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Summary

  • Leaders of Northern Ireland's five biggest parties went head-to-head

  • Final TV debate before the assembly election on Thursday

  • Jim Fitzpatrick of ý Spotlight NI moderated the debate

  1. That's it for tonight, folkspublished at 23:15 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    The next time these parties go head-to-head will be in the election on Thursday.

    Join us again on Friday for the results as they come in, including live streams of all the ý's TV and radio coverage, the latest from all the count centres and expert analysis.

    Northern Ireland's five biggest political parties go head-to-head in The Leaders' Debate
  2. 'How is anything going to change?'published at 23:08 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Aontú says, in 15 years of power, the five executive parties have delivered a housing waiting list that has doubled to 44,000 and have "put one in seven of us on hospital waiting lists for over a year.

    It says a vote for Aontú is a vote for real change.

  3. 'Debate was uninspiring'published at 23:05 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    People Before Profit's Gerry Carroll says he found the debate uninspiring and that although there was "some talk" about the cost of living crisis "no understanding or admission that these parties are culpable in making life harder for people."

    He says it would have been easy to forget that the parties sat in the executive up until a few months ago.

    He adds: "The only reason why there was some talk about the cost of living crisis is because we’re in the middle of an election.”

  4. Cost of living is 'completely spiralling out of control' - Greenspublished at 23:02 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Green Party leader, Clare Bailey has said that the main issue on the doors across all constituencies is cost of living crisis.

    They are calling for an immediate £20 uplift in Universal Credit, rent controls to be put into place, and the living wage implemented to deal with the rising cost of living.

    The party says that measures, both short and long term, can help build a more sustainable future.

    Ms Bailey also said that the solutions to the cost of living crisis lie in the "full delivery of dealing with climate change across these islands."

  5. NI system of government 'will never work'published at 22:58 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Traditional Unionist Voice leader Jim Allister says the debate was a “perfect illustration” of why Northern Ireland’s system of government "will never work".

    He says: “There wasn’t one line of agreement, all you had was squabble and these are our parties of government”.

    He says the executive will never work because the parties don’t have to agree about anything to be in government, and claims: “Sinn Féin is not there to make Northern Ireland work”.

    Mr Allister also says his party is the party that has always said the Northern Ireland Protocol “must go”.

    He says it is anathema to unionists and if implementing it “is the price of Stormont, then that is a price no unionist can pay’

  6. Match of the day?published at 22:47 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

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  7. 'Shouting and sparring'published at 22:40 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

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  8. Stay tuned...published at 22:26 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    A photo of Stormont Buildings

    That's the end of tonight's Leader's Debate.

    But stick around to hear more from the smaller parties who will be on the ballot this Thursday.

    To find out more about the assembly election, head over to our essential guide.

  9. DUP wants more funding and staff to 'fix' NHSpublished at 22:24 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Sir Jeffrey Donaldson outlines his party's plans to “fix the NHS”, including an extra £1billion to help fund additional procedures and drive down waiting lists, as well as recruiting more staff.

    Pushed on whether it is necessary to go back into government to do that, Sir Jeffrey says “recruiting more staff, we can do that now”.

    He also calls for changes to the use of agency staff to provide healthcare workers, claiming one agency's nursing fees over the year were the equivalent of 450 full-time nurses.

  10. 'The system is broken and it must be fixed'published at 22:19 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Michelle O'Neill says the priority is "fighting" to fix the health service.

    Her party is calling for an extra £1bn investment into the health service to deal with the various issues.

    She said: "Our solution is investing in our health service, investing in our staff, a workforce plan, safe staffing levels, a recruitment and retention strategy. These are the components that bring together a better health system."

    When asked if Sinn Féin would take the role of health minister , she said "health would be in the mix" when it makes its choices.

  11. 'We need to make a stretch'published at 22:15 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Naomi Long says that the health service should look at offering services to people by asking them to travel further.

    She uses the example of someone from Belfast travelling to Londonderry for an operation, so that local services can be prioritised.

    But she adds that there must be more investment in public transport to allow this to happen.

    "There is no point talking about going a little further to a town that only has a bus once a week," she says.

  12. 'It takes courage to fix health problems'published at 22:09 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Colum Eastwood said fixing problems with the health service requires "courage" and that his party is prepared to come together with other political leaders to find solutions.

    He adds that a top civil servant shoudl be put in charge of transforming the system.

    He says he is also very concerned about the "pandemic of mental health" and that a junior minister responsible for improving mental health services should be appointed.

    Audience view
  13. 'We have to stabilise the workforce'published at 22:05 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    The next question sees the leaders asked how they would implement their plans for the NHS.

    Doug Beattie praises the work of Robin Swann as health minister, saying his work during the Covid-19 pandemic has been "exceptional" while dealing with an "underfunded" and "under resourced" health service.

    He says his priority for dealing with the health service is stabilising the workforce.

    When quizzed on waiting lists and hospital beds, Mr Beattie says that the plans are in place to reform the health service, but the money is not.

    "Without a multi-year budget, it's really hard to put forward."

  14. 'UK government needs to step in' on cost of livingpublished at 22:01 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Naomi Long says the cost of living issue need to be cross-cutting, no one department can tackle it.

    She says the UK government "needs to step in" and introduce a windfall tax when it comes to the "extortionate profits that some energy companies are making".

    On the NI executive's role, she says her party is calling for a home heating voucher scheme, which she says "would go a long way to helping people keep warm", as well as extending free school meals.

    Naomi Long
  15. 'Protocol causing increased food prices'published at 21:58 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    On the topic of the cost of living, Sir Jeffrey Donaldson says the protocol is partly responsible as it has led to consumers in Northern Ireland spending more, in particular on dairy products and chilled convenience foods, compared to in Great Britain.

    He says the protocol is "driving up the cost of living in Northern Ireland".

    He blames a number of aspects of the protocol including customs checks and additional paperwork and additional staff employed by businesses.

    Jeffrey Donaldson
  16. "People will die cold and they will die hungry"published at 21:55 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Doug Beattie also addresses that £300m, saying it was a failing that the money was not spent and "people need to own that failing that we didn't have an executive".

    He says "people will die cold and they will die hungry," while that money is sitting in a bank account.

    On what his party would do to tackle the cost of living crisis, he says they've been calling for a fuel poverty task force and highlights the cost of food.

    He says food prices are rising due to cost of fuel rising, so "we need to get the price of fuel down".

    Doug Beattie
  17. 'Work to be done' over the cost of livingpublished at 21:53 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Sinn Féin's Michelle O'Neill says the cost of living isn't just hitting those most vulnerable, but a problem within wider society.

    The party is proposing a £230 payment for each household to help deal with rising costs. This would be in addition to the energy and fuel schemes that have been rolled out.

    When asked about increasing public sector and healthcare staff pay, she said: "If we're going to look after those people who actually look after us, then we must invest in them."

    Michelle O'Neill
  18. 'We would put £200 in everyone's pocket'published at 21:50 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Colum Eastwood says the SDLP would help people with the cost of living crisis by putting money in people's pockets through support scheme.

    He says the measures have been costed by his party from £300m which is "sitting in Stormont's bank accounts".

    He adds that he thinks free school meals should be made universal, but nothing can be done without a government.

    Colum Eastwood
  19. Border poll 'not today's issue'published at 21:47 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Colum Eastwood said his view on a united Ireland is well known, but a border poll is not "today's issue".

    He says that today's issue is that there is no government at Stormont.

    He said: "The choice in this election is the choice we always have in this place, is that we sit down together as neighbours, work together and sort out the problems that are facing people."

  20. 'Other issues ahead of border poll'published at 21:45 British Summer Time 3 May 2022

    Naomi Long says that the assembly can tackle things such as the cost of living crisis or problems in the health service, but that MLAs cannot call a border poll, set the date for one or "influence it".

    She says Alliance will not be calling for a border poll and that it would instead focus on "doing government" rather than suspending government.

    She then accuses Sir Jeffrey of threatening to suspend government unless he "gets his way over the protocol".