath of this election. That
:09:39. > :09:42.debate was started elsewhere. The question has come up in recent times
:09:43. > :09:46.and the media have asked the question of Unionist politicians,
:09:47. > :09:50.what would they do if Sinn Fein was returned as the largest party? I
:09:51. > :09:55.don't have any doubt whatsoever, that if that transpired to be the
:09:56. > :09:59.case, that every single party around these podiums tonight would accept
:10:00. > :10:04.that. And we would get on with the business of trying to deliver.
:10:05. > :10:08.That's what it's all about. It's about recognising that this place
:10:09. > :10:12.doesn't work unless political leaders have the ability against the
:10:13. > :10:16.backdrop of the agreements we have made in the past, the ability to
:10:17. > :10:22.work together. Colum Eastwood talks about the last nine years. Let's do
:10:23. > :10:28.that. I want to stick to the specific question. Arlene Foster,
:10:29. > :10:33.you have said that power-sharing is difficult but a price worth paying
:10:34. > :10:36.for progress. Martin says if he became First Minister, you would
:10:37. > :10:41.accept it and press ahead with what has happened since the Good Friday
:10:42. > :10:45.Agreement. I want to go back to Mike's point about it doesn't matter
:10:46. > :10:55.what the first managed it is. Tell that to your party strategists. It
:10:56. > :10:59.says on your posters to make you the First Minister. No other party is
:11:00. > :11:03.requesting that. Today, Northern Ireland is a stronger... A letter
:11:04. > :11:09.written by Mike Nesbitt. This is the letter he is referring to which is
:11:10. > :11:13.apparently negative, but it's very positive, setting out the agenda and
:11:14. > :11:17.the 5-point plan, which is why we should back DUP candidates across
:11:18. > :11:23.Northern Ireland to put that plan in position. If the DUP hadn't fiddled
:11:24. > :11:29.around with the Good Friday Agreement... They didn't fiddle
:11:30. > :11:33.around with it, as well you know. On that particular point, it was put in
:11:34. > :11:39.by the government behind our backs. Which you signed up to! Know it was
:11:40. > :11:43.not. It was in the law which followed Saint Andrews. I think you
:11:44. > :11:51.need to know, looking at the St Andrews agreement. This is all total
:11:52. > :11:57.and absolute nonsense. If you were a member of the public sat out there
:11:58. > :12:00.tonight listening to this nonsense, you would be inclined to turn off
:12:01. > :12:05.your television. What we need to do is get away from this and recognise
:12:06. > :12:11.that as political leaders, people out in the community want us to work
:12:12. > :12:15.together. They want the Fresh Start to work. Colum Eastwood talks about
:12:16. > :12:20.the last nine years. SDLP have not signed up to one budget in the last
:12:21. > :12:25.nine years. SDLP voted against the Fresh Start Agreement. I think the
:12:26. > :12:33.vast majority of people out there... We saw it 45 minutes before... You
:12:34. > :12:45.were well aware of the issues. I was astonished to see... Colum Eastwood
:12:46. > :12:50.is trying to sidetrack from the main issue, which is this. We as
:12:51. > :12:54.politicians have the ability to work together. In the aftermath of this
:12:55. > :13:00.election we want to move on, deal with the issues of jobs, skills, the
:13:01. > :13:08.health service, education systems. We will talk about all of these.
:13:09. > :13:12.Finish your point, Colum Eastwood. Martin talks about the Fresh Start
:13:13. > :13:16.Agreement and I was leader of SDLP a couple of days before that came in.
:13:17. > :13:20.I was given the Fresh Start Agreement 45 minutes before we were
:13:21. > :13:27.asked to vote on it. The result of ten weeks of intense negotiation. Is
:13:28. > :13:31.government? I don't think it is. We would not have signed up, no
:13:32. > :13:33.government? I don't think it is. We how long we had, to handing power to
:13:34. > :13:40.the Tory party in London over future welfare cuts. We would not have done
:13:41. > :13:48.that. How long after the conclusion did you see it, David Ford? 45
:13:49. > :13:51.minutes? A bit longer than 45 minutes but we knew the general
:13:52. > :14:01.thrust. I'm beginning to feel like a spectator. It's David Ford's turn to
:14:02. > :14:08.speak. Every singer parties saw the Fresh Start Agreement. Mr Magennis,
:14:09. > :14:11.you will have time to speak. I'm just a spectator. If you want to run
:14:12. > :14:16.Mike versus Arlene and Martin just a spectator. If you want to run
:14:17. > :14:19.against... We saw the fresh start a bit before that. We were
:14:20. > :14:21.against... We saw the fresh start a the discussions which happened, but
:14:22. > :14:23.what fundamentally failed in the Fresh Start Agreement was that we
:14:24. > :14:24.didn't meet the needs of the victims Fresh Start Agreement was that we
:14:25. > :14:28.of the past. It was meant to be Fresh Start Agreement was that we
:14:29. > :14:36.issue and we failed utterly. We will come to that, and I might text and
:14:37. > :14:39.comments from the floor. Why does Northern Ireland have to be Unionist
:14:40. > :14:45.or nationalists, Catholic or Protestant? At the end of the day,
:14:46. > :14:48.young people like myself are looking at these politicians thinking
:14:49. > :14:56.nothing will ever happen. We are still stuck in the past. Why? I
:14:57. > :15:00.think if the DUP had kept their promises five and nine years ago, we
:15:01. > :15:09.wouldn't have had project fear this time. I'm quite happy to talk about
:15:10. > :15:10.my achievements. The text of the St Andrews agreement says that the
:15:11. > :15:17.joint Andrews agreement says that the
:15:18. > :15:18.Arlene. How many DUP MPs rejected to it when it
:15:19. > :15:24.Arlene. How many DUP MPs rejected to There were none. They didn't reject
:15:25. > :15:33.to that clause. You had to go down the whole agreement. It deliberately
:15:34. > :15:38.diverts attention away from real issues. Bread and butter issues that
:15:39. > :15:43.people have to deal with. But you are in my 5-point plan. We will move
:15:44. > :15:47.onto some of those now. Martin will have plenty of time to talk. The
:15:48. > :15:55.next question from Valerie a part-time student and charity
:15:56. > :15:58.worker. My question is, what proposals does your party have two
:15:59. > :16:09.deal with the waiting list issue in the health service?
:16:10. > :16:19.400,000 people on our waiting list, it increased by 37% in the 12 month
:16:20. > :16:28.period ending last year from 170,000 people in December 20 14th, to
:16:29. > :16:36.236,000 people in 2015. How do we solve this, Mike Nesbitt? Throw
:16:37. > :16:40.money at it? No, because we have been throwing money at it and the
:16:41. > :16:47.stats are as bad as you recite, and in some cases worse. After the
:16:48. > :16:51.previous health minister, the number of people waiting longer than the
:16:52. > :16:57.maximum target time was something like 15,000. Today 120,000 people
:16:58. > :17:03.waiting longer than the target. The money being thrown at it recently is
:17:04. > :17:08.a short-term fix which isn't working. It is also sending the
:17:09. > :17:13.money into the private sector. I would rather pay the doctors and
:17:14. > :17:21.nurses and staff of the NHS who cherish it to help fix it. Colum
:17:22. > :17:26.Eastwood, the DUP and Sinn Fein are saying we will put an extra ?1
:17:27. > :17:30.billion into health by the end of the term. No one quite says where
:17:31. > :17:36.that money will come from, is that the kind of policy you will be
:17:37. > :17:41.backing? That would be great. We are spending ?5 billion on it at the
:17:42. > :17:44.minute. I think we need to take politics out of health, we need to
:17:45. > :17:49.get together and work out how we will tackle the fact there are
:17:50. > :17:53.400,000 people on the waiting list, the fact that elderly people get 15
:17:54. > :18:01.minutes home help every day. We need to address the fact that people in
:18:02. > :18:05.parts of west Belfast will die younger than people in south
:18:06. > :18:09.Belfast. We have to stop people getting sick first of all, get
:18:10. > :18:12.people treated in their own community through community
:18:13. > :18:20.pharmacies and investing in GP services. I'm sure no one will
:18:21. > :18:24.disagree with that, you're talking about ?83 million to cover that,
:18:25. > :18:30.consolidated pay rise for workers, where will that money come from? We
:18:31. > :18:34.have spent a huge part of our budget on health, we need to prioritise it
:18:35. > :18:40.differently. It isn't good the waiting list is going up and up. I
:18:41. > :18:45.think we need to get back to the idea of transforming care, which was
:18:46. > :18:49.about treating people in their community, not about cutting
:18:50. > :18:53.services around meals on wheels, cutting home help services. We need
:18:54. > :18:58.to tackle the fact people who are living in the most poor communities
:18:59. > :19:03.have the worst health outcomes. That's how we change it. We have to
:19:04. > :19:09.stop beating each other up, get together, and take politics out of
:19:10. > :19:14.it. David Ford, you said to meet the demand of the health service you
:19:15. > :19:19.would need an extra 5% of the budget every year. That is clearly not
:19:20. > :19:23.going to happen. We need a much greater integration of health and
:19:24. > :19:28.social care so that we deal with people in the appropriate place. We
:19:29. > :19:32.need to depend more on professionals than politicians. You have seen the
:19:33. > :19:37.row that erupts every time a proposal is given to change the way
:19:38. > :19:41.the service is delivered, and yet what we have is not efficient.
:19:42. > :19:46.People may go to a different hospital, but if that is what gets
:19:47. > :19:50.things better... We need to look to what the experts recommend. We have
:19:51. > :19:54.an international expert panel, we need to get the politicians away
:19:55. > :20:03.from second guessing that and listen to what the experts say. We also
:20:04. > :20:07.need greater joining up of -- across different department. We need to
:20:08. > :20:16.look at a range of other issues that affect the demand on the health
:20:17. > :20:21.service. Arlene Foster, your manifesto talks about ?1 billion
:20:22. > :20:26.into the health service by the end of this term of government five
:20:27. > :20:33.years from now. You talk about a transformation fund of 30 million a
:20:34. > :20:38.year, employing 1500 more nurses, increased mental health spending...
:20:39. > :20:46.It is a great wish list, but again, how are you funding it? If you look
:20:47. > :20:49.at our manifesto, the billion pounds is the only really significant
:20:50. > :20:53.amount of money we have talked about, because we want to prioritise
:20:54. > :21:04.health. It would be the first thing on the agenda. I am heartened to
:21:05. > :21:08.hear Colum talk about taking politics out of it, we need to get
:21:09. > :21:12.those fundamental principles agreed so we can move forward. Not just in
:21:13. > :21:17.terms of more money for health, and we do accept more money is needed in
:21:18. > :21:22.health, but also we need to have reformed. David is right, we need
:21:23. > :21:26.more integration, and that's why when we come to how we design the
:21:27. > :21:35.programme for government, we are looking at our -- outputs. I think
:21:36. > :21:40.the public will welcome that way of thinking and it is something we can
:21:41. > :21:45.work on together. Martin McGuinness, you also talk about 1 billion extra
:21:46. > :21:52.for health, talk about putting more GPs into first year training. Again,
:21:53. > :21:59.I ask you the same question. Where does this extra money come from? It
:22:00. > :22:05.comes from us ensuring that in the aftermath of election we will have
:22:06. > :22:09.agreed a programme for government. No individual political party will
:22:10. > :22:13.know which department they are getting. That will be a real
:22:14. > :22:19.negotiation for all of the parties around here tonight to agree a way
:22:20. > :22:24.forward. It is quite interesting that the DUP and Sinn Fein think 1
:22:25. > :22:33.billion over the next five years is doable. I think it is. Tell me in
:22:34. > :22:39.detail how that would be achieved. Because there is always
:22:40. > :22:44.opportunities through monitor rounds, opportunities through money
:22:45. > :22:50.that comes back from individual departments, to ensure that we can
:22:51. > :22:57.deal with it. Along with what is also during the course of that
:22:58. > :23:02.period, there will be Barnett consequential is. We have budgeted
:23:03. > :23:07.for it and we think it is doable. In the course of this conversation, we
:23:08. > :23:13.have I think all agreed that as we go forward we need to have a united
:23:14. > :23:17.approach and the opportunity is now presented by this expert from the
:23:18. > :23:21.Basque country who has been charged with the responsibility of bringing
:23:22. > :23:25.a report which we all collectively have to take Sirius late because
:23:26. > :23:30.this is about the wellbeing of our people. This is about how we tackle
:23:31. > :23:35.poverty, how we deliver first-class public services. The key to that is
:23:36. > :23:40.not the privatisation route, it is the regular route of the NHS. Mike
:23:41. > :23:46.Nesbitt, you said we don't need any more reports we need action. There
:23:47. > :23:53.has been five years of failure. From what you hear from these other
:23:54. > :23:55.leaders today, are you encouraged? Would you take the health minister
:23:56. > :24:00.for example if it came your way? Would you take the health minister
:24:01. > :24:05.take the mandate into the negotiations and a programme for
:24:06. > :24:08.government. In our manifesto in 2011 we called it the
:24:09. > :24:09.government. In our manifesto in 2011 idea that rather than going straight
:24:10. > :24:14.to form a government you idea that rather than going straight
:24:15. > :24:18.entitled to be in Government sit down and try to agree that
:24:19. > :24:19.entitled to be in Government sit for government. To take one example,
:24:20. > :24:26.if we all agree we should tackle for government. To take one example,
:24:27. > :24:31.whoever gets the Department of Health knowing wealthier children
:24:32. > :24:38.will do well at schools... Would you take it is the question?
:24:39. > :24:41.will do well at schools... Would you take anything. Can I just say,
:24:42. > :24:47.Martin McGuinness says poverty is the enemy. The DUP and Sinn Fein in
:24:48. > :24:52.the last mandate promised to spend ?80 million tackling poverty by the
:24:53. > :25:00.end of March last year, and at that deadline they had spent ?1.5
:25:01. > :25:04.million. 78.5 still not spent. He's talking about
:25:05. > :25:06.million. 78.5 still not spent. He's fund and Mike needs to get out more
:25:07. > :25:07.because I have had the opportunity to visit some of the
:25:08. > :25:15.because I have had the opportunity have benefited from it. We now have
:25:16. > :25:20.because I have had the opportunity ?800,000 going out to a Cathedral
:25:21. > :25:24.Hall, which he voted against in the budget. I think it is a shame the
:25:25. > :25:32.Ulster Unionists decided they didn't want to give that money because it
:25:33. > :25:38.has made such a difference. The money which was to be spent by 2015
:25:39. > :25:42.will now be spent by 2020, a programme that has overrun by five
:25:43. > :25:49.years. Would you take health, David Ford? We are in danger of having a
:25:50. > :25:54.bidding where everybody says they are interested in every department.
:25:55. > :25:59.We have to see what we can agree, how it ties in with individual
:26:00. > :26:03.parties' priorities, and how we get greater joining up around the
:26:04. > :26:09.executive table. Traditionally the health Ministry has not been grabbed
:26:10. > :26:15.as the first one on offer. I wonder if it is something of a poisoned
:26:16. > :26:20.chalice. We are going into an election, let's let the voters
:26:21. > :26:25.decide what will happen, then we go into a two week negotiation. We want
:26:26. > :26:30.to tackle immigration, stop people leaving society, invest in young
:26:31. > :26:33.people, invest in universities, begins to turn around health
:26:34. > :26:39.outcomes. We will support a government that does not. Whichever
:26:40. > :26:44.ministry we take, that is up to the period of negotiation. The lady at
:26:45. > :26:49.the back. I would just be interested to know if any of the leaders would
:26:50. > :26:53.agree to increasing supporting people funding which helps over
:26:54. > :26:58.17,000 people in Northern Ireland, and it takes a lot of money away
:26:59. > :27:05.from the health service because we are helping people in homeless and
:27:06. > :27:10.sheltered... Is this a charity? No, it comes from the Government but it
:27:11. > :27:15.has been capped for the last eight years. It means with things like
:27:16. > :27:22.paying our staff we need that to be increased. Lady at the front here? I
:27:23. > :27:28.have waited three weeks on a GP appointment, I have waited 12 hours
:27:29. > :27:33.in A, I have waited 19 months for an appointment that I still don't
:27:34. > :27:37.know what it is and then I was sent to a private hospital. We need to
:27:38. > :27:41.listen to the staff, we need to listen to the people already in the
:27:42. > :27:47.hospital is working every day going through hell. I have family that
:27:48. > :27:52.work there too. It is great having these reports but we need to listen
:27:53. > :28:01.to people on the ground. I second that we need more support for
:28:02. > :28:05.working people but why if the DUP sail for getting politics out of
:28:06. > :28:20.hell, why can a gay man still not give blood? -- politics out of
:28:21. > :28:29.health. Just respond to this young man. It is a risk issue, and Simon
:28:30. > :28:33.Hamilton made it very clear that he was assessing it on the risk element
:28:34. > :28:37.and on the science and it was nothing to do with anything other
:28:38. > :28:46.than that. That is the case and it has been proven. I think it is
:28:47. > :28:50.absolutely wrong that citizens in our society are treated differently
:28:51. > :28:56.in Northern Ireland... Even if there is a recognisable health risk? There
:28:57. > :29:06.is no recognisable health risk, that is nonsense. If I was in a car
:29:07. > :29:10.accident tonight, would I care where that blood came from? Would I be
:29:11. > :29:16.delighted that somebody who was gay or otherwise had given blood to save
:29:17. > :29:23.my life? For far too long our gay community have been discriminated
:29:24. > :29:28.against. People have ridiculed them, they have made fun of them, and I
:29:29. > :29:32.think it is time that every single politician stood up for their
:29:33. > :29:40.rights. What has happened in that regard is discrimination, it is
:29:41. > :29:45.wrong and it needs to end. Mike. Of course Lord is screened and if I
:29:46. > :29:50.needed a pint of blood to save my life I would take yours and vice
:29:51. > :29:57.versa, I hope you would take mine. -- blood is screened. If the
:29:58. > :30:03.scientific evidence is against the men giving blood in Northern
:30:04. > :30:14.Ireland, there is some money scientific evidence in Wales and
:30:15. > :30:19.England. Our next question comes from Trevor, an administrator. Why
:30:20. > :30:22.did the fresh start legislation not provide policies on helping victims
:30:23. > :30:32.of the Troubles? The Fresh Start agreement was agreed
:30:33. > :30:36.in November 2015 after 20 weeks of talks, drawing Northern Ireland back
:30:37. > :30:40.from another crisis over welfare reform and other issues. It seemed
:30:41. > :30:43.to solve the welfare reform problems, talked about reform of
:30:44. > :30:46.politics in Northern Ireland, but didn't come up with an agreement
:30:47. > :30:52.over helping victims and survivors. Why not? It wasn't just the Fresh
:30:53. > :30:55.Start Agreement that failed victims, we have failed them since the Good
:30:56. > :30:59.Friday agreement was signed. It's not good enough to say just to move
:31:00. > :31:04.on. I come from a generation that does want to move on. Many of them
:31:05. > :31:08.do not want to talk about the past and that's understandable. But we
:31:09. > :31:11.are imprisoned by the past, the victims to walk among us, who have
:31:12. > :31:17.suffered because of our past, they have been left behind. We need to
:31:18. > :31:21.get round the table immediately after the election and solve the
:31:22. > :31:26.problems that are left in these institutions will stop and it's more
:31:27. > :31:30.than institutions. State actors need to come to the table, paramilitaries
:31:31. > :31:34.need to come to the table and tell the truth. What's stopping the
:31:35. > :31:37.British government from telling families the truth about what
:31:38. > :31:45.happened? What's stopping the IRA or anyone else what happened to their
:31:46. > :31:48.loved one or anyone else. We need to fully braced this process to allow
:31:49. > :31:54.us to move on and allow those who have been hurt to be freed from the
:31:55. > :31:59.past. Arlene Foster, a trauma centre said that parties could no longer
:32:00. > :32:01.say the suffering of victims was central to moving forward in
:32:02. > :32:05.Northern Ireland, they were abandoned and betrayed by the
:32:06. > :32:10.failure of the Fresh Agreement. The Fresh Start Agreement had a
:32:11. > :32:16.comprehensive package to deal with the past. It was all there, and it
:32:17. > :32:23.was an issue between Her Majesty's government and Sinn Fein, and that
:32:24. > :32:27.is where the Fresh Start Agreement in terms of dealing with victims
:32:28. > :32:32.fell apart. It's a question for Sinn Fein and how they related to that.
:32:33. > :32:38.We have taken the issues of victims very seriously. We had the largest
:32:39. > :32:43.ever budget for the victims and survivors sector last year. I'm very
:32:44. > :32:48.proud of that. That doesn't mean to say we have not to do more, of
:32:49. > :32:52.course we have to. Coming from my background, I want to say to victims
:32:53. > :32:57.of the troubles that I will not allow the past to be rewritten in
:32:58. > :33:00.anyway that makes victims feel traumatised again. That's
:33:01. > :33:02.anyway that makes victims feel I feel strongly about and something
:33:03. > :33:10.I will protect in the next administration. Mike Nesbitt, on the
:33:11. > :33:14.security forces, Judith Thompson, security forces, Judith Thompson,
:33:15. > :33:15.the victims commissioner in Northern Ireland, said that national security
:33:16. > :33:21.should Ireland, said that national security
:33:22. > :33:24.uncomfortable facts. I agree. I think if there was political will a
:33:25. > :33:29.solution could be found. It can be found in hours instead of weeks or
:33:30. > :33:30.days. Before this job I was a victims Commissioner, so
:33:31. > :33:38.days. Before this job I was a first issue I wrote a policy
:33:39. > :33:40.days. Before this job I was a wish. I think what went wrong
:33:41. > :33:45.days. Before this job I was a is that these political talks take a
:33:46. > :33:48.very narrow view of dealing with the past. It's only about truth
:33:49. > :33:51.very narrow view of dealing with the justice. Truth and justice is
:33:52. > :33:55.incredibly important for those victims who seek truth and justice.
:33:56. > :34:00.But we know that not all victims are the same, and some do not seek truth
:34:01. > :34:03.and justice. Some people have physical pain as their problem, and
:34:04. > :34:07.they would like a special pension because they couldn't work or
:34:08. > :34:13.contribute to national insurance or to a state pension. I would like
:34:14. > :34:17.that recognised. The big issue is mental health and well-being. It's a
:34:18. > :34:25.huge legacy issue. I have taken it to Downing Street, Dublin and
:34:26. > :34:30.Washington. 200 and 80,000 people suffering says Judith Thompson. Why
:34:31. > :34:33.are we always saying nothing is agreed until everything is agreed?
:34:34. > :34:38.We could go back to Downing Street and say because it's a legacy issue,
:34:39. > :34:42.there are no Barnett consequences, give us money to deal with the
:34:43. > :34:47.mental health and well-being of the victims of the Troubles in Northern
:34:48. > :34:50.Ireland. Let's do it irrespective of whether we agree on truth and
:34:51. > :34:54.justice. If we do that then we are saying to people that we can do
:34:55. > :34:58.something for victims. And then we give ourselves the momentum to go
:34:59. > :35:07.back and maybe solve the other more difficult issues next time. David
:35:08. > :35:15.Ford, a story in the news today, said Declan Morgan said his plans to
:35:16. > :35:20.fast-track over a five-year period was blocked at the Assembly. The DUP
:35:21. > :35:25.have said it was going to have a serious impact on our ability to
:35:26. > :35:30.address the needs of serious victims and might be addressed post election
:35:31. > :35:34.in budget. Does that show there's still a long way to go on agreement
:35:35. > :35:40.over victims and survivors issues. You might have to ask Arlene that
:35:41. > :35:46.question. There was a specific set of proposals to deal with victims in
:35:47. > :35:50.a report. We failed to address it in the Fresh Start Agreement because
:35:51. > :35:53.there was failure to reach agreement, but the two governments
:35:54. > :35:56.and the two largest parties signed up to it. In the meantime we have
:35:57. > :36:02.been working with the judiciary to put forward specific programmes to
:36:03. > :36:05.fund the legacy interests and because of good work done by the
:36:06. > :36:08.Lord Chief Justice and other justices, it has been blocked in
:36:09. > :36:13.that the executive has not agreed to the request for funding that would
:36:14. > :36:19.one have been requested from the Treasury. You need to ask other
:36:20. > :36:22.people why that happened. Victims, when they thought after having
:36:23. > :36:26.conversations with senior members of the judiciary, thought they would
:36:27. > :36:31.get a deal at last, they now seem to be left back in the lurch yet again.
:36:32. > :36:34.I think that's an absolute tragedy that the group of victims for
:36:35. > :36:38.something could happen provided for them, nothing has been given, and as
:36:39. > :36:44.the Lord Chief Justice has said, the timetable could now slip. Martin
:36:45. > :36:49.McGuinness, Nigel Dodds, Arlene, Nigel Dodds, who has given this
:36:50. > :36:53.statement about the executive's ability to redress the needs of
:36:54. > :36:57.innocent victims, does that smack of hierarchy of victimhood? What we
:36:58. > :37:06.need to remember, for Colum Eastwood's benefit, the Fresh Start
:37:07. > :37:11.Agreement was supported by friends of Ireland on Capitol Hill, by the
:37:12. > :37:15.Obama administration, by the Irish and British governments, and by the
:37:16. > :37:20.DUP and Sinn Fein specifically. It was a very important agreement. I
:37:21. > :37:25.don't think the issues of victims should be used as an excuse not to
:37:26. > :37:30.support that agreement. It is a very important issue. There are victims
:37:31. > :37:36.right across our community. Why did it not come up with a policy? What
:37:37. > :37:39.you have to remember is that against all expectations, all the parties
:37:40. > :37:44.agreed the structures and mechanisms to take forward a menu of options
:37:45. > :37:51.for the different requirements of victims out there on all sides of
:37:52. > :37:54.the community. You mention the Lord Chief Justice, and a met with him
:37:55. > :38:01.some time ago when he put his approach to me. I know he met with
:38:02. > :38:05.others as well. At the end of the day, the responsibility for funding
:38:06. > :38:10.the inquest to deal with families who were victims of state violence
:38:11. > :38:14.resides with the British government, and the money that was agreed during
:38:15. > :38:21.the course of the Fresh Start Agreement to fund those inquests.
:38:22. > :38:24.None of us blocked it out executive, and the responsibility resides with
:38:25. > :38:31.the British government. Was it blocked at the executive? Did the
:38:32. > :38:36.DUP block it? That's what's on the news tonight. You are Deputy First
:38:37. > :38:43.Minister, you should know. I gave my assent to the funding for those
:38:44. > :38:48.cases to be heard. Under the plan put forward by the Lord Chief
:38:49. > :38:53.Justice. I think what has to happen is the British government need to
:38:54. > :38:57.deal with that issue. What we need to deal with in the aftermath of the
:38:58. > :39:02.election, is the last piece of the jigsaw. And it is only one last
:39:03. > :39:06.piece, which deals with the issue of rotation national security, which
:39:07. > :39:09.was an attempt by the British government to effectively cover up
:39:10. > :39:13.the activities of state forces over a very lengthy period of time.
:39:14. > :39:17.Theresa Villiers has been on the record on a number of occasions over
:39:18. > :39:21.the last few months saying she believes that can be resolved. Where
:39:22. > :39:26.is the paramilitaries will come forward and say what they did and
:39:27. > :39:30.why they did it? I think everybody has to come forward, British state
:39:31. > :39:37.forces, those involved in armed groups have to come forward. It is
:39:38. > :39:40.not a genuine process unless there is a desire to do so. Speaking for
:39:41. > :39:45.Irish republicanism, we are determined to make sure the needs of
:39:46. > :39:48.victims are met. You said at the bloody Sunday enquiry you couldn't
:39:49. > :39:54.go against your oath for the IRA to give details. I went to the bloody
:39:55. > :40:02.Sunday enquiry at the request of the 14 people murdered on the streets of
:40:03. > :40:08.Derry. Lord Savill accepted every single word I said. He exonerated
:40:09. > :40:11.the IRA, and he put the finger of responsibility for what happened on
:40:12. > :40:18.the streets of Derry fair and square on the British Parachute Regiment.
:40:19. > :40:24.But there could be some sort of law of silence meaning you couldn't say
:40:25. > :40:31.what the IRA did. What does that say? The Lord Savill situation dealt
:40:32. > :40:35.with that situation. We are now in a new place where all the leaders
:40:36. > :40:39.around this table have agreed the mechanisms and structures. I want
:40:40. > :40:44.those mechanisms and structures to work and I'm prepared to play my
:40:45. > :40:51.part to ensure they do work. And I have confidence that the needs and
:40:52. > :40:54.requirements of many people in the victims community will benefit if we
:40:55. > :41:00.put the last piece of the jigsaw in place. On addressing the needs of
:41:01. > :41:03.innocent victims, Arlene Foster. Unfortunately a lot of those
:41:04. > :41:07.innocent victims feel their voices have not been heard recently and
:41:08. > :41:14.there has been an imbalanced in relation to state killings as
:41:15. > :41:18.opposed to paramilitary killings. I was rather concerned when I heard on
:41:19. > :41:26.the news tonight about this story. The paper did come to OFM, DFM, and
:41:27. > :41:30.I felt I needed more discussion around it. I was surprised to hear
:41:31. > :41:35.executive business talked about on the news. I was even more concerned
:41:36. > :41:39.when I thought the judiciary might have brought this story forward.
:41:40. > :41:43.There is a separation of powers between the judiciary and executive.
:41:44. > :41:48.I think we now know, having listened to the panellists, where the story
:41:49. > :41:55.came from. We just need to find out in particular where the story came
:41:56. > :41:59.from today, and I regret that. It's executive business and it hadn't
:42:00. > :42:02.been discussed and I wanted the opportunity to discuss further with
:42:03. > :42:06.the Lord Chief Justice around the issues of innocent victims and how
:42:07. > :42:09.we can deal with their issues. I make no apology for that. I think
:42:10. > :42:15.the rights of innocent victims are key in all of this. I will not allow
:42:16. > :42:18.any process to re-write the past on what happened in Northern Ireland.
:42:19. > :42:27.I'm fundamental in that and it will not change before the election or
:42:28. > :42:30.after. The Lord Savill transcript quotes Martin McGuinness as saying
:42:31. > :42:36.there are certain things about the IRA he wouldn't discuss under any
:42:37. > :42:43.circumstances. Correct me if I'm wrong. You may well be right, but as
:42:44. > :42:49.I said earlier, that was then and this is now. In the intervening
:42:50. > :42:51.period we have established power-sharing and I want that to
:42:52. > :42:58.period we have established important, as much in the community
:42:59. > :43:00.I come from, as the community Arlene comes from. I know there are
:43:01. > :43:08.different narratives. comes from. I know there are
:43:09. > :43:12.right in regard to the argument. But we are in a different place now
:43:13. > :43:17.where we have these institutions and I want them to work. I have proven
:43:18. > :43:20.myself in particular circumstances which affect me, I will contribute
:43:21. > :43:28.in anyway I can towards which affect me, I will contribute
:43:29. > :43:32.There are families tonight, many of them have waited 40 years, been
:43:33. > :43:36.through the years and waited 40 years for some sort of truth and
:43:37. > :43:42.justice. Tonight they are being traumatised again. I sat with them
:43:43. > :43:48.when Reggie Weir was doing his review and they were very happy this
:43:49. > :43:51.stuff had begun to change and they had seen the Lord Chief Justice
:43:52. > :43:54.setting about a process of addressing their ROMs. They have
:43:55. > :44:05.been put through the mill time and time again. -- they're wrong is.
:44:06. > :44:07.state forces when he talked about inquests.
:44:08. > :44:11.state forces when he talked about inquests have nothing to do with
:44:12. > :44:15.state forces. I'm not sure what Arlene's remark was meant to mean. I
:44:16. > :44:18.was rung up by a Department of Justice official a few minutes
:44:19. > :44:23.before 5pm to be told the BBC had a story that did not come from the
:44:24. > :44:27.Department of Justice. Questions and comments from the floor. The
:44:28. > :44:32.gentleman at the back. This will be my first election that I vote in.
:44:33. > :44:37.People my age, quite frankly, are tired of hearing about the past. I
:44:38. > :44:45.grew up nearly my entire life Post-troubles, so I've no experience
:44:46. > :44:49.what that is like. How long will it take? I recognise that to move on we
:44:50. > :44:52.have to deal with it. The Fresh Start Agreement, headed by the DUP
:44:53. > :44:59.and Sinn Fein, it has not been dealt with. Who has been protecting Martin
:45:00. > :45:06.McGuinness for 40 years? The British government. I can't say anything you
:45:07. > :45:15.were told, because we can't stand over that clearly.
:45:16. > :45:26.I was just wanting to address the question to Martin and ask will you
:45:27. > :45:30.disclose information? You don't seem to directly answer the question. I
:45:31. > :45:35.think he said there were certain things... I have made it clear in
:45:36. > :45:42.all interviews I have done in the past that any situation that
:45:43. > :45:47.directly affected me... I think you have made yourself quite clear. I
:45:48. > :45:51.moved here from South Africa ten years ago and we are constantly
:45:52. > :45:54.being told this country needs to move forward. You are all standing
:45:55. > :46:07.here repeating the same things I have been hearing for ten years. I
:46:08. > :46:11.come from a country that managed to implement education overnight. Why
:46:12. > :46:15.does my daughter have to be on a waiting list to get into an
:46:16. > :46:25.integrated school? Can you explain that to me? This gentleman over
:46:26. > :46:31.here. I think Martin McGuinness' mask slipped. I'm not going to let
:46:32. > :46:37.him come the British soldiers, they wouldn't have been on the streets if
:46:38. > :46:44.it wasn't... We will never finish that, I take your point. I would
:46:45. > :46:49.like to ask Martin, will Jerry like to finally admit he was in the IRA,
:46:50. > :47:00.may be considered deleting his Twitter account? -- Gerry. Can I
:47:01. > :47:06.deal with the question about integration? No, the question was
:47:07. > :47:14.about dealing with the past. We are going to move onto the next one. Our
:47:15. > :47:20.political parties seem to trade on negativity. What examples can the
:47:21. > :47:27.panel show about how they can work together to provide a better example
:47:28. > :47:33.for our society as a whole? I think I have shown through my record in
:47:34. > :47:35.the Department of the Environment, Finance and personnel, that I will
:47:36. > :47:41.work with colleagues to provide a better future for the people of
:47:42. > :47:45.Northern Ireland. In terms of the Department of enterprise trade and
:47:46. > :47:53.investment we set a target of 20,000 jobs over the last mandate and
:47:54. > :48:01.promoted 42,000 jobs. There were 17,000 redundancies announced over
:48:02. > :48:06.the period of the last Assembly. You have to balance that out, don't you?
:48:07. > :48:13.That's correct but if we hadn't created 42,000 jobs... So I don't
:48:14. > :48:17.know what the point is you are trying to make. The point is the net
:48:18. > :48:26.result was that I was something like 20 plus. What I think is important
:48:27. > :48:29.is we have delivered in terms of economic development, we have
:48:30. > :48:33.delivered in terms of tourism as well. We now have the tourism
:48:34. > :48:37.industry that is continuing to grow right across Northern Ireland. We
:48:38. > :48:43.are bringing more tourists to Northern Ireland whether that is for
:48:44. > :48:46.golfing events, music events or the Titanic centre so we do have a lot
:48:47. > :48:56.to celebrate in relation to the last mandate. When the cameras are turned
:48:57. > :49:02.on it is always the same sniping at each other. I think it is a fair
:49:03. > :49:08.point. People ask questions and we have to respond to them. If you ask
:49:09. > :49:12.us about how we are working together in economic development, we can talk
:49:13. > :49:17.about the fact we have gone to the USA with my former party leader and
:49:18. > :49:20.brought jobs to Northern Ireland. We have helped bring investment in
:49:21. > :49:24.Northern Ireland but unfortunately we don't get asked about that, we
:49:25. > :49:28.get asked about the difficult things that cause division and I regret
:49:29. > :49:35.that because I would love to talk about the successes more.
:49:36. > :49:41.Martin McGuinness. I think people have to and probably do understand
:49:42. > :49:45.that we are dealing with the unique nature of the Government we are
:49:46. > :49:50.involved in. Different ideologies, different allegiances, and we are
:49:51. > :49:53.society emerging from conflict but there is a huge responsibility on
:49:54. > :50:02.all the files to work together to build that better future -- on all
:50:03. > :50:05.of us. We have been buffeted by activities in recent times, the
:50:06. > :50:11.extremes of loyalism, the extremes of republicanism. Yet during the
:50:12. > :50:17.time of world economic downturn we managed to bring in more investment
:50:18. > :50:23.jobs than at any time in the history of state. I worked with Ian Paisley
:50:24. > :50:28.for one year, we had all sorts of reasons not to like each other,
:50:29. > :50:33.because of my past, because of his past, but we actually developed a
:50:34. > :50:37.positive working relationship and we developed a friendship that lasted
:50:38. > :50:43.until the day he died. I think that was remarkable. I have worked with
:50:44. > :50:46.Peter Robinson. We had our differences but I regard him as a
:50:47. > :50:51.friend of the peace process. I have worked with Arlene over the course
:50:52. > :50:55.of the last nine years and I regard her as a friend of the peace
:50:56. > :50:59.process. There's no reason we cannot work together and face the
:51:00. > :51:04.challenges that our community are dealing with in a way that provides
:51:05. > :51:09.solutions for them. I have confidence against the backdrop of
:51:10. > :51:13.the Fresh Start agreement in the aftermath of this election that we
:51:14. > :51:19.can continue to move forward and deliver for everybody in our
:51:20. > :51:22.society. Mike Nesbitt, you and the other smaller larger parties have
:51:23. > :51:25.complained that they might be working together but they are not
:51:26. > :51:35.working with anybody else. Is that the valid criticism in light of what
:51:36. > :51:40.they have said? I think it is. You look at the trade visits, the visits
:51:41. > :51:44.to Washington, you don't have the five leaders in the executive
:51:45. > :51:51.standing shoulder to shoulder. This effectively for the First Minister
:51:52. > :51:59.and deputy five -- Deputy First Minister. In terms of collaborative
:52:00. > :52:03.working, I am the first chair since 1998 to bring through a piece of
:52:04. > :52:07.legislation through a committee. Not a lot of people know that committees
:52:08. > :52:11.can pass legislation, a lot of people know that committees
:52:12. > :52:16.because very few do. It was a challenge because there were bits of
:52:17. > :52:19.the Sinn Fein ideology, bits the Alliance and the DUP wanted to
:52:20. > :52:24.challenge but I was able to get it through and I will stand by what I
:52:25. > :52:30.said in Hansard about my leadership during the course of those debates.
:52:31. > :52:35.It is difficult to work with those parties to achieve things. Let's not
:52:36. > :52:40.forget politicians are not wealth generators. Our job is to create the
:52:41. > :52:44.environment in which you as wealth generators can create jobs which
:52:45. > :52:49.will give us the taxes to run our public services. A couple of things
:52:50. > :52:53.I would do differently, we undervalue the social economy and
:52:54. > :52:57.there was a great return on investment in the social economy. If
:52:58. > :53:01.you look at persistent long-term unemployment the biggest single
:53:02. > :53:05.problem once again is mental health and wellbeing so if we tackle it, we
:53:06. > :53:12.get people off benefits who don't want to be on welfare and we make
:53:13. > :53:14.them economically active. The question is about working together
:53:15. > :53:25.at the Assembly and counteracting the negativity. Are you as
:53:26. > :53:31.optimistic? I am always optimistic, I do think we can work together. The
:53:32. > :53:35.SDLP is founded on the idea of partnership. It doesn't mean I'm
:53:36. > :53:44.going to be quiet though if I think things are not going well. We are
:53:45. > :53:46.going to let the voters decide what happens and when we are going to
:53:47. > :53:49.have a two week negotiation. happens and when we are going to
:53:50. > :53:52.it is a break from happens and when we are going to
:53:53. > :53:59.We will have a two happens and when we are going to
:54:00. > :54:00.and stem the tide of immigration. That's how we begin to
:54:01. > :54:08.and stem the tide of immigration. the fortunes in our economy. Colum
:54:09. > :54:09.doesn't really know what he wants to do because on the one
:54:10. > :54:13.doesn't really know what he wants to telling people he is fighting this
:54:14. > :54:17.election on the basis of being in Government but on the other hand he
:54:18. > :54:22.saying that will depend on the negotiations that take place
:54:23. > :54:27.saying that will depend on the the election. Let people speak, it
:54:28. > :54:32.is not a coronation. With all of the challenges and problems we face, and
:54:33. > :54:35.the reality we will have to negotiate between us, a programme
:54:36. > :54:39.for government that meet the needs of our people. I am going into
:54:40. > :54:46.for government that meet the needs government. David Ford. Not like the
:54:47. > :54:55.South, where they have refused to go into government. You must let me
:54:56. > :54:58.answer that. You have had plenty of time. I'm going to let David Ford
:54:59. > :55:03.speak. I can give time. I'm going to let David Ford
:55:04. > :55:08.working with the Department for Education, on the juvenile Justice
:55:09. > :55:12.Centre, I worked with Simon Hamilton in health in prison so there are
:55:13. > :55:16.positive examples. We are not very good at getting the executives
:55:17. > :55:21.collectively working together. When I took the job as justice minister
:55:22. > :55:25.in 2010 it was on the basis that Martin and Peter Robinson agreed the
:55:26. > :55:30.Alliance proposals for the programme for government for justice. That was
:55:31. > :55:33.done in advance of me becoming minister, that's the way it should
:55:34. > :55:38.be done because in fairness to them by and large they have stuck to that
:55:39. > :55:41.deal for six years. We need to get that negotiation done right so we
:55:42. > :55:48.have an agreed programme before people are in their posts. Is two
:55:49. > :56:01.week 's enough to do that? If people put their minds to it, they can do
:56:02. > :56:04.nearly anything in two weeks. We told the electorate before the
:56:05. > :56:16.election we would not going to government... You knew it was only
:56:17. > :56:23.Parliament available. Colum talks about new politics and him being a
:56:24. > :56:27.new leader. The Irish government told us... Are you afraid to let me
:56:28. > :56:31.say this? The Irish government told me at the very beginning of the
:56:32. > :56:35.Fresh Start agreement that no matter what we agreed it was their view
:56:36. > :56:43.that the SDLP would not sign up for it. We signed up to the agreement
:56:44. > :56:47.before that, and what is Martin saying, that we should have listened
:56:48. > :56:59.to the Irish government when they told us to hand welfare powers to
:57:00. > :57:02.the British government? I was cut off last week when I asked a
:57:03. > :57:08.question to the leaders about young people, I want to know what your
:57:09. > :57:15.party will do to protect various language speakers. We won't have
:57:16. > :57:19.time to discuss that. Arlene mentioned 42,000 jobs were promoted.
:57:20. > :57:24.How many jobs were created rather than promoted? And are they better
:57:25. > :57:31.paid than the last ones? And last one? I think we have an
:57:32. > :57:37.institutional problem whereby we have community leaders and not
:57:38. > :57:40.politicians that are willing to take difficult decisions, and we need to
:57:41. > :57:54.move away from this divide and conquer politics. How many jobs were
:57:55. > :58:01.actually created? I can give you the numbers for last year, 9500 jobs
:58:02. > :58:09.were created. 73% of them outside of Belfast. How many in the west? The
:58:10. > :58:11.west is outside of Belfast. Thank you.
:58:12. > :58:13.That's where we leave the Northern Ireland Leaders' Debate.
:58:14. > :58:16.As always, it's you who'll decide the fate of all the parties.
:58:17. > :58:19.Thanks to our guests, our audience, and of course