27/05/2014 BBC Newsline


27/05/2014

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look at the papers on the BBC News channel. Now it's time

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Good evening. Counting is over in the European

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elections and the DUP's Diane Dodds and Jim Nicholson of the Ulster

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Unionists will be returning to Brussels with Sinn Fein's Martina

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Anderson, who topped the poll yesterday. The two Unionists reached

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the quota today with the help of transfers from other parties. Our

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political reporter Stephen Walker reports on the day's events.

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For political activists, watching media and counting staff, it has

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been two long days at Belfast's Kings Hall. Diane Dodds became the

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second to reach the quota after the seventh stage of counting and she

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was delighted. I am glad people are coalescing around a strong Unionist

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party. I hope in the next five years to give that strong voice for

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Northern Ireland in Europe. She joined Sinn Fein's Martina Anderson

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who was elected when she the poll. I was blown away by the fact that

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almost 160,000 people voted for Sinn Fein and for myself. I do believe a

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part of that was my own work ethic and contribution that I have made in

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the last few years, particularly in the European Parliament. Just before

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6pm tonight, after two days of counting, Jim Nicholson reached the

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quota and became Northern Ireland's final MEP. Having been elected I am

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going into my sixth term as an MEP, the longest of anyone ever elected

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in Northern Ireland or indeed in the South of Ireland. I do not know

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whether that is in the Guinness book of records or whatever, but now I am

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the longest serving MEP. Jim Nicholson took the third spot and

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after transfers was 43,000 votes ahead of the SDLP's Alex Attwood,

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who missed out. It confirmed what we always said, that when we were in

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the race for the last seat and if my own vote and other voters had come

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out in greater numbers than the result might have been different.

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Jim Allister came fifth. He recorded a first preference vote of 75,000,

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9000 votes more than the last election. He claims his vote would

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put pressure on the DUP. Those who are tempted to do another sordid

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deal, keep looking over your shoulder because the Unionist group

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behind you is growing by tens of thousands. Mr Robinson, we're on

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your case. The Alliance's Anna Lo was in sixth place, securing the

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party's best every Euro vote followed by Henry Reilly of UKIP,

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Ross Brown of the Queen's, Tina McKenzie of NI21 at Mark Brotherston

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of the Conservatives, who was 20. -- Ross Brown of the greens. Now we

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know who are three MEPs are. It is the length of time this card has

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taken that has wanted another debate. Politicians from across the

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party say next time it has to be very different. -- this count has

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taken. As we've just heard, there's been

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criticism of the time the count has taken. Some politicians say the

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process has been understaffed, but the Chief Electoral Officer says

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technology is the best way to speed up the counting. Conor Macauley

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reports. They had set aside one day for the

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kind but by mid-evening it was clear it was going to stretch into a

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second one. The long hours took their toll on everyone waiting the

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declarations, especially the candidates. There has been criticism

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of the delay in declaration of both the local government and European

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results. The DUP say it was simply an issue of staffing. In my view

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what is wrong, they do not have enough people to count the votes and

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they need to put more people in and get more professional about it and

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organise it more effectively. There is no magic about it. I think that

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is what is the problem. The chief electoral officer rejected that

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saying he had enough people for the job. He contrasted herewith the

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Irish Republic, which is still doing the last of its seats after three

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days of counting. He suggested technology would speed things up.

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You have to look at the fact, we are using a system in the 21st century

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that is not fit for purpose. If we are going to progress and become

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more efficient we will have to move to a different type of counting. All

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the bar codes will -- all the papers will have a bar code and be scammed

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by computer and it will happen in hours. -- be scammed. He has made

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this case were some time. After 2011 he raised a display of electronic

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counting using software by a Derry -based company that not many

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politicians turned up to see it. The same company ran Scottish government

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elections in 2012 which went smoothly. More than 2100 seats were

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filled and the last of the results was invited time on day one of the

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count. That said, it electronic counting has not been without

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difficulties in the past and any new system would need extensive stress

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testing before introduction. And Sinn Fein have this evening

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clinched their third European seat south of the border.

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Lynne Boylan has been joined by Matt Carthy in Midlands North West.

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And there's more analysis of the European election on Stormont Today

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on BBC Two at 11.20. And it will be on radio Ulster in the morning from

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6:30am. A Belfast-based company is to more

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than double its workforce by creating 107 jobs in the financial

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services sector. Spence provides pensions advice to a range

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of client companies and has developed new software for the

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industry. The posts will pay average salaries of ?32,000 and the company

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says it finds no shortage of graduates to recruit.

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We did find an opportunity to recruit graduates from some of the

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larger employers -- because some larger employers had reduced their

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graduate intake. We are seen as a competitive and attractive place to

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work, so I would feel that we are well placed to continue to recruit

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people locally. Three men are due in court in Dublin

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in the morning in connection with a bomb found in a car in County Louth

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on Sunday night. The device was discovered when gardai investigating

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dissident republican activity stopped a vehicle at Kilcurry near

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Dundalk. The men, aged 37, 38 and 44 will appear at a special criminal

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Court. A priest in County Donegal has

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warned young people to stay away from drugs following the death of a

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young man in the village of St Johnston. Oisin Crawford, who was

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22, died after going to a house party in Main Street in the early

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hours of yesterday morning. Other people at the party became ill and

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one man is in a critical condition in hospital. The gardai are

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investigating a drugs link to the death. The local priest has been

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speaking to the young man's family who are trying to deal with what's

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happened. They are absolutely devastated. They

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are a close-knit family anyway. They are a jolly and outgoing type of

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family. Oisin was the oldest boy in a family of three and had been

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working with his father in his business for a number of years.

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Father and son were like brothers. And now for a look ahead at what the

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weather has in store, here's Barra Best.

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We have had fine weather, and the sunshine. Tomorrow, things are

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looking cloudy. Some shoppers this evening which will die away. For

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most of us it will be dry with temperatures about eight or nine

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degrees. Dry into tomorrow morning at a bright start but through the

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day it will go downhill. The best of them bright weather will be across

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the West. It will not take long before the cloud rolls and across

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the East bringing with it patchy light rain and drizzle. That will

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eventually push its way eastwards through the course of the day.

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Further south and west, it is a better picture through much of

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Ireland with good spells of sunshine. Elsewhere across Britain,

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for southern Scotland into Wales, we have rain for central and northern

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areas of England. We have weather warnings on the east coast of

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injured for heavy downpours and there could be localised flooding as

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a result. For the south coast a drier picture with temperatures of

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17 or 18 degrees. For Northern Ireland into the afternoon, it will

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feel cool, especially along the Antrim coast. Temperatures below

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average for the time of year. We get the best of the bride the weather,

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temperatures will reach 16 or 17 degrees. -- bright and sunny

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weather. Temperatures cooler for many of us tomorrow as they are

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below average at 12 or 13 degrees. In Friday and Saturday, it looks as

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though things will steadily improved.

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Our next local news and weather update is at 6:25am during Breakfast

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on BBC One. We are on Facebook and Twitter. Good night.

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