:00:16. > :00:20.Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor and Noel
:00:20. > :00:23.Thompson. The headlines this Wednesday evening: An exclusive
:00:23. > :00:29.report - the police consider buying this 'spy in the sky' to catch
:00:29. > :00:32.criminals? Final touches for the Programme for
:00:32. > :00:35.Government - I'll have the latest. An American forensic expert gives
:00:35. > :00:37.evidence at the Massereene murders trial.
:00:37. > :00:41.Why a 77-year-old man is still living without electricity near
:00:41. > :00:43.Coleraine. The feel-good factor after the
:00:43. > :00:48.Republic of Ireland's Euro2012 success, but what impact will it
:00:48. > :00:52.have on Northern Irish football? As we are on air the weather is
:00:52. > :01:00.changing! Expect a wet night and a few wet days to come. I'll have
:01:00. > :01:03.The BBC has learned that the PSNI is considering using small unmanned
:01:03. > :01:09.aircraft, commonly referred to as drones, to help combat crime and
:01:10. > :01:12.terrorism. Security sources they could be most valuable in border
:01:13. > :01:17.areas like South Armagh because they can cover large areas at a
:01:17. > :01:25.fraction of the cost of a helicopter. With this exclusive
:01:25. > :01:30.report, here's our Home Affairs correspondent, Vincent Kearney: no
:01:30. > :01:40.big Canadian manufacturer says it snaps up together as easy as
:01:40. > :01:53.
:01:53. > :01:57.children's building blocks. For many years, the army watched
:01:57. > :02:00.much of the South Armagh countryside perched in hilltop
:02:00. > :02:07.tyres. A political talks leading to the IRA ceasefire, the watch cars
:02:07. > :02:11.were dismantled. Now it is this same border terrain that the
:02:11. > :02:15.security forces believed these drones will be most valuable. There
:02:15. > :02:22.are described as game changing technology. One source told me they
:02:22. > :02:26.could act as a modern day watch towers. These are drones are not so
:02:26. > :02:31.easy to use in built up her than areas, where they are also governed
:02:31. > :02:35.by much tighter regulations. Because of potential risk to other
:02:35. > :02:40.aircraft and people on the ground, the Civil Aviation a authority must
:02:40. > :02:44.grant permission for them to take to disguise. The Civil Aviation at
:02:44. > :02:50.Dougherty has confirmed that it has already had discussions with the
:02:50. > :02:52.police about possible Drome deployment. The drones used by law
:02:53. > :02:57.in force remittances around the world have already been deployed by
:02:57. > :03:01.some police forces in the UK, but there were problems. I droned used
:03:01. > :03:05.by police in Liverpool crashed into the River Mersey. In addition,
:03:05. > :03:13.there were red faces when police discovered they had not obtained
:03:13. > :03:18.their it needed permission from the Civil Aviation aperitif. Yes, it is
:03:18. > :03:23.embarrassing for Merseyside police. Not withstanding all that, we
:03:23. > :03:28.didn't know about that, and it is embarrassing for us. These thermal
:03:28. > :03:33.images were taken from a helicopter camera. The crew directs officers
:03:33. > :03:38.on foot, helping them to locate and arrest a suspect. The pictures show
:03:38. > :03:42.how cameras in the sky can be used to pinpoint activity on the ground.
:03:42. > :03:45.While we don't have any pictures taken from did groan under
:03:45. > :03:51.consideration, it is likely they would be every bit as good in terms
:03:51. > :03:54.of quality, if not better. What about costs? Policing budgets are
:03:54. > :04:02.under pressure and keeping helicopters in the air is not cheap.
:04:02. > :04:09.This model costs around �7 million. Adding up the figures, maintenance,
:04:09. > :04:16.fewer - - fuel and salaries, running the helicopter cost about
:04:16. > :04:21.�1.5 million a year. At least a drone would cost at most �150,000,
:04:21. > :04:27.and able to remain airborne for up to seven hours, the running costs
:04:27. > :04:30.are substantially lower. The police have said that it constantly
:04:30. > :04:36.reviews developments - - availability of new equipment or
:04:36. > :04:39.technology, but at this stage has no plans to buy drones. Earlier
:04:39. > :04:43.this year the police were given a quarter of a billion pounds of
:04:43. > :04:49.additional funding to combat the threat of dissident republicans. If
:04:49. > :04:51.they decide to deploy drones, they could use some of the Special
:04:51. > :04:55.Security Fund or financing the purchase from the normal policing
:04:55. > :05:05.Budget. Because the use of these drones would be considered
:05:05. > :05:05.
:05:05. > :05:15.contentious and novel, the policing broad would be expected to be
:05:15. > :05:16.
:05:16. > :05:18.Seven years after it was first proposed, the Education and Skills
:05:18. > :05:21.Authority, which will replace existing Education and Library
:05:21. > :05:24.Boards, has finally been given the green light at Stormont. The
:05:24. > :05:28.announcement comes ahead of an Executive meeting tonight to agree
:05:28. > :05:34.a Programme for Government. More on that in a moment, First, our
:05:34. > :05:38.Education correspondent Maggie Taggart is with me. Remind us what
:05:38. > :05:42.this is all about. The education and skills are authority is a way
:05:42. > :05:52.of drawing together all the educational parities for reasons of
:05:52. > :05:52.
:05:52. > :05:56.economy and efficiency. This will draw it all under one umbrella.
:05:56. > :06:00.has it proved so problematic? Because of the opposition of
:06:00. > :06:09.Unionist parties in Damien Duff, who were worried that there was not
:06:09. > :06:13.going to be enough voice for the controlled schools. They were
:06:13. > :06:17.annoyed that they were not included by rights in this new body, and it
:06:17. > :06:22.appears that has now been sorted out because the politicians who
:06:22. > :06:28.were disapproving have now said that will be OK. We believe this
:06:28. > :06:33.will go ahead in July 2012 and will be a big relief for those involved.
:06:33. > :06:39.It was satisfied those who were criticising the �12 million already
:06:39. > :06:45.spent on this. Than �12 million has been spent doing things, does not
:06:45. > :06:49.just been thrown away. That's right. Some staff have been so conduct to
:06:49. > :06:53.that organisation. They have now drifted back to do jobs in the main,
:06:53. > :06:55.but they had been working on convergence, which has a way of
:06:55. > :07:01.getting the education and library boards to work more closely
:07:01. > :07:05.together. We can assume that this has complete cross-party support?
:07:05. > :07:08.Now it dos. Thank you. There have been other stumbling
:07:08. > :07:11.blocks in the way of an agreed Programme For Government, but
:07:11. > :07:14.Executive Ministers, we are told, will work long into the night to
:07:14. > :07:17.get everything signed, sealed and delivered. The Programme will set
:07:17. > :07:20.out the objectives and policies the Assembly will pursue for the next
:07:20. > :07:30.years, but it's been a long time coming, as Julian O'Neill explains.
:07:30. > :07:30.
:07:30. > :07:39.By tomorrow we should have a clear set of key priorities for the years
:07:39. > :07:44.ahead. Seamus Close is a former MLA. There was a draft programme for
:07:44. > :07:48.government back in December. Scotland, Wales and the government
:07:48. > :07:54.at Westminster can deliver these things in a much shorter period
:07:54. > :07:58.than it has taken our lot. So why the hold up? One reason is a multi-
:07:58. > :08:03.party system of government. And also the challenge of getting it
:08:03. > :08:08.right. It is a difficult time economically, so there are a lot of
:08:08. > :08:13.challenges. What it really reflects is the complicated political system
:08:13. > :08:18.we have. You can see in the UK how difficult it is to get two parties
:08:18. > :08:22.to agree, and we have many more than that. It is a series of
:08:22. > :08:31.compromises. Because we don't have one party in charge, it means there
:08:31. > :08:35.is a lot of difficult bartering to be done. Sammy Wilson's but it told
:08:35. > :08:39.each department roughly how much they can spend. The programme for
:08:39. > :08:43.government is still important. except that the finance minister
:08:43. > :08:47.said that this is not a magic piece of paper, but an awful lot of what
:08:48. > :08:52.is going to happen has already been flight up in the Budget, but in
:08:52. > :08:57.many respects we are putting the cart before the horse. We need to
:08:57. > :09:02.get her system sorted out once and for all. I hope that today heralds
:09:02. > :09:06.a new future. Voters will expect the programme to be backed by
:09:06. > :09:10.action. It could be very important if the decisions follow what the
:09:10. > :09:14.programme sets out. If it remains a document setting on a shelf, it
:09:14. > :09:18.will not be relevant. But should set a strategic direction with the
:09:18. > :09:24.executive will make its funding decisions. The executive is meeting
:09:24. > :09:32.tonight and it could be a long one. Now to our political correspondent
:09:32. > :09:37.Martina Purdy at Stormont. What have you been hearing? What have
:09:37. > :09:42.they agreed? I am told that the programme for governments will
:09:42. > :09:47.entail more than 70 commitments on social and economic issues. The BBC
:09:47. > :09:52.did have a draft document leaked to it some weeks ago in which their
:09:52. > :09:56.target of 21,000 jobs have that the next four years was included. I am
:09:56. > :10:00.told tonight's document will be much more ambitious and there are
:10:00. > :10:06.substantially more jobs. We are hearing about connections - -
:10:06. > :10:10.commitments on foreign investment, the film industry here, Creative
:10:10. > :10:13.Technology, possibly loans for small firms. They are working on
:10:13. > :10:18.the investment strategy which means a building programme for schools
:10:18. > :10:22.and roads. It seems to be very intensive and very last minute. Can
:10:22. > :10:27.we expect a whole programme to be agreed and to know more about it
:10:27. > :10:32.tomorrow, or maybe see the perils? We will have to wait and see, but
:10:32. > :10:35.the fact they have gone ahead and set an Assembly session tomorrow
:10:35. > :10:40.means that they are fairly confident they will get through
:10:40. > :10:45.this tonight. It is hard to say whether it will be before or after
:10:45. > :10:49.midnight. Once this document is agreed, it has to go to the
:10:49. > :10:53.printers and MLAs are supposed to sit before the media. I can well
:10:53. > :10:56.see the details tomorrow. An American forensic expert has
:10:56. > :10:59.been giving evidence today at the trial of two men accused of
:10:59. > :11:02.murdering two soldiers at Masserene Army Barracks in 2009. Dr Mark
:11:02. > :11:08.Perlin said DNA found in the getaway car was almost six trillion
:11:08. > :11:12.times more likely to belong to one of the accused than to anyone else.
:11:12. > :11:22.Joining us from Antrim Courthouse is Ciara Riddell. So, tell us more
:11:22. > :11:23.
:11:23. > :11:29.about what's been happening today, Ciara. The doctor is a forensic
:11:29. > :11:34.expert in DNA analysis. He examined the DNA information that was
:11:34. > :11:43.provided to him by forensic scientists in the police. But was
:11:43. > :11:47.recovered from items taken from the getaway car. The doctors said that
:11:47. > :11:53.he compared swabs taken from a seat belt buckle along with samples from
:11:53. > :11:58.Colin Duffy's DNA and he found that they were 5.91 trillion times more
:11:58. > :12:03.likely to have come from him than anyone else. He did the same that
:12:03. > :12:07.DNA samples from Brian shivers, and so from a mobile phone and he found
:12:08. > :12:17.that they were 6 billion times more likely to have come from Brian
:12:17. > :12:21.shivers than any other person. We heard more about the methods of the
:12:21. > :12:26.forensic expert. We were told that he was involved with the team
:12:26. > :12:32.responsible for creating the DEC novel - - technology used in
:12:32. > :12:37.identifying the victims of the September 11th. We also heard that
:12:37. > :12:41.his methods have been validated by a number of agencies and used in
:12:41. > :12:49.courts in America and the UK. Still to come on the programme...
:12:50. > :12:52.Why a 77-year-old man is living without electricity after 20 years.
:12:52. > :13:01.And the feel-good factor in the Republic - the difference a
:13:01. > :13:04.football result can make. 100 people joined the dole queue in
:13:04. > :13:09.the last month. That means almost 61,000 people are now claiming
:13:09. > :13:12.unemployment benefit. A House of Commons report shows that west
:13:12. > :13:17.Belfast and Foyle come just after Birmingham as the worst places in
:13:17. > :13:19.the UK for unemployment and deprivation. Our business
:13:19. > :13:29.correspondent, Kevin Magee, has been listening to the worries of
:13:29. > :13:37.
:13:37. > :13:41.You are unemployed at the moment. What is the like? It is terrible.
:13:41. > :13:51.When you see your friends are relearning a wage and you have no
:13:51. > :13:54.
:13:54. > :13:59.money, it is very hard. Have you had periods of unemployment? Yes,
:13:59. > :14:05.for eight months. You are sitting in the House bought and having no
:14:05. > :14:12.money is very difficult. Hill long were you unemployed for and what
:14:12. > :14:22.was it like? And I was unemployed for two-and-a-half years. It is not
:14:22. > :14:29.nice. Her view applied for many jobs? I have applied for about 50
:14:29. > :14:39.jobs, but most of the time you do not even hear back from. Is that
:14:39. > :14:42.
:14:42. > :14:52.demoralising? It is. When you do not hear back from them, you wonder
:14:52. > :14:58.what they will ever before me. left school with exam
:14:58. > :15:08.qualifications and thought I would do well. To be honest, I think I
:15:08. > :15:09.
:15:09. > :15:18.may have to go abroad. Is that an option he would consider? He yes, I
:15:18. > :15:24.will have to. What about people saying that there are jobs out
:15:24. > :15:34.there if people look hard enough? Well, I have been looking very hard
:15:34. > :15:37.for a job and the are certainly not easy to get. It is difficult to be
:15:37. > :15:41.believe that in 2011 someone could be living with no electricity in
:15:41. > :15:44.their home. For 77-year-old John McCarter, that is something he has
:15:44. > :15:46.had to put up with for more than 20 years.
:15:46. > :15:49.Two years after our last visit to Downhill near Coleraine, John's
:15:49. > :15:54.neighbours on the Seacoast Road have had their supply installed and
:15:54. > :15:56.are now enjoying their televisions, fridges and washing machines. By as
:15:56. > :16:06.Nicola Weir discovered, the McCarter home is still in the dark
:16:06. > :16:12.
:16:12. > :16:19.ages. To open fires provide heat. Cooking is done from this and gas
:16:19. > :16:28.stove, but with no French, the food has to be left out. Conditions are
:16:28. > :16:34.far from perfect, with no electricity. It is difficult when
:16:35. > :16:39.you do not have something like a fridge, but I can live with that.
:16:39. > :16:49.But in the winter time, when you get up and see your breath in the
:16:49. > :16:55.
:16:55. > :16:59.air, that is very hard. Just two years ago, the road was opened up
:17:00. > :17:05.here to allow everyone living here the chance to have electricity. It
:17:05. > :17:13.is ironic that there were electric cables right outside John's front
:17:13. > :17:23.door. His landlord will appear in court later this month. He has
:17:23. > :17:33.failed to comply he with regulations. He said there was no
:17:33. > :17:53.
:17:53. > :18:00.legal relationship between himself One local councillor said someone
:18:00. > :18:07.should step in. This is 2011 and the council has the authority to
:18:07. > :18:12.step in and help this individual and we should be doing that. Until
:18:12. > :18:16.the case is settled, at John McCarter faces his 20th winter
:18:16. > :18:19.without electricity. All talk of an economic crisis and
:18:19. > :18:24.financial doom and gloom was silenced last night when the
:18:24. > :18:27.Republic's soccer team qualified for next summer's European finals.
:18:27. > :18:36.Stephen Watson was at the Aviva Stadium last night. A great
:18:36. > :18:40.occasion, Stephen? Yes, a fantastic hemisphere. The match was a bit of
:18:40. > :18:43.an anti-climax, but it was not really that important.
:18:43. > :18:51.The win has brought a feelgood factor that was sole badly needed
:18:51. > :18:56.and recalls their success at the 1990 World Cup. Last night's game
:18:56. > :19:01.may have been a formality committee but the Republic went ahead in the
:19:01. > :19:11.first hour. The equaliser for Estonia in the second half was a
:19:11. > :19:12.
:19:12. > :19:17.mere blip. The fans could finally dream of glory days ahead. We can
:19:17. > :19:27.wait for the European Championships in Poland and Ukraine. We will be
:19:27. > :19:29.
:19:29. > :19:38.there. In the 1998 World Cup, Ireland where the stars of the
:19:38. > :19:47.tournament. This goal knocked out England and the team got to the
:19:47. > :19:52.quarter finals. It is now almost 10 years since an Irish team qualified
:19:53. > :19:59.for a major tournament. After years of unrelenting bad news, this has
:19:59. > :20:04.cheered up the nation. It is something that people will be
:20:04. > :20:09.talking about. It is very good for the Irish mind set. Apart from
:20:09. > :20:16.talking about the weather and the economy, we will now be talking
:20:16. > :20:23.about the football. I think it will be good for everybody. It may also
:20:23. > :20:26.lead to a boost for business. think we could see increase
:20:26. > :20:31.spending that we would not otherwise have heard. For the
:20:31. > :20:39.economy that is struggling so badly at the moment, that would be a a
:20:39. > :20:43.major lift. Then manager says the team should look to emulate
:20:43. > :20:52.Canice's shock victory in the European Championships at seven
:20:52. > :20:55.years ago. - - Greece. How will the Republic of Ireland's
:20:55. > :20:58.success impact on Northern Ireland football?
:20:58. > :21:00.Northern Ireland's Under-21 manager Steve Beaglehole says that it could
:21:00. > :21:03.mean more Northern Ireland players switch allegiance. The fans have
:21:03. > :21:06.been playing their part to try and stop that happening. They oh hand
:21:06. > :21:09.delivered a letter to the Football Association of Ireland, urging the
:21:09. > :21:17.two countries to draw up a new agreement. He is fan spokesman Gary
:21:17. > :21:23.McCallister. If you believe and integrity and fair play, that
:21:23. > :21:28.should apply equally. The ongoing issue has created a lot of division
:21:29. > :21:31.and bad feeling and Irish football. Derry is the place where
:21:31. > :21:34.footballing loyalties are most divided. One player from the city
:21:34. > :21:37.Shane Ferguson last night pledged his future to Northern Ireland.
:21:37. > :21:39.There had been speculation that the Newcastle United winger was tempted
:21:39. > :21:43.to switch, but a another player from Derry has transferred his
:21:43. > :21:53.allegiance. Sunderland's James McClean says his heart is set on
:21:53. > :21:56.
:21:56. > :22:00.the Republic. It has been a remarkable here for James McClean.
:22:01. > :22:05.He missed pre-season and the first five games due to injury. He just
:22:05. > :22:15.wanted to get back playing for Derry city. Little did he know that
:22:15. > :22:18.a few months later, he would end up at Premier League side Sunderland.
:22:18. > :22:24.A first, the aim was some way to get back in the team and within a
:22:24. > :22:34.few weeks, I was playing against Chelsea it and at the likes of Old
:22:34. > :22:40.Trafford. It has been amazing. is the sort of form which has led
:22:40. > :22:45.to him becoming such a major attraction for other clubs.
:22:45. > :22:54.Although he played for Northern Ireland that youth level, he has
:22:55. > :23:04.now opted to play for the Republic of Ireland. I made my decision to
:23:05. > :23:06.
:23:06. > :23:16.play for the south. He wanted me to change my mind, but I have decided
:23:16. > :23:18.
:23:18. > :23:28.to play for the Republic. A former colleague at Derry city says James
:23:28. > :23:30.
:23:30. > :23:37.McClean has made remarkable progress. He has been absolute
:23:37. > :23:47.fantastic and deserved that move. I hope that he breaks into the
:23:47. > :23:51.
:23:52. > :23:56.Sunderland team very soon. Meanwhile, another player is
:23:56. > :23:59.attracting interest from Celtic and a host of other teams.
:23:59. > :24:01.It is understood that the Irish Football Association will formally
:24:01. > :24:04.begin the process of interviewing candidates for the manager's job
:24:04. > :24:07.next week. No deadline has been put on the appointment yet, as Northern
:24:07. > :24:15.Ireland's next game, a friendly against Norway, is not until
:24:15. > :24:19.February. There are four games in Northern Ireland this evening and
:24:19. > :24:23.we will have the results of them in a word bulletin at 10:25pm.
:24:23. > :24:32.We had another mild day today In fact, that has been a trend this
:24:32. > :24:37.month. Barra Best is here with his We do have two weeks to go in
:24:37. > :24:43.November, but temperatures have been way above normal for this time
:24:43. > :24:48.of here. We have a bit below average rainfall and above-average
:24:48. > :24:52.sunshine. You can see this weather from pushing his way up into
:24:52. > :24:59.Northern Ireland from the south and it is going to bring a very wet end
:24:59. > :25:07.to the day. We could see some localised flooding as a result,
:25:07. > :25:14.where this is heaviest. Overnight, temperatures dropping down to four
:25:14. > :25:19.or five degrees Celsius. Tomorrow, a bright and dry start. A bit of
:25:19. > :25:24.rain breaking and from the West and that is a sign of things to come,
:25:24. > :25:27.because as we move through their day, the wind will become much
:25:27. > :25:32.stronger and this rain will push right across the country from the
:25:32. > :25:37.West. Although temperatures are mailed, at eleven or 12 Celsius,
:25:37. > :25:44.the strong winds and heavy rain will make it feel a bit colder than
:25:44. > :25:52.that. So, not a pleasant end to the day, particularly around the Russia
:25:52. > :25:59.were period, when that rain will possibly be at their heaviest. - -
:25:59. > :26:06.their rush hour period. In Friday, we will see further outbreaks of
:26:06. > :26:14.rain, some of it heavy again. Alas, not the best conditions to raise
:26:15. > :26:18.money for any outdoor children in It is BBC Children in Need night on
:26:18. > :26:21.Friday.Over the next few days, we are going to focus on one of the
:26:21. > :26:25.difficulties local children and young people face - and how the
:26:25. > :26:26.charity's money helps. Kerry Belfast, where parents told her
:26:26. > :26:36.about the difference the funding has made.
:26:36. > :26:41.
:26:41. > :26:49.At just one month old, this baby and her mum face been the homeless.
:26:49. > :26:58.This facility has become invaluable for both mother and daughter.
:26:58. > :27:02.has been fantastic. It has been very good for her as well. It has
:27:02. > :27:10.meant we have been able to interact with other mothers and babies in
:27:10. > :27:19.here is well. The hostel, funded by children in Need, offer support for
:27:19. > :27:25.other mothers like her. The respite they get from it mean they can get
:27:25. > :27:32.out and about to do other things that they need to do. Upstairs and
:27:32. > :27:36.the hostel, Liz is preparing to make a new home for herself and her
:27:36. > :27:46.husband, having been forced to sell her home because of financial
:27:46. > :27:46.
:27:47. > :27:52.pressures. It is a huge weight off my shoulders. Back in the play
:27:52. > :27:59.facility, the children play, unaware of the stresses that their
:27:59. > :28:03.parents have faced. They are now hoping for a more settled future.