:00:00. > :00:09.The DUP leader Arlene Foster has said she would like to see
:00:10. > :00:12.the scrapping of the Assembly's veto mechanism that has been used
:00:13. > :00:18.by her party and others to block various legislation.
:00:19. > :00:22.The petition of concern, as it is called, was originally
:00:23. > :00:25.designed as a way to safeguard the rights of minorities but its use
:00:26. > :00:32.Our Political Correspondent Stephen Walker reports.
:00:33. > :00:38.Under the Good Friday Agreement, and even in the Assembly
:00:39. > :00:40.Under the Good Friday Agreement, any vote in the Assembly
:00:41. > :00:42.can be made dependent on the addition of concern.
:00:43. > :00:47.It means emotion will only pass if it has cross community support.
:00:48. > :00:49.The purpose is to protect one community from legislation that
:00:50. > :01:00.Over a five-year period from 2011 to 2016, 115 petitions
:01:01. > :01:05.The DUP sank 86 petitions, the SDLP and Sinn Fein assigned 29.
:01:06. > :01:08.The DUP sank 86 petitions, the SDLP and Sinn Fein signed 29.
:01:09. > :01:12.The Green party endorsed four, Alliance three,
:01:13. > :01:16.Arlene Foster bid queer today what she wants to see happen.
:01:17. > :01:19.We talk a lot about the petition of concern and opponents talk a lot
:01:20. > :01:25.We would like to see the petition of concern got rid of for everything
:01:26. > :01:29.but our opponents would like to keep it for the things they want to use
:01:30. > :01:33.What we need to talk about after the election
:01:34. > :01:36.is getting rid of the petition of concern altogether.
:01:37. > :01:41.Why has Arlene Foster said this today?
:01:42. > :01:45.Tactically, it says they are prepared to recognise
:01:46. > :01:53.that the party is behind the curve in relation to some issues.
:01:54. > :01:57.Public opinion has advanced on these and they are intending to sell it
:01:58. > :02:02.to the public as a sign that the DUP has become more modernised,
:02:03. > :02:05.but it doesn't feel the need to use that particular device in order
:02:06. > :02:08.to block progressive reform in Northern Ireland.
:02:09. > :02:16.The next Assembly will be 90 seats, which means securing a petition
:02:17. > :02:19.of concern with 30 MLAs will be harder.
:02:20. > :02:22.The procedure has come under scrutiny and the SDLP, the UUP,
:02:23. > :02:25.Alliance and Sinn Fein have all called for reform.
:02:26. > :02:30.The DUP are well aware of how petitions of concern are perceived
:02:31. > :02:33.in some quarters and this is the first time
:02:34. > :02:36.Arlene Foster has spoken about scrapping the procedure.
:02:37. > :02:40.This development is significant because it opens up the debate
:02:41. > :02:43.and gives us an indication of the level of detail that
:02:44. > :02:51.will be on the negotiating table after the election.
:02:52. > :02:54.The Secretary of State has rejected calls for him to step aside as chair
:02:55. > :02:59.of any cross party talks after the Assembly election.
:03:00. > :03:01.Sinn Fein and the SDLP have claimed that recent comments
:03:02. > :03:04.from James Brokenshire on the Legacy of the Troubles mean he cannot be
:03:05. > :03:24.The Mallard, I take responsibility for the UK Government are now look
:03:25. > :03:33.forward to getting into discussions with parties immediately following
:03:34. > :03:48.the election on 02 March, doing all I can to get involved into devolved
:03:49. > :03:53.politics. I am very clear on legacy issues that what we need to do is
:03:54. > :03:56.get on with delivering on Stormont house, by getting Legacy
:03:57. > :04:01.institutions and running, and that remains my view, it remains very
:04:02. > :04:05.much the view of the UK Government, and actually getting into
:04:06. > :04:14.discussions so that we can take forward.
:04:15. > :04:16.James Brokenshire speaking to our political editor
:04:17. > :04:19.A councillor has resigned from the Ulster Unionist party
:04:20. > :04:20.over her leader's voting tactics in the forthcoming
:04:21. > :04:24.Mike Nesbitt said he would give his second preference vote to the SDLP
:04:25. > :04:27.Carol Black, a member of Armagh Banbridge
:04:28. > :04:30.and Craigavon Council, said "the whole ethos of the party
:04:31. > :04:33.The Ulster Unionist Group Leader on the council Jim Speers
:04:34. > :04:36.said his party had a vision of Unionism that embraced everyone.
:04:37. > :04:38.He said clearly Carol Black did not subscribe to that,
:04:39. > :04:42.The Ulster Unionist leader has denied he had made a mistake
:04:43. > :04:45.Mike Nesbitt was launching his party's election manifesto
:04:46. > :04:55.as our political correspondent Gareth Gordon reports.
:04:56. > :05:01.The Ulster Unionist Party wants this election to be a referendum on how
:05:02. > :05:04.the DUP and Sinn Fein handled the RHI debacle.
:05:05. > :05:06.The manifesto says it is a blueprint for real partnership.
:05:07. > :05:09.But could their partnership with the SDLP and the party leader
:05:10. > :05:11.saying he will give his second preference votes to that party
:05:12. > :05:14.and not to the Unionists derail his campaign before
:05:15. > :05:16.Mike Nesbitt spent much of the launch today
:05:17. > :05:22.I am confident with my position and I am confident and relaxed that
:05:23. > :05:29.people behind me are taking different positions
:05:30. > :05:35.People will come back on the 2nd of March to thinking
:05:36. > :05:44.about the 85,000 a day that is quite a bit smug.
:05:45. > :05:47.The ten years of the DUP and Sinn Fein in that castle
:05:48. > :05:50.no matter what anybody writes in the newspapers,
:05:51. > :05:58.Coastline south Danny Kennedy, the most senior of Mr Nisbet's
:05:59. > :06:01.colleagues to disagree with them publicly.
:06:02. > :06:03.It was a it was reaffirming to know Danny was listening.
:06:04. > :06:06.The manifesto talks about cleaning up Stormont, with greater
:06:07. > :06:07.accountability for ministers and their special advisers.
:06:08. > :06:14.The election of an Assembly Speaker by secret ballot, and to abuse
:06:15. > :06:17.The election of an Assembly Speaker by secret ballot, an end to abuse
:06:18. > :06:19.of the petition of concern, greater transparency over
:06:20. > :06:23.To be in a position to do that, Mike Nesbitt said they would
:06:24. > :06:25.still have to share power with nationalists,
:06:26. > :06:33.The Ulster Unionists went into this election hoping
:06:34. > :06:37.all the attention would be on the shortcomings of the DUP.
:06:38. > :06:40.They know that focus has now turned on them in a way
:06:41. > :06:42.And the BBC Spotlight programme will be looking
:06:43. > :06:45.at the future of the Assembly - that's immediately
:06:46. > :06:53.The value of the average home in Northern Ireland increased by six
:06:54. > :06:55.percent or about seven thousand pounds last year.
:06:56. > :06:58.variation with the most expensive council area being
:06:59. > :07:02.The average property there is about one hundred and fifty
:07:03. > :07:04.thousand pounds compared to one hundred and eight thousand
:07:05. > :07:12.The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has told the Dail that a public tribunal
:07:13. > :07:15.of inquiry will be set up to find out if senior Garda officers
:07:16. > :07:17.orchestrated a smear campaign against a whistle-blower
:07:18. > :07:20.It was recently revealed that false claims of child sexual abuse had
:07:21. > :07:22.been made against the officer, Sergeant Maurice McCabe.
:07:23. > :07:25.During a debate on the controversy this afternoon the Sinn Fein
:07:26. > :07:27.President Gerry Adams criticised the Republic's government
:07:28. > :07:44.In response, Mr Kenny accused Mr Adams of being a "hypocrite".
:07:45. > :07:53.You are an absolute hypocrite. After what you did and what you said to
:07:54. > :08:01.the former senator. And what you did and did not do in respect to safe
:08:02. > :08:05.houses, where sexual abuse was conducted by members of your
:08:06. > :08:09.organisation. You are an absolute hypocrite.
:08:10. > :08:11.On tomorrow's BBC Newsline, we talk to the world motorcycling
:08:12. > :08:15.This year, the Ballyclare rider will try to become
:08:16. > :08:17.the first rider to win the World Superbike Championship
:08:18. > :08:31.I won't be thinking about momentum or three in a row, think about this
:08:32. > :08:34.as a New Year, new challenge, new arrivals. It's very exciting.
:08:35. > :08:36.That's coming up tomorrow on BBC Newsline at 6:30pm.
:08:37. > :08:39.Now here's Cecilia Daly with the weather forecast.
:08:40. > :08:47.Looking milder for the rest of the week. Temperatures on the rise. Not
:08:48. > :08:51.likely there will be frost over the next few nights. Most places
:08:52. > :08:53.becoming dry for a while. Some breaks in the cloud. Some thicker
:08:54. > :09:02.cloud and more rain and drizzle moving up from the south-west before
:09:03. > :09:06.morning. Expects rain tomorrow. Keep your umbrella handy. It will start
:09:07. > :09:13.fairly wet in many places with rain and drizzle. More on and off to the
:09:14. > :09:17.first half of the morning. For many western areas of England, Wales and
:09:18. > :09:24.Scotland, dull and damp. North-east Scotland looks like it should stay
:09:25. > :09:28.fine to daylight hours. The Republic of Ireland will be brightening up at
:09:29. > :09:37.times with a few showers. In Northern Ireland, some bright spells
:09:38. > :09:42.around. More dry than wet weather. Ten or 11 degrees compares to seven
:09:43. > :09:48.or eight today. Noticeably milder. Wet to start with on Thursday, but
:09:49. > :09:52.brightening up for a while with some sunshine. Temperatures in double
:09:53. > :09:56.figures. Changeable but mild through the rest of the week.