21/12/2016 BBC Newsline

This is BBC Newsline with Tara Mills.

Murdered by being thrown off a bridge into a river -

her family say they feel let down by her killer's sentence.

We feel justice has not been done today and it should be a life for a

life. They have taken our man but also our children's grandmother.

The Executive considers completely shutting down its controversial

It's time to go - the UUP and the SDLP call

for the Assembly Speaker Robin Newton to stand down.

Hundreds of people are arrested as the PSNI crack down

We have arrested 241 people in the first three weeks of this year's

campaign. And also on the programme tonight:

We're getting in the mood for Christmas with the first

in our school carol series. A goal of the season contender

as the Belfast Giants edge out Manchester storm to

reach the semi-finals Wintry showers straight out of the

Arctic and the warmest Christmas Day on record. It is nothing but buried.

The daughters of a county Antrim woman who drowned after being thrown

40 feet from a bridge say justice has not been done after her

murderer was jailed for a minimum of nine years.

The body of 61-year-old Pauline Carmichael

who was dressed in her pyjamas was found washed up

on the shores of Lough Neagh in February last year.

Her partner's son, 38-year-old former soldier Alan Foster,

Our north east reporter Sara Girvin was at Belfast Crown Court.

Pauline Carmichael was a mother of seven and grandmother to 16. It was

a row with Alan Foster that saw her carrot to her death. The court heard

after she had called police over his partying, he picked up while she was

still in her pyjamas. A neighbour heard her screaming pleading with

him to let her get her other shoe. He walks with her over her shoulders

from the flat they shared the nearly a mile before throwing her off a

bridge. She drowned in the water 40 feet below and was washed away. A

postmortem examination revealed she had sustained a broken bolt -- bone

in her throat as well as multiple rib fractures. Her daughter said she

would have been terrified in the months leading up to her death. Her

biggest fear of all was water and that was the thing that took a lie.

We can only imagine what she felt all was thinking when she fell over

that bridge. The court heard it was accepted that Foster suffered from

prose dramatic stress disorder as result of his service in Bosnia and

Iraq. -- post-traumatic stress disorder. The prosecution barrister

said he knew exactly what he was doing. Foster had previously denied

the killing before pleading guilty after the jury for his trial had

been sworn in. Miss Carmichael's daughters said a minimum of nine

years was not enough for a life sentence. We feel justice has not

been done today. It should be a life for our life. Not only have they

taken our mum, they have taken our children's grandmother. The thing we

have to listen to come the things that she went through, has damaged

us as a family. She was a good and loving person and unfortunately we

have lost her. The judge said the circumstances of the murder were

particularly callous and described it as a wicked act but he said he

had taken into consideration Foster's guilty plea and the remarks

he had shown. Foster will now spend at least nine years in prison before

being considered for parole. The Executive is considering

the complete closure of its controversial

Renewable Heat Incentive scheme. It's exploring the option of buying

out the contracts of scheme beneficiaries who are due to receive

subsidy payments over The move would be aimed

at sharply reducing Our Economics and Business editor

John Campbell reports. It is the green energy scheme which

has turned into a financial disaster and a political crisis. A badly

designed, poorly managed subsidy system means the executive effacing

and overspend which will hit its budget the 20 years. Its priority

now is to find some way to reduce that ?400 million overspend as the

First Minister alluded to earlier this week. The hope is to reduce the

cost of the scheme to the executive's budget but they are

subject to consider further work. This matters as we want to be fair

to all those who responded to the incentive as it was intended to

operate and also to ensure our process results the abuse of the

scheme. I understand there our two main options on the table. The first

is to fix the scheme. Reducing the rate in which subsidies paid. The

second is to close the scheme entirely. That would mean giving the

beneficiary is a one-off compensation payment but ending the

stream of subsidies. The executive would like any buyouts to be

voluntary but it is understood to have taken legal advice about making

them compulsory. The cost of that would probably be at least ?60

million. One opposition and melee with a legal background is warning

such a process would be straightforward. If you take away

something that you raise expectation to enjoy coming you have to

compensate for it. If they are not happy with the compensation, they

will have to have an appeal mechanism. It could come very

convoluted and a very extended -- extensive process. They have known

about this for a gear at least and should have been doing this

corrective work well in advance. We still to know who set up this flawed

scheme and who benefited from it. The executive, the DUP, they would

love this issue to go away. If they can find a way to close the scheme

entirely, it is a big step in that direction. It is unlikely to be

straightforward with legal and financial obstacles to overcome. A

final decision is expected to be announced here early in the New

Year. The Ulster Unionist Party,

the SDLP and People Before Profit have all called for the Speaker

of the Assembly Robin He permitted the First Minister

Arlene Foster to make a statement about the controversial heat scheme

without the agreement of the Deputy The UUP leader Mike

Nesbitt has written to the Speaker telling him

to make his decision over Christmas. Robin Newton says he will

respond in the New Year. The DUP say some parties have

nothing to offer other than resignation calls

and cheap walkout stunts. Our Political Correspondent

Stephen Walker has more. Last Monday's Stormont witnessed

chaotic scenes. There was a stand-off in the chamber,

proceedings were delayed and there were points of order and opposition

and other MLA's walked out when the speaker allowed Arlene Foster to

give a statement as First Minister without the agreement of the Deputy

First Minister, Martin McGuinness. Arlene Foster delivered her speech

to a chamber of just DUP MLA's. It was a surreal moment. Now Mike

Nesbitt has written to the speaker telling him to stand down. Mr Newton

needs to stand down as speaker to protect the integrity of the

institutions. He made a gross mistake on Monday. I have studied

his letter and he has misinterpreted standing orders. More importantly he

drove a coach and horses through the fundamental protection of car

sharing, the executive office is joint. At the same Robin Newton has

compromised the office of Speaker. It comes after he apologised in

November for not declaring his links to charter NI when ruling against an

urgent debate on its funding. Should he consider his future? He needs to

think over Christmas whether he is capable and whether he is the right

man for doing the job. Whether he's capable of ensuring we have

impartiality in terms of decisions and whether he will stand up for the

integrity of the institutions as well as standing up to the Minister

and Deputy First Minister. Sinn Fein says the minister has set present

for the future and the people say he should stand down. They say he

should not be the only resignation. I want Mr Newton to step down and

also other people. I would be unhappy if Arlene Foster was

continued to be First Minister. The DUP say some parties have nothing to

offer other than resignation calls and cheap walk-out stunts. Stormont

is now in recess and Robin Newton so they will respond to mark -- to Mike

Nesbitt's letter in the future. This feels different. There is still much

disquiet about Monday's offence. This story may take a pause over

Christmas but it seems likely that in the New Year, calls for Robin

Newton's reservoir -- resignation will continue.

A number of pubs and restaurants in Belfast faced disruption

to their water supply today due to several burst water mains.

The problems began with a burst main on the Grosvenor Road

and there were knock on effects for businesses in the city centre.

Some had discoloured water, while others had no water at all.

The National Trust-owned Crown Bar on Great Victoria Street had

to close its doors this afternoon for a time.

NI Water said they had crews out repairing several different bursts

and the situation should be resolved by pm

Still to come on BBC Newsline before seven:

These young doctors are doing the rounds

in Altnagelvin Hospital - but now a senior academic says

there's an urgent need for another medical school in the North West

to train the next generation of doctors.

More than 200 people have been arrested in the first three weeks

of the police's christmas crack down on drinking and driving.

It's the first time the police are conducting random breath tests

The message is simple. You can be breathalysed at any time, day or

night. It is a first in the UK. PSNI officers like these have the

authority to pull you over and make sure you are not over the limit.

Previously, they would have needed reasonable suspicion before asking a

driver to take a breath test but not any more. Those in the policing

believe it is having an immediate impact. We have arrested 241 people

in the first three weeks of this year's campaign. It is a small

increase on last year. Four more people have ended up being arrested

and will be charged for it and stand the risk of losing their licence

because of a stupid decision they have made. Whenever they have had

too much to drink. We have carried out a lot more breath tests this

year. In the last three weeks since the legislation came into force,

there have been many checkpoints and according to the PSNI, there will be

more over the festive season. To date, 66 people have died on the

roads in Northern Ireland this year and many more have been injured.

These officers are hoping that checkpoints like this will deter

some people from having that one drink which could prove fatal.

A man's escaped injury during a gun attack at a home in Londonderry.

Two shots were fired at the living room window

of the house in Bonds Street in the Waterside last night.

The incident has been condemned by local politicians.

A former commercial manager at the Irish Football Association

has won almost ?30,000 in compensation at a fair

Tracey Campbell was awarded the compensation after claiming

Tracey Campbell was the commercial manager until she was made redundant

in September last year. An employment tribunal found it wasn't

a proper redundancy process stop the IFA just wanted to replace her. Her

boss at the time was Una O'Reilly, a director of sales and marketing. She

was criticised by the tribunal and it concluded the redundancy process

was a sham and was part of a drive by Ms O'Reilly to replace the

claimant with someone else. Una O'Reilly gave evidence, as did Jerry

Clawson, the IFA director of corporate services. The tribunal

found their evidence was unsatisfactory and evasive in

several respects. Tracey Campbell's evidence was clear, convincing and

consistent. The tribunal concluded she had been treated unfairly by the

IFA and awarded her ?28,700 in compensation. Since being made

redundant, she now has a new job. Tonight, the IFA issued a statement

stopped they said they did accept the ruling of the tribunal and would

not be appealing the decision. They said they would learn from any

mistakes which were made. A major cross-border project has

taken a significant step forward. The long-delayed and controversial

electricity inter-connector has been granted planning permission

in the Republic. It's a project which promises

cheaper bills for consumers. Our business correspondent

Julian O'Neill is here. Finally things are starting to

happen. It is an advancement but art project over the line yet. Let us

remind ourselves what we are talking about. This would be a second

cross-border hookup of the electricity grids. We are talking

130 kilometres of overhead power lines stretching from Co Meath to a

substation Tyrone. It will cost ?200 million. The controversy, the

opposition is from communities who live along that route. They want the

power lines to be underground, that they cite health and environmental

risks with this. The plans were to approve overhead power lines. The

rationale for this interconnector is it should give us more reliable and

better security of supply and give our help provide us the opportunity

on occasion to buy cheaper power from the south and that should be

reflected in consumer bills. What stages the project at? We are

lagging behind the decision-making process which has occurred in the

Republic. There is likely to be planning decision on the northern

stretch in the summer. This needs planning approval in both

jurisdictions. There is to be a public inquiry and a final decision

will be made by the infrastructure Minister, Chris Hazzard. Today Sinn

Fein said the southern approval was disastrous and they will keep

campaigning for the underground cables. The argument against

underground doing is it is a much more expensive approach.

A senior academic says there's a urgent need for another medical

school in Northern Ireland to help train the next

Professor Hugh McKenna from Ulster University says there's

a crisis in current staffing levels and that needs to be addressed.

His comments come as the University has applied to the General Medical

Council for accreditation to establish a new medical school

for graduates in the North-West, as Keiron Tourish reports.

Doing the rounds at Altnagelvin Hospital. There is a challenge to

recruit enough doctors in the years ahead to meet the needs of an ageing

population. That is why plans are being developed to open a new model

school in the north-west. It is to recruit more doctors and retain more

doctors in the north-west. The reason why is we have a crisis on

our hands. The doctors we have got are excellent but we don't have

enough of them. There is evidence not just from the acute sector but

also primary care that medicine is on its needs. --. Many have looked

at a number of locations across the Northwest including here. When up

and running, the new medical school could employ as many as 50 staff and

cost in the region of ?20 million. The new medical school would

initially take in entry graduate students and would have cross-border

cooperation. The medical director of the Western Trust says it is crucial

to plan for the future. We have to make the course attractive. We have

no doubt that we will fill posts that are offered and we have to make

jobs for the future attractive. We can parallel the minister's vision

and make sure we address needs in rural and urban communities and

areas of urban deprivation. We would like to do this with a medical

school that offers access and care for the most deprived. The Health

Minister has pledged her support during a recent Finnish Daz visit to

the north-west. I look forward to working through all the detail. I

think it is a good news story for the people of the Northwest. A

medical school country would be really good. That is something that

we are -- that will really benefit the Northwest and I am keen to make

sure we can work with them to develop your property. The target

date is 2019, offering a four-year course to successful applicants. The

political milk -- the political will may exist for it is development but

the challenge is to secure is funding for the long-term future.

Not for sport and news of ice hockey success.

The Belfast Giants are through to the semi finals

of the Challenge Cup after a thrilling game

The quarter-final second leg meeting against the Manchester Storm

produced arguably the game of the season

As Mark Sidebottom reports the Giants eventually won,

but only with a few seconds to spare in dramatic fashion in overtime.

Was there ever a better game of icicle -- of ice hockey stage did in

Belfast? The spectators were treated to pure sporting magic. Manchester

scored three times. Back came the Giants to sweep home. As the match

pink pond from end to end, Taylor Dickens struck again for the

visitors. The yo-yoing continued as David Rutherford swept forward for

Belfast to pick out Chris Higgins. And there was better to come. Much

better, in fact. The equaliser was a thing of outrageous beauty. He dived

and sliced for one of the final individual -- finest individual

goals the arena has ever seen. Like Torvill and Dean dancing to an

alternative bolero, he winced past two get one in clean. Over time

beckoned and with eight seconds remaining on the clock, it was still

deadlocked. Alex Foster popped up with a winner. 4-3 on the night. The

Giants offence to the semifinals. Ulster rugby will have

all their Ireland internationals available for Friday nights

Guinness Pro 12 game against Connacht

which means Rory Best, Andrew Trimble and Paddy Jackson

should be included for the sell It's a busy period coming

up for Ulster both domestically and in Europe and star

player Ruan Pienaar admits We are playing really good teams.

Exeter and Bordeaux again. This is a big month and a lot of physical

games that we are playing on the bounce. It is all about getting

fresh and staying in a positive mindset. If you can get it settled,

Finally its been confirmed that Ed Joyce is to play for Ireland

Paddy McCourt has left by mutual consent. He is thought to be

considering taking a break from the game altogether.

Finally its been confirmed that Ed Joyce is to play for Ireland

Joyce, who has played 17 one day internationals for England said

the prospect of playing test cricket for Ireland made his

We have had more variety in the weather than a Christmas selection

box. We have hailed Stevens -- hailstones on the pictures here.

Tomorrow, more of those wintry showers straight out of the Arctic.

On Friday, Storm Barbra is with us. Overnight tonight, the showers

continue to drive-in. We will see some winter weather over the hills

and some sleet and snow over the highest ground. Tomorrow is more of

the same. That cold feel to the day. There will be some brightness

between no showers but the Northwest is taking the brunt. Thunder and

hail like we have seen today. Not quite the intensity to the showers.

Once we head into the evening, we will look at the wind gauges. Coming

round a little bit more and stop that is the sign that Barbra is on

her way and she will be with us on Friday. Sitting over us on the

middle part of the day. One of the busiest travel days of the holiday

period with gusts of up to 80 mph. Really not a very nice day. We have

some mild air. No sooner is Barbra out of the aware that we have

another storm joining us on Christmas Day. Christmas Eve has a

lull to it and then we have a warning in place the Christmas Day.

If you want to stay up-to-date with the weather, I recommend the weather

website to keep you up-to-date. It wouldn't be Christmas here on BBC

newsline without our carols from schools across Northern

Ireland. Tonight it's the turn

of the Ballykeel Primary # Ding dong merrily on high,

Verily the sky # Is riv'n with angel singing

# E'en so here below, below, # Let steeple bells be swungen,

# By priest and people sungen # Gloria Hosanna in excelsis!

# Ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong, ding-dong,

ding-dong # Deck the halls with bells of Holly # Taser this season

to be jolly. The roads we walk have demons

beneath them...