Bertie Ahern might think he's doing his bit for north south relations by organising here (I'm not convinced from a rather ambiguous news conference in the Stormont Great Hall whether the SDLP leader Mark Durkan welcomes this or not, given that some of his party still hanker after the Irish Labour Party).
But the DUP's Gregory Campbell has other things on his mind. During questions to the Tourism Minister Nigel Dodds, he wondered why some shops here backed by the Tourist Board sell standard "stage Oirish" shamrocks and shillelaghs, which a tourist could pick up (in the East Londonderry MP's words) in a "tip in Tipperary", when they could stock more local fare. His suggestions: Ulster Cottages, Red Hand Logos and the Mountains of Mourne (in miniature I presume).
He also made a reference to the "beauties of the north coast". Surely the DUP wouldn't consider selling them off?
The Stormont Press Corps is more used than most to discussing what should or should not be done about arms. But generally it's concerned paramilitaries and whether they will or won't destroy their weapons. I started today in the Stormont Long Gallery at a different kind of arms debate.
Amnesty International has compiled a survey of the range of NI based arms exporters. Amnesty's NI Director Patrick Corrigan told an audience which included MLAs such as Carmel Hanna, Dawn Purvis and Martina Anderson that he believes Northern Ireland is playing "an increasingly significant part in the global arms trade". He claims local companies are involved in arming regimes with "atrocious human rights records" such as Burma and Zimbabwe.
Amnesty wants Invest NI to apply human rights conditions to any support used to finance such exports. It
has also called for the Northern Ireland assembly to be given a role in retrospectively scrutinising export licenses granted to firms here manufacturing military security and police equipment. It believes the OFMDFM should report annually on the matter.
However the OFMDFM minister Ian Paisley Jr. takes a dim view. He argues that arms export licenses are a reserved matter and should remain so.
It's Monday which means we are again limbering up for another edition of Stormont Live at 2.35 this afternoon. The Education Minister Catriona Ruane faces questions on academic selection, amongst other issues. Sir Reg Empey and Nigel Dodds also face questions, although I think we will be off air before the Enterprise Minister takes to the despatch box. For those of you who have asked why we miss the first five minutes of question time the answer is that we have to get a slot whichj fits into the UK wide schedule, and 2.35 is the closest match we can get.
We now have a brand new, bright 'daytime TV' type set. This is a big change from our former pine set which resembled an old fashioned gentleman's club. The Stormont basement is a sleep inducing place at the best of times, but our old studio, with its comfy seats could have been marketed as a cure for insomnia. Once a BBC Newsline producer sitting in the programme gallery glanced around the monitors to check in the moments before the programme went on air that all the correspondents were ready to go. One could be seen studiously rehearsing his words, another appeared to be flossing his teeth, whilst I sat slumped in my Stormont chair fast asleep.
No danger of that in our bright new studio, however I have discovered another problem. It's very blue. And so are most of my shirts. Wearing a blue shirt in the blue studio makes you appear on screen like the Cheshire cat - a disembodied head. So last Monday I wore a lilac shirt. But when I came out everyone said it looked blue. On Tuesday I wore green. That worked, but some suspected I was making a political statement. Over the weekend I tried, and failed, to pick up some pink shirts (there is a severe shortage of 14.5 inch sizes out there). So today I am reduced to beige. Politically neutral, but what's the betting that on screen it looks blue?
I'm 
