:00:00. > :00:10.There's to be an Assembly election on Thursday March the second.
:00:11. > :00:18.It was called at teatime by the Secretary of State exactly
:00:19. > :00:20.seven days after Martin McGuinness resigned as the Deputy
:00:21. > :00:36.James Brokenshire called on the parties to establish it as soon as
:00:37. > :00:41.possible. No one should underestimate the challenge faced by
:00:42. > :00:52.the institutions here and what is at stake. It is inevitable that debates
:00:53. > :01:00.will be intense, I would encourage the parties to carry this election
:01:01. > :01:02.with a view to the future of Northern Ireland and re-establishing
:01:03. > :01:12.a partnership government at the earliest opportunity after that.
:01:13. > :01:24.This is essential to the operation of government and means all must
:01:25. > :01:30.Remain open to dialogue. Two parties that pledged to make a Fresh Start
:01:31. > :01:31.are now deeply divided. Our political correspondent charts the
:01:32. > :01:38.day. We've had political break-ups at
:01:39. > :01:41.Stormont before but not quite like this. Arlene Foster and Martin
:01:42. > :01:49.McGuinness's relationship has been in meltdown for months and today
:01:50. > :01:55.this was reduced to ashes. This is the moment their separation was
:01:56. > :02:07.rubber-stamped. One was prepared to stay and the other wanted out. I am
:02:08. > :02:15.nominating Arlene Foster to be the minister. Thousands of people said
:02:16. > :02:22.it in the country and we, as the DUP will decide who the leader of our
:02:23. > :02:32.party is, not someone else sitting in this chamber. Sinn Fein have
:02:33. > :02:37.honoured all agreements, we have striven to make these agreements
:02:38. > :02:45.work, Martin McGuinness has acted with integrity, dignity and respect.
:02:46. > :02:48.Moments later, Martin McGuinness left the chamber, leaving many to
:02:49. > :02:54.wonder if he'd played his last political hand. Whilst Arlene Foster
:02:55. > :02:59.faced up to her next challenge, blaming Sinn Fein for sending voters
:03:00. > :03:03.back to the polls. They've forced an election which risks the stability
:03:04. > :03:09.and future of Northern Ireland and suits nobody other than themselves.
:03:10. > :03:11.They will take every vote for them as an encouragement that they can
:03:12. > :03:15.bring down the Executive whenever they don't get their own way,
:03:16. > :03:26.whatever the cost to Northern Ireland, again and again and again.
:03:27. > :03:29.Today we've called time on the behaviour of the DUP. We've done so
:03:30. > :03:38.because we can no longer accept how these institutions were being
:03:39. > :03:44.treated with contempt, and the DUP treat the public with contempt. Sinn
:03:45. > :03:47.Fein and Martin McGuinness have stretched ourselves to the very
:03:48. > :03:53.limits to keep these institutions working but have been let down by
:03:54. > :03:58.the behaviour of the DUP, the imposition of Tory policies and the
:03:59. > :04:02.inaction of the Irish government. The heated exchanges continued
:04:03. > :04:09.inside the chamber as Sinn Fein withdrew its motion of no-confidence
:04:10. > :04:15.in the speaker Robin Newton. In a bizarre twist, the chamber was left
:04:16. > :04:24.without a speaker when Lord Morrow refused to take any points of order
:04:25. > :04:36.and left the chair. The Deputy speaker was drafted in. I'm going to
:04:37. > :04:45.suspend the Assembly because of the absolute mess we've arrived into to
:04:46. > :04:48.take some advice. There are a lot of questions to be dealt with in a
:04:49. > :04:54.serious manner without tomfoolery that has been happening here. That
:04:55. > :05:00.was not the only piece of business taken off the agenda, the plan to
:05:01. > :05:04.reduce the cost of the flawed heating scheme was adjourned until
:05:05. > :05:11.next week. The class of 2002 new about stop start politics but this
:05:12. > :05:14.will be a new experience for the MLAs leaving Stormont not knowing
:05:15. > :05:19.when or if they might return. As they know, collapsing institutions
:05:20. > :05:23.is the easy bit. Bringing them back and rebuilding trust is the real
:05:24. > :05:31.challenge and that is the test awaiting our politicians on the
:05:32. > :05:35.other side of the election. As for other political parties, this was
:05:36. > :05:40.their reaction to today's events. The people of Northern Ireland
:05:41. > :05:44.should be extremely disappointed and angry by the developments that have
:05:45. > :05:48.culminated in the inevitable collapse of this mandate after just
:05:49. > :05:53.eight months. I would encourage them to express that anger and
:05:54. > :05:58.frustration by coming out to vote next time and not staying at home.
:05:59. > :06:03.They've had ten years of the DUP and Sinn Fein ruling us from Stormont
:06:04. > :06:08.Castle. You need no more proof that they are incapable of working
:06:09. > :06:12.together. We told people these parties could not deliver. We told
:06:13. > :06:17.them we need a programme for government. Sinn Fein did not
:06:18. > :06:21.listen. The DUP did not listen. It only took seven months of proper
:06:22. > :06:26.accountability and opposition for this government to collapse. The
:06:27. > :06:29.only thing the public have voted for in the Good Friday agreement is that
:06:30. > :06:37.these institutions should work. Now we need people who are willing to be
:06:38. > :06:41.transparent and accountable. They want to be elected to the Assembly
:06:42. > :06:49.and do the work on behalf of the people. Eight months is a disgrace.
:06:50. > :06:51.Earlier tonight in the Assembly the former Enterprise
:06:52. > :06:53.Minister Jonathan Bell of the DUP addressed MLAs.
:06:54. > :07:08.I believe these matters can be investigated. Alongside the very
:07:09. > :07:13.first piece of information given to me by the DUP special officer that
:07:14. > :07:19.you will not be allowed to reduce the tariff on the scheme because
:07:20. > :07:23.Timothy Johnson, special adviser to the then First Minister and Jon
:07:24. > :07:30.Ronson, the director of communications to the DUP, and the
:07:31. > :07:33.special adviser to the economy minister, have such extensive
:07:34. > :07:37.interests in the poultry industry that has not been allowed on the
:07:38. > :07:43.agenda. I have the information, I have kept the records in many
:07:44. > :07:50.formats. This party has suspended me for telling the truth whilst I give
:07:51. > :07:53.the deputy leader all the information about the people sitting
:07:54. > :08:02.beside them and bind them of much more serious offences. We've had
:08:03. > :08:07.response to that from Timothy Johnston and from the special
:08:08. > :08:13.adviser to the economy minister, Simon Hamilton. Mr Johnston said, I
:08:14. > :08:37.have no family connections to the poultry industry...
:08:38. > :08:39.The current Assembly comes to an early end without agreeing
:08:40. > :08:42.a budget for the start of the new financial year in April.
:08:43. > :08:46.A senior civil servant has warned that could lead to a huge
:08:47. > :08:49.range of difficulties, particularly for the health service.
:08:50. > :08:51.Earlier I spoke to our Economics and Business Editor John Campbell
:08:52. > :09:00.about what will happen with no budget in place.
:09:01. > :09:09.It is what David Stirling was trying to spell out today, he initially
:09:10. > :09:12.stuck an optimistic note -- struck. He said we have a few weeks to put
:09:13. > :09:18.an Executive back together and agree a budget just-in-time before the
:09:19. > :09:24.start of the financial year in April. That means he is probably
:09:25. > :09:36.more optimistic, and if it cannot be put together... He will immediately
:09:37. > :09:41.have access to 75% of the budget, so he sought to reassure them he will
:09:42. > :09:44.have that cash at hand and public services would continue to operate
:09:45. > :09:50.even if there is not a government or a budget agreed. What does that mean
:09:51. > :09:54.for the running of the departments? Even though he was reassuring people
:09:55. > :09:57.that the cash would not run out he said it was still a very
:09:58. > :10:02.unsatisfactory situation and his precise words were, if there wasn't
:10:03. > :10:06.a government in place for a period of time, say a couple of months,
:10:07. > :10:10.that would pose a huge range of difficulties in a wide range of
:10:11. > :10:13.areas. He gave a specific example of the Department of Health and he said
:10:14. > :10:22.the quality of services they depend on the pattern of spending, in other
:10:23. > :10:24.words, the Department of Health, huge department, they need to have
:10:25. > :10:29.certainty at the start of the financial year so they can plan
:10:30. > :10:31.their services so if there is no budget in place, that will cause
:10:32. > :10:40.difficulties to services that are already under pressure. There is
:10:41. > :10:45.also a difficulty with rates bills. Setting rates is one of the powers.
:10:46. > :10:53.There is a piece of legislation which allows the government to
:10:54. > :10:57.collect rates, the taxes levied on businesses and households. If there
:10:58. > :11:01.is no power to collect those then what happens? There is a contingency
:11:02. > :11:05.plan in place. Usually they are collected over a ten month period.
:11:06. > :11:12.It could be possible that you could get them in May or June. That is the
:11:13. > :11:20.initial plan. If there's no money coming in, councils rely on them. He
:11:21. > :11:24.said he could make it work for a couple of months. He emphasised it
:11:25. > :11:30.could only be a short-term solution. If this runs on later than June or
:11:31. > :11:39.July they will be in a real budget crunch. If there is no Executive in
:11:40. > :11:43.place then a direct minister would step in and impose a budget.
:11:44. > :11:59.You've News of an important phone call. Theresa May and Enda Kenny
:12:00. > :12:03.spoke on the phone. Both parties say they are very concerned about the
:12:04. > :12:08.direction politics is heading in Northern Ireland and they've urged
:12:09. > :12:11.all sides to show respect during the campaign because there is a concern
:12:12. > :12:15.in London and Dublin that gap between Sinn Fein and the DUP will
:12:16. > :12:19.widen considerably the selection and that will make it more difficult
:12:20. > :12:26.when we get down to the negotiations. In regards to the
:12:27. > :12:31.practicalities of what will happen in Stormont before election day,
:12:32. > :12:36.take us through that. We have our date of March the 2nd and we know
:12:37. > :12:40.that the institutions, the Assembly will be devolved on January 26. The
:12:41. > :12:48.business will continue in the chamber until January 25 and they
:12:49. > :12:53.will wrap up ongoing as this, so to speak, by the 25th of January. After
:12:54. > :12:58.that date, the ministers will still be in position and behind their
:12:59. > :13:01.desks, running there are various departments. That will continue to
:13:02. > :13:07.be the case until the eve of the election. We will have the election,
:13:08. > :13:14.the MLAs are elected, how soon, given what you heard today, will be
:13:15. > :13:19.Executive be back up and running? That's a massive question and not
:13:20. > :13:23.too many pundits will have the answer. They would love to know how
:13:24. > :13:28.it will play out. We do know there will be a three-week period for the
:13:29. > :13:39.first and the Deputy First Minister to be elected. After that, we are
:13:40. > :13:45.into unknown territory. It will be up to James Brokenshire to make the
:13:46. > :13:49.call. We may see prolonged negotiations continuing between the
:13:50. > :13:52.parties because we know the gap is so weighed between Sinn Fein and the
:13:53. > :13:57.DUP that it may take some time before we can put things together
:13:58. > :14:02.again. Seven days since Martin McGuinness announced his
:14:03. > :14:10.resignation. You mentioned in your report about his political career.
:14:11. > :14:18.Do we see the end of it today? Do we see Malcolm McGuinness playing his
:14:19. > :14:22.last letter got hand? He seemed a lot stronger today, health-wise, and
:14:23. > :14:28.speaking to him, he was pleased with where he was with his health. But he
:14:29. > :14:34.has to decide whether he puts his health before politics. We are
:14:35. > :14:44.expecting a decision on that. That needs to be made because the
:14:45. > :14:50.election is now up and running. There will be 90 MLAs selected after
:14:51. > :15:00.the election day. I presume they are all vying for position now within
:15:01. > :15:04.parties as well. 18 MLAs are facing the prospect of redundancy from a
:15:05. > :15:09.very good job, a job that pays ?50,000 a year with quite a generous
:15:10. > :15:12.expenses package. These are politicians who thought they were in
:15:13. > :15:17.a job for the next five years and here they are, seven or eight months
:15:18. > :15:21.later, facing the electorate and 18 of them will not be coming back, we
:15:22. > :15:26.know that pressure. We have a journey ahead of us, that is mature.
:15:27. > :15:32.There is more on those developments on Stormont today at 11:20pm.
:15:33. > :15:35.In other news now and two years after the death of a 13-year-old
:15:36. > :15:37.Fermanagh boy following a playground incident, a former pupil
:15:38. > :15:39.at his school has appeared in court charged with manslaughter.
:15:40. > :15:42.Our South West reporter Julian Fowler was at the hearing
:15:43. > :15:55.Oisin McGrath died after an incident in February 2000 15. France's
:15:56. > :16:03.McDermott was in sixth form at time. The 19-year-old is accused of
:16:04. > :16:09.unlawful killing. The family were in court and listened as the defence
:16:10. > :16:13.solicitor said he'd been asked to express continuing sympathy to them,
:16:14. > :16:18.saying it had devastated to families. The solicitor said Francis
:16:19. > :16:22.would carry the memory of what happened in the schoolyard with him
:16:23. > :16:28.for the rest of his life and said he had been instructed to minimise the
:16:29. > :16:30.pain that the Justice process will have for the McGrath family. The
:16:31. > :16:35.judge said the sentiments were laudable in an extremely difficult
:16:36. > :16:44.set of circumstances. France's McDermott said he understood the
:16:45. > :16:45.charges. He was released on bail for ?500 and will appear at Crown Court
:16:46. > :16:51.next month. Efforts to stop the closure of a GP
:16:52. > :16:54.practice in Portadown have failed. Someone who it was thought may be
:16:55. > :16:57.able to take over the Bannview Our Health Correspondent
:16:58. > :17:09.Marie-Louise Connolly reports. At one time, there were four
:17:10. > :17:16.full-time GPs working from this practice, caring for 5200 men, women
:17:17. > :17:23.and children. A vital health club in the town, over the years, as GPs
:17:24. > :17:27.retired, they were not replaced. Despite the warning signs, the last
:17:28. > :17:31.remaining GP resigned saying she could no longer cope with the
:17:32. > :17:35.pressure. Nearby practices told the BBC they were overstretched and
:17:36. > :17:39.unable to take on patients. It was left in the hands of the health and
:17:40. > :17:45.social care boards to sex. A contractor had been fined late this
:17:46. > :17:50.afternoon and it emerged that GP had withdrawn from the contract. The
:17:51. > :17:54.health minister said the move was extremely disappointing and she has
:17:55. > :17:58.called for an urgent meeting with the health and social care boards to
:17:59. > :18:03.ensure patients receive high-quality health care. They added that the
:18:04. > :18:10.health care will manage the practice until a contract is appointed. It is
:18:11. > :18:14.not ideal that locums could be in charge of running a health centre.
:18:15. > :18:19.Patients who are older, especially, require somebody who knows their
:18:20. > :18:27.medical history. Unless problems are addressed this could become a
:18:28. > :18:34.familiar story. The weather forecast, and here are the details.
:18:35. > :18:39.We have a quieter week, apart from spots of rain we are looking at dry
:18:40. > :18:43.weather. Rain has been moving through, it will clear away to the
:18:44. > :18:48.east, and in the second part of the night it turning drier but we are
:18:49. > :18:55.left with the legacy of cloud. Quite a bit of hillfort in places.
:18:56. > :18:58.Temperatures will not be lower than 7 degrees. Tomorrow, apart from the
:18:59. > :19:04.odd spot of drizzle we are looking at dry weather. Some low cloud over
:19:05. > :19:12.the hills and it will be a dull and grey start. Similar across the
:19:13. > :19:21.Republic of Ireland. Quite a brisk wind in the Northwest. Mainly dry.
:19:22. > :19:25.Further south, southern Scotland and northern Wales seeing rain and to
:19:26. > :19:33.the south of that it is mainly dry. The sun will come through after the
:19:34. > :19:37.frosty start. Temperature is not much above four or 5 degrees. Milder
:19:38. > :19:43.conditions, in fact, double figures. We are looking at 10 degrees in
:19:44. > :19:50.Northern Ireland. Generally speaking, more cloud than sunshine.
:19:51. > :19:55.I pressure of the dominant feature. Not a lot of sunshine. We are
:19:56. > :20:03.looking at a fair amount of cloud. Mainly dry. Temperatures are
:20:04. > :20:11.tapering down. That was BBC newsline. A fresh election has been
:20:12. > :20:16.called for Thursday 2nd of March. The power-sharing Executive
:20:17. > :20:19.collapsed, sparked by the renewable heat scheme which could cost
:20:20. > :20:32.taxpayers nearly half ?1 billion. Good
:20:33. > :20:35.The View holds politicians to account and we ask
:20:36. > :20:38.the questions that our audiences want answers to.