Nigel Dodds knows his public image is rather severe but he holds progressive views on many social issues, he tells Suzanne Breen, Senior Northern Correspondent
He might publicly appear stern but Nigel Dodds says he likes a bit of craic and has just spent a wonderful morning with some women in his north Belfast constituency. The loyalist ladies of Bal- lysillan had crocheted a Celtic shirt for Dr John Reid.
The DUP Minister chuckled when they presented the garment to the Celtic-supporting Northern Secretary. "North Belfast has a bad reputation regarding sectarianism. Yet here was a group of ordinary Protestant women challenging the stereotypes and showing they have good hearts and a sense of humour," he says.
Dodds knows he has stereotypes of his own to overcome. "I often visit Catholic areas to launch housing and community projects. I never get hassled about the DUP or my political beliefs. But I have been told 'Nigel, you look very grave on television'." That's partly because as MP and As- sembly member for north Belfast, he is often interviewed after shootings, bombings and riots. But these matters take up only a fraction of his time. As Social Development Minister, he oversees housing, social welfare, urban regeneration, the community sector, and social security.
He is genuinely committed to the "lower-profile" issues. "I like the nitty-gritty stuff of emptying bins and cleaning streets. If you lose touch with these matters, you lose touch with the community. I enjoy being a Minister, not because of the trappings, but because I can access information quickly and get things done."
Attempting to grab a snack in the Stormont tea-rooms, Dodds is waylaid by Progressive Unionist Assembly member David Ervine who wants to know what is being done about vandalism to houses in Connswater, east Belfast. Dodds relishes such informal approaches. "It's great that a Minister can be contacted so easily. Under direct rule local politicians would wait months for a Minister's response and often they wouldn't get any information ."
A Cambridge graduate who grew up in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, Dodds (43) was called to the Bar but practised law for only a year. He became the youngest ever Lord Mayor of Belfast in 1988. He became Social Development Minister in 1999 and was elected to Westminster last year.
Six years ago, the Provisional IRA shot one of his police bodyguards in what Dodds believes was a foiled attempt on his life. It happened at the Belfast Hospital for Sick Children as he and his wife visited their son who had spina bifida. They were waiting outside the ward when the shooting took place.
Dodds seldom talks about it and says he is not personally bitter. "I was against Sinn Féin beforehand and I'm still against them. I don't hate them but I see through them. As Education Minister Martin McGuinness talks about children's rights. Yet the IRA used violence in a children's hospital and Martin McGuinness defended it."
Along with party colleague, Peter Robinson, Dodds is regarded as one of the more talented Executive members. He defends the DUP policy of accepting Stormont ministries but not attending Cabinet meetings: "It's better having capable Ministers with strong unionist principles than incompetent ones with all-Ireland agendas."
The majority of Dodds's departmental budget - £627 million - is spent on housing. Contrary to the trend in Britain, he has capped rent rises for public sector housing at 3 per cent, the forecast level of inflation. In the final years of direct rule, the British government reduced the North's housing budget, arguing that local public sector housing was already far superior to that in Britain.
Again, Dodds has reversed that trend and restored the budget to pre-1997 levels. Housing was important to him long before he became a Minister. His office dealt with four times as many housing problems as the combined total for all the other north Belfast Assembly members, including Sinn Féin, he says.
"A decent home is a fundamental right of every citizen - Catholic, Protestant or other. A home is much more than bricks and mortar. Bad housing leads to poor health, low educational achievement and social exclusion." He recently launched a £133 million seven-year housing strategy for north Belfast. "Our housing strategy recognises there are two problems. On the Catholic side, the expanding population means there is a need for more new homes. On the Protestant side, there is a high level of housing unfitness. I want to make north Belfast a better place for everyone." The Minister expresses concern that homelessness has risen by 23 per cent over the past year. He is working with the Housing Executive on a homelessness strategy. Around 170,000 households in the North struggle financially to heat their homes and up to 600 people a year die from cold-related illnesses.
Dodds aims to move at least 20,000 people out of fuel poverty by 2004. For the first time, pensioners on income-based benefits are entitled to have free central heating installed in their homes.
In terms of urban regeneration, he has given the go-ahead to a £200 million shopping-centre at Victoria Square in Belfast. It will include upmarket stores - such as House of Fraser - restaurants, a health club and an hotel. It will be covered in a glass ceiling, topped with a glass dome. It is the first major city-centre development since the CastleCourt complex in 1989. "We must ensure Belfast is not left behind, that it is a city of the 21st century with facilities enabling it to compete with its British and European rivals," he says.
Dodds has faced criticism for failing to legalise Sunday betting which horse-racing fans say effectively prevents Sunday racing. They claim the North is losing up to £2 million in tourism and additional revenue. Channel 4 racing tipster John McCrirrick has lambasted "religious nuts trying to turn Ulster into a mini-Afghanistan". The Minister says the introduction of Sunday betting would require a change to current legislation and there are more pressing matters.
He describes himself as "left-of-centre" on socio-economic issues. Certainly, he is a big hit with the voluntary sector. He recently launched a £250,000 initiative to help smaller community and voluntary groups. "I am trying to work in partnership with them and, unlike direct rule ministers, to bring them from the margins, into the mainstream, of decision-making."
A senior Catholic figure in the voluntary sector is full of praise for the DUP man. "Unionist politicians often, very wrongly, see the voluntary sector as full of Provos. Nigel Dodds has never done that. He is affable, bright, hard-working and he has bent over backwards to involve us. We are delighted to have him as Minister."