08/02/2016 BBC Newsline

That is all from the BBC's news at six and it

Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline:

one man dead in a Dublin hotel - a dissident republican

Putting politics aside - could Manchester hold some answers

for Northern Ireland's health service?

A homeless charity says four rough sleepers have died in Belfast

As hundreds rally for jobs in Ballymena, we ask what future

After the opening round of the Six Nations championship,

Ireland are still hopeful of lifting this trophy for an unprecedented

And yet another weather warning's been issued for rain.

I'll have your latest forecast later in the programme.

Dissident republicans have claimed they carried out a shooting

in Dublin on Friday in which a man was killed and two others wounded.

The Continuity IRA has threatened to carry out further attacks

on what it calls "drug dealers and criminals".

The Gardai say they believe at least six people were involved

Here's our home affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney.

It was audacious as well as ruthless. In broad daylight, and men

wearing police style SWAT team uniforms and armed with AK-47

assault rifles brought terror to a Dublin hotel. Inside, people were

attending away in for a boxing tournament. They were soon running

for their lives as the gunman opened fire.

One man was shot dead and two others wounded. Moments later, two other

gunman one disguised as a woman, were photographed running from the

hotel. A van, believed to have been used by the killers was found burnt

out a short distance away. The Gardai were back at the scene of the

shooting this morning as the hunt for the killers goes on. Police have

said they believe the attack was part of an ongoing feud between

criminal gangs in Dublin. But in a statement to the BBC, a man claiming

to speak on behalf of the leadership of the Continuity IRA said its

members were responsible. He claimed the man killed, David Byrne, was

targeted because he was involved in the killing of dissident republican

in Dublin four years ago. Alan Ryan, a leading member of the Real IRA in

Dublin, was shot dead in September 20 12. The Continuity IRA statement

said while the man was not a member of the organisation, it wasn't going

to stand back and allow drug dealers and criminals to target Republicans.

It also warned that other attacks are planned. The statement said

members of the Continuity IRA have an authorised to carry out further

operations. The Gardai have been on a state of high alert since the

shooting on Friday. Armed police officers have been manning

checkpoints because of fears of attempted retaliation. We are also

conscious that there is speculation that people may be talking about

retaliation in this matter and the Gardai has been very active since

the event occurred. There have been numerous patrols, armed patrols, out

in Dublin city last night and they will continue out in the coming

days. The use of AK-47 assault rifles certainly bears the hallmarks

of violent republican attacks. At this stage, there is no way to

independently verify the claim by the Continuity IRA.

Our Dublin correspondent, Shane Harrison joins me.

What is the view in Dublin about this dissident republican claim? I

was at the Regency Hotel this morning and part of it is still

sealed off or forensic examination, indicating that the Gardai

investigation is still at an early stage. The Continuity IRA claim will

be investigated and Gardai say they are keeping an open mind. But I have

to say it's being treated with a degree of scepticism because it

would be unprecedented for one dissident republican paramilitary

group to avenge the murder of the leader of another. And Gardai

reportedly have no intelligence that David Byrne was involved in the

murder of Alan Ryan. It's still widely believed here that Freddie's

killing was linked to an ongoing Dublin criminal gang feud and the

murder last year in Spain of Gary Hutch. What sort of political

reaction has been? Gardai have come in for criticism for their alleged

late response to the crime and for their lack of intelligence about it.

Especially when some media outlets suspect that the leading figures in

one Dublin criminal gang would be present, including the son of one of

the leaders. This morning, at an election news Conference, the

Justice Minister flagged by the Taoiseach, defended the force. They

had no intelligence which they believe would warrant their presence

there. I suppose the harsh reality is that intelligence is not always

available in relation to the commission of crime. One has to say

that. It's not my place to second guess the operational decision that

the Gardai took. As I said, we are in the middle of a general election

and political points are being scored. Also about the use of AK-47

rifles and whether they were originally IRA weapons. This

afternoon, the Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams issued a statement in

which he said the Continuity IRA were not the IRA. He has been

criticised in recent days be saying that there is no such place as

gangland and for calling for the end to the nonjury Special Criminal

Court. He also described those who carried out the murder on Friday as

thugs who should be locked up and he said he and other Sinn Fein

representatives have in recent times, received death threats. Thank

you. In a bold move our MLAs are being

asked to put their politics to the side to help make our health

system world class. With big decisions to be made

that may not be popular with Northern Ireland's voters,

we've been to Greater Manchester where the politicians have agreed

to put health first. Politicians there signed up

to a plan that includes reducing the number of emergency

departments from 10 to four. They estimate up to 300 lives

could be saved by concentrating From Manchester, our

Health Correspondent Manchester also has its health

problems. Just like Northern Ireland, there are soaring waiting

lists, older people with chronic health conditions and services

duplicated across hospital sites. But Greater Manchester misdiagnoses

triggered health authorities to come together and politicians to put

their differences aside. Health care in Greater Manchester is not great,

the population here have significant issues. You cannot become a

politician and cannot lead and then not make decisions and at every

level the leaders in the room to leadership and said it will happen.

Normally from opposing sides, according to these two councillors,

political harmony was crucial. With political resolve and resilience

tested, of course, but is there an assault amongst us that says we have

got to do something differently, pragmatically, using evidence to do

that? Yes, we will. How did they get here? Last February and memorandum

of understanding was signed setting out the principles for devolving

Health and Social Care Board in politicians working together. A

strategic health and care strategy partnership was created, consisting

of ten Greater Manchester local authorities and 12 clinical

commissioning groups. To get the public involved, and there will be

involved to lead the change and all political and health officials will

have a vote when a contentious issue comes up. It hasn't all been smooth,

there has been a judicial review will be attempts to reduce the

number of emergency departments that are set to be cut from ten to four.

For those involved, it's all about the politicising health. I think it

was knowing the alternative is worse, no one but the finances,

services, the health of the population is going in the wrong

direction and it took politicians and others to be brave enough to

take that step to say yes, we will do something different, take the

risk of doing the right thing with a population, rather than doing what

we have always done. But those working at the coal face, there is

this morning. The real problem comes in about the cost-cutting. When that

comes in, so many things you want are reduced. The big elephant in the

room, to start getting some cherry picking. We have got to be very

careful about it, in this whole process, cherry picking of certain

things is not taken over by the private sector. Clearly Manchester

is only at the start of a long and potentially difficult journey. But I

already having signed deal in the bag, are off to a good start.

A homeless charity says four people who were sleeping rough in Belfast

A man, believed to be in his 30s, died on the main thoroughfare

in the city centre, as Kevin Sharkey reports.

This is where he died, a city centre doorway. Among his friends and those

who help them, the man was known as Jimmy. His full name is not being

released. But one of the charities who helped and believes he might

still be alive if he wasn't sleeping rough. If he had had been in a

normal home, without lying in a doorway. Charity workers who called

to see Jimmy every night said he was a likeable character but he wasn't

here every night last week, he was in hospital. When the volunteers

call to see him on Thursday night after he was discharged, he told

them he had been treated procedures. Two days later, he was dead. The

exact cause of his death is not known yet but today, a call for more

help for people living on the streets. We need to reach out and

find out what each individual person that is sleeping on our streets, but

there are specific need is and address those needs. And people with

these underlying issues will be on the streets of Belfast again

tonight, sleeping rough. You are watching BBC Newsline. Still

to come... Jonny Sexton says Ireland's blushes against Wales but

what chance of a record third Six Nations trophy?

New figures for local manufacturing show it's continuing to struggle,

with month after month of jobs losses and falling orders.

At the weekend the actor Liam Neeson added his voice to calls for action

Here's our business correspondent Julian O'Neill.

Local manufacturing is having it tough and few places have been left

reeling like Ballymena where Michelin and JT I Gallaher is well

close factories by 2018. A union rally on Saturday called for action

with its message endorsed by the town's most high profile celebrity.

In the face of thousands of well-paid jobs vanishing, giving up

manufacturing is... Simply not an option. It's so sad we are at this

point and there's not a future for the likes of me my friends. You

dated today from the Ulster Bank highlights in's current woes. Jobs

are going month after month and orders or flat. Or falling. Unions

label it a crisis and want the government strategy to attract

replacement jobs which pay well. It can't be old on service jobs or call

centres, it can't be built on the sort of jobs that are not even

paying proper wages or proper hours contracts. We want a bright future

and a proud future for Ballymena. There has been better luck with

overseas investment in other sectors like computing, take this US firm,

announcing 88 new jobs were Belfast today. The Finance Minister was

here, you was in Ballymena. And insists Invest NI has not given up

on manufacturing. They haven't thrown the Tao Lin, let's remember

they have to respond to what global circumstances art and the global

situation and I think they are still best place to do that and that's why

I have confidence that Invest NI will continue to do what is best for

Northern Ireland. -- haven't thrown in the towel in. It will add to the

Manufacturing challenge and things could remain downbeat in this sector

for longer yet. Our Economics and Business Editor

John Campbell is here. Overall manufacturing, is it in good

or bad shape? It's had a good last three years, strong growth, we've

been growing faster in manufacturing and the rest of the UK, adding lots

of jobs. But there has been a noticeable slowdown in the last six

months, that's really to do with the global economic outlook and because

that outlook is so uncertain, especially in China and that's a

place that has bought lot of manufacturing exports, that could be

trouble to come on that front. What interest has been from global

manufacturing companies that they want to invest here, they want to

work your? We are not getting global companies in manufacturing coming

along and saying we will build new factories on greenfield sites, that

hasn't been happening but what has been happening over the last three

or four viewers, American companies in particular have bought local

Northern Ireland companies like those in Tyrone or banker, they are

part of bigger American corporations that there is investment and puts

Northern Ireland in today's global supply chains. But it can be a

double-edged sword because when you are a small part of the big company,

jobs are not so sticky for Northern Ireland and Invest NI has put money

into manufacturing. Bombardier Aerospace be the biggest recipient

for Invest NI grants. What's the likelihood that the investment will

be on the same scale as previously? We need to be clear we are not going

to get the same manufacturing involves making those commodity

products like tyres are cigarettes in the same way that we used to make

a huge textile sector employing tens of thousands of people. Those jobs

are not coming back. It needs to be about concentrating on higher value

manufacturing, clusters like aerospace, materials handling, life

sciences, that's the future of manufacturing.

A man has received a suspended sentence for claiming

benefits when he owned properties in Spain.

Dungannon Court was also told that 47-year-old Clive Millar

from Coleshill Crescent in Enniskillen, had almost three

hundred thousand pounds in his bank account.

The former soldier admitted four charges of failing to declare

He was sentenced to 12 months in jail, suspended for two years.

A court has been told that a thief who stole a wallet from a man

who later died at the City Walls in Londonderry is part

The Police believe its members actively target vulnerable

people out socialising in Derry and Belfast.

Here's our North-West reporter, Keiron Tourish.

Before the court was this man from Romania but with an address in

Dublin. He is charged with robbing a man of his wallet on the 23rd of

August last year. The 25 you rolled from Claudy died after he is

believed to have fallen from the city walls in the early hours. After

the disappearance, the PSNI viewed CCTV footage of his final movements.

It showed him being robbed by two men, one of whom was the defendant.

The other man is believed to have left the country. The theft of two

mobile phones worth ?1200 from two women had taken place in the same

area the previous day. Local police officers did not recognise the two

men involved the Gardai were able to identify them from CCTV footage. One

of the two men was arrested in Belfast on Saturday night. A police

officer told the court that the men were part of an organised criminal

gang that specialised in targeting vulnerable people who dropped the

guard without socialising in Belfast and Derry. Bail was refused. The

defendant was remanded in custody until the 3rd of March.

The sports news is next and Ireland and Wales fought each other

to a standstill in their opening Six Nations game in Dublin yesterday.

Stephen Watson is here with the championship trophy

Stephen has brought all the silverware.

Ireland can't now win that after a 16-16 draw with Wales.

But they still can get their hands on the Six Nations trophy

With us to review the game is former Ireland international Stephen

Is frustrating no one is happy with the draw, Ireland with a 13-0 lead,

they'll be disappointed they didn't close out the game. Wells finished

very strongly, a draw was the only fair result. You have been on tour

with these trophies all around the country. What has the feedback been?

The Ulster Bank Trophy tour older all-day, disappointment, relief, if

the game had gone on another five minutes, Wales looked the most

likely to score. But in fairness, what a defence from Ireland. The

bodies will be very sore. Only a six-day turnaround against France.

It will be another cracking game. How confident are you that Ireland

can win the Six Nations for a record third time? It's going to be tough.

It's harder now that we didn't get the win at the weekend but saying

that, don't rule out the guys. They will put in another good shift this

weekend in France and I really fancy them to go and get the win, it's

been a happy hunting ground for us over the last few seasons, why can't

we get another win? We just saw Paddy Jackson kicking and winning

penalty for Ulster on Friday night, top of the PRO12 Lee, what chance

does Ulster have? Great to see, it really is. Ulster have had the

critics over the last number of months but they are sitting pretty

at the top of the league, Paddy Jackson with a penalty, he missed

one a few minutes earlier but he nailed it, I think I gave him Man of

the Match! It's great to see us at the top and hopefully it can

continue. Confident they win against France? I am, I didn't see much

about France at the weekend, I felt sorry for Italy, they put their

heart and soul into it, missing the drop kick, but I am expecting a

great win for Ireland. Thank you. In Gaelic games there was plenty

of Ulster success in the second round of the National football

leagues, but the big story of the weekend was joy at last

for the hurlers of Cushendall. The Antrim champions are through to

the All-Ireland club final. When you haven't achieved something

before and it finally arrives, it's a special moment. Decades of hurt

but now it's another team that feels the pain. Because that little Arun

pocket in the Glens of Antrim have finally made it. Eight previous

cushioned all sides have played in an All-Ireland club semifinal and

all have lost. Class of 2016 different, from a McManus penalty to

the second half. McAfee deciding to single-handedly take on the defence

and flick the ball into the net. Cushioned all dominated from start

to finish. The reward... A place in the All-Ireland club final at Croke

Park on St Patrick's Day. We trained hard over the winter, putting the

hours, we knew once we came we were feeling positive. You have to be

confident about yourself and be thankful we got over the line. The

first time ever in our history we are in the final and it's a massive

honour for me and my players. Monaghan won the championship dress

rehearsal against down by two points, Rory Gallaher was a happy

man because court had absolutely no answer to a rampant Donegal. The

Ulster finalist last year won by ten points and sit joint top of Division

1. Joint top of Division 2, Derry, with another win over Cavan and

Tyrone, defeating by two points, Derry and Tyrone face each other

next month. The sixth round of the Irish Cup saw

five Premiership teams progress to the quarter-finals,

but there was one major casualty as holders Glentoran crashed

out of the competition. They were humbled in a 4-1 defeat

to Glenavon at the Oval, a result that piles the pressure

further on manager Alan Kernaghan. Glenavon will host Loughgall

while Portadown, 3-1 winners over Coleraine, will face

Lurgan Celtic in the last eight. For Crusaders, the double

is still on after a 3-1 victory at Dungannon - they now take

on Carrick or Crumlin Star. But the pick of the quarter-finals

will see Linfield, 7-0 winners over Armagh, travel to Cliftonville who

beat Sport And Leisure Swifts 4-0. Not a great weekend

for the Belfast Giants with a 5-3 defeat to Cardiff in the first leg

of the Challenge Cup semi-final. But there is still good news tonight

for ice hockey fans. It's been confirmed

that the successful Friendship Four tournament will return

to Belfast this year. The French fort tournament last year

was watched by 20,000 fans over two days the SSC arena. The report back

to the States was so positive that they now want to do it again this

year. Exceptional and that's not an overstatement. First-class

across-the-board, teams were thrilled and there was a little

uncertainty going in, frankly. Not knowing, it had never been conducted

before, the feedback from the schools and other members who asked

about it in time the scenes, and even in meetings that we had has

been exceptional. The four teams coming to Belfast include Vermont.

And another one right college in America. I know the student athletes

will be excited for the opportunity, the number one team in the country,

in men's hockey, we have a great following and the fans will be

excited for the opportunity. A delegation from the Belfast Giants

confirmed the renewal of the tournament for at least another year

and it's hoped that can a permanent fixture. I haven't heard anything

wrong the commission to suggest that would be the case and I look forward

to many years of standing in Boston and being able to announce that

another four colleges are putting their faith in the competition and

will come to Belfast. The fact that trust has been placed in the Belfast

Giants and the Odyssey trust to produce another trophy this year

shows the success of the tournament last year and the hope is it will

continue for many years to come. Despite a fine fourth round of 65,

Rory McIlroy finished joint sixth in the Dubai Desert Classic -

four shots behind the winner We escaped the worst

of Storm Imogen last night. The south of Ireland

and Britain were hit. Thank you. We escaped the worst of

the wind. It's breezy, we don't get off too lightly with a Met Office

weather warning in force. That is for rain, widespread rain developing

from the West as we go through the evening, some heavy bursts. A chance

of some localised flooding and treacherous driving conditions.

Temperatures falling quite close to freezing, allowing for a mix of

sleet and snow over the hills and mountains. It's grey and wet to

begin tomorrow. But it's going to improve, slowly, to begin with, some

sleet and snow over the high ground but through the afternoon dryer

weather pushing in from the north coast and sunshine. It will take

some time to clear from southern areas, probably around

mid-afternoon. Temperature is a maximum of seven, feeling colder in

the northerly wind. If you are travelling tomorrow, that finger of

rain stretching across the Irish midlands across to northern Wales,

some showers ahead of that across England, some snow over the high

ground of Scotland, all in all, breezy and cold with temperatures

reaching the high single figures maximum. For the afternoon, Northern

Ireland, the rain sinking southwards, some showers tomorrow

night, quite chilly under clear skies, temperatures falling to

freezing and perhaps just below. That could allow for some stretches

of ice in untreated areas and some frost. A chilly start to Wednesday,

not bad, largely dry and sunny to start, cloud developing through the

day, perhaps they can have to give some scattered showers and the North

Coast but otherwise mainly dry with a maximum of 7 degrees, the wind is

lighter. Towards Thursday and Friday, more low pressure coming in

from the Atlantic, becoming windy again with further unsettled

periods. We keep you up-to-date, stay tuned to the forecast.

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