09/07/2014 BBC Newsline

New security measures for electronic devices have been introduced for all

flights This is BBC Newsline. The headlines

this Wednesday evening: Could free travel

on public transport for the over-60s be in jeopardy

because of funding problems? Counting the cost of the cancelled

Garth Brooks concerts - we'll have It's graduation season with students

celebrating the end of their academic life, but will they have to

leave to further their careers? I ask students and a Stormont

minister. A business traveller twist to

phones, and iPod and a laptop had to get to security, so how will he fare

with new, restrictions? Celebrating a century of hurling at Ballymoney

and beyond, we are here at a new exhibition.

And still warm, but don't be expecting

the same sunshine tomorrow. A change is on the way.

Funding to help pay for free travel on buses and trains for the over-60s

is under threat, according to the Transport Minister.

The concessionary travel scheme costs millions of pounds

Now that cash may not be forthcoming as a result of

Here's our business correspondent, Julian O'Neill.

Public transport is free to everyone over 60. The policy has been in

place since 2008 and funding comes from Stormont, but now there are

peers a risk that money could be lost. The minister responsible for

public transport says he faces a fight to get ?9 million this scheme

needs this year. I think the fundamental challenge to the

Executive is, will it maintain a concessionary fares scheme paid for

in full by the Executive as we move forward? The backdrop to this is

tough financial decisions for Stormont. Budgets for each

department are being high cold over by the Executive. There is no

agreement yet but Danny Care of the suggests his department looks like

losing out. On the streets, free travel for the elderly is popular.

Into town and stone to Newcastle, down to Carrickfergus and all the

small towns. We love it. It is very good. We couldn't do without it. It

is one of the most beneficial things that was ever a bid to us as

pensioners. Would you like to see it continue and what Id be your feeling

of Stormont said there was no longer money to pay for it? It would be a

major disaster. This is Danny Kennedy firing a warning shot. Even

if the money is lost, it might not mean pain and to free public

transport, it may just pose a headache to the Minister and

Translink to find another way to deliver it. A letter from Garth

Brooks to the promoter Peter Aiken says his heart is breaking because

of the controversy over the five cancelled concerts. While the ship

carrying his equipment is still on its way to Ireland, he says it is

still five concerts or none. He is expected to talk to the American

media tomorrow. With that controversy featuring in the Dail

today, some of the key players have not been saying much today, but as

Shane Harrison reports, others have not been slow to voice their

disappointment. This B run by a Newry man is about

ten minutes' walk from Croke Park. All 12 of his rooms were booked

for all five nights of the The cancellations, he believes, will

devastate the hospitality industry. Some believe anything

up to 50 million euro I would be very fearful for the

reputation of Dublin. Quite a large majority of the people who were

staying with me were from the north of Ireland. They had thought they

might come to Dublin for the weekend but I think a lot of them are little

upset if not annoyed with what has happened and I think they will avoid

Dublin for the foreseeable future. Garth Brooks last week issued

an ultimatum - all five concerts or none, after Dublin City Council gave

the go-ahead for only three. With 400,000 tickets sold,

there were mixed views among those Absolutely gutted for the local

community and for the whole country. It didn't need to get to this level.

I am terribly sorry for all the fans and I am ashamed of the handful of

residents who have destroyed this. A very to the pointed that Garth

Brooks took a decision to be petulant and Deeside after doing his

account, because the City Council made a decision to put it down to

three concerts he decided he was not going.

The GAA and Aiken Promotions have been

accused by some residents who live near Croke Park of corporate greed.

The association says it regrets that the concerts aren't going ahead,

but was unable to provide an interviewee.

The concert saga, variously described

as a shambles and a fiasco, will be debated by a parliamentary

or Oireachtas committee tomorrow, with all the main players

The concert issue was again raised in the Dail today.

I am very disappointed that it hasn't happened and it will not

happen now, but it is a bitter economic lesson to have learned.

There are processes that have to be put in place that work. They work

everywhere else, they should work here also.

With the controversy so far having generated more thunderous noise than

light, Garth Brooks is expected to give his side of the story tomorrow

when he talks to the media in America about 5pm our time.

It's widely believed here that common sense did not prevail

and that none of the main players involved emerge

with their reputations particularly enhanced - not Croke Park,

the city and council, and not Aiken Promotions nor Garth Brooks.

So short of some last-minute development in Dublin, the main

issues for fans in the North boils down to how to get their money back.

Businesses have also been counting the cost

of just how much they might be out. Mervyn Jess reports.

So, day two of the Garth Brooks bombshell.

And with 400,000 disappointed ticket holders,

you would have expected a deluge of calls to consumer advice centres.

But apparently not - at least for the time being.

We have had mainly general enquiries but we don't expect to receive much

complaints until people are going through the refund process and

encounter difficulties. At the minute there is a lot of media

coverage and people understand what is going on.

Fans camped out for days in the depth of winter

And now they're left wondering, for what?

Some of those people were in today and they are devastated because they

are not getting to see heart -- Garth Brooks. They have waited 17

years to see his conqueror, some of them for the first time, so they are

fans and the heartbroken Garth Brooks is not coming to Ireland.

Businesses north and south are taking a big head over

cancellations. This bus company will lose thousands of pounds. This has

cost the company approximately ?700,000. -- ?7,000 and a lot of

advertising on top of that. We had people who had booked transport to

do to Garth Brooks. They had paid up front so we are now refunding their

money. It will take a while to get it organised. For now music fans

will have to make do with Garth Brooks CDs and cardboard cutouts.

Campaigners for the truth about the 1974 Birmingham pub

bombings say they are keeping their options open about who was

The IRA has never admitted carrying out the bombings in

The Justice For The 21 group gave evidence to MPs today as part

of an inquiry into letters sent to on-the-run paramilitaries.

Here's our political editor Mark Devenport.

21 people died and more than 180 were injured when

bombs exploded in two pubs in the centre of Birmingham 40 years ago.

Six men were sentenced to life for the bombings,

but 16 years later their convictions were quashed after their confessions

Today the brother and sister of Maxine Hambleton, one of the

Birmingham victims, gave evidence to a Westminster committee.

They expressed their anger about the scheme supplying letters

to on-the-run paramilitaries, then raised questions

about why the IRA had never admitted carrying out the bombings.

In the 1970s, obviously now the British government is trying to

discredit the IRA, Birmingham isn't Northern Ireland, it is the

mainland, and we are always viewed as a second city and lower than

that, but at the time the 1970s was a dark and dismal decade, I think

Birmingham was used as a soft touch to do what happened related to the

Troubles. The family work radical of the police and others in authority

who they claim treated them like lepers.

They called for an inquiry into the bombing and

an investigation aimed at bringing those responsible to justice.

They were some of the most controversial killings

of the Troubles. Eight IRA men shot dead

in an SAS ambush as they attacked Loughgall police station.

Now the Secretary of State has intervened in the case

She says her move is in the interests of national security.

The Attorney General, however, says Theresa Villiers' decision is

profoundly wrong. Eunan McConville reports.

As they began a gun and bomb attack on the police station, the SAS

opened fire. An inquest was held in 1995,

but six years later, the European Court of Human Rights declared that

the investigation into the killings The case has been with the Attorney

General for Northern Ireland, He was to make a decision on whether

a new inquest should proceed. Now the Secretary of State has

intervened, certifying that the The difficulty is that the term

national-security means whatever the government wants it to mean. It is

not defined anywhere. We see this as part of a relentless campaign by the

UK Government to prevent the truth coming out about what its agents did

during the conflict. Theresa Villiers' intervention means

that the decision about a new inquest now goes to

Dominic Grieve in his capacity as Advocate General for Northern

Ireland - that is, Whitehall's chief My decision is to apply the law and

if national security considerations are at stake, this is a reserved

matter for the advocate general to make the decision on whether it is

appropriate. John Larkin's office has issued

a letter saying that he believes the Secretary of State's decision to

be profoundly wrong in principle. The letter goes on to say that

Mr Larkin is reflecting We have just heard that for families

of those killed at Loughgall will be seeking a judicial review into the

decision by Theresa Villiers to certify national-security interests

in the case for a new inquest. A new School of Law at Queens University

has been granted planning permission.

The redevelopment will create 450 construction jobs.

While those jobs are guaranteed, the future is not so clear

for many of the law students and others graduating

from university this week. Donna is at Queen's this evening.

This is graduation season, when after years of study, students

A recent newspaper survey suggested that two-thirds of people

between the ages of 16 and 24 want to build their future

As for the graduates, we have been speaking to some of them. I want to

move away. Spanish is my professor language. I plan to stay in Northern

Ireland. There is not a lot of job opportunities but this is my home

and my mummy is here so I will be here for a while yet. I will be

training as a solicitor so I will stay in Northern Ireland but

eventually I would like to move. It is not my long-term plan to stay in

Northern Ireland. Why is that? Brighter, sunnier places. I would

like to see the world and see what the raise. I will stay in Northern

Ireland. I am doing a Masters next year, I just won a scholarship which

pays the fees, so I will see about a Ph.D. If I am successful. We have

jobs over in Bristol so we're looking forward to getting over

there and starting work. I have more graduates with me. Nikolai, you

qualified in languages so I would expect you to go abroad. My plan is

to go to France to teach English as a foreign language in a primary

school for 12 hours a week, in a place south-west of Paris. With

Debbie any point in you staying? As a language graduate it is important

to put my skills into practice which I overly done in Spain. Karen, you

studied English. What are your plans? I have a four-week placement

in Munich in Germany with the tourism industry, which will give me

a chance to live away from home. When I come back I want then decide

whether to do a PGCE or a course to teach English as a foreign language,

which allow you to go to any non-English speaking country in the

world. When we look at the unemployment register, we see a high

percentage of young people. The minister in charge of universities,

Stephen Farry, is with me. The impression is that you are not doing

enough to keep graduates here. We have seen a record year for

investment Northern Ireland for job creation, ahead of targets and those

are for graduate jobs. There are a whole range of opportunities. We

have also doubled the number of Ph.D. Is we support in Northern

Ireland so there were some good postgrad opportunities. We saw many

people graduating and all the pomp and ceremony here this week, but

many of them are telling us they are going away. Jobs are just not here.

As our economy changes over the next years, we will need more people with

higher level skills and that means graduates and high-level

apprenticeships, so I am confident we will see good economic prospects

for young people. We have to create the right economic context and

political stability so people want to build their future here. In

regard to Queens, Trevor Johnston, you have to much jobs with

provocations and degrees. Are you getting that right? We survey

graduate each year, so 94% of graduates last year or in employment

or further study, and of those in employment, 80% are in Northern

Ireland. Yet we hear of many law graduates who cannot get jobs. We

work closely with schools and we have had engaged in on the campus

this year in terms of players who want to be here. We have opened

bookings for October and have been inundated by players who want to

come onto the campus. Today was the last day of graduation ceremonies

here. Whatever the graduates are doing, we wish them well.

Ballymena's Wrightbus has won a contract worth more than ?30

million to supply double-decker buses to Singapore.

The deal is its fourth consecutive contract

The company's Wrightbus International arm will supply it

with 415 buses over the next three years in partnership with Volvo Bus.

From now on, when you're flying in or out of the UK, you'll have to be

able to show that mobile devices in your hand luggage can be powered on.

The new security measures mean potentially having to leave

an uncharged phone or tablet behind at the airport,

So what do passengers think? Conor Macauley went to find out.

Could we see the array that you have? At Belfast International

Airport, I meet David Smith, who works for a company and agrees to

put on display all the mobile devices he is about to carry on his

flight. That's two phones, a personal iPad and a work laptop.

There is another work iPad locked away that he cannot get out. You

need a phone, but do you have to carry everything you have? Yes, two

iPods that back iPad is, one phone and laptop for work, one for

personal use. Maybe if my employer was not as stingy with version calls

on the work mobile I could sacrifice that. What is the battery like on

these? They are all full, I made sure so they can be switched on. So

if he had to sacrifice an uncharged device to catch a flight, would he

be prepared to do would? If I have to, yeah. It is the busiest time of

the year at our local airports and possibly the worst time to introduce

new security arrangements, especially when they are about

Willey. The advice issued is pretty unspecific. Authorities say it will

affect some UK flights into some airports and they are not saying

which ones, so the upshot is that anyone flying into any UK airport

will have to prove that their mobile devices are capable of being powered

up. As you might imagine, holiday makers do not relish the extra

hassle. I would just bring a charger. I think a phone is less of

an issue. It is usually powered up at computers take forever. And that

sums it up cash travelling just got a little more tiresome as a

trade-off for greater aviation security. I hope they have a good

trip. Football fans were left stunned at

Brazil's 7-1 defeat to Germany in It was the worst result

in the host nation?s history. Michael Fitzpatrick has been

speaking to some fans who are still They were playing football in the

grounds of City Hall today. Last night, fans were watching the game

went quickly optimism turned to disappointment. On the pitch, the

German goals kept coming. The shock in the stadium was mirrored here and

more than a few tears were shed by Brazilians on this side of the

Atlantic. Lanny runs this double-decker-bus

cafe in south Belfast. At the start of the tournament,

she and her friends were confident. Despair, we were in shock. We

thought it was a replay from another match that was not happening to us.

We didn't believe it was happening to us. After we have done so well

throughout the whole tournament. The Brazil team could have done with

this bus parked in front Germany scored five goals

in 18 minutes And Brazilians weren't

the only people feeling deflated. Residents on this street

in west Belfast entered a World Cup sweepstake before the tournament,

each house flying the flag No-one was answering the door

at the Brazil house this afternoon. Unfortunately, her father-in-law

offered money for the ticket but she refused. I would have sold it

because I didn't fancy Brazil. I got bells, I got a good run for my

money, so on Sunday there will be a street party for the kids and then

we will watch the match on the big screen.

Brazil might not have a World Cup party, but in this corner of

Northern Ireland, someone will be celebrating come the final whistle.

A different sport now. Mark Sidebottom's in Ballymoney.

Yes, I am in Ballymoney Townhall Faulkner -- ordinarily this room

would be steeped in motorcycling merchandise but here, a hurling

Jersey from the 1940s, boots and a ball from the 1960s and a stick from

the 21st-century. There is a unique hurling exhibition here. Here is the

man responsible, Daniel Taylor, celebrating 100 years of hurling

history in the locality. How much effort has gone into this? A

tremendous amount of effort has gone into it. The public response has

been fantastic, the GAA have supported us and we have had is that

is from as far away as Toronto, New York and Alabama. Have they a

favourite item and have you? I know there are hundreds of items here. A

big draw is the Watson's hurling stick from the 2012 championship

final. He remains the only man to have scored a hat-trick in an

All-Ireland final. Here is a proud man, Harry Connolly, who for 50

years was treasurer of the North Antrim County hurling board and he

is also deputy mayor of Ballymoney. Is this a proud day? A very proud

day to be here and see all the stuff from the local clubs. Ballymoney,

Rasharkin, Dunloy, they go on and on, and as Daniel said, they have

come from near and far. They have. We were led to believe over 1000

people have been here since the exhibition opened in May. That is a

proud record. Daniel, I give the final word to you. It runs for a few

more weeks and you are still looking for hurling gems. How long have

people got to get them in? We have until the 26th of July when the

exhibition closes and we are always looking for people to come down and

learn about hurling. That is it from this unique hurling exhibition here

in Ballymoney. Now time for the weather, and summer return today.

Lovely but, be the best day of the next few, so I hope you made the

most of it today and it was described as like the Copacabana in

Portrush. It may not be like that over the next few days. This cloud

moves in from the west that still some brightness on offer for parts

of Antrim into County Down, but the cloud rolling in elsewhere and it

will thicken up. Tonight that cloud edges in. It will eventually produce

rain. You may get the odd moderate burst in the north but for most of

us the rain will be light and it is a mild and muggy night with

temperatures holding in double figures. Tomorrow is a different

note, much cloudier and we get off to a damp start with patches of rain

and drizzle breaking out anywhere through the morning. Very great with

mist and health fog but as we head to the afternoon a lot of it will

fizzle away, just a few pockets remaining. It will also feel muggy

with the cloud cover and we might get the odd right spell breaking

through, especially in parts of the north and east, but it cannot be

guaranteed so we are looking at more cloud than sunshine. It will not be

the same sort of evening for eastern areas, may be some cloud around and

spots of rain, which will be the case tomorrow night. It will be

another mild and muggy night with temperatures in double figures. For

Friday, apart from one or two showers we are still holding onto

cloudy weather and humidity, with this band of rain towards the west.

That moves it away in on Friday night into Saturday and that means

outbreaks of showery rain, Sunday is little drier.

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