:00:13. > :00:17.Good evening. This is BBC Newsline with Donna Traynor and Noel
:00:17. > :00:20.Thompson. The headlines this Wednesday evening: An action plan
:00:20. > :00:30.to try to cut emergency waiting times - Will it make any
:00:30. > :00:40.difference? There were people beside me he was saying this is a
:00:40. > :00:41.
:00:41. > :00:44.mess. A wheeze question the health minister.
:00:44. > :00:54.We question the Health Minister Edwin Poots who's here in the
:00:54. > :01:00.
:01:00. > :01:10.studio. Our business editor will assess the changes in the Budget.
:01:10. > :01:12.
:01:12. > :01:15.Only one Irish League football club wins in a thrilling night of action.
:01:15. > :01:17.And we've been a bit unlucky with the sunshine lately, but that's
:01:17. > :01:21.about to change. In the face of mounting criticism
:01:21. > :01:26.of the state of the Health service, the Minister Edwin Poots is setting
:01:26. > :01:29.new targets for dealing with patients in Accident and Emergency.
:01:29. > :01:34.He wants 95 percent of patients to be admitted or discharged within
:01:34. > :01:37.four hours. And he has set up what he calls an Action Group to take a
:01:38. > :01:41.longer term view on solving the problems in the Service. The moves
:01:41. > :01:44.follow the death of an elderly man who spent 24 hours on a trolley
:01:44. > :01:47.waiting for a bed in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast. In a
:01:47. > :01:55.moment we'll hear from Edwin Poots himself, first here's our health
:01:55. > :02:02.correspondent. Chester three of the hundreds of
:02:02. > :02:07.people who contacted BBC Newsline to tell us about their experiences.
:02:07. > :02:13.This woman's 80-year-old mother spent a night on a trolley, she had
:02:13. > :02:18.a fractured hip. Something as basic as providing a toilette prove
:02:18. > :02:25.impossible for nurses, often too busy to talk. Eventually, she was
:02:25. > :02:28.brought into a storeroom, I waited approximately 45 minutes, I
:02:28. > :02:33.couldn't understand what was happening, I went to look further,
:02:33. > :02:38.I couldn't find her. Another patient told me she was in the
:02:38. > :02:48.storeroom, she was still on the bed pan, I have to go and ask a nurse
:02:48. > :02:49.
:02:49. > :02:55.to remove the bedpan. The Health Minister announces plans, in order
:02:55. > :02:59.to reduce the waiting times Edwin Poots said that nurses would be
:03:00. > :03:05.allowed to discharge patients, they would be more frequent rounds of
:03:05. > :03:10.the ward, minor injuries treated on site, and maximising the amount of
:03:10. > :03:14.day care procedures. Some nurses said they had heard it all before,
:03:14. > :03:19.but the minister showed he was listening, and confronting why so
:03:19. > :03:25.many staff are turning to the media. We think the question is for
:03:25. > :03:28.employers. Why do staff feel the need to go to the media? They do
:03:28. > :03:31.not believe that they are being listened to, and that people are
:03:31. > :03:38.taking action when they have raised concerns, and they feel they have
:03:38. > :03:42.no choice. A test of whether the plan is working is whether fewer
:03:42. > :03:48.people have experiences like John, his father has Alzheimer's, he says
:03:48. > :03:54.nurses had no time to listen. said she was giving him penicillin,
:03:54. > :03:59.I said, if you look at the notes, you will find he is allergic to
:03:59. > :04:06.penicillin, and is highly intolerant to other medicines.
:04:06. > :04:14.Should anyone be held accountable? In the last four years, a dozen
:04:14. > :04:18.chief executives have been sacked for failing to meet targets. It is
:04:18. > :04:23.a time to start cracking the whip, people are paid enormous amounts of
:04:23. > :04:29.money for doing this job, and not beating targets. My focus is
:04:30. > :04:35.entirely on patients. Others can take on the role of holding people
:04:35. > :04:44.to account, my entire focus is the patient. For the public, some
:04:44. > :04:53.problems are easily solved, this man's mother weighted how was just
:04:53. > :04:58.to receive stitches. -- this man's mother waited for hours. They could
:04:58. > :05:01.be much more efficient. Sol in this crisis is the biggest challenge yet
:05:01. > :05:11.for the health minister. The Health Minister Edwin Poots is
:05:11. > :05:21.with me now. As a they can this challenge -- has
:05:21. > :05:26.it taken this tragedy to get your head out the sand? Absolutely not.
:05:26. > :05:32.I was dedicated to this long before any of this. What I was hearing was
:05:32. > :05:37.not acceptable, the waiting times were too long. Why was it allowed
:05:37. > :05:41.to become so bad? A mess, as one patient told us. It is quite
:05:41. > :05:48.apparent that the problem does not solely rest in accident and
:05:48. > :05:52.emergency, it is the whole hospital system. A lot of people have had to
:05:52. > :06:02.stay on trolleys, as opposed to moving towards. That has led to
:06:02. > :06:10.large build up so people. You close the one major A&E centre? -- you
:06:10. > :06:18.closed. What would have made the difference was spreading our jam or
:06:18. > :06:24.thinly across these hospitals, we were spread across two sides.
:06:24. > :06:32.about accountability? He was responsible for it? It is the chief
:06:32. > :06:39.executive of the trust, he is responsible. He is accountable to
:06:39. > :06:47.me and the public. The standards that we are receiving are not
:06:47. > :06:54.acceptable. We expect that to be improved. We have heard about heads
:06:54. > :06:59.rolling, will it happen here? have set them some very significant
:06:59. > :07:04.targets. If they felt to be met, it is an issue that will be addressed.
:07:04. > :07:08.You have set these targets, but you have given no more resources. We
:07:08. > :07:13.have heard about �80 million of cuts, which will maybe reduce the
:07:13. > :07:19.number of nurses, it will affect operations, community care, you're
:07:19. > :07:28.asking the possible? We have a very tight budget. That is the Budget we
:07:28. > :07:33.have. That does not mean make-up front line services. In Antrim
:07:33. > :07:40.Hospital, we have financed, and replaced, the recruitment of 40
:07:40. > :07:46.additional nurses. There is a new unit being built. We are doing
:07:46. > :07:50.things. A target of 95% of patients being discharged in the first 24
:07:50. > :07:57.hours, by when? We would want to see that in fermented in the next
:07:57. > :08:07.the number of months. Too long, people will say. I want to see that
:08:07. > :08:07.
:08:07. > :08:17.move upwards. If it hasn't happened, we resigned -- world you resign?
:08:17. > :08:18.
:08:18. > :08:22.are putting these measures in place. Will you resign? What is important
:08:22. > :08:26.is how why will respond to these difficulties. I'm very clearly
:08:26. > :08:31.putting a planning to place, and I want to do with things. Let's watch
:08:31. > :08:33.this space. Thank you. The Chancellor George Osborne has
:08:33. > :08:37.said thousands of people in Northern Ireland should find
:08:38. > :08:42.themselves better off as a result of today's budget. Although some
:08:42. > :08:45.pensioners could eventually find themselves worse off. Let's have a
:08:45. > :08:48.look at some of the main points. The amount people can earn tax free
:08:48. > :08:54.is increasing, it's currently around �8,000 but will go up more
:08:54. > :08:58.than �9,000. The Chancellor says it should give people as much as an
:08:58. > :09:01.should give people as much as an extra �220 a year. People over 65
:09:01. > :09:05.currently get a bigger tax free allowance but that will be frozen
:09:05. > :09:10.and so its value will be eroded by inflation. Households where someone
:09:10. > :09:16.earns over �42,000 were going to lose their child benefit. That's
:09:16. > :09:21.been changed. It will now only affect people earning over �50,000.
:09:21. > :09:25.And only those earning �60,000 will lose it all. Smokers will be hit,
:09:25. > :09:30.with a packet of 20 cigarettes going up by 37 pence. There will
:09:30. > :09:34.also be a 3p rise in the price of a pint. There's no respite for
:09:34. > :09:37.motorists. The Chancellor is sticking with plans to increase
:09:37. > :09:41.fuel duty later this year. That's dismayed many people who say high
:09:41. > :09:50.fuel costs are one of the biggest drags on our economy. Here's our
:09:50. > :09:53.drags on our economy. Here's our business correspondent.
:09:53. > :10:02.Spiralling fuel prices are having a dramatic effect on this haulage
:10:02. > :10:09.company. It uses 80 million litres of diesel annually. It cost them an
:10:09. > :10:14.extra �180,000 a year. A fuel prices are at their record high,
:10:14. > :10:22.and while there was no respite, there was huge disappointment at
:10:22. > :10:28.the 3p a litre rise in August. are depilated, very upset. --
:10:28. > :10:33.deflated. Some hauliers will say they can't go one. After Matt Lee,
:10:34. > :10:41.people may lose their jobs because of this. The cost to the consumer
:10:41. > :10:49.will go up. Boris start, it means higher food prices. -- for a start,
:10:49. > :10:54.it means higher food prices. This woman working at Ulster Hospital
:10:54. > :11:02.and �27,000 here, she will pay around �300 less a year, though she
:11:02. > :11:06.says, in real terms, she would be any better off. I'll be paying an
:11:07. > :11:11.additional six under �80 in pension contributions. If I have a huge
:11:11. > :11:20.amount of fuel costs. Heating and to have gone up, and the dredger
:11:20. > :11:24.pounds when make any difference. -- �300. I won't be any better off.
:11:24. > :11:31.Smokers will have to pay more. The increase will come into effect at
:11:31. > :11:33.six o'clock. It won't stop me at all. I think it's ridiculous.
:11:33. > :11:43.increase is great from my perspective, it will help me cut
:11:43. > :11:43.
:11:43. > :11:50.back. That is a really big hike. The fact that the Chancellor will
:11:50. > :11:54.allow many middle-class families to keep all of their child benefit was
:11:54. > :12:01.welcomed. I think child benefit should be available to as many
:12:01. > :12:04.people as possible. People deserve a bit to help of their children.
:12:04. > :12:08.The Budget has left the one big unanswered question for Northern
:12:08. > :12:13.Ireland, and that is the fate of the pay of two other 1,000 public
:12:13. > :12:21.sector workers. The Chancellor, ultimately wants to see pay bills
:12:21. > :12:24.going down, what he didn't was it when, or by how much. -- didn't
:12:24. > :12:28.spell out. Our business and economics editor
:12:28. > :12:36.Jim Fitzpatrick joins me now. Jim did this budget live up to what we
:12:36. > :12:41.expected? The expectations were on the top rate of tax. Let's look at
:12:41. > :12:44.the highest rates, it's coming down to 45p next year. How many people
:12:44. > :12:53.will that affect in Northern Ireland? The answer is around 4,000.
:12:53. > :13:02.That is not a huge impact. What about the match and tax? They
:13:02. > :13:08.avoided that. -- what about mansion tax? They have to pay another tax
:13:08. > :13:18.anyway. What is the impact? thing that was aborted was personal
:13:18. > :13:19.
:13:19. > :13:22.allowances. They are effectively the rate you pay income tax.
:13:22. > :13:32.Because they are raising it it will take some people out of the system
:13:32. > :13:33.
:13:33. > :13:43.altogether. They will be 600,000 people who will see that affect.
:13:43. > :13:47.
:13:47. > :13:52.has been a speculation about public service work sectors? Some
:13:52. > :13:56.departments are concerned. The differential, the premium you get
:13:56. > :14:00.in the public sector is 27%, that figure comes from the Department of
:14:00. > :14:07.Finance. The finance minister, Sammy Wilson, is concerned about
:14:07. > :14:11.this. He has reasons why they are paying more, if the principle is
:14:11. > :14:21.established by reducing pay, it would have a big impact. Having
:14:21. > :14:22.
:14:22. > :14:26.said that, they found a more Helpful to the film industry,
:14:26. > :14:29.passenger devolution helping foreign investment, a reduction in
:14:29. > :14:33.corporation tax which will close the gap Parlour between Northern
:14:33. > :14:38.Ireland and the Irish Republic and broadband for Belfast. And the fact
:14:38. > :14:44.that some people who Warren Lowing comes are being lifted out of tax
:14:44. > :14:50.and will pay no tax -- who what are Honour low-income. There are lot of
:14:50. > :14:56.things that concern me in this Budget. -- who are on the low
:14:56. > :14:59.income. It has been found people at the bottom will lose the most.
:14:59. > :15:09.People on pensions are squeezed so forget about the squeezed middle,
:15:09. > :15:21.
:15:21. > :15:29.You can check out the detail with News Online. Still to come... We
:15:29. > :15:36.look at the planned changes to its capacity benefit. And Banbridge
:15:36. > :15:39.Officials from Linfield and Derry City football clubs have been
:15:39. > :15:41.giving their reaction to the trouble after last night's Setanta
:15:41. > :15:44.Cup game. Buses carrying Linfield supporters were attacked as were
:15:44. > :15:46.houses close to the stadium. One man was arrested. In a statement
:15:46. > :15:49.Linfield say they were unhappy with "aggressive and provocative
:15:49. > :15:53.behaviour" by Derry City stewards and some local people. But one of
:15:53. > :16:03.Derry City's directors says he feared for his life as he ran from
:16:03. > :16:06.
:16:06. > :16:16.They knocked down part of the fence, then a mob started to attack me --
:16:16. > :16:17.
:16:17. > :16:24.attack me. The stewards rugby- They said let's kill him! To be
:16:24. > :16:27.honest, it was really scary. People who have been deemed too ill to
:16:27. > :16:31.work may be forced to look for a job under benefit changes. The
:16:31. > :16:34.government is moving people from the old incapacity benefit to was
:16:34. > :16:36.appalled -- employment support allowance. We have the highest
:16:37. > :16:42.number in the UK and incapacity benefit and the government digs
:16:42. > :16:48.many of them can find some form of work. Our political correspondent
:16:48. > :16:53.has the second in our series on reworking welfare. This is Bill, he
:16:53. > :16:57.works trying to help people get jobs. He is fully behind changes to
:16:57. > :17:01.welfare that will see thousands taken off incapacity benefit. That
:17:01. > :17:07.is because of the new test which focuses on what work you can do
:17:07. > :17:10.rather than what you cannot. This is not about saying you're all
:17:10. > :17:14.faking, this is saying there are people who were genuinely unwell
:17:14. > :17:18.and need support, there are those who want to get back to work but
:17:18. > :17:21.cannot because they are tied up in the system. By breaking down a
:17:21. > :17:25.system and giving people a step-by- step approach without making it
:17:25. > :17:29.economically hard for them, we can make their lives different. It in
:17:29. > :17:34.the past you had to go and see what was known as the big doctor to get
:17:34. > :17:39.benefit, now it is being phased out and you go to centres like this. If
:17:39. > :17:44.you pass the test you can collect �100 a week on employment support
:17:44. > :17:48.allowance. This is how it works... The most ill people will get the
:17:48. > :17:54.allowance automatically, others are sent to a health care professional,
:17:54. > :17:57.not necessarily a doctor. They then send a report to the Social
:17:57. > :18:01.Security Agency for a decision. Some people are moved to a work
:18:01. > :18:09.support group on benefit of around �94 a week. Others lose their
:18:09. > :18:14.incapacity benefit. We think around 30% of those who move from capacity
:18:14. > :18:18.benefit will either fell at test or move on -- and have to move on to
:18:18. > :18:21.jobseeker's allowance, or alternatively, they may drop out of
:18:21. > :18:27.the benefits system altogether if they have a partner who earns over
:18:27. > :18:31.a certain amount, or if they do. You need 15 points to keep your
:18:31. > :18:34.benefits but you can appeal. We are aware of a case of a lone parent
:18:34. > :18:39.with one child, the woman has learning difficulties. She was
:18:39. > :18:44.given no points at her assessment but and 36 in her appeal. The whole
:18:44. > :18:48.process took four a month and in the meantime she was left on a
:18:48. > :18:54.basic benefit of �67 a week. Despite such problems one welfare
:18:54. > :18:58.reformer says it is the only option. I take the view that with the
:18:58. > :19:02.economy in such dire straits we cannot afford to allow so many
:19:02. > :19:07.people to be signed off into different areas and then have the
:19:07. > :19:13.belief the highest they can aspire to is a workless life. I think many
:19:13. > :19:16.people should aspire to more the mat. I think a lot of people do.
:19:16. > :19:20.critics. How long-term unemployment and ill-health is a legacy of the
:19:20. > :19:24.Troubles and say job opportunities are not there for those who want to
:19:24. > :19:27.work. Particularly in this recession, if you have people
:19:27. > :19:31.applying for jobs and you have somebody who has been on long-term
:19:31. > :19:35.incapacity benefit through no fault of their own, and you have a string
:19:35. > :19:39.of graduates coming in, you can answer that question for me. Who
:19:39. > :19:43.are you going to employ? It is not known how many people on incapacity
:19:43. > :19:46.benefit have been helped into work as those figures are not recorded.
:19:46. > :19:53.But the Department of Employment and learning says around 1500
:19:53. > :19:57.people have claimed a return to work credit in the past year.
:19:57. > :20:00.In the final part of her series tomorrow night Martina will be
:20:00. > :20:03.looking at universal credit - it's going to replace all the current
:20:03. > :20:07.benefits. And the changes to benefits have prompted a lot of
:20:07. > :20:17.discussion on our Facebook page today. You can join the
:20:17. > :20:32.
:20:32. > :20:35.In last night's Setanta Cup quarter-finals, League of Ireland
:20:36. > :20:38.sides won three of the four ties, leaving Crusaders as the only Irish
:20:39. > :20:42.Premiership club in the last four after their 2-0 win over Bohemians.
:20:42. > :20:45.But the tie of the night was at Brandywell where Derry emerged as
:20:45. > :20:53.victors. With the game poised our one all from the first leg,
:20:53. > :20:57.Linfield took the lead. But Derry were level in the second half. They
:20:57. > :21:02.scored two more to clinch the tie. There was a result which left the
:21:03. > :21:12.Linfield manager furious with the match officials. But there were no
:21:13. > :21:15.
:21:15. > :21:20.complaints from Derry as they In Belfast, Sean Ward scored the
:21:20. > :21:24.best goal of the night to get Tottenham back into their tie
:21:24. > :21:30.against Sligo. But just as the glens were getting into their
:21:30. > :21:36.stride, this happened... A floodlight failure and a ten-minute
:21:36. > :21:41.delay. When the lights came back on a penalty was conceded, and a tie.
:21:41. > :21:43.The it was not the ideal way of taking the players into the
:21:43. > :21:53.changing room and cooling down, then having to come out again
:21:53. > :21:54.
:21:54. > :21:58.midway through the second half. But Two goals from Barry Johnson and
:21:58. > :22:02.Joe Gormley got them back on level terms. They forced the game into
:22:02. > :22:08.extra time and then a penalty shoot-out but could only convert
:22:08. > :22:15.one spot kick. There was no pressure on us. We had to keep
:22:15. > :22:19.clean sheets. It went to penalties and it is a lottery from there. Our
:22:19. > :22:29.players were dead on their feet but I have nothing but admiration for
:22:29. > :22:29.
:22:29. > :22:37.them. Earlier this week we saw Methodist College win at the Rugby
:22:37. > :22:47.Schools Cup. Tonight we bring you the hockey schools champions after
:22:47. > :22:50.war was probably the most thrilling final of them all. Banbridge
:22:50. > :22:52.Academy have cemented their reputation as one of the best
:22:52. > :22:55.Schools' Hockey teams in Ireland after a thrilling 3-2 extra-time
:22:55. > :22:58.victory over Friends' School from Lisburn in this year's Burney Cup
:22:58. > :23:04.final. Denise Watson reports. The Academy scored twice in the first
:23:04. > :23:12.six minutes. A short corner conversion made it 2-0. The first
:23:12. > :23:20.goal for friends came courtesy -- the first goal for Friends' School
:23:20. > :23:26.came up after 25 minutes. The final touch, then they were well and
:23:26. > :23:31.truly back in the final contest. Extra-time was necessary. Banbridge
:23:31. > :23:41.thought they had got victory but there was more drama to come. In
:23:41. > :23:47.
:23:47. > :23:50.the dying moments Friends' School So Banbridge Academy, Burney Cup
:23:50. > :24:00.winners again but friend -- Friends' School pushed them all
:24:00. > :24:00.
:24:00. > :24:03.away. Ireland and Munster hooker Jerry Flannery has retired from
:24:03. > :24:11.professional rugby. He had struggled with injuries for the
:24:11. > :24:14.last two seasons. Flannery won a total of 41 caps for Ireland.
:24:14. > :24:16.Armagh claim that their players, including Ciaran McKeever here,
:24:16. > :24:19.suffered ''racist and personal abuse'' during Sunday's league
:24:19. > :24:22.defeat to Laois. And Graham McDowell was a member of the Lake
:24:22. > :24:25.Nona team which has won the Tavistock Cup. McDowell carded a
:24:25. > :24:33.three-under 69 on the final day of the annual exhibition tournament in
:24:33. > :24:35.Florida. And finally good luck to Ireland's cricketers - they face
:24:35. > :24:44.Canada in a Twenty20 World cup qualifier early tomorrow morning
:24:44. > :24:48.our time. We'll have that action on Good luck to them. Now the weather.
:24:48. > :24:54.I have been inside all day, but I think it has been nice. It has been
:24:54. > :24:58.dry. Let's hope it continues. has been fine. We have been unlucky
:24:58. > :25:03.with the sunshine, the cloud has rolled in each day to spoil things.
:25:03. > :25:08.That is what happened again today. The cloud went back northwards
:25:08. > :25:12.after a bright start. Our fortunes are about to change. We have fairly
:25:12. > :25:16.clear skies, so we are hoping to see those engine during the night.
:25:16. > :25:21.Still a fair amount of cloud around through the evening. It is dry, the
:25:21. > :25:25.winds are easing down. Through the night the clouds starts to shrink
:25:25. > :25:31.away towards the north, clearing skies but that means it will also
:25:31. > :25:35.be a cold at night. Temperatures inland, Three Degrees, but close to
:25:36. > :25:40.freezing in some rural spots. Chances are we will see patchy
:25:40. > :25:45.Frost with the odd patch of mist, or fog as well. If they form they
:25:45. > :25:49.will probably go quite quickly tomorrow. A dry, fine day coming up.
:25:49. > :25:55.A brighter day certainly with more sunshine around. Despite a chilly
:25:55. > :26:00.start it will probably be the skies and sunshine. A few differences
:26:00. > :26:06.around tomorrow. If you are on the County Down coastline you will
:26:06. > :26:10.probably have an onshore south- easterly breeze. So it could feel
:26:10. > :26:20.quite cool. The best is inland, particularly towards the west and
:26:20. > :26:29.
:26:29. > :26:32.north-west. Through tomorrow night -- a fine day, but cloudy. Even on
:26:32. > :26:36.Friday there will be some showers around but they will not linger
:26:36. > :26:46.into the weekend, they should clear to leave us with a lot of dry
:26:46. > :26:47.