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DERMOT MURNAGHAN: Now then, in Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein are fighting hard to hold on to the seats they had in the House of Commons during the last parliament, they held five seats last time round but those MPs have never actually set foot in the House of Commons so why do they bother to contest the election and would voters not prefer the party used its influence in Westminster to further its aims in Northern Ireland?  Well joining me now from Derry is the Deputy First Minister of Northern Ireland, Sinn Fein’s Martin McGuinness.  A very good morning to you Mr McGuinness and I have just been talking as you will have seen to the SNP leader, the Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon, and she is explicit, she too does not think that Westminster should have sway over her country but her interpretation is while it does I want to get as many of my MPs into that parliament and do the best for my people.  Why doesn’t Sinn Fein see it that way?

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Well good morning Dermot.  Obviously we are an Irish Republican party and of course you remember that Constance Markievicz was the first woman Sinn Fein MP elected in 1918 and she never took her seat and consistently down the decades Sinn Fein representatives on a position of principle – and politicians are often accused of not having any principles but we do have a principle, we believe it is important to go to Westminster as we do, to the offices there, to engage with all of the other parties but we are not prepared to bestow any form of legitimacy on the British government’s right to rule in this part of Ireland.  

DM: Okay but you’ve been pragmatic, how pragmatic have Sinn Fein been over the years but on that issue of abstentionism, you ditched that in the 80s when it came to the Irish parliament, the Dáil of course, participating in government there in the North of Ireland which you don’t recognise as a legitimate entity.  Why not Westminster?

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Well these are institutions on the island of Ireland and they are populated by elected representatives of the people of all of Ireland, of all of Ireland’s 32 counties.  From our perspective you will know from the way the political landscape has changed on the island of Ireland over the course of the last couple of years, that all of the big decisions in relation to how we move forward on important matters of equality, of developing the economy, of providing jobs for your young people, is down to the decisions that are taken in both Belfast and Dublin and I think that some of the parties in the North of Ireland in the course of this election, particularly the Democratic Unionist Party, are involved in wishful thinking if they think that they can, in the aftermath of the election, be king makers.  I don’t believe this is going to be the case, my view is that the foundation of the next government in Westminster will revolve around both the Conservatives, the Labour party, the Liberal Democrats and the Scottish Nationalist party and of course the Scottish Nationalists under Nicola Sturgeon are in a much more powerful position than any of the parties here and indeed any of the parties here collectively.  

DM: But given Sinn Fein’s economic message, you dovetail almost exactly with Nicola Sturgeon and the SNP, your MPs could be part of that anti-austerity alliance.  

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Well we are fighting austerity and I think the best way for us to fight austerity is to have a common platform of the parties that make up the executive in the north.  That’s why for example in the aftermath of this election and whoever forms the next government, the renegotiations that will be done will be done directly between Peter Robinson and myself and the British government.  I remind you that all of the huge decisions that have been taken, and I’ve been at the heart of many of these decisions over the last 20 years in relation to how we have transformed the political and security situation in the north, have come about as a result of direct negotiations between people like myself across the table from people like Prime Ministers like Blair, Gordon Brown and now David Cameron.

DM: Is there not a danger though, you touched on it earlier Deputy First Minister,  is there not a danger though that you do leave the field open to the Democratic Unionist Party and it is all a matter of the maths isn’t it, that the DUP could hold the crucial seats that keep either party in power and they exact a price for their voters, for Northern Ireland which they say brings all the credit to them?  

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Well if you look at the way that the campaign has progressed, particularly in England over the course of the last number of weeks, I don’t believe there is anybody there who believes for one minute that the Democratic Unionist Party are going to be at the heart of the formation of the next government.  I think that is wishful thinking on their part and obviously from their perspective, a clever argument to make particularly in their battle with the Ulster Unionist Party here in the North.  

DM: There is also another danger from your point of view, I was talking to Nigel Farage about it, there is a pledge from the Conservatives to hold a referendum on membership of the European Union.  Nicola Sturgeon has touched upon that as a huge issue for Scotland, is that not an issue for Ireland both North and South?

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Yes, it is an important issue for Ireland North and South but I don’t believe that the 18 MPs that will be returned from the North of Ireland will impact on whatever decision is going to be taken about that.  I do think it is a huge mistake for the Democratic Unionist Party for example to be supporting the Conservative demand for a referendum because I think they are all collectively sleepwalking into the prospect that there will be an exit from Europe and I think that would be very damaging for the island of Ireland and for the economies of the island of Ireland North and South.  

DM: Okay, lastly Mr McGuinness, we know that Prince Charles, the Prince of Wales, is coming to Northern Ireland, visiting Northern Ireland at the end of this month and is going to apparently also visit the scene of where his great-uncle was murdered by the IRA.  Are you looking forward to meeting him, are you going to meet him?

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Well we haven’t had any discussions about that so far.  We just had a news report that this visit is happening and that he intends to visit both Sligo and Galway and the speculation is that he will visit the site of Mullaghmore where his grand-uncle lost his life.  Obviously in terms of the acts of reconciliation that I have been involved with Queen Elizabeth for example on several occasions, if this visit fits into this whole process of reconciliation then I think that would be a good thing.  We have seen some very powerful symbolism over the course of the last number of years and I think there are very many politicians both in the North and in the South of Ireland who could learn from the example that has been shown in terms of the ability of people who were former opponents and enemies actually coming together to show good example and attempt to build a better future through what is a central stage of the peace process and that is a meaningful reconciliation process.

DM: We’ve seen all the other acts of reconciliation and impressive they’ve been but a yes or no to this, Mr McGuinness, would you like to meet the Prince of Wales in Ireland?  

MARTIN McGUINNESS:  Well if there is any offer made for that to happen, we will certainly consider it but it will absolutely be in the context of continuing with the theme that his mother was clearly very much a part of when she came to both Dublin and to Belfast and met with me on several occasions.  This is about how we can utilise these situations for the benefit of what I think is the next vital stage of our process of reconciliation and remember, we should all remember how far we’ve come over the course of the last 20 years, both the political and the security situation has been transformed and indeed many people on the island of Britain and the island of Ireland have contributed to that and I certainly want to see that work continue.  

DM: Okay, Mr McGuinness, Deputy First Minister, thank you very much indeed.  Martin McGuinness there of Sinn Fein.