27/04/2016 BBC Newsline

The father of a young student knocked down and killed by a drunk

driver in south Belfast says he's disgusted with the 7 year sentence

18 year old Enda Dolan died when he was hit

31 year old David Lee Stewart of Gray's Park Avenue in Belvoir

will serve three and half years of his sentence in jail,

and then he'll be on supervised licence on release.

Today, a grieving family came to hear the

punishment for the drunk driver that killed their loved one.

So many other parents have stood in our shoes,

disappointed and disgusted on the sentence and many more

will unfortunately do so in the future unless something

is done to deter individuals from driving under the influence

Enda Dolan was full of promise, a talented musician and athlete.

He was in his first term at Queens University,

In the early hours, Enda was walking along this

section of the Malone Road towards his student accommodation

when the van mounted the curb and hit him,

carrying him for 800 metres and leaving him with fatal injuries.

This crash barrier wasn't here at the time, it had been

removed three weeks earlier and hadn't been replaced.

The man driving was David Lee Stewart.

In the passenger seat, a 21-year-old.

Both of them had been drinking in the city centre.

David Lee Stewart had also taken drugs.

After the collision, the men drove from the scene,

Today, the judge described Enda Dolan's death as

He said the amount David Lee Stewart had to drink before getting

into his van would not have been out of place on a stag night.

Previously, the court had heard he had 13 alcoholic drinks.

But the judge also said the men demonstrated remorse

and he had to take that into account when sentencing.

Stewart was given a seven-year sentence, half of it

The other man wasn't given a custodial sentence.

Instead, his punishment is 50 hours community service and

The court also heard about the impact of the death

The image of our son lying dead in the Royal Victoria Hospital

It has absolutely ruined our lives, all of us.

And there has been absolutely no remorse, non-whatsoever.

We think about all the time, over the past year and a half, we wonder

how his appearance would have changed, what sort of a young man he

would be and how he would be progressing in his career had his

life not being cut short. We have to deal with the loss of him everyday

for the rest of our lives. The mist family celebrations, the

Christmases, the family holidays, the 21st birthday he will not have,

the exams he never sat, the graduation never attended, the

engagement, the wedding and the grandchildren that will never be.

This is our life sentence. The family have also been critical

of the legal process. The legal system in Northern Ireland

is a disgrace and Also, the way the victims's families

are treated is appalling This family, still distraught,

so they will take stock of today's judgment before

considering any appeal process. Police say they're investigating

what they've called a serious incident in an area

of parkland outside Dungannon. The say they're working to establish

the circumstances of the incident, at Peatlands Park, but have not

released any further details. A three hundred million pound

project to regenerate a run-down part of inner-city Belfast has been

brought to a halt. A government department has

withdrawn its support - which was crucial -

believing the private firms involved More from our business

correspondent, Julian O'Neill: Royal Avenue, gay way to Belfast

city centre but behind this main road lies the black -- maniac

gateway. A regeneration plan was seen

as the solution, housing units, Until now, the DSD was on board

and its powers were important in buildings like this pub

which needed to be knocked down We are not against redevelopment,

far from it, but there is more than one place to do it and drawing

a red line around an area The regeneration zone was passed

and the DSD had been working with two developers

who were going to privately The other parties in what was

a three-way development partnership have expressed surprise

and disappointment at They have written to its minister,

asking for an urgent meeting in the hope he can be

persuaded to change his mind. That, though, is

an unlikely scenario. This DSD letter makes clear

the developers had not The DSD has no alternative plans,

but other options can now be explored to bring

the regeneration the area needs. There had been opposition to this

scheme, primarily because it involved as many as 3,000 flats

or houses for students. Businesses say the area

is crying out for a new idea. Our area suffers, as you can see,

by looking around the streets, We are basically the entry point

for Belfast city centre, to the end of Belfast Harbour

and the airports, so we need Local residents are relieved

but angry, claiming the plan was skewed

against community housing needs. We have lost practically 100 social

houses in this development. Now it has fallen through,

is the DSD going to return The cranes are all to do

with Ulster University but the wait for action

in the streets nearby goes on, with the solution probably now

falling to a new minister The sister of an Irish teenager

facing a possible death sentence in Egypt was in Belfast today

to meet the family's lawyers. The Egyptian government has rejected

allegations of ill-treatment of Ibrahim Halawa from Dublin,

who's been in jail without trial He was arrested after being caught

up in anti-government protests. This report from our

Home Affairs Correspondent, This is a moment Egyptian

security forces ended a siege at a mosque

Demonstrators had fled there after violent clashes

They were charged with murder and a range of other serious

Ibrahim Halawa, from Dublin, was one of them.

He is the son of Ireland's most senior Muslim

Three of his sisters were also arrested but were later

One of them was in Belfast today to meet the family's

She is deeply concerned about the way her brother has been

He was electrocuted, he was beaten, he was tortured.

He never attended a trial, he has no access

Those concerns are shared by the United Nations.

It has emerged that officials from the High

Commissioner for human rights road to the Egyptian government last

In their letter, the United Nations team described Ibrahim

Halawa's case as a matter warranting immediate attention.

They say he had been shot in the hand during his

arrest and did not receive proper medical treatment -- in the hands.

Saying he was held in deplorable conditions, the letter adds that

security officers objected him to abuse.

And it was in contravention of basic guarantees

fair trial and due process of law that he had not had access to a

In response, the Egyptian government denied that Ibrahim

Halawa was shot in the hand or had been beaten in the prison.

They said a medical examination had found

traces of old wounds but no recent injuries and described his general

It did address the concerns raised about

Ibrahim Halawa's family say they were on

holiday at the time of the siege and sought

refuge in the mosque to

They have welcomed the UN intervention.

It is very important to our campaign, it is proof of what we

have been saying for two and a half years,

people have been denying this

But the family and their legal team said the

It has got to a stage now where the family

believe it is time for the

glove to come off, as it were, it is time to put pressure

Diplomacy may not work in circumstances where it

is a grave breach of international law

and Ibrahim Halawa's rights as

The family say they are alarmed by reports from

Egypt in recent days that all of those charged may have been found

Hospital Emergency Departments here had an increase in the number

of patients last month compared to the same time last year.

Latest figures show there was a rise of 8.6 per cent.

68 per cent of patients were treated, discharged or admitted

That was despite the ministerial target set at 95%.

There are exactly 100 days to go until the start of this

Team Ireland and Team GB marked the occasion today with celebrations

And for boxer Paddy Barnes it was an extra special day -

he's to be Ireland's flag-bearer at the opening ceremony in Rio.

He will have a chant is to make Olympic history by being the first

Irish as leapt to win medals at three successive games. He won

medals at both the Beijing and London games. This is an added

bonus. I am delighted, over the moon, it is like winning a medal. It

means that much. I hold it in as high regard as winning the medals.

The weather forecast now, with Barra Best:

Prepare for a chilly night as temperatures fall close to freezing

and even below. With a light wind we are likely to see frosty patches

developing. It will be a chilly start to Thursday but largely dry

before we see rain coming in and wants a queer is out of the way it

will turn colder. A frosty start, -- it will clear out of the way. It

pushes his way is worse, across much of Britain, some western areas with

showers but largely dry with sunshine out there at that backward

to enjoy. The will of art that bag of that parts of England. Some snow

over high ground. Some outbreaks of ring, but sunny spells further

north. Temperatures will stable low average for the time of year,

rounding out at seven or 8 degrees. It will feel chilly with the western

winds. Another cold night as we go into Friday, Friday we are likely to

see a bit of wet weather but a fair amount of dry weather and sunshine,

but there was tempered yours will stay below normal for the time of

year. Looking to the bicolour day weekend, some dry weather on

Saturday, Sunday is shaping up to be cloudier.

Our next BBC Newsline is at six twenty five in the morning

You can also keep updated with News Online.

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