01/02/2016 BBC Newsline

the spine of the country. We could see a frost but a good deal of dry

weather on Wednesday. but it's warned that it's

still not enough. A man's in court charged

with the murder of Anthony McErlain Local students come bottom of the

class when it comes to reading, writing and arithmetic full is up

--. Calls for more education

about a little-known childhood I thought she was going to die. I

could not understand why my daughter was having a seizure. She is a

perfectly healthy child. The Commonwealth youth games come to

Northern Ireland. Belfast is host city in 2021. We struggle with the

latest winter storm to hit our shores and we will continue to feel

the ghastly effect from Storm Henry right into tomorrow.

First to that ?1.6 million which is being given to private

companies who run residential care homes and care packages for people

Just two months ago health professionals told us about a crisis

in such care with a need to improve staffing.

While workers have told the BBC their wages have to reflect

the cash injection, the independent providers warn the new finance

Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly has the story.

You all right? Go. It might look like chance play, but caring for the

elderly is a difficult business. Presently, the difficulty is

recruiting highly trained staff to work in residential care homes.

Especially as demand for places continues growing. Staying longer,

that is it, and continuity of staff, it is important. Always. According

to staff, the hourly rate of no more than ?6.70 does not make it an

attractive profession. Basically it is down to wages. There are better

hourly rates needed to in harms and make more people come forward. --

enhanced. It is hoped that the ?1.6 million investment today aimed at

the Independent, or private sector, will address some of these

challenges. How will the money be used? The hourly rate that health

trusts currently pay domiciliary care toys will increase by 2%.

Currently it is not clear how residential care home owners will

use the additional funding. The big question is if employees pass the

financial benefit on to class -- on to star. We will do best to renew

eight staff as best we can. They do a difficult job answers -- often

under difficult circumstances and they deserve to be well paid for

what they do. The top minister said since meeting the sector he was

aware of the different challenges, including recruitment. He said the

package should bring stability to the sector and reassure residents

and families all this being done to make sure of their continued

well-being. The financial package today will receive more of a boost

on the 1st of April when the Department of Health said it will

make additional money available in order to cope with the impact of the

national living wage. It means for the over 25 is working in this

sector, the hourly rate will increase from ?6.70 per hour, up to

?7.20. Good news for the workers but according to the owners of places

like this, it is a major challenge. While employers welcome the cash

boost today they call for the entire system to be reassessed. There is a

need for an independent review, a root and branch review of the

structure and model of the support of the social care structure and

funding. The much-needed investment today is a significant nod from the

department that at last they are trying to prioritise caring for

people in the community. A man has been in court charged

with the murder of Anthony McErlain Details of how he died have not

been made public. Natalie Lindo reports

from Coleraine Magistrates Court. The body of the 48-year-old father

of two, Anthony McErlain, was found at a house in this area Ballycastle

on Thursday night. A 33 roles appeared in Coleraine Magistrates

Court charged with the murder of Anthony McErlain. He was dressed in

a sweatshirt and tracksuit bottoms. The detective constable told the

court that he believed he could connect him to the charge. He did

not apply for bail and he is June in court again on the bridge the 29th.

Senior investigating officer, does protect you and to Tolbert, said he

suffered a dramatic and frightening death. He said he described the

killing initially as a venous crime. Police have been granted extra time

to question a 50-year-old also arrested in connection with the

murder. Detectives are investigating the

assault of a woman during a robbery in which her jaw was broken.

Maureen Shepherd, who 76 years old, was attacked as she walked along

an alleyway near the Falls Road last Friday night.

Her attacker stole money and a mobile phone.

The latest winter storm is already causing some travel disruption and

threatening electricity. It has not been easy to get about. As shoppers

have experienced in the city centre of Belfast it was a struggle to put

one foot in front of the other, never mind protecting your job from

the showers coming with the strong wind. -- yourself. A home

furnishings company on this road was blown out in the strong gusts.

Earlier, as the storm hit, a tree came down on the old Letterkenny

Road. It has now reopened. The strongest winds today was on the

County Down coast. This is the latest of the winter

storms. It was here with a highest wind speed was recorded to date, 75

mph. With wind of that kind of speed, you will get some damage. We

have seen some trees down in various parts of Northern Ireland today.

These scenes have become very familiar. We did not see the

electrical power cuts that we saw last week with storm Gertrude when

almost 20,000 homes and businesses lost power. But the wind will not

peak until this evening. There is the potential for more disruption.

The PSNI have warned motorists to take care, especially high sided

vehicles on motorways, where they are particularly vulnerable.

Translink have said buses using the M2and M5could face delays and have

warned passengers to expect delays to the journey this evening. In

short, the weather warning this evening, the yellow warning, it will

remain in place until ten o'clock tomorrow morning. The message is

take care on the roads and batten down the hatches for another stormy

night. Full marks for braving those

conditions. Angie Phillips will have a full forecast before the end of

the programme. Still to come, a door into the dark.

How one man forged a new career from an ancient trade.

Michelle Gildernew has been dropped as a Sinn Fein candidate

for the Fermanagh and South Tyrone constituency

in May's Assembly election.

She has been replaced on the ticket by the current MLA,

The latest selection convention took place in Enniskillen last night,

reversing a decision taken back in the middle of December.

Our political editor Mark Devenport joins me from Stormont.

How much of a surprise is this? I think it was a bit surprising. It

has been a topsy-turvy sign time -- time for Sinn Fein. She lost her

seat in Westminster last year to Tom Elliott. Then it looked like she

would make a dramatic comeback in the middle of December, when she was

selected instead of Flanagan to come forward as one of the candidates for

the Assembly elections. But the ruling council ordered a rerun

because apparently there were complaints about procedural errors.

That decision taken in December has been turned around, with Phil

Flanagan back on the ticket along with Sean Lynch and John Feeley.

Michelle Gildernew losing out. Any sense at all about what her future

might hold? Not very clear tonight. Given her high profile you would

think, she is not just a former MP but a former agriculture Minister,

that Sinn Fein would look to find a place for her. They have rules about

wanting more than 30% of the candidates to be female. But that is

across all elections rather than any one particular constituency. We did

have rumours they might shift her next door to Mid Ulster because Mark

McGuinness has gone back to his home constituency, but that is being

ruled out tonight. She continues to work for Sinn Fein in a backroom

capacity but no sign of any particular job in the offing.

Interesting times in the run-up to the election.

A new study says university students from Northern Ireland have some

of the poorest reading, writing and maths skills

The findings come from the worldwide Organisation

for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Our Education Correspondent Robbie Meredith takes a closer look

Almost half of young people here go to university. But a number struggle

with ASIC skills. The report compares university students in 23

countries. -- ASIC skills. Northern Ireland came 22nd in literary skills

with only students from England below. In numerically, 21st. Only

about England and the USA and a long way behind countries like Finland,

Holland and career. It is a worry for those that helped to prepare

young people for work. Numerically and literacy skills are very

important. No matter what walk of life you go into. I think it has got

to be a concern. It not only puts young people at a disadvantage

without these skills, but also local business and industry as well. The

report also says some students can do little more than read the

instructions on a bottle of aspirin, or understand a petrol gauge on a

car. What do students think of that? People have different strengths in

different subjects. Mine was more English. I got some jobs. It depends

if they give me 20p extra armour to get the ?5 note back. They were

trying to work that out for me. Even my younger brother would help me.

Food for thought for everybody involved in the education system and

not just universities. In some ways we did well. GCSE and A-level

results are among the best in the UK. But this report said we need to

pay more attention to the old disciplines, reading, writing and

the rest take. -- arithmetic. People across Britain and Ireland

have been expressing their sympathy and shock at the death

of Sir Terry Wogan. The broadcaster died yesterday

after suffering from cancer. He spent more of his working life

in London but made several programmes on this side

of the Irish Sea Maggie Taggart has -- Irish Sea. He was born in

Limerick and he grew up in Dublin, where he started his broadcasting

life. Most of his long career was with the BBC, from a DJ on a

breakfast radio programme to Eurovision, where for almost 30

years he showed his sardonic style. Oh, that is goodbye, good night. A

series of programmes featured a round trip of Ireland and one stop

was at the Titanic Quarter in Belfast where he was moved by the

story of a descendent. He seemed to be interested in my particular

family story. My great-grandfather gave my grandfather to pennies

before sailing on the Titanic and of course did not come back. Sir Terry

Wogan keen he should be able to hold those pennies and he seemed

genuinely moved. He had a chat show for ten years and in 1995 he

appeared on the BBC Northern Ireland programme with Gerry Anderson

discussing an infamous appearance by George Best. When he came out I

would across, to meet him. The light hit him and he was footless. A

former BBC journalist remembers working with him on a children in

need trip to Norway. The return to London demonstrated his massive

popularity. We walked through Heathrow and everybody stopped what

they were doing. Everybody stopped and went quiet, looked at him,

waving, shouting out his name. It was like walking through Heathrow

with the Queen! Do it now! Children in need was one of his passions. He

presented it for more than three decades. He has fronted the

programme since it started in 1980. 34 years. Last year was the first

time he has not been there but he is very much with us in spirit. In

Limerick, the city of his birth, a book of condolences was open in

memory of the local boy, who though long gone, never forgot his roots.

It's a common childhood condition - yet many parents and carers don't

know anything about it until it happens.

We're talking about febrile seizures which are caused by a high

temperature and can affect children up until they are five years old.

Our reporter Julie McCullough spoke to one mother who says every parent

What is that on the TV? Hannah is completely fine now. Three weeks

ago, she took a seizure in the middle of the night. Her mum Tracey,

a nurse, did not know what was happening. She was foaming at the

mouth. Her lips were blue. Luckily enough the seizure only lasted about

a minute. She went into Lady sleep but was on responsive. -- not

responsive. I could not understand why my daughter was taking a

seizure. She is a perfectly healthy child. I thought she was dying. That

is what most parents believe but in fact it is a more common condition

than you might think. They are a type of seizure which can happen in

children between six months and five years, with a temperature. It is

very common. Just putting it in perspective, one in 50 children

would have had it by the age of five in the UK and Ireland. When we were

filming at the hospital, baby Jake was being monitored after having

one. If your chart does have a seizure it is important to do a

number of things. -- child. Call for help. Get the child into the

recovery position. You are a doctor on the children's ward and Kathryn,

you are a nurse. Show me how to put her in the recovery position. I'm

closest to you up to the head. Bring the hand across the body and back of

the hand to the cheek. Lift the need service to up. Roll the child onto

the site and open the airway. Make sure not to put anything into the

child's mouth and do not stop the child making the jerking movement.

Then call an ambulance. I think every parent should be trained in

the first eight on how to manage a seizure. In antenatal classes they

should cover this. -- first aid. If you know your child is not well,

keep the temperature under control. Something to take note of.

100 years ago, all of us would have lived

The blacksmith was relied on to keep horses shod and cart wheels turning.

The skill has all but died out, except for a handful of craftsmen.

He's a former shipyard welder who retrained to help revive

Our Agriculture and Environment Correspondent Conor Macauley,

Owen Mort always liked metal. As a charter was intrigued by the

twisting and swelling of his old farm gate at home in the valley.

Modernity one over. He trained in mechanical engineering and worked as

a shipyard welder. One night at the end of a long shift, a glance

through the paper changed his life. I saw an advert in the paper. Would

you like to be a blacksmith? I applied and got it. What is it about

the job you love so much? It is great to wring some raw materials,

ringing them to life. Creating unique things. -- bringing. It is

more or less the same skill as those used hundreds of years ago. Then,

nobody was far from a forge, a workplace celebrated in a poem by

Seamus Heaney. Inside the short pitched ring, the unpredictable

sparks and hiss when a new shoe toughens in water. The Heritage

Lottery fund paid ?15,000 towards the cost of his retraining. Much of

his work is now done on heritage projects like Carrickfergus Castle

and an area where work is celebrated. His bushy beard is more

than a throwback to times past. It is not just a fashion statement.

When I forge pieces of metal and sparks will fly, it hits my face. If

I was cleaning a shave and it would hit my face and stick me. With the

beard it is singeing and falling. It is health and safety! Owen is one of

a handful of blacksmiths qualify for this kind of heritage work. It is an

agent skill kept safe in modern hands. -- ancient skill.

Sport, and we've hosted Sports Personality,

the Giro D'Italia and the World Police and Fire Games and now

another major sporting event is coming to Northern Ireland,

Yes, Belfast will host the Commonwealth Youth Games

It will see around 1,000 athletes aged between 14 and 18 coming

The decision to award the event to Northern Ireland

was revealed this morning by the Commonwealth

The presentation was second to none. They answered every question fully.

They also added a little bit extra, to show what else they could give

us. What they could do with the village. It was already built and

you did not have to worry about infrastructure. One bed in one room

with ensuite. That has been unheard of. Things like that, it has been

great. That is what it is all about. A cultural and educational

experience. As well as sport in the background. But keep it revolving

and encourage people, this is what they can achieve, meet friends and

work for the next games. Ultimately the aim should be possibly the big

games depending on which country they come from. -- the Olympic

Games. Ulster can go to the top

of the Pro12 table with a win A bonus point victory in Italy

against Treviso at the weekend has left Les Kiss' side well placed

to challenge for the They came on the back of a 25 match

losing streak but made it tougher for the visitors. Ulster had to wait

until the second half before the floodgates opened. Ulster's second

try, just at the end of the third quarter. A win assured and the hosts

were deflated and Ulster pushed along. It is going to be another

one. Yet again! Try number three for Ulster. That should put the tin hat

on it. The travelling support were in good spirits and the bonus points

scorer was worth the journey. Stuart Olding crossed the line in his first

game back after ten months out with injury. What a return for Stuart

Olding. With the six Nations defence starting this weekend, Ulster are in

good shape to make a Pro12 play-off charge.

Gaelic Football's Allianz League's got underway over the weekend.

There were mixed fortunes for the Ulster Counties,

with victories for Donegal, Monaghan, Derry,Tyrone and Antrim.

After just one game, it is far too early to assess the step up to the

top tier. For the new manager, he was not in any doubt as to the size

of the challenge he faced in Division 1 and this was an abrupt

reminder. Donegal dominated. Winning by 17 points. Ryan McGeever found

the net twice. Almost everybody seems to switch off. They started

their campaign with a victory against the newly promoted wins

common. This injury time goal was the difference. Pouncing on

defensive mistakes. Get working really hard with a turnover.

Eventually we kicked the scores. The Finnish clinched it. We knew it

would be a tough game and we came to it. Stefan Campbell with this early

point. After the Leinster side to the lead through the Mickey Newman

goal, the score dried up, as the home side ran out five points

winners. Crusaders remain eight

points clear at the top of the Danskebank Premiership

after a two-nil win at Coleraine on Saturday, but the victory was not

without controversy, Crusaders against the initiative

just before half-time at the Showgrounds. But were they inside

the area? The referee waved away protest from the home side and

awarded a penalty kick, converted by Billy Joe Burns. Crusaders had

another in the second half, David Ogilvy adjudged to have impeded the

striker. Burns again the man from the spot. Cliftonville extended the

unbeaten run, six games, with this header in up to see of the

struggling Portadown. -- enough. They was too strong for Carrick

Rangers, winning 2-0 and they stayed third in the table. The only other

game on Saturday, United winning the league for the first time since

October with a 4-2 win against Ballymena.

Ireland have a 123 run lead over Papua New Guinea at the end

of the second day of their Intercontinental Cup match.

All out for 275, Ireland then reduced their hosts to 166 for 7

No cricket in Northern Ireland today because of Storm Henry. It is

causing a bit of trouble. Now the weather with Angie Phillips. A

blustery and lively start as you say, because of Storm Henry. That is

drifting down to the north of Scotland. Very tightly packed

isobars. Indicating strong and stormy wind. Showers and rain for

some. That last into tomorrow. We did have 75 mph gusts at all cared,

but equally bad on the north coast. This was the very angry sea. They

would warning in place, lingering through the rest of the night and

into tomorrow. -- wind warning. 70 mph and more in places. As we go

into... Not the right shot! It will be a showery evening. Please bear in

mind that we have severe gales and tree debris and nasty crosswind. In

the course of the night, that warning will remain in place. Wind

coming down a little bit. 60 mph is still severe gale. Showery rain

running through. Temperature settling at three, 4 degrees. Wind

holding them at that level. Just about frost free. Into tomorrow,

showers easing away. Some sunshine but cold wind. Still in that warning

zone tomorrow morning with gusts at 60 mph. Getting brighter. Some

showers across the Republic. Showery rain across northern Scotland,

turning into snow over the mountains. Some showers trickling

into Wales. Generally a lot of dry and sunny weather. Back to Northern

Ireland, for the afternoon, some showers eventually developing.

Easing up a little bit, the wind, but picking up in the evening with

more showers coming in and they threaten to turn wintry. Wednesday

is a quieter day but more unsettled towards the end of the week.

Our late summary is at half past ten.

If you missed our report on the childhood condition of the brass

seizure, more information online and on Twitter. Thank you for watching

and goodbye.