23/11/2011 BBC Newsline

Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Noel Thompson and Donna

Traynor. The headlines this Wednesday evening. Health

campaigners say more must be done to allow older people to stay in

their own homes. An Antrim construction firm is fined �60,000

over the death of a workman. I feel that there is being nobody punished.

The death was pointless. I will find out why the chief economist of

the Bank of England is at the small business in a small town in Mid

Ulster. Ian Paisley talks for the first time about his retirement

from full-time ministry. And it's staying windy with more rain this

evening. But it will improve for the morning? I'll have the weather

forecast shortly. On a day when a report on home help for older

people in England has described shameful standards as a breach of

human rights, campaigners here tell Newsline that preventing people

from being cared for in their own homes is also a denial of basic

rights. Age NI says the social care system is broken and must be

addressed by the review of local health care due out later this

month. The Department of Health has told the BBC that one option under

consideration is direct payments, which would allow older people to

choose the services they felt they needed. Ahead of the review, BBC

Newsline is focusing on health. Tonight, Marie-Louise Connolly

concentrates on the care of older people. Do you want to be looked

after at home or in a hospital? Now and in the future, is there a

choice? At 91, John is generally in good health. However, he admits to

becoming forgetful, even frail at times. Since 2007 he has received

meals from his local health Trust but a recent assessment put a stop

to that. I do not feel that I have the energy to just start cooking

all the time. And getting the supplies. I forget, sometimes.

John's story is typical of what is happening to an increasing number

of older men and women across Northern Ireland. Few were received

meals-on-wheels and according to those in the independent sector,

that is because of the Health Trust tightening criteria, which means

more have to do without. It reflects a system under pressure

and faced with demand. It is simple services by providing a hot dinner

and installing equipment which helps keep people at home as

opposed to being placed in care. It is costly and often more

unnecessary. I don't fancy it, I like to be independent. What about

cooking? Is that difficult? I can cook for myself but my problem is,

getting up and down stairs. I really need Astaire left.

majority of these pensioners are fit and one to remain independent.

The challenge facing the NHS is funding the service that allows

them to do just that. Currently, more money goes on hospitals so

well priorities change? Local charities say that problem must be

addressed in the current health review? There are big challenges.

Our big worry is that without the level of political and public

debate between it, the system will revert to type and it will be a

matter of rearranging the deckchairs. To be great, in his

late 70s, he refuses to go into a nursing home and with a little help

and funding, he enjoys living in his own committee. Iris comes then

in the morning. And in my pyjamas and she claims may. She puts that

200 and on May!. How important is it that you are allowed to stay at

home? Very important. That is what I want to do. I want to stay at

home. According to the Independent and voluntary sectors, by

transferring money from hospitals to social care, they could help

more people. People to stay in their own homes. It is very often

that they cannot get out to appointments were to the

hairdresser or to visit their pharmacist and they need medication.

We are all looking at holistic services. The Department of Health

is considering introducing direct payments to pensioners, are lining

them to choose how best to spend their weekly benefit. We are

looking at the personalisation of services. If we take an older

person, they start to make choices for themselves and they might need

to buy a range of services. With voluntary organisations working

with them, we can help them identify the best services and help

them manage their money and make the arrangements and make sure they

are getting real value for money. What people living longer and

demanding greater choice, the NHS will have to exercise greater

creativity if it is to continue its promise of providing services from

the cradle to the grave. We asked our Newsline viewers e-panel for

their thoughts on the Health Service. Tonight, we focus on their

answers to questions on the care of relatives in hospital or at home.

And the audience members' views differed greatly. 55% said they

would be willing to feed a family member who was in hospital. That

goes up to 87% if the family member is at home. 24% said they'd be

prepared to bathe and toilet a relative who was in hospital. 64%

said they would do so if they were at home. When asked about looking

after elderly people in their own homes rather than in hospitals or

nursing homes, 66% of our panel felt that the care package should

not be means tested. You've been joining the debate on the future of

the Health Service on our social media pages. And here's the

addresses to get in touch. On Facebook, on Twitter and you can

email us with your views as well. Tomorrow night, Marie Louise

Connolly will be looking at how GP surgeries are likely to change in

the future. Will GPs be doing more and hospitals less? A County Antrim

firm has been fined �60,000 over the death of a worker whose truck

somersaulted down a steep hill. However, the money will never be

collected as Drumdollagh Construction is no longer operating.

It was also accused of corporate manslaughter, but that charge did

not proceed when it came to court this morning. Nicola Weir reports.

This is 53 year-old Colin Glass. And grandfather of two and a much-

loved father of three. He died on this construction site on the

priest and road in Bushmills in May 2008. He was driving the dumper

truck when it fell off a steep bank, throwing Mr Glass from the vehicle.

The court heard there was a lack of safety measures on the site.

Particularly, no age warnings were protections on the bank. A health

and safety investigation found that the truck was defective. That the

brakes were not working, the clutch was faulty and a belt was missing.

Mr Glass was an employee at Drumdollagh Construction. It went

into liquidation shortly after the accident. It was charged with seven

health and safety breaches, including one of corporate

manslaughter. The first time this has been brought against a company

in Northern Ireland. This charge was dropped when the company did

guilty at Antrim Crown Court this morning to three lesser charges.

The court heard it was not the first time the company had breached

regulations. It had three stop notices served on it two years

before this accident. Mr Glass's widow was in court as the company

was fined �60,000. A sum that will never be collected as the company

no longer exists. I feel that because it has gone into

liquidation, and there have been finds, there is nothing that he has

lost his life for. Very little. I would not like to see any other

woman coming through what I have come through. A defence lawyer said

this would not the case of cowboy builder mentality but the company

had health and safety strategies but they were not enforced on the

ground. This action was clearly foreseeable. This involved the use

of the site damper on a very steep road and tipping practices that are

completely unsafe. The judge said that even though the fine would not

be collected, it was right that the case had been pursued to expose how

the accident happened. A judge has refused Hazel Stewart permission to

appeal her conviction for murdering her husband and her ex-lover's wife

20 years ago. Stewart was jailed for a minimum of 18 years for

plotting with Colin Howell to murder her first husband, Trevor

Buchanan, and Howell's first wife, Lesley. A judge today ruled that

Stewart had insufficient grounds to appeal. She can now take her case

to a higher court. Some large retailers here have accused the

Finance Minister, Sammy Wilson, of trying to milk them like a cash cow.

That's the view from a retail consortium which represents stores

such as Tesco and Boots. The consortium is unhappy with the

minister's proposal to have large stores pay more rates so small

business can pay less. Our political correspondent, Martina

Purdy, has the details. Why are they so upset when they said they

want to help small businesses? Large retailers say they are

carrying the burden for everybody and large business isn't paying and

banks are escaping this. Banks will benefit because of the way the

rates are calculated is on square footage. And banks typically are

small businesses so they will benefit. ASDA and Ikea give

evidence today and we hope to give you a film but they are shy about

letting us in. The Retail Consortium give this evidence, the

GMB this accusing the Minister of the milking retailers like a cash

cow. She said that retailers were being asked to pay more for a

scheme like this than they would in the rest of GB. The rate here will

be 16 times higher than elsewhere in Great Britain. This is a tax on

jobs. A very strange proposal in these times of growing unemployment.

It is a modern equivalent of bleeding the patient to restore his

health. What was the view of the community? The community is

concerned and stores like B&Q say this will wipe out profits and the

chairman afterwards said that there could be improvements made to make

the scheme fair. The scheme can be improved upon, any scheme that is

out for consultation, the intention as that they reflect on the views

given and hopefully add that this game to make what are considered

views. I think this scheme can be improved upon and the principle is

correct but what we need to do is ensure that those who get it, need

it, get it. And there is a fair way of taking it from those who can

afford it. We hope to get an interview with Sammy Wilson but he

could -- he declined and he got into a public spat with pace with

Tesco weeks ago and his department said they are open to listen.

Pecker. Still to come... He was a secret contact between the

Government and the IRA. Now, his private papers are on public

display for the first time. And the local Paralympian who's in the

running to be BBC Young Sports If you have a mortgage you probably

wait with bated breath once a month as the Bank of England interest

rate is announced. Well one of the people who decides what it's going

to be - the Bank's chief economist - has been in the Mid-Ulster today

talking to business leaders about their concerns. Kevin Sharkey

reports. From the heart of the financial district in Northern

Ireland, today brought together by shared economic concerns. Spencer

makes big decisions, he helps to decide the interest rates that

affect our mortgages. Today he is asking questions. I am here to

listen and learn. I know that you can't set monetary policy sitting

behind your desk in London. You need to feel the pulse of what is

going on and that is what I am here in Northern Ireland for, for two

days. Managers recognise that they are dependent on what happens

elsewhere. What's key to us is exchange rates, making sure there

is no surprises in the economy. is not only small business - every

day people are struggling with the cost of living. The problem -

inflation, but it looks like this is one problem that could be easing

soon. We are expecting inflation to fall sharply next year, and that

would help businesses, and households that have been squeezed

by high inflation. That paying should start to ease next year.

Let's look at interest rates - where are they heading? At some

point, interest rates will rise. They are at extraordinary low

levels. By how much and how quickly I don't know, but the near term

emphasis on monetary policy is keeping interest rates low to

support the recovery, employment and growth. The chief economist

will leave here shortly, but the financial worries of people in

places like these will be around for some time.

The chairman of the BBC Trust, Lord Patten, has been in Northern

Ireland to find out what people think about the cuts in staff and

services the Corporation is planning. For the next five years

the licence fee will be frozen, and the BBC will have to find savings

of �670 million. It will mean more repeats and fewer feature films and

imported series. Lord Patten says public comments will be taken

seriously. Overall in Northern Ireland, the cuts are not as great

as they are in other parts of the country. That is partly because in

Northern Ireland Radio File for example has already made increases

in efficiency and productivity which others are now having to make,

but we are trying to shield Northern Ireland as much as

possible but there will still be changes here. While we employee 730

plus people in Northern Ireland, that will have to fall by up to 70

people. For more details on the planned cuts, changes to BBC

services, and to have your say in the public consultation, check out

our local news website and follow the link to Delivering Quality

First. Private papers of a Londonderry

businessman who was a secret contact between the IRA and the

British government have been revealed. Brendan Duddy has given

the documents to the National University of Ireland in Galway.

Our reporter Jennifer O'Leary was at the launch of the archive. Derry

in the 1970s, a city in chaos. But behind the scenes, the front room

of this man was where the peace process began and alive time of

keeping secrets need a release. Brendan Duddy was an intermediary

between the British government and the IRA, his archived chart is

process as a peacemaker in the shadows. The diaries from 1975 and

1976. I think it provides a new perspective on the talks that there

really was a more serious chance of the peace pestle -- peace

settlement than many people realise. They came much closer to working

something out than we currently think. He was also a mediator

during the hunger strikes in 1980. It was to be another 12 years

before things started to move again. Ind 93, the IRA secretly offered a

ceasefire to the government through this channel, and in the months

leading up to that, every few days Brendan Duddy was dictating a

narrative of what had gone on. in 2008, he revealed the role he

played and his motivation. Everybody in Northern Ireland

remembers a bag and pieces being shovelled into it. I was aware that

it wouldn't add one centimetre to Irish freedom. That was somebody's

mother, father, brother and the rest of it. There comes a point

where you just say no. I knew from a young age he was doing something

important, and you knew people in your house were not friends, people

who you would see on TV, people doing something important. When the

journalist Peter Taylor asked him why, he had this to say. When you

ask questions like that, I could choke with emotion. I find it had

to... I had no choice. He has been described as an ordinary man from

Derry, who in fact is not ordinary battle. -- at all.

In his first interview since announcing his decision to retire

from full time ministry, the founder of the Free Presbyterian

church says he hasn't completely turned his back on the pulpit. Ian

Paisley, or Lord Bannside to give him his official title, appeared at

an event with the Duke of Gloucester in Carrickfergus. He

also spoke to our political correspondent Gareth Gordon about

Martin McGuinness's bid for the Irish presidency. He is pulling

back from the pulpit, but region still comes easy to Ian Paisley.

This was a rare public appearance and a first chance to explain the

decision to step down from the ministry. The message, as someone

else once said, he hasn't gone away you know. I hope that people will

not forget me, I don't think they will. I think I will have more time

to do visitations and go to places I would like to do. This event was

the annual celebration of the life of Colin balas, hosted by the

Ulster Scots Academy. Religion, laced with a fair dollop of

politics. Also asked Ian Paisley what he made of Martin McGuinness's

attempt to become President of the Irish Republic, his answer was not

much. I don't think he had any chance. A were you surprised he

went for it? I think he did it to strengthen his own grip on his own

party. I think that would have helped him because I think that he

thought he had better keep his name at the fore. He got a bit of a hard

time, do you think it was deserved? Well, what the southern voters

think is their business. I am not interested. I'm not running for

that. In fact, according to Ian Paisley, he is not running from the

pulpit either yet. I hope I will preach a sermon from the pulpit the

night that God calls me home. say you have enemies, have you

still got enemies? I'm sure I have, they don't like my good looks.

years may have changed him, but not in every way.

Next to an Olympic hopeful from Ballykelly who's in the running for

a big sports award. Austin O'Callaghan is here to tell us more.

16-year-old Sally Brown came to prominence earlier this year when

she won a bronze medal at the Paralympic World Championships.

That achievement has earned her a place on the shortlist for BBC

Young Sports Personality of the Year. This time last year, Sally

Brown was an unknown junior athlete working hard in the north-west.

Born with the condition where her left arm didn't fully developed,

she shocked the world in January. didn't even think I would get

selected, so it was quite a big thing getting selected to go out.

Then I kind of thought I would have a possibility of getting a medal

and I didn't want to miss that chance. It has been an amazing year

and I think I surprised everyone else because I was only 15 when I

did it. The people I was running against were in their 20s. It just

came out of nowhere and I haven't seen any of them before. Former

international Paul McKee has just started working with Sally and

recognises her talent. Sally is a very good athlete for the 16 year

old. Obviously she has an impairment which makes things

harder in terms of balance. We have to work on things like balanced and

strengthen her rock. For Sally, the world is her roister. She has big

ambitions. Definitely 2012 next year, and 2016, but I would love to

be fast enough to run mainstream. That is my dream. I would love to

go to the World Championships to compete with the able bodied. We

will see if that happens on not. your rage, you are on target.

if I keep on going the way I am going, if I keep on getting

personal bests every time I run, we will see. She could be Northern

Ireland's next Olympic star. The winner will be announced next

month in Manchester. If you think Sir Alex Ferguson has

a pressurised job, imagine managing a football team in a war zone.

That's what happened to a former Irish league footballer from

Belfast. Chris O'Loughlin has spent the last few years coaching a

soccer team in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He's been

telling Denise Watson about his experiences. This is how the team

bus is created for the match, imagine the celebrations when they

win. For Chris O'Loughlin, managing this team in the Congo has been an

unforgettable experience. I was incredibly nervous about going

because the Congo war has been the worst war in Africa. It was a

challenge understanding their history and where they are coming

from, and how it defined them as people. I am happy to say I was

incredibly open-minded and I like to think of myself as an

internationalist. I was able to adapt and draw experiences, and

take good out of their culture and work with it. Chris says his

players coped well with some unsettling incidents. This year,

when we were en route to a Champions League match, there was a

small attempt to overthrow the President, so we were probably

about three miles from the stadium with an escort abound police. The

cars started turning, and the police with panic on their faces

were turning around, their guns were drawn and there had been shots

fired around the presidential palace. Because we were coming

close to the army base as well, there was a bitter confusion.

is glad to be home in Belfast with his wife and children. His ambition

now is to manage a successful club in Europe, but no challenge is to

great after two seasons in the Congo.

Ulster rugby has confirmed that Rory Best, Stephen Ferris and Ruan

Piennar will miss Friday's Pro 12 game against Glasgow, while the

Northern Ireland ladies soccer team drew two-all away to Hungary in

their European qualifier this their European qualifier this

Now, the weather. It is wet and windy out there, and it will stay

that way for a while. This cloud is bringing the rain, and eventually

we will see the stronger wind settling-in as well. The rain could

be persistent in some places, could leave some localised flooding on

the road. Most of it clears overnight and it will be a mild

night up to nine degrees. The rain will push north, so we are all

looking at a pretty decent start. To begin with, a fair amount of

cloud around but that will break up, and for eastern areas we will even

see some sunshine. A few spells of sunshine further west, but more in

the way of cloud. This rain will make its way eastwards during the

course of the day, some heavy, but temperatures tomorrow are mild at

13 degrees. Into the evening, the further east you are, the drier it

will be. The rain will push Ian, and the lighter colours indicating

some of it will be heavy and that could cause some problems on the

road tomorrow evening. The good news, it clears away again, and by

Friday morning it becomes clearer but it will be a Cole denied with

some rural fast-developing. The theme for Friday is a much cooler

day. You will notice it, especially with the stronger winds. Some of