13/12/2013 BBC Newsline


13/12/2013

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Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline. A new Parades Commission

:00:18.:00:20.

is appointed as the Haass talks witnesses its first row between the

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DUP and the chairman. Also on the programme.... The Republic's

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ministers get back and fill control of their spending but there is more

:00:38.:00:42.

austerity to come. A care worker is jailed for stealing more than

:00:43.:00:46.

?100,000 from a pensioner. As doctors warn of a silent epidemic,

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we hear of a woman's battle against alcohol addiction. Ballinderry

:00:55.:00:57.

shamrocks play the English champions. And if you are heading

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over the water this weekend it might be a lively trip. A warning of storm

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force winds in place for tomorrow. There's been a row between the DUP

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and the talks chairman Richard Haass. Party sources have told BBC

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Newsline they are "spitting blood." Before going in to meet the former

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US diplomat this afternoon, the Lagan Valley MP Jeffrey Donaldson

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said the party had been what he called "robust." We'll speak to our

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Political Editor Mark Devenport shortly, but first Gareth Gordon has

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spent the day at the talks venue in east Belfast. Richard Haass has now

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been locked in talks with the parties, hour after hour, for almost

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five days and today is perhaps the most difficult subject of all, the

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past. Are you staying? Yes sir. He was all smiles after leaving the

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venue this morning, but behind-the-scenes, the first sign of

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tension. When they arrived, the DUP delegation was asked if it was true

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it had a frosty meeting with the former US diplomat yesterday. I do

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not want to try and characterise the meetings. When it has come to

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propositions put to us with which we are in disagreement, we have left no

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one in any doubt about our disagreement. DUP source said it was

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accurate to say that they were spitting blood and no further

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details were given, the only clue is that the meeting yesterday with have

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centred on flags. After their meeting, Sinn Fein appeared

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optimistic, but said all sides would have to be prepared to give a

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little. There are compromises to be made. At the core is victims and

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survivors so I do not want to say anything that would trigger any

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other speculation before we sums -- come to some sort of conclusion. I

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am confident that we can crack this. The other party to meet

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Richard Haass today urged him to be bold. I would prefer it was a five

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party agreement, but if Richard Haass has to make a call, then I

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would urge him to do that and to be ambitious. I think the public will

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be able to judge who has made a constructive contribution. It is not

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just politicians who are waiting anxiously. We need the Haass talks

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to succeed, they need to be a more positive signpost on the three

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issues on which we are spending time and effort. Richard Haass's overseas

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concerns do not solely centre on this corner of the world, this

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afternoon he found time to tweet about the latest situation in North

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Korea. It is clear that Northern Ireland will need all his book is

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next week as these talks enter their most crucial phase. Our political

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Editor Mark Devenport is at the talks venue this evening. Mark, what

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more can you tell us about this row between the DUP and Richard Haass?

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We do not have much detail. There has not been any response from the

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Haass talks team. We know that the row seems to have happened -- but

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happened on a day when they were talking about flags, but I am led to

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believe it was not limited to that issue. In terms of previous

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negotiations, we have seen rows, things tend to heat up as the stakes

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get higher, we saw that at the time of the Good Friday Agreement. It is

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hard to fully assess the significance of this, but it is the

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first big row. Where does this leave us now as we head into next week? I

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am sure that the team will want to press forward, they have meeting

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scheduled tomorrow and they intend to work over the weekend. They will

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meet the Secretary of State on Monday and we are led to believe

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that there should be a bigger document presented to the parties

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early next week and things should come to a culmination by the end of

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next week. And the new Parades Commission line up has been

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announced this afternoon, who's on it? These new commissioners will

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take over next year. Peter Osborne the outgoing Commissioner will be

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replaced by Anne Henderson and she is an accountant who is a former

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vice Chair of the Housing Executive. There will be Sarah Howell then, a

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solicitor who has a legal role in relation to industrial relations.

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Another commissioner will be: Kennedy, the Chief Executive of a

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sports charity. Also another lawyer, Frances McCartney, and probably the

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best-known of this new line-up is Glyn Roberts, who is currently the

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Chief Executive of the Northern Ireland independent retail trade. He

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has a background as a former Chair of the Alliance Party. The

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Republic's Finance Minister has warned that the country can't go mad

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again. This weekend the government regains control of its budget from

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the EU and the IMF which have run the country's finances for the last

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three years. On Sunday, it will officially exit what's been called

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the Bail-out. That was the 67 billion euro rescue money which the

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government needed after it made the fatal decision to support the banks,

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who had run up enormous property losses. For the general public, the

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bailout's strict conditions have meant tax rises and spending cuts.

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In a moment we'll hear from our Economics and Business Editor. But

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first our Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison has been looking at the

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human cost of the bailout. Playtime with their children. As a family,

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this couple know all about the swings and roundabouts of the

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recession and bailout Ireland. During the boom years, they had

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around 1200 -year-old to spare at the end of each month, these days,

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with children and with the man being unemployed, they struggle to pay

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their bills. There has been a lot of times we have had to miss meals.

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When you have to go through that, as a person, something you never think

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you have to go through, that is a wake-up call. The family have had

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enough of Ireland. Ritchie, an electrician, has got a job in

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reddish Colombia in Canada. Next month, they move. I am not looking

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for a lot, I just want to have fun with the girls and relax and not

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have to think every second about money. I just want to stop the

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stress. This man has got what he is looking for. A deal with his bank to

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which he says he owes between 200 and 300,000 euros. Last year, when I

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visited his farm, his friends and neighbours had barricades around the

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property to prevent his bank from taking over the farm will stop now,

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after almost a year long stand-off, the two sides have reached an

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agreement. I want to give people hope that there is a future for

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people in small farms like this. Paying debts has been the story of

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the Republic for the last three years, but for individuals and the

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bankrupt state as well. On Sunday, the bailout ends, but for some,

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there is little confidence that much will change. The government are

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pleasing Europe and the banks, but they are destroying this country and

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destroying the people who cannot save the country. It is a nice news

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story, but we know that things are quite different in reality.

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Individual stories that reminders of the human cost of an economic

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failure. Our Economics and Business editor John Campbell is here.

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Looking at the Republic's economy now, what sort of shape is it in?

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There are still some years of pain to come. There are some initial

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signs that things are covering, if we look at the housing market in

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Dublin, it has been improving, up 15%, at the last thing that it needs

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is another housing bubble. If you have got a rise in prices, that

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might feed into better consumer confidence. We can look at how much

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tax the government is taking and in November, it was 214 million euros

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ahead of target, suggesting that businesses are improving. In terms

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of borrowing course, the Irish government will do some amount of

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borrowing. Before the bailout, the costs became too high, now they have

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come down again and if the Irish government wants to borrow over ten

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years, they can do it at just 4%. That looks positive, where are the

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negatives? There are some problems, there are problems with mortgage

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arrears. One in five mortgages, 20% are in some sort of trouble. That

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also feeds through to other things, because it puts household finances

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under pressure and means retail sales are flat. There is not enough

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money to go around and if we look at one of the biggest problems, the

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total government debt, it is still absolutely enormous and will take

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years to get that down. Those austerity policies, tax rises and

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spending cuts, are going to continue. Why is the economy

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situation south of the border important for us? They are single

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biggest export partner. We sell a lot of goods and services, silver

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are economy to be strong, we need their economy to be strong. You're

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watching BBC Newsline and later we hear of one woman's battle with

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alcohol addiction. An alcoholic lives a lonely life. A woman jailed

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for stealing from a 90-year-old man she looked after has been ordered to

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sell her home to pay back the money. Lesley Boyd, a 56-year-old

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grandmother from Chippendale Avenue in Bangor, took advantage of a

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vulnerable and confused pensioner. Kevin Sharkey was in the court in

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Downpatrick. Lesley Boyd is 56 and Jock McAllister was in his early 90s

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when they come into contact with each other at a care home. Over 16

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months, when he was a resident here, she took cheques from him. The

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amount of the checks and vary from ?100 to ?15,000, totalling over

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?100,000 and mostly spent on renovating her home. The court heard

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that Jock McAllister was elderly, fun rubble and bereaved. The judge

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said that at times he could be cantankerous -- vulnerable --. The

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court accepted that Lesley Boyd never looked for the money and Jock

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McAllister was not coerced, the judge was told that the pensioner

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was infatuated with the younger woman and had written love letters

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to her. She had been warned by management that any gifts from

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residents must be declared, but she never declared them. The judge told

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Lesley Boyd, you knew what you were doing was wrong and dishonest. He

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said you yielded to greed and temptation. He sentenced to four

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months on jail -- in jail. The fraud was discovered when a relative of

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Jock McAllister became suspicious and investigated the matter. I

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cannot explain how I feel. It is a relief that it is all over. There is

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no winner here. I am not walking away a winner, Lesley Boyd is not

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walking away with anything. Lesley Boyd will have to sell her home to

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pay back the money which was originally destined to to charities.

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At this time of year, beer and spirits are never far away so it is

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perhaps a more difficult time for people who struggle with alcoholism.

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Health professionals are increasingly concerned about older

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people and women. Chris Page's report begins with Brenda Monaghan,

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who lives in County Fermanagh and has been treated for alcohol abuse.

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Brenda is frank about what alcohol addiction to did to her. She found

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it hard to go for help, but she did. At the age of 50, I asked for help,

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but I needed that help. It is a disease I have got. I didn't ask to

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be born with this disease. The disease which Brenda speaks is a

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very common one, but every individual story is different.

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People working in the field a alcoholism is something that affects

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men and women of all ages and backgrounds and walks of life. The

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reality is, no matter what age gender you are, alcoholism affects

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everything, you meant a health and people have to become more aware of

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what they are drinking. The last time there was a survey of drinking

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habits here, 23% of people reported drinking more than recommended. Last

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year, there were 270 alcohol-related deaths, 92 were women. The most

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common place to drink is at home. The chief medical officer warned of

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the dangers of that at a Stormont committee this week. People don't

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get as drunk when they are about, when there are other people around,

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for obvious reasons. But thinking in the home, there are less controls

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and it is a less safe environment. The vast majority of children and

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start thinking in pubs, they start thinking either in their own home or

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somebody else's home. Alcohol abuse is widespread, yet often remains

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hidden and even unrealised. Brenda has spoken in the hope she might

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encourage people who drink too much to get help. She has been doing

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programmes with mental health groups and she says it has saved her. I am

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learning something about myself every day, but I am not beating

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myself up any more. As long as I don't pick that drink up, that is

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the difference. Still to come for seven. I am going to take you to a

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whole new level. Watch later. As we come to the end of the

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inaugural UK city of Culture year Londonderry's Chamber of Commerce

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has said there's a new found confidence in the city. But that

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will only continue to prosper economically if the city's road and

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educational needs are met. Thousands of people are again expected to

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descend on Derry for the seasonal festivities. Here's our North-West

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reporter, Keiron Tourish. Business leaders say it has been up

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popular year, but the city can't stand still. The two next pieces of

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intervention we would like the government to do is to see

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substantial increase in the undergraduate population and also to

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see investment in roads between Delhi and Belfast and Derry and

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Dublin. Back at the ice rink, novices caterers are getting to

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grips with the challenge. The Maestro will run over the Christmas

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period and ends on the 19th of January. But be careful, it is

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rather slippery. He was not brave enough to get his

:19:43.:19:44.

skates on. Ireland's cricketers are celebrating

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a unique hat trick. Here's Stephen. Ireland have already won the World

:19:50.:19:52.

Cricket League Championship and World Twenty20 titles this year. Now

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they've clinched the fourth Inter-Continental Cup title after

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beating Afghanistan in the final Afghanistan were eventually bowled

:20:00.:20:02.

out in their second innings with the victory margin for Ireland 122 runs.

:20:03.:20:10.

It was a special day for Instonians player Andrew White who equalled the

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record number of appearances for Ireland. And the focus will be on

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two Ulster rugby players tomorrow for the Heineken Cup game in

:20:19.:20:21.

Treviso. Andrew Trimble equals David Humphreys' record of 57 European

:20:22.:20:26.

appearances. Dan Touhy earns his 100th provincial cap. Both men

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scored tries in last week's win against the Italians. Coach Mark

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Ascombe has named the same team for Saturdays return fixture. At the

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stats of these two games, if you said you would get a win away and

:20:43.:20:45.

possible wins at home that would be great. But I was quite surprised to

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scores seven. If we consider ourselves a top time in Europe, that

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and we do, we have to look at getting a win away from home. I

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think the win is first and foremost in our minds.

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Ulster Gaelic football champions Ballinderry travel to London this

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weekend to play their All-Ireland club quarterfinal. They take on

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English champions Kingdom Kerry Gaels. Practically the entire County

:21:11.:21:16.

Derry village will travel to England for Sunday's game. Live for us this

:21:17.:21:19.

evening in Ballinderry is Thomas Niblock. Some people still rare,

:21:20.:21:27.

Thomas. There are actually more people

:21:28.:21:31.

travelling from the village than there are houses. That shows you

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just how serious they are taking it. As you can see, the players are

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getting their last-minute tomb talk. We have some mothers and wives and

:21:48.:21:55.

children here. This is Adam and Adam's daddy is in the team. As your

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daddy's team going to win? Yes, no doubt.

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You're not going, you are staying at home? No, we have three kids, so I

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think it would be a bit too much. We're hoping for a progression to

:22:13.:22:17.

the semifinal, they deserve it. Paula, you are also a wife. Your

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pregnant with a couple of kids. Their daddy is Michael Conlon. Do

:22:26.:22:37.

you think they will win? Definitely. We have a couple of special guests.

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The German and the manager. How will have the last couple of weeks been?

:22:49.:22:54.

After the euphoria of winning the championship, we were faced with the

:22:55.:22:58.

prospect of organising 40 lads to travel to London. You good problem

:22:59.:23:03.

to have. We started the fundraising initiative last week and within a

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week we had all the costs towards the players covered. It has been a

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fantastic response. The whole community is behind us and we're

:23:12.:23:17.

looking forward to London. Can you explain briefly to people at home

:23:18.:23:27.

how important this is. Everybody involved in the community, we are a

:23:28.:23:33.

small and rural community. It means everything to us, is the long and

:23:34.:23:39.

short of it. Thank you very much. The game is live on BBC radio Ulster

:23:40.:23:47.

this Sunday. Who's going to win? Alan Daly!

:23:48.:23:52.

The Belfast Giants ice hockey team are flying high at the top of the

:23:53.:23:58.

Elite league - this weekend they have back-to-back games at the

:23:59.:24:01.

Odyssey. The atmosphere could be extra special over the next two

:24:02.:24:09.

nights. Gavin Andrews reports. Cameron Hughes is no ordinary fan.

:24:10.:24:13.

This is a supporter who gives just a little bit more to get the crowd

:24:14.:24:23.

going. I was basically at a game in my hometown of Ottawa in Canada and

:24:24.:24:28.

I got up to dance and get the fans going wild. They asked me to come

:24:29.:24:34.

back and keep going crazy and getting fans going wild. 19 years

:24:35.:24:39.

later and a lot of those on sporting events later, IM and Belfast. It's

:24:40.:24:45.

crazy. They even have the world 's top players involved. Tennis players

:24:46.:24:58.

have called me out and dance with me. They look up and see me going

:24:59.:25:10.

crazy. I am a focused player, but during the changeover, I have time

:25:11.:25:15.

to watch what is going on this guy really amazing. From New York to the

:25:16.:25:24.

Titanic Quarter of Belfast. Cameron will be strutting his stuff at the

:25:25.:25:29.

games on Friday and Saturday night. Be prepared. It is going to be

:25:30.:25:33.

absolutely crazy this weekend. Rest up, take a nap. It ready to cheer,

:25:34.:25:42.

get ready to be nuts. While new level. Good luck with your sitting

:25:43.:25:45.

beside you. If you are going, don't forget to watch the game.

:25:46.:25:58.

Quite a character. News just in, we have a report of a small explosion

:25:59.:26:03.

close to Belfast city centre in the Cathedral Quarter area. There is no

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news of injuries at this moment, but we will have more news at a late

:26:08.:26:09.

religion. The weather is next. After a week of mild weather,

:26:10.:26:22.

everything changes tomorrow. There is a warning for strong winds.

:26:23.:26:27.

Before that, a cold night to get through. Temperatures drop away

:26:28.:26:40.

tonight. Tomorrow, everything changes. It is being driven by this

:26:41.:26:45.

developing low-pressure system in the Atlantic. It is heading in our

:26:46.:26:48.

direction and tomorrow morning it will be here. The tightly packed Isa

:26:49.:26:56.

buyers are an indication of how strong the wind will be. Tomorrow

:26:57.:27:02.

morning, the band of rain moves its way in. A wet and windy stacked to

:27:03.:27:07.

the weekend. If there is a silver lining, it is that the brain is

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moving through quite quickly, so as it clears to the east, we might get

:27:12.:27:16.

and are both decent weather behind it. But the clearing skies mean

:27:17.:27:24.

there will be another cool night. Temperatures dropping away again on

:27:25.:27:28.

Saturday night. Close to freezing in rural areas overnight Saturday into

:27:29.:27:35.

Sunday. Into next week, a much more unsettled picture. We have lower

:27:36.:27:40.

pressure after low-pressure system heading in our direction, so it is

:27:41.:27:45.

going to be windier and colder as we go into next week. Sunday its self

:27:46.:27:50.

is not looking like to bad a day. We have a little bit of brightness to

:27:51.:27:55.

look forward to before the rain comes in, then it is downhill all

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the way. Our late summary is at 10.25. You

:27:58.:28:02.

can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter. From BBC

:28:03.:28:03.

Newsline, goodnight.

:28:04.:28:06.

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