13/03/2014 BBC Newsline

Frost. That's all from us. Now it's time

for That's all from us. Now it's time

for Good evening and welcome to BBC

Newsline. 300 jobs are to be lost here after government plans to

centralise the Driver and Vehicle Agency got the go-ahead. Seven local

offices will be closed along with the regional headquarters in

Coleraine. It will take effect from July. Conor Macauley reports.

And had been hanging over their heads for months, but the news that

from July of 300 jobs were going still left staff stunned when they

turned up for work this morning. I have three young kids. I am the

only worker in my house, so it has a big impact on what the future holds

for myself and my family. Vehicle licensing is being

centralised to Swansea. It means seven regional offices like here in

Enniskillen as well as the headquarters in Coleraine will

close. It will affect especially elderly people because they will

have to go to the post office and maybe ask a friend to fill in the

form comment will be more inconvenient.

The government says the move will improve things.

Customers will be able to tax vehicles online. There will be

over-the-counter services at 175 post offices and for the first time

the chance to pay by direct debit. It is providing online services in a

way we have not been able to do before and it is about making

efficiency savings, of which there are significant savings for the

taxpayer. There has been a vigorous campaign

locally and in Westminster to save the jobs. Staff now want to know

quickly whether they are facing redeployment or redundancy.

Four men from east Belfast have been given suspended prison sentences for

what the USPCA has described as among the worst cases of animal

cruelty it has come across. Jeremiah, Chris and Wayne Kirkwood,

and their co-accused, Jamie Morrow, could have been sentenced to up to

two years in jail. This report from Chris Page features some very

disturbing pictures. Autumn 2011 and the joint USPCA and

police raid on the home of Jeremiah, Chris and Wayne Kirkwood

in Ireland Street in East Belfast. In the backyard they found a number

of cages, some containing dogs. And some animals had signs they had been

involved in fighting. The police came here after they found horrific

videos on a mobile phone belonging to another man, Jamie Morrow from

McAllister caught. We will show you some of that fitted but we should

one you it is very disturbing. This caged cat is probably a pet. I

dog is set on it and pulls the cat from the cage. The rest of the

pictures are too distressing to broadcast, and all four dogs were

allowed at the cat which remain alive for some time. A man shakes a

tree to bring down a cat, again probably a pet. When the cat hits

the ground to dorks are on it. Again, the rest of the video is to

graphic to show. -- two dogs. The Kirkwoods pleaded guilty to several

offences. Jeremiah is highlighted here and is 43. Beside him were his

sons, Chris, 23 and Wayne, 20. The man in the dark blue top is

19-year-old Jamie Morrow. He admitted one charge. The judge

sentenced all four men to six months in jail but suspended the sentence

for two years. She also banned the accused from keeping animals for ten

years. The police say the cruelty was dreadful. The injuries were

horrific, and our colleagues in the USPCA have confirmed it is the worst

they have seen, certainly the worst I have seen.

On leaving court, Kirkwood and Jamie Morrow seemed relieved, Kirkwood

even jumping on a friend's back. The First Minister has described as

unhelpful a claim by the former talks chairman Richard Haass that

Northern Ireland is at risk of returning to daily violence. Peter

Robinson and Martin McGuinness are in Washington where they will meet

the Vice President. Mr McGuinness brushed aside speculation that

President Obama may snub that first formal meeting with Joe Biden.

Tonight the two ministers are attending an American Ireland fund

dinner. Our political correspondent, Martina Purdy, reports from

Washington. Here in Washington, the flag is

everywhere, a symbol of unity for Americans. But emblems remain

problematic for these political leaders who failed to agree a deal

on flags, parading and the past. But they have challenged a claim by

Richard Haass that this risks a return to violence.

The overwhelming view in Northern Ireland is that we want progress, we

never want to go back to the dark days of the past and it is probably

unhelpful for us to start talking in those terms. You do not want to

clock up violence, you want to talk up the prospect of stability and

peace. I am optimistic about the future.

I have no sense whatsoever that the city will slip back to the past and

I have come to that view primarily because of the commitment I have

seen among all of those in government and those who are working

within the police to ensure that extremists do not destroy the peace

we have here. Others in Washington say that Richard Haass's assessment

is realistic. There is a very urgent need for us

to get a grip of things in Northern Ireland, get control of things and

sauteed continuing differences. Later this evening, the vice

president of the US is due to receive a piece of the US is due to

receive a peace award year at the Ireland fund dinner.

In the morning he will meet the first and Deputy First Minister is

at the White House. What do our ministers make of the suggestion the

president may snub the meeting. We have already met the President eight

times and it would not be a snub if he did not meet us for the ninth.

We are delighted to meet the vice president, who was more actively

involved in the Richard Haass talks and will have a more direct

involvement with this. We have met with all three

presidents who have been involved in the peace process and I have no

doubt that will continue. What ever spin is put on tomorrow's talks, it

is not all high-level politics. Stormont's Road Minister Danny

Kennedy has been checking out a cycle lanes with a view to making

changes back home. Tony Blair's chief negotiator during

the peace process says he stands by his claim that the DUP knew about

concessions made to Sinn Fein over IRA "on the runs". In his book,

Jonathan Powell said the DUP could accept the scheme as long as Tony

Blair wrote to Ian Paisley, making it clear it had been agreed under

David Trimble's watch. Peter Robinson described that as nonsense

but Mr Powell says he stands by what he wrote.

That book was written in 2008, and I don't now want to go into new

suggestions about who knew what and when. The book is based on my

diaries and the number ten papers for the decade we were in government

and I stand by everything in the book, but I don't want to cast blame

now because it is unhelpful. We wanted to get Northern Ireland

politicians on solving the problems of the past, not digging them up and

beating each other over the head with them.

And you can see more of that interview on The View, coming up

after this bulletin. Rugby, and Joe Schmidt has named the

starting line up for Ireland's Six Nations match against France at the

weekend. Ulster's Paddy Jackson is out of the squad and the return of

Peter O'Mahoney sees Iain Henderson back on the bench.

Here's Geoff Maskell with the forecast.

Good evening. It has been a mild and cloudy day today, meaning that this

evening and overnight things are a bit more mild than recent mates lost

-- than recent nights. As we head towards morning a little bit of mist

and fog creeps in. Having lots of cloud around has made for a

fantastic photography. Into tomorrow it is a similar setup. 20 of cloud

around, but little more breezy, I think, the westerly wind may bring

some light rain to the west and along the north coast. That is

reflected across the UK and Ireland. In the north we see more showers and

cooler temperatures, further south it is drier and brighter. It is of

course Gold Cup day at Cheltenham. If you are there you are very

lucky, it will be a really nice day for the racing, staying mainly dry

for the big event. For us through the afternoon, a little bit of rain

starts to work its way in but it will only be liked and patchy.

Elsewhere decent brighter spells. High pressure remains largely in

charge, setting the tone for things, but we do get a few tail ends of

some weather fronts coming through meaning we get a little more

unsettled through the weekend. Temperature is quite decent on

Saturday, maybe some showers with Tehran, but generally it is looking

good right through the weekend. You can keep up to date with News Online

and follow this programme on facebook and Twitter.

From everyone on the BBC Newsline team, have a very good evening,

goodbye. The Six Nations

goes down to the wire. Can England keep their championship

hopes alive against Italy? Will Wales or Scotland

end their campaign on a high?