29/11/2011 BBC Newsline


29/11/2011

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Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor. The headlines:

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Tomorrow bus drivers and thousands of other public sector workers

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strike over pensions, but after today's Autumn Statement, should

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they be worried about pay cuts? I'll have the latest.

:00:29.:00:39.
:00:39.:00:44.

Also on the programme tonight: Police warn Peter Hain his computer

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may have been hacked while he was Northern Ireland Secretary.

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Clerical abuse in County Donegal - are decades of dark secrets about

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to be revealed? Dead and starving animals are

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discovered on a farm in County Antrim.

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I am life at the Oval for the first local Cup final of the season.

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Tomorrow sees the biggest strike by workers in public services in a

:01:14.:01:19.

generation. Refuse collectors, school principals, tax inspectors,

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members from various unions will be protesting over changes to their

:01:22.:01:32.
:01:32.:01:32.

pensions. But they did not expect today's news about their pay. That

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will be squeezed for at least the next three years. And there could

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be worse to come. Jim Fitzpatrick is at the Europa Bus Station. There

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will be no buses running from there tomorrow because of the strike. Jim,

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:01:56.:01:57.

first, pensions. Now pay is hit? Yes, and it is not just bus drivers.

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There are 230,000 public sector workers in Northern Ireland and

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what they learn today is that after the pay freeze comes the 1% rise in

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pay until 2015. With inflation of 5%, that is a real terms of pay

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cuts. The real surprise was a review of public sector pay across

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the UK which could lead to regional pay rates. That was a surprise.

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That is a bolt out of the blue. Public sector workers are now faced

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with a further freeze on their pay up around 1% increase, and then

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there being local pay bargaining is something that seems to have come

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out of the blue. So, why would regional pay rates in Northern

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Ireland mean cuts in pay? The reason perhaps is the difference

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what people get paid in the public sector and in the private sector.

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The median wage for a private sector worker in Northern Ireland

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his �20,000. The median wage for a public sector worker is just over

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�29,000. That is a difference of more than 40 %. It doesn't mean

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that people are going to slash people's pay rates, but it does

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suggest that if they want to ginger kid the pressure will be to bring

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it downwards. Last night Sammy Wilson said that he feared that

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they often a statement would signal a cut in money from Westminster to

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Stormont. It seems his fears were unfounded. Yes, indeed. We thought

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perhaps from what the finance minister said that we could be

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seeing a cut in the budgets for Stormont of a hundred and �50

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million, but it now looks like Stormont could get up to �200

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million extra for things like roads and infrastructure. It is all in

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how you do the calculations. But at least is one piece of good news

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has a comprehensive Question & Answer page about the issues around

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tomorrow's strike. You can find it at www.bbbc.co.uk/ninews. There has

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been a lot of discussion about the strike on out BBC Newsline Facebook

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page. There's the address if you want to join in. Tomorrow, if you

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want to get in touch with us about the strike, use our Twitter account

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A retired senior police officer who urged the Ombudsman not to use the

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term collusion in a report published last year has been re-

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employed by the PSNI to help it deal with the past. The former

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Acting Assistant Chief Constable had retired with a generous Patten

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redundancy package. Our Home Affairs Correspondent, Vincent

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Collusion for some is a controversial words, but it has

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been used in some reports by the Police Ombudsman's Office to

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describe the actions of some RUC officers. Its use has provoked

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protests by former police officers and Unionist politicians. At the

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same time, nationalist politicians have said he should have been used

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more often. We have learnt that last year a former senior PSNI

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officer wrote to the ombudsman protesting at the proposed use of

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the term and a report on a 1972 Claudy bombing in which nine people

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were killed its when three IRA car bombs exploded without warning. The

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report said the police had colluded with the Catholic Church to cover

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up the suspected role of a priest. The letter to the ombudsman was

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written by Mark McDowell who at that time was an acting assistant

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chief constable. He told the Ombudsman to grip issue with the

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use of the term collusion and criticised the way it was used by

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the previous ombudsman, Nuala O'Lone, something which he said had

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undermined the credibility of the Special Branch. Pointing out that

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Al Hutchinson had said there was no single accepted definition of

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collusion, he asked what was the point in using the term at all? He

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went on to say, surely the Police Ombudsman has a public

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responsibility to refrain from using what he called loosely

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defined language which may be widely misinterpreted. Nuala O'Lone

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rejected the criticism during an interview for a programme which

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examined the work of the ombudsman's office. That is clearly

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untrue. For that reason, I did not get their own definition of

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collusion. The framework was said very well for examination of police

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behaviour and there is a duty on the Police Ombudsman to examine

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that behaviour because collusion is a form of corruption. There was no

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loose language, I was very careful. The letter angered the former

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executive with the Police Ombudsman. Speaking in an interview for

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Spotlight he said. It was a very significant letter. I would have

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described it as a courageous. It was an attack on the independence

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of the Office as well as a very inappropriate attack on the

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previous ombudsman. Mark Michael Holt retired from the police

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earlier this year with the redundancy package. We have learnt

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that he has since been we hired to work for the PSNI's legacy Branch

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that deals with the past, including requests from investigators working

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for the Police Ombudsman. The PSNI tonight said the suggestion that it

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had attempted to undermine the independence of the Ombudsman of

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this was incorrect, as the contents of all public reports is the matter

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for the ombudsman a loan. It said the PSNI has a responsibility to

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challenge matters of fact and inaccuracies in any report produced

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by the ombudsman's office and pointed out that in the vast

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majority of cases it has agreed with recommendations made by the

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ombudsman. Regarding the employment of former police officers, the PSNI

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said hypocrites all staff in accordance with current employment

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legislation. The Secretary of State, Owen

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Paterson, is playing down fears of a national security breach after

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claims a predecessor's laptop computer may have been hacked. The

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Guardian newspaper says private detectives working for News

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International were responsible for hacking Peter Hain's computer when

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he was in Northern Ireland. Here's our political correspondent Gareth

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:08:57.:09:04.

I don't want to muck up the party meetings. I want them all in today.

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Peter Hain's time in Northern Ireland sot the IRA ended its

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campaign and decommission its weapons. He left after devolution

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was restored in 2007. The Levison inquiry is currently hearing

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allegations that elements of the tabloid press hacked the phones of

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well-known people, but claims that Peter Hain's laptop was hacked may

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raise the stakes even higher. these allegations are true, they

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are the most serious revelations so far in the hacking scandal. They go

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to the very heart of the intelligence security. - - National

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Security. The claims came out the day after this man appeared before

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:10:01.:10:05.

the hacking inquiry. Getting information on informers is

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believed to have been the time - - behind the attempt to hack into

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Peter Hain's laptop. They believe this is part of a wider attempt to

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have computers at the Northern Ireland Office, one of the game's

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been they wanted to try to amass one of the informers. So, has

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anyone else in Northern Ireland been hacked? I think the inquiry

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must not finish its work until it comes to Northern Ireland and looks

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into what has happened there, who house has been hacked. Until that

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work is done, then they will not have completed their work.

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current Secretary of State was anxious to allay fears about any

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breach of national security. We are confident the Northern Ireland

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Office were not involved in this and that no confidential

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information could have been divulged, but the police inquiry

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will establish what happened. Hain is saying that only as there

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is a police investigation on going, could be inappropriate to comment.

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Still to come on the programme: As the weather starts to turn colder,

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tips on how to keep your house warm this winter.

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A freak accident puts one of the Belfast Giants' star players out of

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Six major reports into the Catholic Church's handling of clerical abuse

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allegations are due out tomorrow. The National Board for Safeguarding

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Children, an independent body, is looking at every diocese in Ireland.

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Tomorrow, the spotlight falls on the northern dioceses of Raphoe,

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Derry, Dromore and Kilmore. The reports are not expected to give

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details of individual cases, but will be an audit of how the claims

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and priests were handled by the church authorities. Tonight, Mervyn

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Jess focuses on Raphoe and the convicted paedophile Father Eugene

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:11:55.:12:10.

Donnie Gaulle in all its glory, but for decades the natural beauty of

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this region of Ireland has a mass of dark secret that has been

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lurking under the surface, the sexual abuse of children by

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Catholic priests. This is the priest he proved a catalyst for the

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investigations into child sex fest - - a child sex abuse, Father

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Eugene Greene ministered in several parishes in Donegal from 1970

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onwards. He abused at least 26 boys, crimes for which he was later

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convicted and jailed. He has since been released from prison, but for

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victims of his, the abuse they suffered at his hands feels that a

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life sentence. One of his victims was a 12-year-old altar boy. Martin

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Gallagher has agreed to talk about it for the first time on television.

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He told me how he feels towards their imminent report into alleged

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sex abuse by other priests. I don't believe it will be the truth,

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because they have covered up for years, so why should they tell the

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truth now? They were forced into this. If they weren't, would they

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do it? Retired detective Martin Ridge was involved in the child sex

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abuse inquiries by police in Donegal. It was dealing with a mire

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of horror and of course I believe that some people couldn't live with

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the pain and they took their own lives and it left a lot of profound

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broken this, families broken-up and collateral damage was catastrophic.

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Raphoe is a largely rural community with a deep-seated Catholic faith

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and there is no doubt that some people look the other way when

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others are making allegations and every new case opened up old wounds

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for those victims who have already reached adulthood. There were so

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many paedophiles out care that are only coming to light at the moment

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- - out there. That is hard for me to understand, the people did not

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realise this before. If abuse it it it - - is accepted, validated, then

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people might be able to deal with that, but hiding it is not an

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option any more. There have already been reports that this or that have

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discovered at the start the 20 priests were involved in the sexual

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assault of hundreds of people in the Raphoe diocese. These reports

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have been called inaccurate by the Bishop of Raphoe, who says he has

:14:55.:15:05.
:15:05.:15:06.

Tomorrow we will have more on those reports into the church's handling

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of abuse claims. The watchdog that investigates

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government spending says �2.2 million of taxpayers money was

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wasted setting up a failed Bioscience and Technology Institute.

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One of its former directors singled out for criticism has been

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defending her actions. The institute failed, but only

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after it had shelled out millions. It spent �357,000 on equipment it

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did not use. It bought this build their that was unsuitable. It later

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emerged that a �100,000 fine does the had been paid to locate the

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building. In should not have happened. There are a lot of estate

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agent out there. This is not New York, it is Belfast. People know

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where buildings are available, but someone paid �100,000. It is

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scandalous. This building was called Harbour Gate at the time and

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according to the Audit Office report, a member of the border

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received �25,000, but did not tell the other board members. The money

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was then paid directly into an overseas bank account. The former

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board member in question is this business woman. She also once sat

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on the board of invest an eye. She said today: -- invest Northern

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:16:49.:16:51.

The report concluded there had been widespread shortcomings, especially

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in terms of conflicts of interest. The mayor of Belfast has been

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criticised by refusing to present a Duke of Edinburgh award to a 14-

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year-old army cadet. The mayor denied he snubbed the girl last

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night and said he wanted to avoid raising sensitivities around the

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issue of the army. In it was not personal and not intended against

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:17:33.:17:36.

the young girl. -- it was not. It is a sensitive issue, but in terms

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of the young cadets. More than 50 starving horses and

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donkeys have been rescued from a farm in County Antrim. The police

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say they were met with a heartbreaking scene. The carcases

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of nine dead animals were discovered in squalid conditions.

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Our rural affairs correspondent Martin Cassidy has been finding out

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about the survivors. These are some of the lucky ones. They are

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survivors of neglect and cruelty. As well as the nine carcasses found

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on the farm, another for animals were in such poor condition they

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had to be put down. Weak and emaciated, the lives of some of the

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other survivors remain in the balance. You can tell by looking at

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these animals they are in pretty poor condition. They probably have

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some medical conditions that need to be addressed. We are here to

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provide that a very treatment and nursing them back to health. Animal

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welfare organisations are assisting with the rescue. The donkey

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sanctuary has taken 10 animals and the vet has been sent across to

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treat the horses and ponies. I lot of the horses were very sick,

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infectious, dirty noses, dirty eyes. Really miserable and someone near

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death's door. In fact, we lost a horse yesterday. We have to have

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him put to sleep, despite a were attempts to keep him alive.

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Thankfully, this little miniature pony has started to eat again. He

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is totally emaciated. I can feel his spine. There is no muscled

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their whatsoever. In fact, this little fellow was less than --

:19:26.:19:36.
:19:36.:19:38.

weighs less than a collie dog. The people who are responsible for this

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will be prosecuted. This day last year about a hundred

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schools were closed and we were experiencing record low

:19:44.:19:47.

temperatures. This week we are looking at how to be prepared if

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temperatures tumble again. Tonight, in his series of reports, Barra

:19:50.:19:52.

Best has practical advice on safe- guarding your property against the

:19:52.:19:58.

elements. The big freeze last winter took its

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toll on thousands of homes here. Many suffered water damage because

:20:02.:20:07.

of pipes bursting as before began. It is the last thing at any of us

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want to face this winter if there is a bitterly cold spell, but there

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are things we can do to help protect our homes. We had a really

:20:18.:20:21.

busy night. We have never encountered anything like that

:20:21.:20:27.

before. The major thing is not turning yacht heat off if you can

:20:27.:20:35.

avoid it. You need to make sure that any vulnerable pipe works are

:20:35.:20:45.
:20:45.:20:49.

Installation is important and if you do not have enough, a lot of

:20:49.:20:52.

heat what escape through the roof and in the long term, you will

:20:52.:20:57.

spend more money trying to keep warm. There are a lot of grants

:20:57.:21:07.
:21:07.:21:08.

available. Some of the installations can be done for free.

:21:08.:21:18.

Installing insulation in the loft is critical. Beyond that, if you an

:21:18.:21:23.

old boiler, it is worth investing in a new one. It is also worth

:21:23.:21:29.

checking out side of your house. Have a look at your roof and check

:21:29.:21:39.
:21:39.:21:39.

whether your gutters are clear. they are blocked, a lot of water

:21:39.:21:45.

will be held there and it will turn to ice. It will put a lot of weight

:21:45.:21:49.

on the gutters and they could fall down. It could become more

:21:49.:21:53.

expensive to repair it rather than just getting then cleaned now,

:21:53.:21:58.

maintaining them and keeping on top of it. You cannot be prepared for

:21:58.:22:01.

everything, but planning ahead could mean the difference between

:22:01.:22:07.

freezing this festive season and enjoying a winter Wonderland.

:22:07.:22:10.

Tomorrow, Barra will be looking at ways we can help protect ourselves

:22:10.:22:13.

from the elements if we are plunged into a big freeze this year.

:22:14.:22:17.

The first piece of silverware of the local football season is up for

:22:17.:22:27.
:22:27.:22:38.

grabs tonight. Stephen Watson is We seem to have a problem with the

:22:38.:22:48.

sound there. My apologies. The Republic of Ireland coach

:22:48.:22:53.

Giovanni Trapattoni has signed a new contract. The Italian has

:22:53.:22:57.

guided the Irish to the finals of Euro 2012 next summer. And the new

:22:57.:23:00.

deal means he will be in charge for the Republic's Brazil 2014 World

:23:00.:23:03.

Cup campaign, with Marco Tardelli also staying on as his assistant.

:23:03.:23:06.

The Belfast Giants have compared it to Manchester United losing Wayne

:23:06.:23:11.

Rooney. Benoit Doucet, their star forward, is out for the rest of the

:23:11.:23:14.

season after a freak accident when a referee fell on the Canadian's

:23:14.:23:17.

knee during the game against Braehead on Saturday night. Mark

:23:17.:23:27.
:23:27.:23:29.

Sidebottom reports. Doucet has been the star turn at

:23:29.:23:38.

the Odyssey arena. He is the leading goalscorer, but he is now

:23:38.:23:48.

reduced to the position of spectator. The pain was really bad.

:23:48.:23:53.

I heard a pop. I told the referee to get off of me, my knee was

:23:53.:23:59.

broken. I was mad and then sad. Now I am just dealing with it. I just

:23:59.:24:04.

want to come back and play next year. That is my main goal.

:24:04.:24:10.

Needless to say, the Belfast Giants bus is less sanguine. For the

:24:10.:24:20.
:24:20.:24:21.

referee to become involved is unprofessional. It was a mistake

:24:21.:24:28.

that was on preventable. The giants need to maintain their title surge

:24:28.:24:38.
:24:38.:24:38.

without their leading light. -- Giants. Let us go back to the Oval.

:24:39.:24:48.
:24:49.:24:50.

Who do you fancy for the game tonight? I think it is going to be

:24:50.:24:55.

difficult. Clift and could just take it. Brendan Rogers might be

:24:55.:25:00.

here tonight to watch the hot shock of the Irish League glory Donnelly.

:25:00.:25:03.

What do you make of him? He has come up through the ranks and

:25:03.:25:09.

progress very well. He has been getting great opportunities. Some

:25:09.:25:13.

of his goals have been absolutely top-class. He scored against

:25:13.:25:20.

Ballymena last weekend and that was not easy. We have not lost due to

:25:20.:25:26.

local football, have we? I hope not. We will see what happens after the

:25:26.:25:35.

Christmas period. Enjoy the game tonight. Light coverage on Radio

:25:35.:25:45.
:25:45.:25:53.

Ulster. -- coverage on Radio Ulster. Lots of problems with flooding last

:25:53.:25:57.

night. Let's get a forecast. We do not have the weather warning

:25:57.:26:02.

for any heavy downpours, that has cleared the way. But many areas did

:26:02.:26:07.

get a deluge overnight and in the 24 hour period leading up to

:26:07.:26:13.

lunchtime today, parts of Northern Ireland got 33.2 mm of rain. That

:26:13.:26:18.

is more than an inch in a 24 hour period and that is why we saw some

:26:18.:26:26.

of the flooding. As we go into the evening, not much rain, but we will

:26:26.:26:31.

have further showers feeding in, particularly in the West. It will

:26:31.:26:40.

be a how do it -- it will be a Calder night and there will be some

:26:40.:26:50.
:26:50.:26:55.

icy patches. -- colder. It will be fairly dry and bright first thing

:26:55.:27:01.

with a cloud breaking up by lunchtime. Eventually things will

:27:01.:27:05.

change again. More in the way of rain pushing its way up and the

:27:05.:27:12.

winds will gather strength. It will feel more blustery. A wet end to

:27:12.:27:17.

the day and some rain around for rush-hour tomorrow. In the evening

:27:17.:27:22.

the winds will pick up, especially along the east coast. Eventually

:27:22.:27:32.
:27:32.:27:33.

they will ease overnight into Thursday. For Thursday itself, some

:27:33.:27:37.

showers pushing in, but it will be a brighter day and there will be

:27:37.:27:47.
:27:47.:27:48.

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