27/02/2017 BBC Newsline

This is BBC Newsline and these are the headlines

A plan to bring back a single transfer test for primary school

children who currently face up to five days of exams.

There was a shortened version of that and one version, it would help

everyone. -- if there was. Five men walk free from court

after kidnapping a cattle dealer and threatening to cut

off his fingers. Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness

did the interview but the RHI crisis prevented the appointment of a new

head of the civil service. We meet the man who went

into a burning house A man was sleeping on the bed and

the flames were around him and his legs were on fire.

We have a full round-up of the weekend sport -

including a look back at Ireland's defeat of France

And tomorrow is the last day of winter in the meteorological

calendar, and appropriately we have some wintry weather.

First to that plan to bring back a single transfer test

BBC Newsline has been told that talks between the organisations

behind the current two academic selection tests will

The aim is to have a common test in place by November 2019.

The vast majority of local grammar schools use one or both

Our education correspondent Robbie Meredith reports.

For many of these P7 children at Andrews Memorial Primary

in Comber, the transfer tests have come and gone, but

Hard, long. It took ages and there were lots of practice papers. We

could get some tests to keep going over the summer. The principal wants

to see that testing system streamlined. Three Saturdays and

potentially another one if they do blood tests and then another

familiarisation day. When you have that over the course of the autumn

term -- if there was a shortened version of that and just one test it

would help everyone. A document drawn up for

the Education Minister Peter Weir obtained by the BBC suggests

what a common test could look like. Children could sit

three test papers, Two papers will be in

multiple choice format. The third paper will contain writing

and maths exercises. The three papers could be

taken on a single day. For a single test to happen, though,

two significant hurdles AQE charge a fee for entry

to their test, PPTC don't - The tests are also very

different, so what format They are different types of tests.

They are examined across a different number of days. There are

significant differences as far as that is concerned. That still

exists. We are going to have to be very resolved and very determined if

we are to overcome those things. It's significant that the testers

are getting round the same table, but it'll be November 2019

at the earliest before Five men have been given suspended

sentences for their part in a kidnap Their trial heard that a cattle

dealer was held captive by an armed gang in County Tyrone for five days

over an alleged His father was told to pay

?400,000 or his son's Our South West reporter Julian

Fowler was at today's hearing. Paul Gogan, who is originally

from County Meath, thought he was coming to Northern Ireland

to see a meat factory. Instead the cattle

dealer was kidnapped at gunpoint and held here -

in an old refrigerated shipping container at a motorsport

track near Castlederg. The location is so remote the gang

couldn't get a mobile signal. They put Paul Gogan

in the boot of a car He was told to pay ?400,000

or his son's fingers He replied, "Cut away,

"hung up and alerted Gardai. Paul Gogan was eventually released

after ?100,000 was left in a hedge. He was accompanied on his trip

by 59-year-old Robert He pleaded guilty to kidnapping,

false imprisonment and blackmail. The judge said in an idiotic moment

he had taken the law into his own hands to recover

?200,000 he said he was owed - a debt which led to the collapse

of his business and his marriage. The judge said he sold his soul

to the devil when he contacted criminals in Dublin who in turn

recruited some men from Omagh 44-year-old Patrick Noel McCaul

from Slieveard Rise and 27-year-old Matthew McLean from Glenpark Road

pleaded guilty to conspiracy 22-year-old Robert McLean

from Deverney Park and Martin Arkinson,

who's 21, from Ballycolman Estate in Strabane admitted assisting

the blackmailers by buying food The judge said this was an unusual

and indeed remarkable case. The victim and his family did not

give evidence and the central players in the kidnap were not

before the court. The five who admitted their role

were given suspended prison sentences between 18 months

and 2.5 years. Two 19-year-old men are still being

questioned about the murder of a man Richard Miskelly, who was 24 years

old, died after being assaulted He was found lying outside

and died at the scene. We hear about a new initiative

which is helping to break down A man in Londonderry has been

describing how he went into a burning house

to rescue his neighbours, His actions have been praised

by the Fire and Rescue Service. It says the incident underlines

the importance of having Here's our North West

reporter Keiron Tourish. The fire was discovered

in Altcar Park in Galliagh around A local man heard a smoke alarm

while on his way home with his girlfriend and entered

the burning house. A man was sitting on the bed and the

flames were all around him and his legs were starting to get on fire.

His wheelchair was just outside the room so I managed to get off the bed

and put him on the wheelchair. We got him outside in the backyard and

asked him was anybody else in there and he shuddered started -- shouting

his partner's name and the house was getting a bit worse and filled with

black smoke. I couldn't really see her. I severed her name and then I

heard a soft voice -- shouted her name. Shuddered help. The warm or

yellow flames. I got to see her again and she just crawled towards

me and we'd got over towards me and I managed to grab her arm and pull

her out. Eyewitnesses say the house was engulfed in flames. The couple

who were taken from it were treated in Altnagelvin Hospital before being

transferred to be Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast.

They're now said to be in a stable condition.

The BBC understands the Renewable Heating crisis

prevented the completion of the appointment of one

of the most important posts in the devolved government,

the head of the Northern Ireland Civil Service -

Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness interviewed candidates last year,

but as our business correspondent Julian O'Neill reports, the

The head of the Civil Service acts as the principle policy advisor

A failure to fill the job means this man, Sir Malcolm McKibbin, has

temporarily put off his retirement to remain in charge of 23,000

officials in government departments and manage a budget of ?11 billion.

It is a powerful position at the heart of devolution,

but replacing him has been delayed and the Executive will likely

Last November, Arlene Foster and Martin McGuinness

together interviewed two short-listed candidates.

They were given training in equality laws and an HR consultant

sat in to ensure proper procedures were followed.

The two men they interviewed were senior, experienced civil servants -

Both had worked with Mrs Foster when she was Minister

at the Department of Enterprise and each has accepted responsibility

The BBC understands the interviews produced a winner,

but as the fall-out from RHI created a crisis, no appointment was made

during a seven-week period before the collapse of the Executive.

The recruitment process stalled and is now clouded by uncertainty.

Having politicised the appointment, it needs a First and Deputy First

Minister to complete - and no-one is confident those

posts will be filled quickly after the election.

A further complication is that Michelle O'Neill,

having replaced Mr McGuinness, was not part of the interview panel.

The Executive office will not comment on what it said

No-one knows what the outcome will be - and it might even be

an issue a London minister has to address.

It's emerged that during a power cut in parts of Belfast this afternoon

there was a delay in one of the back-up generators starting

The Belfast Trust says it's investigating how it happened

and if it had any impact on patient care.

A fault in the NIE transmission network cut power for a short time

to 27,000 customers in South and West Belfast.

Damage to underground cables led to a power cut

in Londonderry as well today - around 10,000 NIE

The police have been told by the Appeal Court that they must

disclose documents relating to two UVF murder attempts in the 1990s.

The attacks were on a Catholic taxi driver from North Belfast ?

57-year-old John Flynn - and it's alleged they were carried

Mr Flynn survived and is suing the police, alleging collusion.

The police admitted liability, but said providing the documents

The Appeal Court today ruled the documents must be handed over

The judges said it was hard to contemplate a more

Sinn Fein's new leader at Stormont, Michelle O'Neill, says it's not fair

to portray her as being in Gerry Adams' pocket.

In the latest of our leader profiles in the run-up

to the Assembly election, our Political Editor Mark Devenport

accompanied Mrs O'Neill on the campaign trail last week

in North Belfast just as Storm Doris was due to strike.

Dark clouds are looming as Michelle O'Neill goes

on walkabout on Belfast's Antrim Road.

The Sinn Fein leader was born Michelle Doris,

so she sees the funny side of a storm named after her.

Do you see that I am Doris to my own name?

Apparently so, it makes for a chuckle.

The 40-year-old leader admits to having to rely on others to keep

a track of her blizzard of appointments - this

walkabout follows a session with business leaders and a visit

She's not seeing much of her family, but as we take a break at a coffee

shop she insists she's enjoying the campaign.

Thank God I have got good people around me to try and keep the right

but it is trying to be everywhere and get engaged with people. It is

crucial and it is key but that is appetite out there. People want to

talk to you about how they see things and how they see the future

so it is all good stuff that has to be done and it is right to be out

and engaging to stop it is what politics is about all year round. I

took over about six years ago so it has been a baptism of fire setting

from a generation to six weeks ago. People want to talk about their

rights and the delivery and how we deliver in politics for them as

individuals. The DUP have characterised you as being in Gerry

Adams ultimate pocket, is that the? I think they are attempting to talk

about everything else other than the RHI cash per ad scandal. This

election is about the drip feed of all the money so I think they will

be very content to talk about Orange and green issues and Gerry Adams. I

consider the electric that no one has anything to fear from my style

of government. Michelle O'Neill won't share power

with Arlene Foster until a public inquiry delivers its verdict

on the Renewable Heat scandal. Is there a compromise of you

standing aside and nominating yourself if Arlene Foster nominates

a comp tech as a caretaker First Minister? I don't think they have

any reason to not put myself forward. The enquiry is into Arlene

Foster and the handling of the cash for a scandal.

The icing on Michelle O'Neill's cake would be if Sinn Fein could return

It's an outside bet, but if it happens Mrs O'Neill says

she'd have no problem serving under a different job title

We'll have to get through Thursday's election, though, before we discover

how much of an appetite Sinn Fein's new leader has for sharing power.

Coming up... How Ireland is enjoying the feel-good factor after their win

over France in the six Nations. A woman with a first class degree

in biomedical engineering says her biggest challenge

in getting a job was convincing employers to give her a chance

despite her having a form of autism. As our health correspondent

Marie-Louise Connolly reports, a new initiative is trying to help

break down barriers. Everyone has a story,

and for this County Down woman I have Asperger's syndrome which is

on the autistic spectrum. I find communication are very difficult and

it would be very anxious. Qualities that can hinder getting a job. I

struggled with eye contact. I was very fidgety. I always came home

crying if there was any social events I had to go to, because I

just knew I couldn't communicate the way I wanted to. Everything was

there in my mind but I couldn't get it out.

A local company however is helping to break down those barriers both

for those with autism and employers who are willing to listen.

The full training looks at, as an example, stuff like eye contact, how

to communicate with people on the spectrum because it is very

important that both parties understand each other, because we

want to make sure that the relationship works for both. Despite

many initiatives to encourage those with disabilities into the workplace

the employment rate for those with autism remains relatively low. In

fact, according to the National Autistic Society, around 16% of

those with autism in the UK are currently in full-time jobs.

And according to Shelley's employer it's been a win-win

We just gave her a little more time to talk to us. There are certain

things you don't want to do, you don't ask too many indirect

questions, you'd have to be little sometimes. Eye contact, make people

feel more comfortable. I always like to make your -- people feel

comfortable anyway but he had the extra mile. How happy are you?

Really happy because I have found a job that I love and I have got to

meet such lovely people. For those with autism,

securing a job not only means bringing home a pay packet,

but also means they have routine and can enjoy the benefits

of being part of a team. There were wins for both

Ireland's men and women's teams at the weekend

in the Six Nations Stephen Watson starts his sports

round-up with the men. The Ireland rugby squad

threw open the doors And there was certainly a feel-good

factor in camp following the weekend In demand for photos

was Jonathan Sexton after his Ireland lie second in the table -

and still in with a chance After their heroics on Saturday

against France, Ireland were back at the Aviva Stadium in a much more

relaxed atmosphere. The main attraction was the man who returned

from a calf injury to kick 11 of Ireland's 19 points. It was great to

be back in with the team. It was a frustrating few weeks after doing so

much harder before Christmas. I hope the period I have gone through will

make me stronger and I have learnt a lot from it and get a string of

games now and hopefully, I feel I am on the verge of getting some good

form but it has been cut short by injury for the IMO the worst. That

is bad news for Ireland's thinks two appointments, Wales and England is

Jonathan Sexton's influence on the game. He was the conductor, the

violinist scored his first Irish try on behalf of Armagh. His deft touch

demoralise the French. This drop goal felt almost like a six pointer.

His replacement Paddy Jackson sealed the win and know all roads lead to

Wales. They will be really hurting after the start that they had. The

dog was very often. Looking forward to the Missouri Friday night game in

Cardiff. A hostile atmosphere awaits and the countdown to prove their

credentials is on. Ireland maintained their challenge

for the Women's Six Nations Championship with a hard fought

13-10 win over France in Dublin. Hooker Leah Lyons scored the only

Irish try that put the home side The result leaves them level

at the top of the table with England, who lead

on points difference. Ulster ran in six tries

as they secured a bonus point win After struggling in the first half,

Ulster pulled away in the second There was this superb effort by

Charles Patel and finished off and reached 40 points,

with this score on his Ulster moved up to fifth

in the table and are now just five points behind the Scarlets

in their bid to make the end Jonathan Rea made the perfect

start to the defence of his World Superbike

title in Australia. The Ballyclare rider won the opening

two races at Phillip Island. Rea, a back-to-back world champion,

is trying to create history by becoming the only rider to ever

win three championships in a row. This is maybe the worst track for

our bike and I have made it work these last few years. I don't know

why, we can't have started a season in better way. Pool position,

fastest laps, double race win, thank you very much.

Despite not being backed by players, major changes

to Gaelic Football's Championship format were passed by GAA congress.

The motion to switch both All Ireland football and hurling

finals from September to August was also supported.

On the pitch in the Allianz leagues, Donegal scored two goals

within a minute of the first half, in their draw with All

following their one-point away victory over Kerry, while Down

It was the Mourne men's first win in the league

Slaughtneil's hopes of reaching all three All Ireland Club Senior

GAA finals in the same season were dashed by the hurlers of Coola.

The Derry club lost their semifinal by ten points.

We win together and we lose together. That is the way it will

be. I have just told the lads in the changing room all I want them to do

is get over this hurt as quickly as they can and governing themselves

and bring an All-Ireland back this year. We didn't do ourselves justice

today or played to the level we know we can play and that hurts more than

the losing. Crusaders are seven

points ahead of Linfield at the top of the Premiership

after the weekend action. Jordan Owens opened the scoring

for the leaders at Shamrock Park with this strike, but Portadown came

back to force a 1-1 draw. Linfield took advantage as this

Andy Waterworth goal was enough to beat Belfast rivals

Glentoran 1-0. There were a couple

of spectacular finishes - this one from Keke for Ards

as they came from behind to draw 3-3 at Dungannon,

but that had to take second place to this 30-yard screamer

from Ballinamallard's Shane McGinty, but unfortunately his side went down

2-1 to Ballymena United. Finally, well done to RBAI

who beat Ballymena Academy to book their place in rugby's

Schools Cup final. Here is Cecilia Daly with the

weather. It is a cold one tonight. Temperatures quite low.

Earlier today there was real hints of spring in the sunshine. Our

Weather Watcher capturing this lovely shot in Belfast earlier this

afternoon. There were a few showers around as Wells. A little bit of

hail in parts of County Down. Because temperatures are already

quite low the ice warning is now in force but tonight and tomorrow

morning through the rush hour. There will not be too many showers around

initially tonight, fairly clear skies. Temperatures falling to

around freezing orders below. But during the early hours this band of

rain, sleet and Hill snow comes into the north-west. Combined with

subzero temperatures things could be very icy tomorrow morning through

the rush hour. It is all tied into this area of low pressure. Some

strong winds tomorrow. It will feel much colder and more wintry compared

to today. And of course there will be the mix of rain, sleet and hill

snow moving south eastwards through the morning. Some icy conditions,

some wintry showers and some gusty winds to greet you tomorrow morning

for the last day of February. Not a very pleasant start to the day. But

it may be a little while, maybe after the rush hour, but those

wintry showers finally get down to brass of County Down. Here there

could be some sunshine. Most places will see some showery rain tomorrow,

some sleet, hail or a hill snow. Mostly rain through the afternoon

and some sunny guts. Even though temperatures slightly higher

tomorrow. Largely dried tomorrow evening and a few showers tomorrow

night and again some frost and a risk of ice. As we head into the

start of March, and the start of spring, it is still an unsettled

field to the weather but that doesn't mean it will be raining all

the time. Some dry weather on Wednesday. But too bad a morning but

it ends wet. On Thursday if you out and about, the afternoon will bring

the best of the dry weather. That was BBC Newsline. Goodbye.