24/10/2011 BBC Newsline


24/10/2011

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Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Noel Thompson and Donna

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Traynor. The headlines this Monday evening:

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The two-day downpour brings flooding misery to many homes.

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There will be further heavy pulses of rain in the west this evening

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before the wind and the rain eventually eases. I'll have the

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latest. A 60-year-old man dies after being

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assaulted outside a city centre taxi rank.

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The Prison Service at watershed - a report calls for radical change,

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including up to 600 redundancies. Northern Ireland's golfers lead the

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European Ryder Cup standings. We hear from the player who is top of

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For two days now heavy downpours have brought misery to many, with

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homes and businesses flooded and roads blocked. We've reports

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tonight of roads flooded and traffic queues from Keady to

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Lisburn to Maghera. Later in the programme we'll hear how home

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insurers are reacting to this latest deluge and, of course, we

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will have a detailed weather forecast. First Mervyn Jess has

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visited some of the worst hit areas. Guy in after last night's floods,

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what was left of this kitchen and living room was being put in the

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bin and taken away. The water was just running through the back of

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the house, right out through the front. Several houses here were

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swamped. But first they realise something was wrong was when they

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noticed water pouring through the backdoor key holes. The water was 4

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ft deep. Once the manhole was opened it was like a geyser. All of

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the raw sewage was out and coming into the house. Yesterday's more or

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less constant rain damaged disc care home in County Antrim.

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Householders struggled to keep the floods at bay. This morning

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following trees blocked several Brits, as did landslides like this

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one near Ballyclare. Just outside Maghera, part of the roadside was

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simply washed away into a field. This railway bridge had a problem

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with the level of the water underneath it. A row of cottages,

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most of them occupied by pensioners, was flooded for the second time in

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a week. Ironically they are blaming ongoing work to improve and near by

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storm drain. Last week was worse. We have never had anything like

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this, since they started the strain out here. The carpet is up and

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you're back down to stone floors. For us to put another good car put

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down their, but to put a carpet down there again and in another two

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weeks, what is going to happen? He will pay for at that time? I don't

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care what it looks like, he can stay that way until those boys are

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finished working out there. These homeowners had the rivers agency

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out to look at the nearby river. Meanwhile, Deborah Beck is facing

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up to living with the aftermath of the flood. I have anarchistic ten-

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year-old son. He has to stay here. His routine cannot be broken. I

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couldn't even begin to make him a lunch, so he is upstairs Africa,

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because of all the noise. I have been offered to go to a hostel, but

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it is not feasible to take my son out of his home.

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With the rain still falling, those most at risk are standing by with

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sandbags at the ready. Let's go live to the County Down

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coast to see what's happening there. Our district journalist Claire

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Savage is in Portaferry. Clearly very wet and windy. The weather is

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absolutely miserable here. It has been raining throughout most of

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today. We have seen a lot of surface water on the roads. If

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motorists have been exercising care for fear of aquaplaning. I have

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reports of standing water across Northern Ireland. You in the

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peninsula tonight we are expecting winds of up to 45 miles an hour.

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The weather has not been that bad compared to other places. The road

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was still passable down to port - - down to Portaferry. The ferry is

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running as usual. We are hopefully over the worst of it here. Let's

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get more detail on all this rain. Lindsey Armstrong has been tracking

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And number of factors have contributed to where we are now. It

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is the amount of rainfall that has fallen in a very short space of

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time. 24 mm in the last day. There has been no real break from the

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rain. From 10 o'clock on Sunday morning, it moved in quickly. A

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small reprieve, but then more rain The police have started a murder

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investigation following the death of a man in Belfast. Joe O'Neill,

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from the west of the city, had been assaulted and died in hospital this

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morning. Kevin Sharkey reports. Joe O'Neill assisting multiple head

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injuries. This is where the attack happened, close to did did this end

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of the Falls Road. The family are absolutely traumatised. Their

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father and their husband went out to work and just did not come home.

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I knew him from the area. A lovely family. A lovely quiet family. His

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children would often be out on the street playing. They were a well-

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respected family. The police - - at the police have confirmed that a

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34-year-old man has been charged in connection with the incident. He

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was charged with grievous bodily harm before the victim died last

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night. Joe O'Neill Riad his family in West Belfast and worked in this

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bar and was assaulted just a short distance away. The police now want

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to hear from anyone he was in this King Street area, or Castle Street

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area at about 1:15am yesterday morning.

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A watershed for the prison service - that's how David Ford described a

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report published today which recommends the most fundamental

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reforms in the history of the system. The proposals include a

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redundancy scheme that could mean up to 600 prison officers will lose

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their jobs, at a cost of at least �20 million. Our Home Affairs

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correspondent, Vincent Kearney, reports.

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There are almost 1800 people in prison here, the highest level in

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many years. The prison system is the most expensive in the UK, but

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also has been labelled the least effective. The latest reports

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published today recommends the most radical reforms in the history of

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the Prison Service. They include a redundancy scheme that could see up

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to 600 prison officers lose their jobs with about 300 new staff

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recruited under new terms and under or salaries. Publishing the report,

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David Ford acknowledged the scale of reforms needed. It is clear that

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lasting reform on this scale will take time. We cannot expect

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fundamental change to happen overnight. Before appealing to all

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political parties to support the changes. I now look to colleagues

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to lend their weight and support to making the strategy happen.

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hopes of cross-party support were short-lived. Some politicians

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attacked the proposal to introduce a time limit for prisoners to be

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held on romance before trial. A number of Unionists claimed this

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could lead to potentially dangerous criminals being automatically

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released after a year. This statement this morning from the

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minister reads more like a criminal's charter Thanatos about

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anything else. The report has all the smell of the Patten report

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around it. It strikes me that this report has more to do with the

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comfort of the prisoners than it has to do with looking after the

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victims. The opera of the reports later issued a statement saying it

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did not contain a recommendation to release prisoners after a year. She

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also urged the pigeon service to act quickly to implement the

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proposed changes. One of the things we said at the end of the

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introduction was what we did not want was to distribute to result in

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a report but no change because there is history of that. For that

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reason we're saying that although the whole change programme will

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take a long time, the next six months are crucial in pitting the

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foundations in place. Details of the redundancy package for prison

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officers are still being finalised. It is understood the total cost

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will be at least �20 million. Still to come on the programme: The

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baby milk bank that's running short of vital supplies.

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The end of the local motor biking The lawyer... a case of the

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Jennifer Gardai murder trial goes on. Jennifer Cardy's disappearance

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on the trot of August 1981 sparked this you'd search operation. 30

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years on Scottish serial killer Robert Brack stands accused of

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murdering her that day, but his defence say the jury cannot even be

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sure he was in Northern Ireland, let alone that he killed her. His

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defence said that the prosecution would try to put a square peg into

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a round hole. Opportunity is the key in this case, he said, and on

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this the prosecution case is weak, flimsy and unsatisfactory. He also

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claimed that there were striking differences between Robert Black's

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three known killings and that of Jennifer. He said Jennifer had not

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been dressed as he liked his victims to be dressed and that when

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her body was recovered her shoes were still in place. He said

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missing shoes were a tell-tale sign that Black had been at the scene of

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a crime. The shoes were always removed. He said that this was a

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difficult and emotional case, but said they had to make the decision

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could lead, calmly and dispassionately, even if they had

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the utmost sympathy for Jennifer's family and none at all for Robert

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Black. Maybe some or all of you would like to convict him because

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of what you know about him, but you don't decide verdicts on a motion.

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The judge will begin his summing up tomorrow.

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And just how many have used the new Peace Bridge in Londonderry so far?

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A detective investigating the death of a police officer 37 years ago

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says he is confident a review of the case will uncover fresh

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evidence. Inspector Bill Elliott was shot by Republicans from the

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Official IRA at the scene of a bank robbery in 1974. The author and

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screenwriter Ronan Bennett, who was then aged 18, was jailed for the

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murder. His conviction was overturned a year later. A senior

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police officer says he believes they can make progress despite the

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During the process, some opportunities were identified and

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as a result, the case will be reopened for investigation and it

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is my view that there are people out there who will have information

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that might assist the investigation. People do know who is involved and

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I would appeal to those people to come forward with information in

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order that the suspects can be proper for the court.

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If you have spent the weekend brushing water out of your house or

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business, what help can you expect from the insurance company? Our

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consumer correspondent joins us. Perhaps you have already had a

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flooding experience but it does affect insurance, doesn't it?

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As if clearing up after a flood is not bad enough, the sting in the

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tail comes when you try and renew your insurance. Most of us these

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days use price comparison sites on the internet. But if you have had a

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flood and made a claim, you may find it more difficult to get

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insured next time around. insurance companies do all used the

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technology to find out what the risk is. That somebody was seeking

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insurance through a search engine and you were asked the question,

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high close you are to a watercourse. The chances are you may still

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receive a rejection but he may still receive insurance.

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These weather events are becoming more and more frequent? A higher

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premium or a larger excess. That means in your next policy you may

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have to agree to foot more of the bill yourself if the house if

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flooded again. In some cases the excess may run into thousands of

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pounds. The insurance industry says the cost of flood damage has

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increased sharply. It is an increasing phenomenon, certainly in

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terms of frequency of their event and cost of events. In total UK

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terms, costs have increased over 200% in the equivalent period in

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the last century so it is an increasing problem.

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The cost of household insurance hasn't been increasing as fast as

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motor premiums. Home insurance is a a very competitive sector of the

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market. A vital service helping premature

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and seriously ill babies is desperately looking for help from

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new mothers. The human milk bank in Irvinestown helps babies in

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neonatal units across Ireland by supplying donated breast milk to

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babies who cannot be fed by their own mothers. But supplies have been

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hit because with people under financial pressures, many women who

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would have been donors have returned to work sooner.

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These babies are thriving but six- month-old baby Lily needed some

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help at the start of her life. was born with erratic breathing and

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she went to the neonatal unit and she had some Donna milker their,

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hence the reason that I would like to give a little bit back as well.

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Jackie has now become a donor for the human milk bank in Irvinestown.

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It helps sick babies in hospitals all over Ireland. Where helping

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lots of babies, some of them very premature. One baby we are helping,

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her mother has cancer and is unfit to feed. We have another bum who

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has been involved in a car accident and she is having done a milk for

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her baby because she is still in intensive care. Breast love this

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also given to babies who have heart surgery as it helps prevent

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infection. So far this year, donors have helped more than 400 babies

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including 35 sets of twins and six sets of triplets. But while there

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have been plenty of mum's willing to donate to the bank, the economic

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downturn is having an impact. At this time of year, the freezer

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should be full of milk but as you can see, the shelves are empty.

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also ask for a minimum donation of three litres because lots of mums

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have to go back to work up much earlier. Often they can be that

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main breadwinner and just for them to provide three litres and then

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managed to get back to work, they are doing fantastic work. More new

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mums are desperately needed to keep this life-saving service running.

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Feeding your own baby is a struggle at the start to get used to it so

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if you can help somebody in the meantime until they get over an

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illness or anything, it would be brilliant. If baby Lily could speak,

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I am sure she would say thank you to the donor mums who helped her.

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A golfer from Northern Ireland leads the European Ryder Cup points

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standings and it may not be the one you think. Here's Stephen Watson.

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Not our major champions Roy McIlory, Darren Clarke or Graeme McDowell

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but Belfast's Michael Hoey who made a flying visit back on today after

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a top 20 finish at the Castello Masters in Spain yesterday. He

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recently won the prestigious Dunhill Links tournament at St

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Andrews and today leapfrogged McIlory into the number one

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European Ryder Cup position. Hopefully this time next year, I

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will be on top of the Ryder Cup list. List. Dunhill was a massive

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amount of money and last week I was top 20 so I have now played in two

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major championships against the best players in the world and

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travelling with Rory, Graham and Darren, so is a huge boost my

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confidence. The local motorcycling season came

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to an end at the weekend with the traditional Sunflower Trophy event

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at Bishopscourt. Ian Lowry from Moira upset the odds to win a hat-

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trick of races. One of Northern Ireland's best-ever riders rolled

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back the years to stand on the top step of the podium.

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Feeling the chill at the sunflower, the end-of-season finale isn't

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famous for its pleasant conditions but it does bring together the best

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local racers along with a few big name of visitors. Ian Laurie was

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the man at the meeting beating world racers. His margin of victory

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was comfortable, he took full advantage of his team-mate's

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misfortune. It's a pity that my team-mate got hurt. He has no be

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broken if Europe's. He had an accident coming out of the last

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turn up but it is great for me to win this. I have come off the back

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of two difficult seasons so to come back and right of my old team with

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all the guys that I know well, it is fantastic and it is good to come

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and do it in front of the home crowd. He wasn't the only man with

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a smile on his face. 48 year-old journey McWilliams cut through the

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field in the Super twin race like enthusiastic teenager. The former

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grand prix racer went from last to first on a bike he had ever run

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before. Not even in practice. Once a racer, always a racer.

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There's a familiar look to the top of local footballs Carling

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Premiership. The Champions Linfield moved back into first position,

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jumping above Portadown who they beat at Windsor Park.

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Champions Linfield got to a flier, thanks to the school on five

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minutes. Portadown had plenty of chances of their own. They went

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close on a number of occasions before Robert's 5th goal of the

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season, sending the blues clear at the top. Across town, Crusaders

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travelled to Cliftonville a. They went in front after just 18 minutes.

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Crusaders Martin Donnelly levelled matters on the half-hour mark. The

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win was secured here. Sending the solitude to crowd berserk in the

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process! Glentoran are still eight points of the top spot despite a 5-

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0 demolition of Dungannon. Coleraine got back to winning ways

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on Saturday, easing to a 3-1 win over Lisburn Distillery. It doesn't

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get any easier for or Glenavon as they went down 2-1 away to Donegal

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Celtic. Phil Coulter. Loughgiel of Antrim have confirmed

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their status at the summit of club hurling in Ulster. They retained

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their provincial title with a 16 point win over down champions

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Ballycran. It would have taken a hearty soul

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to venture up Belfast's first win yesterday, never mind watch or play

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a game of hurling but under floodlights at 3pm in the afternoon,

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it was Ballycran who were eventually dazzled as Loughgiel,

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wearing red, overwhelmed their opponents with a dominant second

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half display. The goals merely added to the glass. It takes the

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Antrim men to a second consecutive All-Ireland semi-final and answers

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some of their critics. We are no longer tied with the jokers. We

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have won two titles in a row. is no doubt that they want to go a

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step further than last year. We weren't so far away last year but

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we are going to put a massive effort into this this year and we

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can sit back and watch the Munster championship and see who replay.

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Until then, there will be a little celebration but plenty of hard work

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on the training field. The Belfast Giants are still top of

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the ice hockey's elite League after one win and one defeat at the

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weekend. The peace bridge in Londonderry has

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proved to be a big success since opening in the summer. The numbers

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crossing the bridge has exceeded all expectations. Can you guess how

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many? With the answer, here is Keiron Tourish.

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Count Dracula helped celebrate the fact that two UN and 50,000 people

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have now used the peace bridge and that this year's Hallowe'en

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celebrations that will be a treat for spectators at the fireworks

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display. It will be absolutely fantastic. There will be restricted

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numbers on the bridge for safety reasons but it will provide a

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superb vantage point. Since it opened, the bridge has proved an

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outstanding success with walkers, joggers and cyclists, even a few

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happy couples celebrated part of their big day here. Some have

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fallen foul of the rules and created a bit of a stink though we

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will not point an accusing finger at anyone. Locals have taken it to

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the bridge. I think it is excellent, it has connected the two sides.

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is terrific, we used in most days. It is not very good for the

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hairstyle, though! I think it is terrific, it has been a great asset

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to the city. Lots of people are using it. If you want to witness

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the fireworks are from the new peace bridge, you had better get

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here early, it is on a first-come, first-served basis. You never know

0:25:460:25:56
0:25:560:25:58

who you meet! A good news is that we are going to

0:25:580:26:02

get some release from this rain that has been falling quite heavily

0:26:020:26:06

right through the weekend and into today. The bad news is, not before

0:26:060:26:11

there will be further heavy pulses of rain in County Fermanagh and

0:26:110:26:16

Londonderry. Here is the picture from earlier on. With a break from

0:26:160:26:19

the weekend rain, this next system of wet weather pitches in from the

0:26:190:26:26

east, developing into heavy pulses. That was coupled with gale-force

0:26:260:26:29

winds so that not to the edge of the temperatures and those heavy

0:26:290:26:35

pulses of rain continued to track westwards to the course of today.

0:26:350:26:38

Unsurprisingly, the Met Office's weather warning will last until the

0:26:380:26:43

end of today because of further heavy rain coming. A good this rain

0:26:430:26:46

in County Londonderry and Fermanagh, right through to the end of the

0:26:460:26:50

evening. Then the wet weather will clear a way to the north-west and

0:26:500:26:54

the wind will start to die down, too. Apart from sunspots of a night,

0:26:540:26:59

will be left with a relatively dry evening and mild temperatures.

0:26:590:27:03

Tomorrow, that paves the way for a much better day, we are looking at

0:27:030:27:07

a drier set up with scattered showers and less structured rain.

0:27:070:27:11

Some good spells of about whether to begin with, then some showers

0:27:110:27:16

developing as we approach lunchtime. Drier in County Fermanagh and the

0:27:160:27:19

north Antrim coast and a much better day compared to today. The

0:27:190:27:22

shares will eventually ease away from the East altogether and the

0:27:230:27:28

winds are down as well, helping temperatures feel much milder. The

0:27:280:27:32

showers will ease the way through teatime and we will be left with a

0:27:320:27:35

try evening, paving the way for a comparatively better day come

0:27:350:27:40

Wednesday. What's more sunshine on Wednesday with far fewer shares.

0:27:400:27:45

Temperatures still on the mild side. There's do is looking very similar

0:27:450:27:50

to Wednesday and then on Friday we say hello to high pressure and long,

0:27:500:27:56

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