14/11/2013 BBC Newsline

Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline: BBC

Newsline uncovers just how much school children are drinking to

excess. A senior civil servant reveals he

was told to change a letter A senior civil servant reveals he

Assembly committee by the Social Development Minister's private

office. A warning that tickets to the free

Van Morrison concert could be invalid if they've been bought or

sold. Why did the comedian Russell Brand

visit the Twaddell Protest camp in North Belfast last night?

Big changes for the Ireland rugby team for the visit of Australia, and

a chance for a young Ulsterman. There is a fair amount of settled

weather coming tomorrow, but how long will it last? I'll have the

details shortly. BBC Newsline has discovered that

last year there were 500 cases of children, that is under-18s, who

were so drunk they ended up in Accident and Emergency. A small

number under the age of 11 were also treated. It is an urban and rural

problem, with schoolchildren putting their mental and physical health at

risk. Tara Mills reports from the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

Imagine a teenager being so drunk that the end of the end here at AMD.

That was a scenario facing hundreds of families in Northern Ireland last

year. It is not just the excess quantities of alcohol. Some of the

young people were so ill they had to be admitted to hospital.

It seems we have accepted that young people will drink. The

authorities's focus is on how to manage the quantities. The

quantities appear to be getting bigger and bigger. This school in

north Belfast takes the bigger and bigger. This school in

seriously. It delivers an agency -- a public health agency programme

that gives advice on drinking habits. People get in trouble. If

you go out on a school night, you can focus the way he would do

normally. On a normal nights -- night, people would go away ten and

maybe have eight or nine drinks. Educating students about units and

measures is key, but away from the classroom, the temptation of Prince

promotions is not far away. It is hard to say no when you can get a

drink or 90p. You have the same amount of money with you and you

will continue spending it until it is all away. Casualties departments

in each trust area are seeing about 100 children every year, bringing

the total to 524 last year. Six children under the age of 11 were

also treated for the effect of alcohol. Between 50% and 60% of

young people will have drunk alcohol between the ages of 11 and 16. Of

that percentage, over half have been drunk on at least one occasion. It

is the drunkenness which is the bit that we are very concerned about.

There is a message for parents, too. In terms of monitoring and financing

and understanding what their child is doing once they leave the house,

boundary setting is crucial. Understanding consequences is

important for parents. Drink 's promotions are still commonplace.

Supermarkets are part of a competitive market. We can be

unrealistic and think that all children will not drink. It is about

damage limitation in some cases. With me I is Doctor Russell

MacLachlan. How worried should we be about this? We need to look at the

effects of alcohol on adolescents. It appears that the younger

adolescents, from the age of 11 up, they appeared to be drinking more

than the older adolescents. It is still not a hugely common

than the older adolescents. It is Last year the trust admitted 113

patients were the primary cause was intoxication. There were between 11

and eight team. That is a relatively small number. What you need to

appreciate is that is the tip of the iceberg. There are a lot of other

issues that go along with alcohol in adolescence, such as injury,

hazardous behaviour it makes more likely to be the victim of a crime

or perpetrate a crime, a violent crime or even be a victim of a

sexual assault. I drunk would you need to be to have to come to

accident and emergency? If the problem alone is alcohol

intoxication, we would from time to time need to admit young people to

hospital if they were so impaired through alcohol that they were a

danger to themselves, that they couldn't safely be discharged into

the care of the parents. If someone is unconscious through alcohol, they

could choke on their own vomit and died. The alcohol will work its way

out of their system, but the concern would be for their error way. If we

have those concerns, they would need to be admitted for observation. We

are seeing younger and younger people drinking. What are the health

implications for them? The first room is the hazardous -- the first

stream is the hazardous behaviour on the night, committing crimes, being

the victim of crimes and so on. The longer term physical impact sorrow

mental health problems. If you want to join the debate you can visit our

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offer advice and support, the BBC Action Line has recorded information

on 0800 888 809. The phone-line is are open 24 hours a day and calls

are free from most landlines. Some networks and mobile operators will

charge. A senior civil servant has revealed

he was told to change a letter to an Assembly committee by the Social

Development Minister Nelson McCausland's private office. The

letter related to a meeting Mr McCausland held with representatives

of the construction company Turkington's. The Minister's

committee is hearing evidence to determine whether he misled its

members. Here's our political correspondent Martina Purdy.

Day one of the social development committee's earrings. The issue,

whether the Minister, Nelson McCausland, this led this committee

over a meeting he held in April 2012 with these men who say they met the

Minister as representatives of 's. This official also attended the

meeting and was subsequently asked to draft a letter about the meeting.

Today he revealed how the Minister 's office had taught him to change

Today he revealed how the Minister chairman. The Minister has read your

submission and has requested that the letter to Alex Muskie be

amended. Paragraph three, remove Turkington 's name. Another official

from the Housing executive, who also attended the meeting, give

evidence. When did you first hear the suggestion that the meeting you

had been out on the 16th of April was with representatives of the

Glass and glazing Federation? And the Minister made a statement in the

Assembly. Did that come as a surprise to you? Yes. Here is

Turkington 's representatives answering questions. You are

Turkington 's representatives clear the meeting was with

Turkington 's. Any reference to the Glass and glazing Federation was

simply about their standards, their guidance? So, there is no basis that

anyone could set was a meeting with the Glass and glazing Federation.

Those words would you several times. We told the meeting we were members

of its, that Ian is a past chairman of the Northern Ireland branch, and

thirdly the specification changes were at the specifications from the

Glass and glazing Federation. But at no point did you say you were on

behalf of the Federation? Absolutely not. The Minister will give his own

evidence to the committee next month.

The inquest into the death of a pensioner shot dead near Dungannon

will now take longer than expected because of new information. Roseann

Mallon, who was 76, was murdered by the UVF almost 20 years ago at the

same time as covert army surveillance teams were watching the

area. It has now emerged that the Historical Enquiries Team has

ordered a new forensic science report on the murder weapon and that

report is still incomplete. Hundreds of people have attended the

funeral of the former South Down MP Eddie McGrady in Downpatrick. The

78-year-old died on Monday after a long illness. He was a veteran of

the SDLP and among those paying their respects at Saint Patrick's

Church were past and present party colleagues including the former

leader John Hume. Representing colleagues including the former

Fein was the deputy first minister Martin McGuinness and for the DUP

the Minister Arlene Foster. In a note read out to the congregation

the Bishop of Down and Connor, Noel Treanor, described Mr McGrady as a

popular politician. People attending the free Van

Morrison concert in Belfast tomorrow are being reminded that tickets are

invalid if they have been bought or sold. Some tickets have already

appeared on the internet for sale. The show is being put on to

celebrate the musician becoming a freeman of the City. Kevin Magee

reports. Wouldn't it be great if it was like

this all the time? Our free Van Morrison concert for the citizens of

Belfast to be Morrison concert for the citizens of

waterfront. There are 2500 tickets in circulation. This is what they

looked like. It says clearly that if they are invalid if they are sold

for profit. That hasn't stopped some of them finding their way on the

black market. One tickets -- one ticket was set -- up for sale for a

set price of ?100. 2,000 tickets were allocated by a lottery. One

city fabric today raffled his allocation. I received an offer lots

of calls to see if I could get 's tickets. The fairest way I could

save this revealing them was to put them in a hat. The concept is

costing ratepayers ?50,000 to post. It is far too much, yes. It is

brilliant to have him. It is a bit much, really. I think it would be

worth it. He is brilliant. The council say that Van Morrison has

not asked for a fee, but the band and crew will be paid. The council

added it will be doing everything possible to ensure that tickets are

used only by those who were successful in the draw.

The name Russell Brand is often linked to controversy. Yesterday

afternoon, the hard-hitting comedian and actor paid a surprise visit to

one of Belfast's most contentious areas. He met loyalist protestors at

their camp on Twaddell Avenue during an unplanned visit. BBC Newsline's

Mervyn Jess reports. He is one of the more controversial stars of

stage and screen. He is often made headlines for what he has said and

he is taken to tumour -- taken his humour to both sides of the

Atlantic. Yesterday he brought a serious face to two Dell Ave and the

prospect -- and the protest camp. His visit was unannounced and came

as a total surprise to the two women and one man who were in the camp at

the time. It is understood he told them that he wanted to see a bit of

Belfast where he was in time and to find out what this camp is all

about. Unfortunately for us, he also requested that no food or graphs be

taken of his visit. Russell Brand was in the city appearing at the

waterfront Hall last night. There was no mention of his visit during

his performance. He left his mark on those who saw him at two Dell Ave. I

got a phone call from the camp saying that Russell Brand was here.

I thought it was a prank! Then he actually came on the phone and spoke

to me for about five minutes, asked about the camp and what its purpose

was and so on. He seemed like a really genuine, nice guy. Loyalist

protectors said that he was hoping to speak to people on the other side

of the interface as well, but this has not been confirmed.

When you look at the unemployment figure, you will see it continues to

When you look at the unemployment jobseeker's allowance, about 4,000

fewer than nine months ago. But there are still big problems for

younger people. Our Economics and Business Editor, John Campbell, has

been speaking to one job hunter. Mark Wilson is 21 and from what

Belfast. He joined hundreds of others at this job is fair in the

city today. There are more than 1,000 vacancies to be filled. Like

many young people, he has had a restricting couple of years, with

few qualifications a little work experience, he has struggled to get

a job. How can a young person with no qualifications get into a job,

when people with degrees are applying for them? Obviously they

will get the job over myself. His story is far from unique. At 7.3%

the overall unemployment rate here is slightly better than for the rest

of the UK. Among people aged eight team to 24, it stands at 22.5%,

which is worse than the UK average. Mark is training with the Princes

trust and is open to find work in the care sector. The trust says

there is a high demand for its services. We are working with 3800

young people a year that come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Many find

it impossible to get of in the job market. Yet on plumbing can cause

long-term damage to someone's prospects. The Minister responsible

says that is right tackling it is a priority. We don't want to lose the

value of the investments, the education, that these young people

have. Need to put an emphasis on youth unemployment. The unemployment

rate has been coming down for about nine months and the speed of job

creation seemed to have picked up recently. That is good news for the

people who were looking for jobs today. There is a long way to go

before we make all the ground that was lost during the recession.

One thing that is a job creator at the moment is the movie industry and

one of Hollywood's most influential directors has told BBC Newsline he

wants to make more films here. Paul Greengrass believes the legacy

of Derry's culture year must be jobs for young people. Here's our North

West reporter, Keiron Tourish. Paul Greengrass arrived in a local

movie theatre to begin his busy round of engagements. The Cinema

city Festival is a celebration of round of engagements. The Cinema

film. After meeting film enthusiasts, there was a special

showing of his latest work. The hugely successful Captain Phillips,

starring Tom Hanks. It tells the true story of a cargo ship hijacked

by Somali pirates -- pirates. The story of this city, in terms of its

ability to rebuild itself and come together, to overcome the legacy of

bitterness and move towards a brighter future is an astonishing

and inspiring story, not just for this part of the world, but for the

world 's in general. Paul Greengrass wrote and directed bloody Sunday,

which starred James Nesbitt. The film catapulted Paul Greengrass on

to a new level. He said it was the greatest privilege of his life to

have made it. Paul Greengrass is one of the most influential and

celebrated directors of his generation. His versatility is

underlying in several very successful releases, including Jason

Bourne films. While Paul Greengrass enjoys international success, he

says Derry must ensure its legacy. It is all about the legacy for young

people. We have got to grow and knowledge, Digital economy that can

provide real jobs and real opportunities for young people in

this city. As part of his visit, he also met lovely sandy families

before a screening of the film. Ireland's rugby players got their

Autumn series off to a winning start last weekend against Samoa, but this

Saturday is a different ball game. Gavin Andrews is here with more on

that. The Green and Gold are coming to Dublin. Joe Schmidt has rung the

changes for the visit of Australia. Some of his most experienced

internationals return to the starting line up, among them Paul

O'Connell, but for a young Ulsterman it's a chance to make his mark

against one of the best sides in the world. Nial Foster reports.

Look Marshall has learnt his trade the hard way. He burst into the

Ireland team last season in the six Nations, but had a head injury in

two of his three international appearances. On

two of his three international with the backing of the new boss. He

has played really well for Ulster. Got some experience last year in the

national team. I think we want to reward players who are playing with

form. We also want to grow the squad. He is a young man that has a

talent back and take us forward. Jonny Sexton replaces Paddy Jackson

Adelaide have. Read and comes in at scrum-half, Paul O'Connell captains

the side. I am motivated to try to make sure

that the players are as well-prepared as can be physically,

mentally, strategically. Luckily enough, my motivation extend to me

getting on the field to play! Northern Ireland manager Michael

O'Neill has received a boost on the eve of his side's friendly with

Turkey tomorrow evening. It is hard to believe it has almost

been fought night since the rumours of Boynton O'Neill -- of Martin

O'Neill started. Nikon it is dying to the nitty-gritty of the game

against Latvia. Trapattoni did brilliantly. He has been a great

manager all his life. Naturally, I would have liked to have had a

23-year-old Robbie Keane, instead of the 64-year-old Robbie Keane

excavation work --! His record is remarkable, really remarkable. I

want to play as long as I can. I'm not daft, I am going to be 33 the

next time the European Championships, Ryan. All I can do is

keep playing well and keep scoring goals. If he sees that,

keep playing well and keep scoring is no problems. If the game tomorrow

is half as entertaining as the press conferences have been this week, it

will be some match! Robbie Keane has signed a new

two-year deal with the LA Galaxy. Northern Ireland manager Michael

O'Neill has received a boost on the eve of his side's friendly with

Turkey tomorrow evening. One of his most consistent performers, Aaron

Hughes, wants to continue his international career into the next

qualifying campaign - the target is 100 caps. That is music to the ears

of everyone involved with the squad. Joel Taggart reports.

He has left the international stage once already, but despite another

disappointing campaign, and the 34th birthday this month, Aaron Hughes

has given his manager at the news that he wanted to hear. I had a

great conversation with him last night and we talked about a lot of

things. He wants to continue to play on. He has the target of 100 caps

and there would be no more fitting outfield player to attain that.

O'Neill is not the only one happy to see the former captain back to win

his 88th tomorrow night. All the lads are delighted that he will stay

on for at least another two years. One of those looking to push on is a

striker who is enjoying his best run of goal-scoring form in the side,

and the man who gave Michael O'Neill his only win so far. He is managing

his -- he is promising his manager more. There is a lot to come. I will

continue to work hard and try to improve. It is a big game for me

every time I pull on the green shirt. You need to be a certain

vintage to remember at the last win on Turkish soil for Northern

Ireland, but the international team coming to town is big news here. The

Turkish manager took his first the bold steps here, and the locals hope

that he will be sending Michael O'Neill home empty-handed.

The weather is next with Barra. The good news is, there will be a

lot of dry weather for any Children in Need activities outside. Could be

a bit of light rain and overnight tonight, but most places will stay

dry. For the cloud reaches the South East, it could turn chilly. By

morning, most places will have avoided frosty conditions. We have

an area of high pressure in control, and that means that the

cloud will remain quite thick at times. Little in the way of bright

weather. It will be mostly dry tomorrow, apart and maybe parts of

the far West, words that could be some damp weather. Temperatures are

going to be up tomorrow, up to 11 degrees, despite there being a lot

of cloud. There will be 12 spells of sunshine in the South East. Most

places will stay cloudy throughout the day. Tomorrow evening, we may

see a few spots of light rain or drizzle. Most places will stay dry.

Again, no frost tomorrow night as we head into the weekend. Temperatures

will be well up tomorrow night at about seven degrees,

will be well up tomorrow night at normally get during the day at this

time of year. Saturday gets off to a promising start, but it will turn

more unsettled through the day with rain coming in from the south-west.

It did take quite a while to reach the east, so if you're having to

Belfast for the turning on of the Christmas lights, hopefully the rain

will stay off until the lights are turned on. The butchers will stay

above average for the time of year because of the high pressure, but it

will be short lived. On Sunday, it will be cloudy and a bit of light

rain and drizzle. Next week the weather will start to come from the

Arctic, and we will begin to feel a lot colder.

Our late summary is at 10.25pm. You can also keep in contact with us via

Facebook and Twitter. From BBC Newsline, good night.