06/01/2014 BBC Newsline

the week. That is all from us, so it is goodbye

Good evening. The headlines on BBC Newsline: As Richard Haass publishes

a summary of his proposals, there's a row between the Orange Order and

Sinn Fein. Another day of high tides and winds causes problems along our

coastline. Find out why those who ran this ice rink are being accused

of a lack of Christmas spirit. An emergency meeting is held to discuss

car crime like this in west Belfast. Anything to declare? Why are local

football referees under the spotlight? And just one more day of

squally weather, before a change is on the way.

The Haass talks chairman says he won't give up on proposals

negotiated over many hours during the Christmas holidays. Today the

public gets to see what was on the table. Richard Haass has published a

summary of the package on flags, parading and the past. He has

suggested people would be better off if they tackled the difficult issues

now - as it would only get harder in future. This evening the Ulster

Unionist Party's Executive meets to discuss the proposals. This

afternoon Martin McGuinness claimed negative elements in the Orange

Order were setting the agenda for unionist parties. Our political

correspondent Martina Purdy has this report. Richard Haass had aimed to

get a deal on flags, parades and the past by Christmas was always a long

shot. But in the last days of negotiations, amid predictions of

doom, he refused to give up. I'm not in the business of doing

postmortems, because the patient is still alive. The talks ended without

agreement on New Year's Eve with only nationalist parties signed up,

he has issued a two-page summary of the proposals. Saying that people

here would be better off if they signed up. But his sense of urgency

isn't shared by unionists. Is the process dead in the water? Yes, it

has been dead since last week. It has been dead in the water since the

start. There was no point at which they were going to agree and even

now when people say they were close, they were not. The gaps were wider

than anyone realises. In a statement the deputy First Minister said:

The Orange Order issued its own statement, dismissing Martin

McGuinness's claims and accusing him of trying to deflect attention from

his own murky past. In his statement, Martin McGuinness also

said the purpose of any new group was to implement the Haass

proposals, not renegotiate them. He said the negotiations are over. The

Ulster unionists have promised a statement after the meeting. The DUP

declined to comment, saying that party offics would be considering

the prosals. -- proposals. Some say it is time the two governments

stepped in. It takes a lot of humility for our parties to say we

can't do it. If they can't, for the sake of all of us, for the sake of

good politics and policing, for the sake of good judicial process, for

the sake of peace within your community, I think they should

invite the two governments in to finish the process. So the Haass

talks might be over, but there is still plenty to talk about. And if

you'd like to read the two-page summary of the proposed deal which

the Stormont parties failed to agree, you can see it on our news

website. The Sinn Fein MLA Gerry Kelly says had been given a warning

over actions he took over an Orange Parade. The incident happened in

June last year. Mr Kelly interveeped to speak to police officers at the

scene. He was then carried on the front of a police rand Rover for --

Land Rover for a time. The informed warning will stay on h record for 12

months. Mr Kelly said he believed he was calming a difficult situation.

The police have paid tribute to 40 organisations and groups that helped

in the operation to prevent serious flooding. 45,000 sandbags have been

handed out by the authorities over the past few days. The north coast

was worst hit today, but, as BBC Newsline's Tara Mills reports, some

urban areas were spared the severe flooding that had been feared. A

sustained period of bad weather was forecast, and parts of coast took

another battering today. Emergency services were again out in force.

This wall was damaged in Friday's storms and today took more of the

same. One MLA said the sea wall defences date back centuries and

need to be updated. Only for the quick and efficient response by the

council things could have been a lot worse here today. Some of the most

dramatic scenes at the weekend were on this road in Warrenpoint. Today,

things were calmer. In the north-west the banks of the Foyle

came close to bursting and the search and rescue service were

monitoring water levels. Now, they're high. It is a 2.8 metre tide

and there is only two feet between here and the water. But it notice

danger -- but it is not dangerous at the moment. The Sydenham area has

been the focus of the prevepgs operation. But with drier

conditions, the high tide didn't cause any flooding. The policeman

said on Thursday night is there anywhere we could go. Our son said

we are not leaving. What is the use? I am concerned, because I have had

to book the day off work and my employers have been quite adaptable

and appreciate that. Schools in some areas finished early, including this

one. The principal of the school said it could be perceived as over

the top, but it is bete to be -- better to be safe than sorry. If we

had had heavy rain, or the winds continued there could be flooding.

We prefer to sacrifice an hour than the children going home in the

middle of any flooding and danger. Flooding did affect up with part of

Holyrood here. Police closed the road and diverted traffic. Questions

have been asked about whether the police have taken the lead in this

operation. The PSNI said it was a category 1 alert, meaning a danger

to life. Thankfully lives and property in this area have been left

unscathed. Residents are relieved the alert appears to be over for

now. One of the worst affected areas over the lest few days was the Ards

Peninsula. The tidal surges washed away parts of some roads on the east

coast. Chris Page has spent the afternoon there. When the sea is so

close, it is perhaps easy to forget how powerful it can be. It was no

day for a picnic as waves pounded the coast. Yesterday, part of the

road was washed away. Today, with another storm surge imminent, people

were hoping for the best, but prepared for the worst. This is high

tide and the waves are ferocious. But it doesn't look as though the

surge will be strong enough to reach the houses on the other side of the

sea wall. In the end it was a spectacle rather than an emergency.

It has got a sort of raw beauty. I could watch it all day. It is

frighteningly exciting I suppose. But it is quite spectacular. Not

etch was heeding the warnings to take care. -- everyone. The

coastguard warned people away. The waves threw boulders ashore. Here

residents took it upon themselves to clear the road. They're worried the

sea is wearing down the shore. We are losing more of the coastline. It

is tragic. There is nothing we can do. This man has only just moved

here. A baptism of fire is the way it was described to me. The water

was half way up our driveway. So it got quite close. It has been a

dramatic few days with high tides and strong winds. But the worst of

the battering is over. An ice rink in Newry was promoted as a winter

wonderland that was creating a Christmas spirit in the city. But,

for dozens of young people who worked there during December, the

spirit has long since disappeared because they haven't been paid. This

evening, they're planning to protest at the local council to try to get

the money they're owed. Kevin Sharkey reports. The skating is is

over and some empty pockets too. But little snow and ice at Christmas,

this is where would be ice skaters spent their time. And the company's

social media promotion suggested customers were having a fun time.

Ideal Christmas enjoyment. And thousands seemed impressed with the

idea. But these young student workers are far from impressed

today. I'm owed ?400. But the issue is that we have been told that it is

cash, it is cheque and it is by transfer. They have all our details.

I want to know where my details are. So where is the money? My

involvement is I'm an investor, I don't know how much is there. There

is money there. I'm answering the question frankly with you. You say

the money is there, where is it? There is money in the bank from

ticket sales. But I have no access, as I'm not a director of the

company. There is only one person that has access to the account. Have

you spoke to this person? I can't get through to him. I lost my phone.

Permission to use the space was granted by the district council.

They said they are disappointed that the organisers haven't honoured

their commitments. Well, there is no skating hoarse today and alongside a

marquee that was being used. And the people who put nit place haven't

been paid either. Still there is no money. How do you feel? Very sour.

What are we talking about? A fair substantial amount. Thousands? Yes,

thousands. Not everyone has lost out. The owners of this car which

was meant as a prize, but hadn't been paid for yet, returned today to

take their car back. Still to come on the programme before 7: Details

of a new year jobs boost as 130 new jobs are created at Bombardier in

east Belfast. A convicted child killer and rapist

has been granted legal aid for an inquest into the death of a girl he

was cleared of murdering. The High Court was told today that funding

has been approved for Robert Howard to be represented at the hearing to

examine the disappearance of 15-year-old Arlene Arkinson. The

teenager from Castlederg in County Tyrone went missing in 1994 and her

body has never been found despite many searches. In 2005, Robert

Howard who had lived near her home was acquitted of her killing. The

inquest is expected to begin in Omagh in April. Police, politicians

and community groups have been meeting to discuss ways of tackling

car crime in west Belfast. In an incident which we highlighted last

week, several hundred people turned out to watch stolen cars being raced

along the Falls Road. BBC Newsline's Mervyn Jess reports. This was the

scene on New Year's Eve. Social media messages were used to attract

a couple of hundred people to watch car thieves race stolen vehicles.

Today an emergency meeting of various agencies was called to

discuss ways of tackling the problem before someone is killed or injured.

It was around the lack of arrests and the lack of action and they

hoped that within, over the next fortnight, that a series of meetings

will take place and information sharing to allow the police to act.

Community groups stressed that while this type of activity is less common

than it was, it is not wanted by most people in the area. It is

disheartening for this to happen over the holidays. It is not the

norm any more. It is one of those Aun-off incidents. And I'm not

saying it doesn't happen, but it doesn't happen all the time. There

is good work being done within the area to curb this situation. The ips

Kent and -- incident and the coverage it got has sparked this

response. Not for the first time, police, politicians and community

workers are left searching for an answer to this decades old problem.

A man has been arrested in County Donegal in connection with a

suspected hit-and-run incident in County Fermanagh. The accident

happened in the early hours of yesterday morning on the Tullychurry

Road at Leggs near Belleek. The victim has been named locally as

Patrick McCafferty. It's understood he was in his 50s and from the area.

Detectives investigating the murders of two Catholic workmen almost 20

years ago have arrested a man in north Belfast. Gary Convie and Eamon

Fox were killed when gunmen opened fire at a building site in North

Queen Street in May 1994. A 42-year-old is being questioned on

suspicion of murder, attempted murder and membership of the UVF.

Attacks on three houses in East Belfast have been condemned as

racist crimes by Alliance MP Naomi Long. Windows were smashed at the

properties in the Strandtown area shortly before midnight last night.

Waste is to be turned into power at a new energy plant at Bombardier

Aerospace in East Belfast. Planning permission was today granted for the

?85 million project that is creating 130 construction jobs.

In the years to come, the lights at Bombardier will burn from its own

separate power source. It will come off the grid and be supplied by its

own station. The new power source. It will come off the grid and be

supplied by its own station. The new power plant will be here, somewhere

on this land within Belfast's Harbour estate and be fuelled by

non-recyclable industrial waste. This will be waste that cannot

currently be recycled. It will not be food waste, paper or plastic. The

plant will operate like this one in Norway. Each year, Bombardier's

facility will fire up 120,000 tonnes of rubbish. Gas will generate steam

to drive a turbine which will produce electricity. It should be

operational within three years will stop it will save Bombardier about

?2 million a year, or about one third of its annual fuel bill.

Reducing big energy bills has become a priority issue for all of our

manufacturers but particularly for a company the size of Bombardier will

stop it currently pays three times more than -- more in Belfast than in

its sister plant in North America. We have seen energy costs going up

year on year and we put a strategy forward but we wanted to get on top

of our energy costs. The new plant will be run by an energy company,

yet to be identified, selling directly to Bombardier. There have

been occasions when environmentalists have described

burning waste as a primitive, dirty energy but there were no formal

letters of objection to this planning application.

The officials and not the players were the main topic of conversation

after the weekend's football matches. Stephen Watson can tell us

why. Referees and their assistants will

now be asked to declare any conflict of interest before they take charge

of a game. The Northern Ireland Football League has decided to write

to every referee following two separate incidents during games at

the weekend when officials had direct links with a club or players

who were taking part in the same match.

Working at his first top-flight Irish league match, Gary Hegarty was

assistant referee for the game between Coleraine and arts. The only

problem was that his brother Baikal was also at the Coleraine

Showgrounds as captain of the home side. -- Michael. The onus was on

him to report it. He took bad advice and he did not come to me who would

not have let the appointment stand. Nobody has done anything wrong here,

we have been naive and you will make sure that it won't happen again.

Gavin Hegarty will not work it any more games involving Coleraine. It

was not the only refereeing controversy bill. After taking

charge of the clash between one point and Linfield, it later emerged

that Keith Kennedy had previously been a Linfield season-ticket

holder. Since entering refereeing, he has not been involved with

Linfield so I do not see a potential conflict. He is embarrassed but he

is not done anything wrong. We need to learn from our mistakes when they

happen. Yesterday evening, he wrote to every one of our officials and we

have asked them all to do player any potential conflicts. -- to declare

any potential conflicts. Referees will have to be honest and come

forward. Already this morning there have been e-mailed back saying

referees have connections and we will address those. None of the

clubs involved over the weekend complained about the referees but

transparency is now the name of the game amongst officials with

conflicts of interest updated on an annual basis.

Linfield stayed top of the table. With Cliftonville not playing until

tomorrow, Crusaders can go second if they win tonight at home to

Dungannon. The other challengers at the top Glentoran and Portadown lost

ground on the leaders with a 2-2 draw at the Oval at the weekend. Two

fine strikes by the visitors looked to have secured the victory. Darren

Murray and Chris Casement with the goals, but Jay Magee rescued a point

for Glentoran when he poked home an equaliser two minutes into added

time. The drawn meant Glentoran stay in fourth, Portadown fifth. At the

Showgrounds, Ballymena United consolidated their position in the

top six thanks to David Cushley's strike to beat Ballinamallard. They

have now taken just one point from a possible 15.

The new Gaelic football season officially started yesterday. The

Power NI McKenna Cup got underway. It's the first All Ulster

competition played under the GAA's new rules to try and stamp out foul

play. Among the first-round games was the clash between Donegal and

Tyrone. Michael Murphy is one of the

greatest Gaelic footballers of his generation but he is human. The

Donegal captain showed his class just moments later, casually

drifting towards the goal. Sheer class from the film forward and

Donegal led by one goal at half-time. Tyrone dominated after

the break and their goalkeeper is proving quite the addition at both

ends of the pitch. He scored more points than the entire Donegal

teenager in the second half. He is a huge asset to us. He is a great

goalkeeper, he is good under the high ball, he can kick the free

goals. They don't all go over every day but if he gets that 75% rate, we

will take that any day. The GAA's attempt to cut out cynical play,

both managers seemed content. No complaints, it is part and parcel of

the rules and we have to work to them. We normally do that so it is a

lesson for us. If it is applied the way it was today, I would have no

issue with it. I think the referee acted very sensibly. I am very glad

about it. Donegal's player was led -- left with the condition -- eight

concussion. A bad day for Donegal but a better one for Tyrone.

The Belfast Giants' winning streak ended at nine games at the weekend

when they were beaten in overtime by the Dundee Stars. Trailing 2-1 late

in the game, the Giants scored an equaliser with just 15 seconds left

on the clock to send the match into overtime. However, the Stars then

scored a sudden-death winner to seal victory, 3-2. After the Christmas

period saw six wins out of seven, the Giants are now 12 points clear

at the top of the Elite League table.

The tidal surge is over and thankfully it didn't cause the major

flooding that was feared. Geoff Maskell has the latest weather

forecast. flooding that

We had the three highest tides on Friday, Saturday and Sunday so the

worst is now past. What we have tonight is a blustery night ahead

and plenty of strong winds as well. We do still have a yellow warning

for strong winds in place until midnight tonight. The showers, two,

continue overnight. There will be plenty of those around. All that

cloud cover means it stays reasonably mild. Overnight

temperatures of seven degrees. This low-pressure system, tomorrow that

moves its way northwards and its impact is lessened. Then we get a

change on the way after that so there really is just one more day of

the showery and blustery started in with. Plenty of showers still around

tomorrow but as we go through the day, they lose their intensity and

the gaps in the cloud widen and we start to see some better and

brighter spells as we go through the day. The temperatures are quite mild

at eight or nine degrees. If you can dodge the showers, it should be

quite a usable day. The showers continue through into the evening

and all the time, lessening in intensity and becoming more

isolated. The clearing skies in that tomorrow night will be cool.

Overnight temperatures of three or four degrees. Once we get into the

second half of this week, we can say goodbye to the wild stuff and hello

to something brighter. When the state itself is looking like quite a

reasonable day. The wind speeds have really dropped off and we have some

clearer skies with highs of a degrees. By Thursday, we still have

some showery stuff around. It is a story of gradual improvement through

this week as things get much better for the second half of the week.

You can keep it in touch with us by Facebook and Twitter. The story on

the Newry ice rink has a lot of people sharing their

England and Northern Ireland. We have a risk of coastal flooding on

the south coast of England tonight.