:00:19. > :00:23.Good evening. This is BBC Newsline. The headlines:. -- Robert Black is
:00:23. > :00:27.told he must serve at least 25 years for the murder of Jennifer
:00:27. > :00:33.Cardy. I wish he would have asked for forgiveness, because we
:00:33. > :00:37.probably would have said yes. public sector workers prepare for a
:00:37. > :00:40.pension cuts, should MLAs be doing the same?
:00:40. > :00:45.The shake-up for schools that fail to come up to standard.
:00:45. > :00:49.High winds caused disruption across Northern Ireland but the real
:00:49. > :00:53.problems are in Scotland. No surprises that the ferries are
:00:53. > :00:58.affected. The gales will moderate but it is
:00:59. > :01:03.turning colder with wintry showers and eyes in the forecast.
:01:03. > :01:08.-- ice in the forecast. Robert Black will be 90 before he
:01:08. > :01:12.can be considered for release from jail. He was given a minimum
:01:12. > :01:18.sentence of 25 years for abducting and murdering Jennifer Cardy in
:01:18. > :01:23.Ballinderry 30 years ago. Speaking to BBC Newsline, her brother and
:01:23. > :01:29.sister said they would have forgiven Black if he had asked for
:01:29. > :01:33.forgiveness. You subjected a vulnerable child to
:01:33. > :01:37.on pardonable terror, to go way her life and endure for ever a family
:01:37. > :01:41.that treasured her, the words of the judge as he handed down the
:01:41. > :01:47.minimum term that will keep Robert Black in jail until he is at least
:01:47. > :01:51.90. I am satisfied knowing Robert Black will never again walk the
:01:51. > :01:58.streets of Great Britain, never again be able to torture little
:01:58. > :02:02.girls. That is what he did. He tortured little girls. There's a
:02:02. > :02:09.lot of satisfaction today. judge referred to victim impact
:02:09. > :02:15.statements, which Jenifer's parents and siblings road. Her brother was
:02:15. > :02:24.just six when she died. I remember being six years old and I remember
:02:24. > :02:31.what happened the day that Jenifer went missing. I can remember how I
:02:31. > :02:36.felt and how everyone in the family reacted. That week, what unfolded
:02:36. > :02:42.and the distress that it cost, and the impact it had, especially on my
:02:42. > :02:47.parents. Jennifer Cardy's sister with just a baby when she died. She
:02:47. > :02:54.knows how hard for parents work to go for a normal upbringing. If you
:02:54. > :02:57.are a parent when that happened, it would be easy to be suffocating the
:02:57. > :03:03.other children. My parents always give us the freedom but I was
:03:03. > :03:11.always aware that someone could snatch you or if I was out some
:03:11. > :03:15.work, I have always been aware that I had to be saved. Robert Black was
:03:15. > :03:20.never destroyers. I guess we pity him as a family. I do not hate him.
:03:20. > :03:24.I do not know why. Sometimes I try to master of hatred but I do not
:03:24. > :03:31.have it. I wish he had asked for forgiveness. If he had, well would
:03:31. > :03:35.have forgiven him. -- we would have. It would have been hard but that is
:03:35. > :03:38.how we feel. If he had asked for forgiveness we would have forgiven
:03:38. > :03:42.him. The brother and sister of Jennifer
:03:42. > :03:46.Cardy. Stormont Assembly members have told
:03:46. > :03:50.BBC Newsline may think their pension should be cut in line with
:03:50. > :03:54.the public sector. MLAs enjoyed higher final salary pensions than
:03:55. > :03:58.workers who went on strike last week. It is thought that is in part
:03:58. > :04:02.because their jobs can be short lived. Their pay and pensions are
:04:02. > :04:08.being considered by an independent panel. Our political correspondent
:04:08. > :04:13.reports. Public sector workers on the picket
:04:13. > :04:17.line at Stormont, upset that the government wants them to pay more
:04:17. > :04:21.and get less for their pensions. Now, politicians have come under
:04:21. > :04:26.pressure over their own pensions, dub the Rolls Royce of pensions by
:04:27. > :04:30.a leading trade unionist, demanding their share the pain. MLAs crossing
:04:30. > :04:35.a picket line last week seemed to agree. You will not accept a
:04:35. > :04:38.pension rise in that spirit? I will have to look at that when it
:04:38. > :04:44.happens but I think it should be similar to every boy working for
:04:44. > :04:51.the public. At present an MLA with 12 years' service and a basic pay
:04:51. > :04:56.of around �43,000 could receive an annual pension of around �12,900. A
:04:56. > :05:01.public sector worker would get 8,600. Sinn Fein says there should
:05:01. > :05:07.be no difference in the pension. The message going out from us is
:05:07. > :05:11.that we have no problem in being in line with other public sector
:05:11. > :05:16.workers, as public sector workers ourselves. The finance minister
:05:16. > :05:21.says the cuts should affect politicians as well. As a result of
:05:21. > :05:25.the cost of pensions to the public purse increasing, we need to make
:05:25. > :05:31.amendments across the board. MLAs and ministers should share in a
:05:31. > :05:36.pain? Absolutely. His words brought no comfort for one nurse facing
:05:36. > :05:42.cuts. I do not think he is sharing any pain. He needs to come out and
:05:42. > :05:48.see how the workers work and what they have to do and then maybe he
:05:48. > :05:51.will be some pain. What does the man leading a review of MLAs' pay
:05:51. > :05:58.and pensions fight about MLAs telling the BBC issued share the
:05:58. > :06:03.pension pain? I am delighted to hear it. If they would like to come
:06:03. > :06:05.and tell me that we could take into account exactly as they mean it.
:06:05. > :06:10.The panel has been privately surveying MLAs for weeks but say
:06:10. > :06:13.they have yet to hear the pension message directly.
:06:13. > :06:18.BBC Newsline has learnt about changes to a government programme
:06:18. > :06:22.which helps schools that are not up to standard. At the moment they are
:06:22. > :06:28.given up to two years to improve, but some have failed to do that.
:06:28. > :06:33.Others have got worse. This is not read her high school
:06:33. > :06:37.and it is informal intervention. -- and his high school is in formal
:06:37. > :06:42.intervention. It got a very poor inspectors' report but since then,
:06:42. > :06:45.the exam results have got worse and the Executive -- education is still
:06:45. > :06:48.described as inadequate. Since September there has been a new
:06:48. > :06:53.principle and the South Eastern Board say progress has been made
:06:53. > :06:57.but nobody wanted to speak to us today. Six skills have been in a
:06:57. > :07:03.formal intervention for more than a year and eight months, two of them
:07:03. > :07:07.for two years. On a number of occasions that will run to a second
:07:07. > :07:12.year. That is the maximum permitted. After two years, we have to
:07:12. > :07:17.consider further measures. Those further measures could lead to
:07:17. > :07:21.closure. A number of schools will not come out of it. In those
:07:21. > :07:27.circumstances I believe there has to be options around closure,
:07:27. > :07:32.amalgamation, new governors, new senior management, etc. This
:07:32. > :07:36.College in Londonderry has had extra help. While the side has
:07:36. > :07:42.improved, English results were worse. -- while science has
:07:42. > :07:47.improved. There was a slight dip in the results last year. We are going
:07:47. > :07:50.to revisit some of the action plans. Leadership and action managers at
:07:50. > :07:54.the school are described as inadequate by changes have been
:07:54. > :07:59.made, and the school says it has success stories in some subjects.
:07:59. > :08:04.There is a deficit of almost �200,000 and has lost 100 pupils.
:08:04. > :08:10.There is still faith in the school. What has not helped is the label of
:08:10. > :08:14.being inadequate. We are working very hard to rectify that. This
:08:14. > :08:18.Irish medium schools in Derry has been in a remedial class for two
:08:19. > :08:22.years and has just had a follow-up inspection. The verbal response was
:08:22. > :08:27.positive. It says teaching has been judged good or better and standards
:08:27. > :08:31.have risen in literacy and numeracy so it is hoping that soon it will
:08:31. > :08:35.be able to graduate out of formal intervention. From now on, any
:08:35. > :08:39.school needing extra help will be checked if it is worth saving and
:08:40. > :08:44.if it has enough pupils and is not overspending. The Department sees
:08:44. > :08:47.flaws in his system and is about to order a tightening up of the
:08:47. > :08:52.measures, which have been slow to make improvements in so many
:08:52. > :08:55.schools. Still to come... A rates bill that
:08:56. > :09:05.could put a dozen people out of work.
:09:05. > :09:09.And find out why this snooker player's lips are sealed, literally.
:09:10. > :09:14.While Scotland experiences some of the worst went on record, we have
:09:14. > :09:19.not escaped the Atlantic storm. There has been some damage and
:09:19. > :09:23.travel problems. Natasha Sayee is that the ferry terminal in Belfast.
:09:23. > :09:27.Stena Line say their service to Cairnryan probably will not go
:09:27. > :09:32.until at least 11 o'clock and P&O say there have service between
:09:32. > :09:37.Larne and Kern Ryan probably will not go until 8 o'clock. -- cur rent.
:09:37. > :09:41.That depends on the weather in Scotland. It has calm down but
:09:41. > :09:46.earlier today, the wind was ferocious, causing disruption
:09:46. > :09:51.across Northern Ireland. Fallen trees and power lines blocked roads
:09:51. > :09:56.in Belfast. In North Down, Ballymena, Newcastle and Armagh as
:09:56. > :10:04.well. As you can see, the north coast really took a ferocious
:10:04. > :10:11.battering. It is the north-west that is really suffering.
:10:11. > :10:17.Raging seas, hounding the coast line. With every gust of wind, the
:10:17. > :10:26.waves are getting bigger and higher. You are venturing near its. Close
:10:26. > :10:31.by, every gust is measured instantly. It has been fairly well
:10:31. > :10:39.flagged for the last couple of days. On average we are heading gale-
:10:39. > :10:46.force 10 this morning, Storm Force. Malin Head is the most northerly
:10:46. > :10:56.part of Ireland. When we arrived here, there were gusts of over 80
:10:56. > :11:04.mph and this morning, even stronger, around 94 mph. When the storms
:11:04. > :11:09.reached land, some of the 4th goes, but not of -- the destruction.
:11:09. > :11:14.There have been traffic to versions and delays. Major has left its mark
:11:14. > :11:20.on the old and new. -- nature. This is the peace bridge across the
:11:20. > :11:25.River Foyle. It opened during the summer and it has been a very
:11:25. > :11:35.popular pedestrian crossing but today, not a pedestrian in sight.
:11:35. > :11:37.
:11:37. > :11:42.The bridge is open again, but on the coast, little respite.
:11:42. > :11:47.It does seem the worst of the Atlantic storm has passed but brace
:11:47. > :11:54.yourselves for more disruption. Snow is coming and we will have the
:11:54. > :11:59.details at the end of the programme. The recent cold weather and a rise
:11:59. > :12:04.in energy costs has led to Stormont approving a one-off emergency would
:12:04. > :12:06.have your payment for more than a quarter of a million people. -- the
:12:06. > :12:11.winter fuel payment. Cancer sufferers and the unemployed are
:12:11. > :12:16.among those who will benefit. It is seen as helping those in tough
:12:16. > :12:23.times. Rather than just dealing with
:12:23. > :12:28.outcomes, we look at a more holistic approach to dealing with
:12:28. > :12:34.fuel poverty and the difficulties of high energy costs and whether
:12:34. > :12:38.that is looking at issues such as insulation or double-glazing, all
:12:38. > :12:42.of those kind of issues can be let that. We presently have ministers
:12:42. > :12:45.who are looking at those matters. - - can be looked at. People are
:12:45. > :12:49.finding it difficult mob just to heat their homes but to put food on
:12:49. > :12:54.the table. This is a contribution which will hopefully make a
:12:54. > :12:58.difference and which will be welcome. We are pledging that we
:12:58. > :13:03.are going to continue to challenge ourselves to see what more can be
:13:03. > :13:13.done by all of our department. There has been reaction on our
:13:13. > :13:17.
:13:17. > :13:22.Facebook page. If you want to join The construction industry has been
:13:22. > :13:26.hammered in recent times. As Jim Fitzpatrick reports, some companies
:13:26. > :13:30.have a look to new markets and are thriving.
:13:30. > :13:35.Belfast's Metropolitan College house is one of Northern Ireland's
:13:35. > :13:41.swankiest new hair salons. It is a training facility. It was built by
:13:41. > :13:49.Eileen Ian Ayre construction firm, Patton. Work has dried up, so they
:13:49. > :13:55.are finding it elsewhere. It is based on our team who are prepared
:13:55. > :14:05.to travel. The company has developed a specialism in museums
:14:05. > :14:12.and heritage. This is the recent Liverpool Museum. Shopping further
:14:12. > :14:18.afield is now crucial full success. Exotic locations such as Paris,
:14:19. > :14:25.Milan and New York are possible. But what about a construction
:14:25. > :14:29.offers from here with offices in Munich and London? This tour has
:14:30. > :14:38.seen business locally reduced to practically nothing. Turnover
:14:38. > :14:42.growth -- grew 50% in the past year. We could not continue doing the
:14:42. > :14:47.same thing in the same market and expect to survive. We had an
:14:47. > :14:51.opportunity in Britain, working with a major retail chain. We
:14:51. > :14:59.successfully completed that project. That gave us up what --
:14:59. > :15:03.opportunities. The first thing we help them do is to develop their
:15:04. > :15:09.own capacity to compete. We take some to other markets and show them
:15:09. > :15:17.opportunities, for example in the Middle East where they are cashed
:15:17. > :15:22.reach -- cash rich nations. We have employed a full-time person on the
:15:22. > :15:30.CrossRail project. Construction employees 30,000 people here. It is
:15:30. > :15:35.not booming, but it is not best yet. Small businesses, especially in
:15:35. > :15:39.retail, are being crippled by high rates bills. We have spoken to a
:15:39. > :15:46.trader in County Down he says he has been forced to close because of
:15:46. > :15:49.charges and because of arrears. His case highlights a possible weakness
:15:50. > :15:54.in the monitoring and collection of bills.
:15:54. > :15:59.Robert Martin serves another satisfied customer. The hardware
:15:59. > :16:05.shop has been a successful landmark business since his father first
:16:05. > :16:13.opened the doors in 1940. After 71 years, it is closing at the end of
:16:13. > :16:17.January with the loss of 12 jobs. The reason is a huge rates bill.
:16:17. > :16:21.need to go back to 2000 and day when I asked the rates people to
:16:21. > :16:24.come round and survey my building because I thought he was being
:16:24. > :16:32.double rated on a particular piece of property. Imagine the shock when
:16:32. > :16:38.he got a backdated bill for �120,000. It was later reduced to
:16:38. > :16:41.�74,000. He had filled three extensions between 1996 and 2007
:16:41. > :16:46.and did not tell the rates authorities. If you did not tell
:16:46. > :16:49.them yourself or make sure someone told the rates people, surely you
:16:50. > :16:55.knew that one day this was going to come back to bite you as it has
:16:55. > :17:02.done? I did contact the race people. I contacted them three years ago.
:17:02. > :17:05.But not have the time of the exceptions? There. And looking back,
:17:05. > :17:10.Devine you should have done? thought they should have come to me
:17:10. > :17:14.rather than me go to them. Robert is not obliged to tell the raids
:17:14. > :17:21.agency of any extensions. Some people do in order to avoid a
:17:21. > :17:27.backdated bill. Whoever is responsible for not updating the
:17:27. > :17:36.Bill, the net result is the same: The closure of the store and 12
:17:36. > :17:41.people losing their jobs. You can understand. There is nothing much
:17:41. > :17:46.out there for me, a joiner, at the moment. The backdated bill and the
:17:46. > :17:53.updated rates are too much to keep the doors open. So they are due to
:17:53. > :17:57.close for good at the end of next month.
:17:57. > :18:02.With Christmas just around the corner, many people are turning to
:18:02. > :18:06.quick loans and credit cards to pay for it. Getting into debt can be a
:18:06. > :18:10.headache as well as a whole. For this week's Family Focus, we have
:18:10. > :18:15.spoken to a mother who has a warning for others.
:18:15. > :18:20.Shopping for Tories. It is as much a part of Christmas as mince pies
:18:20. > :18:23.and selection boxes. While money is tight for most families, clearly
:18:23. > :18:29.there are still plenty of presence been bought. How is it being paid
:18:29. > :18:38.for? Is it worth getting into debt for one day? One single mother in
:18:38. > :18:43.Carrick Fergus says not. Eating and heating is a struggle. It was
:18:43. > :18:50.robbing Peter to pay Paul. There was no budget whatsoever. It got to
:18:50. > :18:56.the point where I felt isolated and suicidal and no-one knew the extent
:18:56. > :18:59.of it. I could not taught my family because I was ashamed. Sarah has
:18:59. > :19:07.learnt her lesson the hard way. Christians Against Poverty is a
:19:07. > :19:11.charity that helps families in debt. They say that one in four people
:19:11. > :19:15.they see cannot afford to buy food because of debt. Many couples split
:19:15. > :19:20.up because of money worries. urge many families not to get into
:19:20. > :19:26.debt over Christmas. It is a time of cheer and fun and family, not a
:19:26. > :19:31.time of giving gifts. There are lots of ways you can have a really
:19:31. > :19:36.good Christmas but not get into debt. Sarah and her family are
:19:36. > :19:45.spending this Christmas debt-free. I have really kicked down this year.
:19:45. > :19:51.Last year, and it was over in five minutes. Sarah's advice is simple:
:19:51. > :19:54.Stick to a budget say you're not paying for Christmas all year round.
:19:55. > :20:00.Apart from debt, we are warned about being deceived by fraudsters
:20:00. > :20:09.this Christmas. People here lose �100 million a year in retail fraud.
:20:09. > :20:13.You can read about that on our website. A lot of people have have
:20:13. > :20:17.been getting e-mails from forces who claim they have been rocked.
:20:17. > :20:21.This week we have been looking at how we can protect private
:20:22. > :20:26.information when using digital technology, such as computers and
:20:26. > :20:31.smart phones. How often do we give away information without a second
:20:31. > :20:34.thought, information that others can use quite legally?
:20:34. > :20:39.Who here as an example of how we can openly give away our own
:20:39. > :20:43.privacy. Thousands of motorists have a sat-nav, which are useful
:20:43. > :20:47.for finding your way about. When you update the matter, you can do
:20:47. > :20:52.that online. You will be asked to agree to terms and conditions. Do
:20:52. > :20:58.you ever read them? What happens next is legal, but involves you
:20:58. > :21:02.handing over private information. This is the lot from a sat-nav. It
:21:02. > :21:07.records every time you use it and shows where you started, where you
:21:07. > :21:11.went to, the date, how are you took to get there and your speed. When
:21:11. > :21:16.you are buying your map of the internet, you may be asked to agree
:21:16. > :21:19.that this information can be kept by the manufacturer. But this only
:21:19. > :21:23.happens if you tick the box that says you agree to the terms and
:21:23. > :21:27.conditions. This information is not identified as being yours, and the
:21:27. > :21:33.company makes this clear. The company says on their website that
:21:33. > :21:36.they do this, and it is perfectly legal. But few of us bother to read
:21:36. > :21:45.the small print. If you're downloading a map, you do not know
:21:45. > :21:49.what is going on behind the scenes. The information commissioner says
:21:49. > :21:55.this needs to be improved. If you are up loading or downloading
:21:55. > :21:59.information, we would expect that in good practice it would be to
:21:59. > :22:03.have a warning message that information is being passed to a
:22:03. > :22:08.company at the same time. In some cases, the information is lumped
:22:08. > :22:13.together and can be passed on to other people. That is legal because
:22:13. > :22:17.you consented to it. In one country, not the UK, the information was
:22:17. > :22:22.Assembly passed on to a police force be used it to set of their
:22:22. > :22:25.speed cameras because the sat-nav locks showed where motorists had
:22:25. > :22:29.been speeding. If you are going to download anything from any website,
:22:29. > :22:37.take time to read the terms and conditions and the privacy policy,
:22:37. > :22:41.and then it is at you. Rory McIlroy may have lost his golf
:22:41. > :22:47.ball today, but he has given himself a great chance of winning
:22:47. > :22:52.another tournament. Trying to finish top of the
:22:52. > :22:59.European Order of Merit, McElwaine ensued win the Championship in
:22:59. > :23:05.Dubai, his last chance to beat Luke Donald to the top spot. His opening
:23:05. > :23:09.round leasing two shots of the lead. Rory McIlroy says that patience was
:23:09. > :23:16.a key to his impressive opening round. A lost ball at the second
:23:16. > :23:23.hole may have resulted in the double bid G7, but Mackle why was
:23:23. > :23:32.simply untouchable. Every putt seemed to drop as he climbed up the
:23:33. > :23:42.leaderboard. This was a highlight of an action-packed round. Another
:23:43. > :23:44.
:23:44. > :23:53.followed and the next hole, before the perfect finish on the green.
:23:53. > :23:56.Glentoran and Portadown football clubs have been meeting to help in
:23:56. > :24:01.short there is no repeat of the trouble that marred the game
:24:01. > :24:07.between the two earlier in this season. Fireworks were thrown in
:24:07. > :24:16.October, injuring a member of staff. Recent Portadown and Glentoran
:24:16. > :24:20.crashes -- classes have been remanded for the wrong reasons.
:24:20. > :24:26.firework came between me and the goalkeeping coach. There was an
:24:26. > :24:34.explosion. He was on the floor. His can tax -- contact lens was blown
:24:34. > :24:41.out. Fortunately, small incidents like that get the club tarnished.
:24:41. > :24:46.The messages for these people to stay away. They are not welcome.
:24:46. > :24:51.Since that game, both clubs have been working tirelessly to ensure
:24:51. > :25:00.there is no repeat of those scenes. We had a security meeting on Monday
:25:00. > :25:04.evening with Glentoran. The police were there. One of the issues was
:25:04. > :25:09.the turnstiles. If any troublemakers turn up at the game,
:25:09. > :25:16.we will identify the man. Denied to the police and the police will take
:25:16. > :25:21.steps to deal with that. The clubs and the police are working together
:25:21. > :25:25.to make sure that the game is run before football and nothing else.
:25:25. > :25:29.Finally, Antrim snooker player Mark Allen has come up with an
:25:29. > :25:33.interesting way of making sure his public comments do not get him into
:25:33. > :25:37.any more trouble. He entered a news conference at the UK Championships
:25:37. > :25:41.with a piece of gaffer tape over his mouth in protest at what he
:25:41. > :25:45.feels is unfair criticism of his previous comments aimed at the
:25:45. > :25:50.World Snooker chairman Barry Hearn. He took it off after a few minutes.
:25:50. > :25:59.There is coverage of his game against Marco Fu after this
:25:59. > :26:08.programme on BBC Two. No prizes for guessing what the
:26:08. > :26:13.weather headline was today. There were stormy wins. They reached 95
:26:13. > :26:22.mph. There was quite a bit of disruption today, quite a lot of
:26:22. > :26:29.trees fell down. Even though the worst has already passed, we still
:26:29. > :26:33.have an ample warning that -- in place for the next couple of hours.
:26:33. > :26:38.Especially on the north coast, there will be gale-force gusts of
:26:38. > :26:46.wind. It will die down overnight, as will the temperatures. We have a
:26:46. > :26:54.different hazard on the way. The Met Office has issued a warning of
:26:54. > :27:03.ice it -- into tomorrow. Temperatures will fall to freezing,
:27:03. > :27:07.bringing Frost and icy patches. We also get passing showers. It will
:27:07. > :27:12.turned to sleet and snow at times. Tomorrow morning, it is likely to
:27:12. > :27:22.be slippery on untreated roads and pavements. We could see up to two
:27:22. > :27:26.centimetres of snow. Initially, it is across the North first thing.
:27:26. > :27:34.Most of the snow will fall on the hilltops, settling above 200 metres.
:27:34. > :27:39.It will come into low levels at times. It clears away in the
:27:39. > :27:44.afternoon. There will be some wintry sunshine, but you will still
:27:44. > :27:48.need to wrap up warm because it is bitterly cold. Tomorrow is an icy
:27:48. > :27:53.night under clear skies. There will be some showers on the north coast,