:00:14. > :00:28.Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline. As Richard Haass provides
:00:29. > :00:32.more revised proposals on flags, parades and the pass, round table
:00:33. > :00:37.session of the talks tonight is being seen as potentially critical.
:00:38. > :00:41.It is the busiest day of the year for air and sea travellers, but
:00:42. > :00:49.there is a storm coming and will expel misery for some people?
:00:50. > :00:56.Opening hours are cut at two hospital Accident and Emergency
:00:57. > :00:59.departments. The legal aid bill topped 65 million pounds of
:01:00. > :01:03.taxpayers money last year. Local football's most decorated club is
:01:04. > :01:08.top of the tree, but can Linfield stay there over Christmas? And as
:01:09. > :01:12.well as the strong winds, we'll also have some ice and snow but will it
:01:13. > :01:21.settle down for Christmas Day? Find out shortly. Another day of the
:01:22. > :01:25.Haass talks and another document with revised proposals on dealing
:01:26. > :01:29.with flags, parades and the past. The five main Stormont parties have
:01:30. > :01:33.been studying what Richard Haass and his co-chair Meghan O'Sullivan have
:01:34. > :01:36.put forward. The fact that a round table meeting has been delayed
:01:37. > :01:39.indicates there are still big problems to be resolved. A session
:01:40. > :01:45.pencilled in for eleven o'clock this morning shifted to six this evening
:01:46. > :01:49.and now half past eight. We'll go to the talks venue shortly to hear how
:01:50. > :01:58.close they are to an agreement. First our Political Reporter Stephen
:01:59. > :02:02.Walker looks at what happened today. Winters shower created those who
:02:03. > :02:08.came early to the Stormont hotel, but this was to be -- if this was to
:02:09. > :02:12.be the final day, it was not a great beginning. Richard Haass remained
:02:13. > :02:16.optimistic and he tweeted that it could be a long day and there was
:02:17. > :02:21.much to be settled before Christmas, ending that it was surely worth
:02:22. > :02:26.that. The DUP made clear that they did not think an agreement could be
:02:27. > :02:31.reached today and that plans were in place for talks after Christmas.
:02:32. > :02:40.Richard Haass has indicated that if necessary we will continue on the
:02:41. > :02:43.27th and the 28th of December to see if we can close the gaps if we
:02:44. > :02:47.cannot do so today. Sinn Fein said they were working for an agreement
:02:48. > :02:53.on the issues and that any deal was based on quality and parity of
:02:54. > :02:58.esteem. We will be wanting something that deals with both identities,
:02:59. > :03:03.that includes Irishness. I understand the debate. It has been
:03:04. > :03:10.about Britishness. We are in here on the basis of equality and parity of
:03:11. > :03:15.esteem. The Ulster Unionists also met Richard Haass, but they were
:03:16. > :03:23.embarrassed by the weekend comments of Michael Copeland who spoke about
:03:24. > :03:27.the former US diplomat. I do not know what is in these proposals.
:03:28. > :03:35.What I have heard and what I have seen, and I do not want to be rude,
:03:36. > :03:53.but I really think he should go home. Leave us who live here to mend
:03:54. > :03:59.our ways as best we can. Through the party, Michael Copeland apologised.
:04:00. > :04:08.He regrets the comments and supports the party leadership. What he said
:04:09. > :04:14.undermined your leadership? He now backs what the leadership is doing.
:04:15. > :04:21.Later on Facebook, Michael Copeland said he stood by his words, saying I
:04:22. > :04:25.did not apologise for what I said. I apologised if anyone took offence.
:04:26. > :04:30.Sometimes the truth needs to be spoken. By mid-afternoon, Richard
:04:31. > :04:35.Haass sent the revised proposals on dealing with the past. He then took
:04:36. > :04:40.to Twitter to say that his team were still hard at work and the diplomat
:04:41. > :04:45.added that it was difficult to imagine a better Christmas present
:04:46. > :04:51.for one and all. Tonight the Secretary of State in Courage the
:04:52. > :04:55.parties to continue talking. Richard Haass has an absolute deadline, he
:04:56. > :05:01.is not coming back in January. He sees that the clock is ticking down
:05:02. > :05:06.in terms of reaching an agreement. I have been encouraging the parties to
:05:07. > :05:11.do that, to make progress, but the reality is that the issues are
:05:12. > :05:15.difficult. The parties are considering the latest draft and
:05:16. > :05:21.round table talks are expected around 8:30pm tonight. Our Political
:05:22. > :05:24.Editor Mark Devenport is at the talks venue. So Mark, what's your
:05:25. > :05:34.understanding of what's in this latest draft? I am told that in this
:05:35. > :05:39.latest draft, there is very little on flags which represents the lack
:05:40. > :05:43.of agreement on that issue, there is quite a lot on the past, these new
:05:44. > :05:51.institutions to investigate the past. There is a fair amount on
:05:52. > :05:56.parades, the various structures that are intended to replace the Parades
:05:57. > :06:01.Commission. In past drafts, there have been various ideas which have
:06:02. > :06:06.been floated, to test reaction, but I am led to understand that the
:06:07. > :06:11.intention here is to include nothing new, instead to try and synthesise
:06:12. > :06:17.matters, to stretch all the parties, but not beyond breaking point, to
:06:18. > :06:23.try and find middle ground. What about the timing? I am led to
:06:24. > :06:28.believe that the round table session which has been pencilled in for
:06:29. > :06:32.8:30pm could be a long session, because they really are trying to
:06:33. > :06:39.push towards an agreement and I understand that it is being seen by
:06:40. > :06:43.many people as potentially critical. Obviously with the stakes getting
:06:44. > :06:47.higher as things move towards a conclusion, there could be a
:06:48. > :06:53.kickback from some parties, so to get some reaction by this, I am
:06:54. > :07:01.joined by Mike Nesbitt. I gather you have got concerns about this. Our
:07:02. > :07:05.party are discussing it at the moment. I think parades is nearly
:07:06. > :07:10.there and the process to deal with flags, are concerns are about the
:07:11. > :07:15.structures and language to deal with the past. You cannot airbrush the
:07:16. > :07:20.concept of terrorism out of history. You cannot start describing the UVF
:07:21. > :07:26.and the IRA and the others as non-governmental organisations. We
:07:27. > :07:32.expect others to come in and support us and if they do, I think we can
:07:33. > :07:37.push on and do some very good work. With concerns like that, is it
:07:38. > :07:43.possible to get agreement tonight? I think it is, if we all get real
:07:44. > :07:48.about what happened. Terrorism has a definition under the Terrorism Act.
:07:49. > :07:54.It is not for me to define it or anyone else, it is already defined.
:07:55. > :08:00.Thank you. You get a sense of some of the tough talking which will be
:08:01. > :08:03.happening at the session tonight. The politicians are deeply involved
:08:04. > :08:07.in the discussions, but what about the people on the streets? It is the
:08:08. > :08:11.day before Christmas Eve after all, one of the busiest times of the year
:08:12. > :08:14.for so many. Are they engaged with the Haass talks process? Are they
:08:15. > :08:23.following it hour by hour? Will Leitch finds out. Exactly one year
:08:24. > :08:27.ago, flag protest is on the streets, today the only people spending long
:08:28. > :08:32.hours standing about by the media, looking for news from the talks. On
:08:33. > :08:36.social media, Richard Haass made it clear there was no agreement yet.
:08:37. > :08:40.But this close to Christmas, our towns and cities are still bustling.
:08:41. > :08:46.The message is if you're looking for a result from the talks, do not hold
:08:47. > :08:51.your breath. Lastly, we published the results of a poll on flags,
:08:52. > :08:55.parading and the past and look at this. On the future of the Parades
:08:56. > :09:02.Commission, more people wanted to keep it than abolish it. 37% of
:09:03. > :09:06.respondents were not bothered either way. When BBC Newsline polled the
:09:07. > :09:09.public about these issues, that there was that fairly high
:09:10. > :09:13.percentage of people who registered no opinion. Now, with the talks
:09:14. > :09:20.coming down to the wire, you can still find people who do care. You
:09:21. > :09:27.have to have hope. It might be a few steps forward and a few steps back.
:09:28. > :09:31.I hope the talks continue so there is a resolution. Whether it is New
:09:32. > :09:35.Year or before Christmas, as long as something positive happens that is
:09:36. > :09:41.the main thing. The way things are going, it is going to be hard to
:09:42. > :09:47.come to a mutual agreement. Something the process is not
:09:48. > :09:51.inclusive enough. The fact that Richard Haass is approaching this
:09:52. > :09:56.from the basis of a Belfast model is the core problem. We have had
:09:57. > :10:01.dealing with the past, it has been bolted on to issues of cultural
:10:02. > :10:04.identity. If the parties cannot reach agreement, there might still
:10:05. > :10:09.be the last few days of December to try again, but will the talks
:10:10. > :10:15.Christmas present many people were looking for, at any price when the
:10:16. > :10:18.sales are on? Stormy weather overnight and tomorrow is expected
:10:19. > :10:20.to lead to treacherous driving conditions and disruption to travel
:10:21. > :10:23.services. Northern Ireland Electricity has teams of engineers
:10:24. > :10:26.on stand-by to deal with any power cuts. Mervyn Jess is at Belfast City
:10:27. > :10:37.Airport. What's the latest there, Mervyn? People have been pouring
:10:38. > :10:41.into and out of this airport all day. The busiest day of the year, it
:10:42. > :10:46.is estimated at about 7000 passengers will have passed through
:10:47. > :10:49.this terminal, airlines operating at nearly full capacity. There have
:10:50. > :10:54.been a number of delays arriving here this afternoon from other
:10:55. > :10:57.airports across the UK. While the two main airports in Northern
:10:58. > :11:02.Ireland are confident about their operations tomorrow, despite the
:11:03. > :11:06.weather, the same cannot be said of the ferry services and the
:11:07. > :11:11.electricity network. The busiest day of the year for Belfast City Hall
:11:12. > :11:15.report as the Christmas rush reaches its peak. Coinciding with a batch of
:11:16. > :11:19.bad weather moving in from the west. There have been some flight delays
:11:20. > :11:23.this afternoon, but Belfast City Airport is hopeful it can cope with
:11:24. > :11:28.the bad weather tomorrow, as does the International Airport. We are
:11:29. > :11:33.well prepared, we have a good setup here in terms of the equipment to
:11:34. > :11:38.deal with bad weather conditions. We have experienced after. Last year in
:11:39. > :11:42.April, when everything fell down with six feet of snow across the
:11:43. > :11:46.country, we have a recording of one of the pilots coming across the
:11:47. > :11:51.Atlantic and the only two airfields that were open where a Belfast
:11:52. > :11:56.International and Frankfurt. We have stayed open in the past in severe
:11:57. > :12:02.weather and we will do so again. Ferry services are supposed to be --
:12:03. > :12:07.are expected to be expected. The last ceilings add a Belfast and
:12:08. > :12:12.Karen Ryan will be the 2330 sailings and we will not sell tomorrow until
:12:13. > :12:17.later. Yesterday we advised passengers to rebook. Those who have
:12:18. > :12:23.not been booked today, we will accommodate tomorrow. It is feared
:12:24. > :12:26.high winds will disrupt power supplies in some areas with the
:12:27. > :12:32.worst of them expected to hit in the early hours of tomorrow. We have
:12:33. > :12:38.been speaking to the Met Office. We first got indication last Friday
:12:39. > :12:43.about it. We have taken preparation so far to ensure that we have
:12:44. > :12:48.resources available to respond. With winds forecast as they are to gust
:12:49. > :12:51.approaching 70 mph, history shows that that has an impact on the
:12:52. > :12:54.network and there is the likelihood that there will be some impact in
:12:55. > :13:04.terms of power supplies over Christmas. A timely warning that
:13:05. > :13:08.some people may have some difficulty cooking their turkeys tomorrow.
:13:09. > :13:14.Barra Best will have a full update on the weather later. NIE says that
:13:15. > :13:17.if anyone is off supply they should contact the company on 08457 643643
:13:18. > :13:24.or contact it via the website, www.nie.co.uk. Still to come on the
:13:25. > :13:33.programme, an unlikely visitor to some homes this Christmas.
:13:34. > :13:38.The Accident and Emergency departments at two hospitals here
:13:39. > :13:41.are to close at the weekends. The hospitals affected are the Downe
:13:42. > :13:51.hospital and the Lagan Valley hospital. The Downe will also see
:13:52. > :13:56.its weekday hours reduced. The units will no longer have
:13:57. > :14:00.accident and emergency services at the weekends from the New Year. The
:14:01. > :14:04.health trust says it is because there are not enough suitably
:14:05. > :14:07.qualified doctors and existing out-of-hours services on both sides
:14:08. > :14:13.will continue. They will operate from 8am to 8pm Monday to Friday.
:14:14. > :14:23.This represents no change to the Lagan Valley weekday hours. News the
:14:24. > :14:28.trust was thinking of the move was leaked to the media last week.
:14:29. > :14:33.Downpatrick is 25 miles away from Belfast and other major hospitals.
:14:34. > :14:37.For our Ambulance Services, the skills paramedics in our area, they
:14:38. > :14:42.will have to provide a service up to Belfast, taking them up and off the
:14:43. > :14:45.roads for if you are as each time they have to deliver a patient.
:14:46. > :14:50.There is increasing pressure and that ultimately will cost lives.
:14:51. > :14:54.Senior health trust bosses are meeting council members now to
:14:55. > :14:58.explain their decision in purpose. -- in person.
:14:59. > :15:02.A 34-year-old man is in a critical condition in hospital after an
:15:03. > :15:05.assault at a pub in Cloughmills. The police have appealed for witnesses
:15:06. > :15:08.to the attack which happened in Main Street shortly after 2:30 this
:15:09. > :15:11.morning. A man arrested in Coleraine this afternoon is being questioned
:15:12. > :15:14.by police. A second man has appeared in court
:15:15. > :15:17.charged with the murder of two people in east Belfast. The bodies
:15:18. > :15:23.of Finbar McGrillen and Caron Smyth were found in a flat in the
:15:24. > :15:25.Ravenhill area earlier this month. 42-year-old Ciaran Nugent, whose
:15:26. > :15:29.address was given as the Simon Community hostel in Belfast, denies
:15:30. > :15:33.the charges. Last week a 33-year-old man also appeared in court charged
:15:34. > :15:36.with both murders. A newly appointed member of the
:15:37. > :15:40.Parades Commission has resigned just days before taking up the post. Glyn
:15:41. > :15:43.Roberts, a prominent spokesperson for the retail business community,
:15:44. > :15:47.was appointed by the Secretary of State along with four others earlier
:15:48. > :15:51.this month. Mr Roberts said he declined the post because he felt
:15:52. > :16:02.the time needed to fulfil his duties would conflict with his own work.
:16:03. > :16:06.200 barristers and solicitors firms were paid more than ?65 million from
:16:07. > :16:10.the public as legal aid work in the year ending last March. The pay-out
:16:11. > :16:24.follows the introduction of new lower fees aimed at drastically
:16:25. > :16:28.reducing the bill. Legal aid exists to ensure fair
:16:29. > :16:31.trial for those who cannot afford to pay for legal representation. It
:16:32. > :16:36.does not come cheap. The cost here is higher than anywhere else in the
:16:37. > :16:41.world. More than ?400 million has been paid out in the past nine
:16:42. > :16:46.years. Figures released by the legal services commission today revealed
:16:47. > :16:51.the top 100 burning barristers were paid more than 44 million pounds in
:16:52. > :16:55.the 12 month period up to the end of March this year. The top 100
:16:56. > :17:03.solicitors firms received nearly ?21 million. One barrister and just over
:17:04. > :17:12.?1 million. Another three barristers also earned over ?500,000. A further
:17:13. > :17:17.four barristers were paid more than ?400,000 and another 15 received
:17:18. > :17:25.more than ?250,000. When it comes to solicitors firms, the top earner
:17:26. > :17:28.received over ?2.4 million. One of the firm was paid more than one
:17:29. > :17:33.other firm was paid more than ?1.5 million while a further four firms
:17:34. > :17:36.received over ?1 million. Those payments do not include what the
:17:37. > :17:41.barristers and solicitors received for their private legal work. Become
:17:42. > :17:46.two years after the Justice Minister David Ford introduced new lower
:17:47. > :17:50.legal aid fees in a move aimed at drastically cutting the bill. Last
:17:51. > :17:56.month, inspectors criticised the body that ministers payments, saying
:17:57. > :18:00.there needs to be radical reform to combat the spiralling cost.
:18:01. > :18:04.Nursing homes in County Antrim have been attracting an unusual breed of
:18:05. > :18:08.visitors in recent months - donkeys. The animals have been used to cheer
:18:09. > :18:11.up residents and the visits have become a form of therapy. But
:18:12. > :18:19.bringing a donkey indoors means precautions need to be taken.
:18:20. > :18:25.Did you hear the one about the donkey who visited a nursing home?
:18:26. > :18:33.This is no joke. It is for real. This donkey comes here often. To
:18:34. > :18:37.protect the carpet, his every move is followed by a tall man with a
:18:38. > :18:45.large bucket. Just in case of accidents. Residents are encouraged
:18:46. > :18:53.to pat him. It is probably better not to feed him. I have nothing for
:18:54. > :18:59.a lovely boy! He is beautiful, gorgeous. According to the nursing
:19:00. > :19:06.staff, just seeing him can be better than any medicine. We find that the
:19:07. > :19:11.residents love having him here and there is great therapeutic benefits.
:19:12. > :19:15.Many of them used to have horses and donkeys in their younger years and
:19:16. > :19:24.brings back memories. We enjoy having him. This is a six-year-old
:19:25. > :19:28.agrees. He is beautiful. We were looking forward to seeing the donkey
:19:29. > :19:35.coming. We are all gathered around and we were chosen to come and see
:19:36. > :19:43.the donkey arriving. You are beautiful. This is where he comes
:19:44. > :19:48.from, The Donkey Sanctuary in Templepatrick. In total, there are
:19:49. > :19:51.17 donkeys here, some of them have been mistreated in the past will
:19:52. > :19:57.stop they have come from both sides of the Irish border. This one is
:19:58. > :20:00.from Ireland McGee and this one is from Galway. How do they feel about
:20:01. > :20:08.having to go on day trips to nursing homes? The donkeys absolutely love
:20:09. > :20:12.it. We did not -- we would not do it if they did not enjoy it. They love
:20:13. > :20:18.interacting with people and the social side of it. They are also
:20:19. > :20:26.very well-behaved. This one spent an hour here without any accidents.
:20:27. > :20:32.Well, not until he got outside! Still ahead on the programme: a
:20:33. > :20:45.school choir gives us a musical treat on the night before Christmas
:20:46. > :20:50.Eve. While most people get to enjoy a few
:20:51. > :20:54.days off work over Christmas, it can be a busy time for our sportsmen and
:20:55. > :20:58.women. Stephen Watson can tell us more.
:20:59. > :21:01.Some of our footballers don't even get Christmas Day off. The players
:21:02. > :21:05.from Dundela and Immaculata will this year contest the traditional
:21:06. > :21:09.Steel and Sons Cup. Boxing Day is always derby day of the top local
:21:10. > :21:13.teams. Linfield travel across town to meet their Belfast rivals
:21:14. > :21:24.Glentoran with a four point lead at the top of the table.
:21:25. > :21:29.Being top of the tree at Christmas does not guarantee a league title
:21:30. > :21:33.but it is a good position to start the New Year in. Linfield added
:21:34. > :21:42.three more points against Portadown head of a trip to East Belfast. My
:21:43. > :21:46.first big two game was in 1982 and I have been too many since then. The
:21:47. > :21:54.form book goes out the window, it does not matter, it is just a day
:21:55. > :21:59.when there are so many elements that have to come together for you to get
:22:00. > :22:03.a victory. It will be second against third at sea view. The two north
:22:04. > :22:07.Belfast clubs swapped positions on Saturday as Crusaders lost to
:22:08. > :22:16.Ballymena and Cliftonville took full advantage will stop this strike was
:22:17. > :22:23.enough to defeat on Allard. The big winners possibly could be Linfield
:22:24. > :22:27.if it was to end up a draw. We will go down there and we will give it a
:22:28. > :22:33.good go. There will be a good crowd and I just hope it will be a great
:22:34. > :22:37.game. One side who desperately need a change in fortunes over the
:22:38. > :22:43.festive period is Korean. They take on Ballymena hoping to avoid and
:22:44. > :22:46.eight consecutive defeat. Ulster's rugby players have had a
:22:47. > :22:51.busy festive period as well with two big derby games. Both are sold out
:22:52. > :22:55.but both are live here on BBC Northern Ireland. Ulster, who
:22:56. > :22:59.struggled to a win against Italian side Zebre, meet Leinster on
:23:00. > :23:03.December 28 at the RDS in Dublin. Then on three January they welcome
:23:04. > :23:08.the Pro12 leaders Munster to Ravenhill. This try by Jared Payne
:23:09. > :23:18.was the highlight of Ulster's victory last weekend.
:23:19. > :23:21.In ice hockey's Elite League, the Belfast Giants won both their
:23:22. > :23:24.matches at the weekend. They defeated Coventry on Saturday 5-1
:23:25. > :23:28.and 4-2 away to Dundee Stars last night. The Giants have a seven-point
:23:29. > :23:31.lead at the top of the table on Braehead Clan. Two sides meet in a
:23:32. > :23:42.big Christmas double bill, home and away, this Friday and Saturday.
:23:43. > :23:47.In hockey, there are two festive finals on Boxing Day. In the men's
:23:48. > :23:52.Kirk Cup, the home side takes on Annadale. Before that is the women's
:23:53. > :23:56.Ulster Shield. From the Pope to President Obama to
:23:57. > :24:00.farmers, selfies have been the craze of the year. That is when you take a
:24:01. > :24:03.photo of yourself. We would like to see your selfies over the Christmas
:24:04. > :24:07.holidays. Our online colleagues are going to have a look at what you
:24:08. > :24:11.send and publish the most festive ones later in the week on the local
:24:12. > :24:14.news website. There has already been some travel
:24:15. > :24:22.disruption because of the stormy weather, let's get the latest
:24:23. > :24:26.forecast. We are expecting very strong winds
:24:27. > :24:32.over the next 24 hours. The Met office had issued a amber warning.
:24:33. > :24:36.There will be some disruption because those winds, possibly to the
:24:37. > :24:41.electricity network, and maybe for travel as well. As we go through
:24:42. > :24:45.this evening, it is this area of low pressure that will swing in from the
:24:46. > :24:49.Atlantic, bringing those very strong winds and summary on and snow during
:24:50. > :24:54.the next under four hours. As we go through tonight, temperatures fall
:24:55. > :25:02.to freezing and below, showers will fall as snow. Because that will be
:25:03. > :25:07.so cold, we could expect some patches of ice first thing tomorrow
:25:08. > :25:10.morning. Not a great start to Christmas Eve. It will be very windy
:25:11. > :25:16.and it will be snow showers coming in from the west. Mainly on the high
:25:17. > :25:22.ground but some lower areas will see snow as well. As it begins to heat
:25:23. > :25:28.up a little, most of the snow will fall as rain. It will remain quite
:25:29. > :25:32.blustery, especially in the east in the afternoon. There may be some
:25:33. > :25:38.thunder and lightning in there as well. Temperatures just at four or
:25:39. > :25:45.five degrees. The showers and strong winds will stay with us but into
:25:46. > :25:49.Christmas Day itself, things begin to settle down. It will be cold and
:25:50. > :25:52.there may be some icy stretches first thing on Christmas morning but
:25:53. > :25:57.generally, Christmas Day will be pretty good. It will be cold but
:25:58. > :26:05.largely dry and bright with some good spells of sunshine. No sign in
:26:06. > :26:08.prospect of a white Christmas unfortunately but we may get one or
:26:09. > :26:12.two flurries coming in from County Donegal. A similar picture for
:26:13. > :26:20.Boxing Day but at the end of the week, another storm is about to hit.
:26:21. > :26:25.What about Santa on the stormy weather?
:26:26. > :26:28.He is well used to this! This is our last BBC Newsline
:26:29. > :26:31.programme until the New Year although we will have news summaries
:26:32. > :26:35.throughout the next ten days here on BBC One. We leave you this evening
:26:36. > :26:38.with another of our Christmas carols. This one comes from the
:26:39. > :26:41.pupils of Foyleview Special School in Londonderry. The carol is cold
:26:42. > :27:32.Please Remember. From BBC Newsline, good evening and Happy Christmas!
:27:33. > :28:16.# Christmas is here now,, it's fun for everyone.