:00:00. > :00:21.1,000 jobs are to go at the aerospace firm Bombardier.
:00:22. > :00:24.I'm live outside the company's East Belfast operation where there's
:00:25. > :00:35.Everybody's depressed about it. Morale is down.
:00:36. > :00:38.The troubled C Series jet has put the firm under
:00:39. > :00:42.We'll have political reaction as well as reaction from Canada
:00:43. > :00:46.where Bombardier's parent company is based.
:00:47. > :00:49.And in other news tonight: The way ahead for health here,
:00:50. > :00:54.can politicians and experts come up with a workable plan?
:00:55. > :00:58.And a wintry chill with a widespread frost tonight but, apart from a few
:00:59. > :01:06.wintry showers, many parts dry into tomorrow.
:01:07. > :01:23.Up to 1000 jobs of lost at Bombardier. The company has
:01:24. > :01:26.struggled to get its new planes off the ground and there's no
:01:27. > :01:35.underestimating the impact of today's announcement.
:01:36. > :01:44.Because underestimate the importance of this company.
:01:45. > :01:46.Bombardier is a vitally important company.
:01:47. > :01:48.Aside from direct employment, it supports thousands more
:01:49. > :01:51.It puts about ?180 million worth of wages into our
:01:52. > :01:54.It accounts for about 10% of manufacturing exports.
:01:55. > :01:56.It also spends a lot on research and training.
:01:57. > :01:58.So when Bombardier is having difficulties it should
:01:59. > :02:04.Workers were braced for the worst because the company was to release
:02:05. > :02:05.gloomy 2015 financial results in Montreal.
:02:06. > :02:09.But those results were pre-empted by a statement in Belfast announcing
:02:10. > :02:26.This setback had been looming. Uncertainty has hung over the
:02:27. > :02:32.workforce for many months as a financial storm cloud moved in from
:02:33. > :02:39.Canada. Bombardier is going to spread this job is paying across a
:02:40. > :02:47.period of 24 months. 580 posts will go this year with the potential for
:02:48. > :02:54.the same again to be shared in 2017. Delays and cost overruns the new
:02:55. > :02:58.passenger plane has four in the business into turmoil. Savings have
:02:59. > :03:05.had to be found on jobs are now set to go just weeks after a pay offer
:03:06. > :03:13.was rejected. Everybody's down. What do you expect? Morale is low. When
:03:14. > :03:21.you go to happen but we didn't think it would be as large as it was.
:03:22. > :03:27.People might not have jobs. But I hope I'm employed next year but I'm
:03:28. > :03:33.62 so it will affect the younger ones more than me. Locally, bon but
:03:34. > :03:40.-- Bombardier employs 500 500 people. Roughly 500 are agency
:03:41. > :03:44.contract is who will be among the first ago. The permanent staff are
:03:45. > :03:46.concentrated in east but others are based in Don Murray, new nappy and
:03:47. > :03:53.new canards. These Belfast are dealt with
:03:54. > :03:58.employment lawyers before and some felt the pain of the workforce.
:03:59. > :04:05.There's a message beyond the worker, a message to government in the sense
:04:06. > :04:07.of we need to bring jobs into Northern Ireland in general but in
:04:08. > :04:12.particular into communities like East Belfast. Bombardier has had
:04:13. > :04:19.huge historic levels of government financial support and the executive
:04:20. > :04:23.believes it is importance to the economy is not diminished by today's
:04:24. > :04:27.announcement. I look to the changes of the company has made, painful as
:04:28. > :04:31.those maybe I submitted to the workers, painful as they have been,
:04:32. > :04:35.it replaces the organisation to a position where it can grow for the
:04:36. > :04:43.future. I've been with the senior management on five occasions and we
:04:44. > :04:47.know it has been confirmed that the long-term future of the Belfast
:04:48. > :04:53.plant is secure. The company had built 2016 as a year of transition.
:04:54. > :04:57.After months of speculation, its turnaround strategy is now known to
:04:58. > :05:00.involve what was feared, large scale job losses.
:05:01. > :05:03.As Julian was saying, most of Bombardier's recent problems
:05:04. > :05:06.stem from the development of the new C Series airliner.
:05:07. > :05:12.I've been having a closer look at what's gone wrong.
:05:13. > :05:21.The C Series is Bombardier 's dream of the future. Cutting edge
:05:22. > :05:26.technology, great fuel efficiency and the best engines on the market.
:05:27. > :05:32.Its aim, to take on the giant of Boeing and Airbus in the short haul
:05:33. > :05:35.passenger market. It was first conceived in 2004. The Belfast wing
:05:36. > :05:42.factory was officially opened by the Prime Minister and Mr decade later.
:05:43. > :05:44.Developing a new playing is a time-consuming and expensive
:05:45. > :05:51.business. The C Series has been beset by cost overruns and allays.
:05:52. > :05:55.It was originally due to enter service in 2013, it should finally
:05:56. > :06:00.be flying commercially this year. It started out with the development
:06:01. > :06:05.budget of $3.4 billion. That sought to 5.4 billion, it is also entering
:06:06. > :06:10.a fiercely competitive market. Knowing and Airbus have tweaked
:06:11. > :06:14.their models and slash prices, as a result sales of the C Series have
:06:15. > :06:19.been slow. The launch target was 300 orders but only 243 have been
:06:20. > :06:24.booked, all of this has weakened the entire Bombardier company. They took
:06:25. > :06:30.an enormous risk, they're well out of their comfort zone, they have
:06:31. > :06:34.produced a good aeroplane but it is coming in the wrong place and at the
:06:35. > :06:40.wrong time. All of the major international airlines went on a
:06:41. > :06:44.spending spree for new aircraft last year and thousands of new aircraft
:06:45. > :06:50.or books by both Boeing and Airbus. The C Series didn't join in that
:06:51. > :06:55.party. The State government in Colback has effectively given the C
:06:56. > :06:59.Series a 1 billion dollar bailout and more public money could follow.
:07:00. > :07:05.It's not forecast to turn a profit until 2020 at the earliest. The
:07:06. > :07:06.company needs to cut costs and conserve cash. That's what today's
:07:07. > :07:08.job losses are about. There was some better news
:07:09. > :07:11.for the C Series today when Air Canada signed what's call
:07:12. > :07:14.a letter of intent to buy 75 That's not quite a firm order
:07:15. > :07:18.but it's pretty certain that it But Bombardier needs lots more
:07:19. > :07:22.orders like this. The positive was something the head
:07:23. > :07:25.of Bombardier locally, Michael Ryan, was stressing when I spoke
:07:26. > :07:27.to him this afternoon. I asked him to explain why today's
:07:28. > :07:39.move was necessary. Bombardier announced today the year
:07:40. > :07:43.end results which if you look at it was close to $5 billion loss. They
:07:44. > :07:48.also announced some good news and the sales of the C Series but
:07:49. > :07:52.fundamentally the sustainability of the company needs to be addressed
:07:53. > :07:54.because that is not possible to continue and part of that is a
:07:55. > :07:59.transformation which is under way and part of that transformation is
:08:00. > :08:06.optimising the workforce and that is that they've global level. When we
:08:07. > :08:11.look at the aerospace side in Belfast, it's the single largest
:08:12. > :08:14.site in the aerospace business. Therefore, we are also impacted.
:08:15. > :08:19.Bombardier is a big company, Belfast is a reasonably small part of that,
:08:20. > :08:24.with up to somewhere like a low-cost location like Bombardier in Morocco,
:08:25. > :08:28.what kind of assurances can you give in the long-term future of this
:08:29. > :08:32.business in Northern Ireland? Money to improve competitiveness, there
:08:33. > :08:36.are things which we do which we will be core technologies is a move
:08:37. > :08:40.forward. As a move to more complex and advanced products and services,
:08:41. > :08:45.more value-added products, the wings and the C Series and he is a large
:08:46. > :08:50.is, that will be core for as going forward but there are processes and
:08:51. > :08:55.fabrication that we do which we have do we look at because we will likely
:08:56. > :08:59.not be competitive at them at all. The global aerospace world is
:09:00. > :09:04.looking at optimising it and that it was going to what we call lower cost
:09:05. > :09:08.countries and if we want to compete being in a global marketplace needs
:09:09. > :09:12.to take advantage of that. Where the relevant but I have to say the
:09:13. > :09:17.technologies we are investing in, the value-added processes, the
:09:18. > :09:21.programmes were looking at a key part Belfast's future and will
:09:22. > :09:24.continue to be. If I read that correctly, you are saying the
:09:25. > :09:30.high-value work around wings composite 's honour that will stay
:09:31. > :09:34.in Belfast, some of the more basic processes, there's every chance that
:09:35. > :09:39.work will have do go to lower cost locations. That is what will appear
:09:40. > :09:43.at and we can't rule that out. Honesty we have factories in Mexico
:09:44. > :09:44.and Morocco and we have a world-class supply chain and that is
:09:45. > :09:47.based in Northern Ireland. Before we came on air,
:09:48. > :09:49.I spoke to the Canadian business I started by asking him if the jobs
:09:50. > :10:03.cuts here were making It is. We are aware that you have a
:10:04. > :10:07.high-tech manufacturing that you put 100 million pounds into the company
:10:08. > :10:13.and your concerns are the same as Ahlers. Even though we have the
:10:14. > :10:18.headquarters here, you do a lot of the assembly, the important and core
:10:19. > :10:21.work and we as a country as well are concerned about that and that is why
:10:22. > :10:24.the government has been funding a lot of money into Bombardier to make
:10:25. > :10:29.sure it stays in Canada with those high-tech jobs, not just important
:10:30. > :10:33.here but in Northern Ireland as well so we share similarities as far as
:10:34. > :10:39.the concern of the health of Bombardier going forward. Our job is
:10:40. > :10:42.going there as well? 2000 jobs to be slated in the Montreal office. This
:10:43. > :10:47.is as part of the 7000 job announcement. What is interesting is
:10:48. > :10:50.in the C Series division they are saying no jobs will be cut, they'll
:10:51. > :10:57.be increasing that division but we are seeing real jobs are losing the
:10:58. > :11:02.lion's share, 3200 jobs so we are affected here as well. Is the view
:11:03. > :11:05.in Canada that people be happy to keep the jobs there and not worry so
:11:06. > :11:11.much about the jobs elsewhere in Northern Ireland. I don't know if we
:11:12. > :11:16.would say that. We have affinity with Northern Ireland but people in
:11:17. > :11:21.Montreal where the company is based would be concerned in keeping it in
:11:22. > :11:25.Montreal and there are 34,000 jobs reliant on Bombardier staying in
:11:26. > :11:29.Colback so I wouldn't say widgets missive of Ireland but we are
:11:30. > :11:35.sharing the pain. What you think the long-term prognosis is? This is
:11:36. > :11:39.where it gets tricky because there are in a negative cash flow
:11:40. > :11:44.position, this has cost them $5.5 billion to get this up and running.
:11:45. > :11:50.2 billion in over costs and what comes down to this single aisle jet
:11:51. > :11:55.which is 150 passengers, it goes directly against Boeing and Airbus
:11:56. > :11:59.and those are very large pocketed companies and there is concern with
:12:00. > :12:04.analysts saying have a bit off more than they can chew? Does it have the
:12:05. > :12:07.resources to be able to go up against those competitors or are we
:12:08. > :12:11.going to be in a spiral of continuing to have to fund them?
:12:12. > :12:13.Before we came on air, the Enterprise Minister Jonathan
:12:14. > :12:15.Bell insisted Bombardier's future in Northern Ireland is secure.
:12:16. > :12:21.Did you know this was going to happen?
:12:22. > :12:27.What I want to do is insure for those that are affected by the
:12:28. > :12:31.global restructuring of the company can have the opportunity to
:12:32. > :12:36.re-skill, retrain, the accredited to apply with a competent CV for new
:12:37. > :12:42.money factor in jobs in Northern Ireland. My priority is to them,
:12:43. > :12:48.it's a global restructuring, what I do know is that the Belfast plant is
:12:49. > :12:51.secure... Can you give any more money to the company because we have
:12:52. > :12:58.invested very heavily in Bombardier so far? I have been in Canada twice,
:12:59. > :13:01.I have met their management five times, over the last number of
:13:02. > :13:06.months, they are committed to Belfast. To the long-term secure
:13:07. > :13:10.future of Belfast and aircraft manufacturing and I have asked them
:13:11. > :13:16.is anything more that I could have done? To secure the jobs quick
:13:17. > :13:20.update there is no more assistance that could've done anything to
:13:21. > :13:24.prevent what has happened today. What ratios can you give to the
:13:25. > :13:26.other aerospace companies working in Northern Ireland that their
:13:27. > :13:33.workforces won't be affected by these job cuts? I can tell you that
:13:34. > :13:37.of office 625 companies in Northern Ireland that our manufacturing of
:13:38. > :13:43.aircraft industry and all of the aircraft industry from Brazil,
:13:44. > :13:48.Airbus, Boeing, bombarding you. We are manufacturing for them all. Some
:13:49. > :13:53.of them will be supplying a lot in the chain to Bombardier but for
:13:54. > :14:00.others some 75% of their workforce does not involve Bombardier at all.
:14:01. > :14:03.That is because the department of a strategic view to spread how we look
:14:04. > :14:06.to gain orders and we have now got orders from the entire supply chain
:14:07. > :14:10.throughout the world for the aircraft Corporation 's and we are
:14:11. > :14:17.in a strong place. The industry is valued at ?1.1 billion. We know in
:14:18. > :14:20.the future that there is a need for tens of thousands of new aircraft
:14:21. > :14:23.and I believe our companies will continue to step up to the plate to
:14:24. > :14:26.deliver for the economy and put more than that ?1.1 billion back into
:14:27. > :14:28.Northern Ireland. When I spoke to the Secretary
:14:29. > :14:31.of State, who's in Washington, I asked if she could have done
:14:32. > :14:34.anything to either stop today's decision by Bombardier
:14:35. > :14:42.or lessen its impact. Sadly, Bombardier have been clear
:14:43. > :14:47.that there wasn't any intervention by the UK Government or the
:14:48. > :14:53.executive that could have prevented today's announcement. It is
:14:54. > :14:58.unfortunately part of the global restructuring that is needed to
:14:59. > :15:02.bring down Bombardier 's costs. The UK Government and the executive have
:15:03. > :15:09.provided huge amount of support for the C Series, well over ?100 million
:15:10. > :15:13.over recent years and whilst this is hugely devastating news for the
:15:14. > :15:17.people facing redundancy I think we can all take some comfort from the
:15:18. > :15:23.fact that Bombardier have made it clear they committed to the C Series
:15:24. > :15:27.project and committed to Belfast is a hugely important manufacturing
:15:28. > :15:32.centre for them. You confident about the long-term prognosis for the in
:15:33. > :15:39.Belfast? Yes, I am. From my discussions with ministers and my
:15:40. > :15:42.understanding of the Bombardier operation, they're firmly supportive
:15:43. > :15:46.of the Belfast operation and UK Government working with the
:15:47. > :15:49.executive will continue to do all we can to ensure that Northern Ireland
:15:50. > :15:52.is one of the best places in the world to do business. The timing
:15:53. > :16:00.couldn't be worse than you considering you're in Washington to
:16:01. > :16:03.sell Northern Ireland. The timing is terrible for those affected by
:16:04. > :16:10.redundancy or facing it but I think it is important for me, other
:16:11. > :16:13.ministers and the executive to be out and about promoting Northern
:16:14. > :16:19.Ireland as a brilliant place to do business. That is important. Also
:16:20. > :16:23.today around 81% of businesses in Northern Ireland think that leaving
:16:24. > :16:26.the European Union is a bad idea. To zap you personally a difficult
:16:27. > :16:30.position? During the Reformation and it will be important to consider
:16:31. > :16:35.carefully the views of business and to listen to voices from the
:16:36. > :16:38.business committee on both sides of this important debate before people
:16:39. > :16:44.make up their minds whether to vote to leave the EU or stay in. For you
:16:45. > :16:46.personally, as Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, would it not
:16:47. > :16:51.make campaign to leave the European Union difficult for you personally
:16:52. > :16:57.whenever 81% of businesses hearsay would not be a good idea? Every
:16:58. > :17:02.individual and adult in Northern Ireland will be able to make their
:17:03. > :17:09.own choice about the future relationship of the UK with the rest
:17:10. > :17:12.of Europe and no doubt issues around jobs and our trading relationship
:17:13. > :17:13.with Europe will be at the heart of that debate.
:17:14. > :17:19.Let's go back now for a final word with John Campbell.
:17:20. > :17:24.Obviously such an important issue. We've heard it referred to by the
:17:25. > :17:32.enterprise minister. What about the other companies who supply
:17:33. > :17:35.Bombardier? Aerospace is a priority for the executive. There are a
:17:36. > :17:38.cluster of aerospace complete in Northern Ireland and the enterprise
:17:39. > :17:43.minister makes a fair point. Although Bombardier sits in the
:17:44. > :17:48.middle, those companies have diversify and supply lots more
:17:49. > :17:54.different businesses. Engineering in great happy, they make wind parts
:17:55. > :17:59.for Airbus. Another company have started up work in China. The whole
:18:00. > :18:02.industry is not the pennant and Bombardier will stop they have other
:18:03. > :18:08.options. Something which was mentioned to me was when Bombardier
:18:09. > :18:11.is talking about getting rid of work and not doing it in the plans
:18:12. > :18:14.because it doesn't make sense not miss the real that work gets sent
:18:15. > :18:18.offshore, it may go to other companies within Northern Ireland.
:18:19. > :18:22.There may be some opportunities in the supply chain rather than risks.
:18:23. > :18:32.Any reassurance at all if you work Bombardier? He said quite important
:18:33. > :18:37.things. He was clear that lower skill lower value work will not be
:18:38. > :18:42.done here in Belfast. It no longer makes economic financial sense. That
:18:43. > :18:48.work will be done elsewhere. What he emphasises the high-value work, the
:18:49. > :18:52.skilled work, the high-tech processes and making the wings. That
:18:53. > :18:57.will continue here. We have a competitive advantage, or the
:18:58. > :19:01.knowledge. That reads across to our manufacturing sector as a whole. We
:19:02. > :19:07.cannot compete on price for a lot of things but what we have to compete
:19:08. > :19:13.on his quality and innovation. Briefly, what about the impact on
:19:14. > :19:17.the wider community? Bombardier, although it is based on his Belfast,
:19:18. > :19:20.people come from all the Northern Ireland to work in this place.
:19:21. > :19:24.Generally in the aerospace sector are good, wages there will be above
:19:25. > :19:28.the private sector median so the fact that they are shedding jobs
:19:29. > :19:30.will be felt in households right across Northern Ireland.
:19:31. > :19:32.Plenty to come before seven, including a cautious welcome
:19:33. > :19:42.for the latest rise in house prices here.
:19:43. > :19:46.The man tasked with reforming health and social care here is calling
:19:47. > :19:50.on politicians to be brave and prepared to
:19:51. > :19:54.The call came at a political health summit where the focus
:19:55. > :19:59.was on politicians to put politics aside and health first.
:20:00. > :20:02.They were asked to sign up to a set of principles which would guarantee
:20:03. > :20:06.reform of the system, including how some hospitals deliver services.
:20:07. > :20:12.Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly reports.
:20:13. > :20:21.Like thousands of people, Derek is caught up in the system waiting to
:20:22. > :20:26.see a consultant. He has MS and has compared waiting to a horror story.
:20:27. > :20:32.System is broken. It's not working. The system is failing people like me
:20:33. > :20:35.and all the other estimated upwards of 4000 people with MS across
:20:36. > :20:40.Northern Ireland. It's people like Derek that those taking part in the
:20:41. > :20:44.summit want to help. Its aim, to try and encourage politicians to put
:20:45. > :20:47.their politics aside and put people's health first. The expert
:20:48. > :20:51.panel suggesting that could mean radical reform of the system
:20:52. > :20:57.including where and how health is delivered. We don't think it's naive
:20:58. > :21:02.to talk honestly to the population, show the new models will have better
:21:03. > :21:08.benefits, it will be better for you, if we take these decisions. It's
:21:09. > :21:11.true that one has to make that easy for the local politicians and we
:21:12. > :21:17.hope that we can make it easy by proving what the benefits are in
:21:18. > :21:20.this areas. The politicians were presented with 16 principles that
:21:21. > :21:27.they were asked to sign up to in advance. They included the desire to
:21:28. > :21:32.maintain the NHS ethos that health care should be free at the point of
:21:33. > :21:36.delivery and to create a healthier model that would deliver that.
:21:37. > :21:40.Alliance and Sinn Fein argues any change must address health
:21:41. > :21:45.inequalities. Others more cynical. We remain sceptical about the timing
:21:46. > :21:49.of this as it is weeks away from an election and we are worried it will
:21:50. > :21:56.be used by the DUP to deflect attention away from potential bad
:21:57. > :21:59.health headlines that may emerge. If people are informed from grassroots,
:22:00. > :22:02.they know it decisions are being taken and then used trust and that's
:22:03. > :22:07.important going forward will stop these decisions are being taken with
:22:08. > :22:10.their best interests at heart. According to Simon Hamilton this is
:22:11. > :22:14.a long-term plan whether or not he is still imposed after the election.
:22:15. > :22:20.This is more important than any party political point scoring.
:22:21. > :22:25.Irrespective of whether I am in post after election or someone else, this
:22:26. > :22:29.is a long-term problem, not a one-week problem. This is an issue
:22:30. > :22:37.and a challenge we'll have two phase for several assembly terms. The
:22:38. > :22:42.parties have until Fred Berry 26th -- Fabry 26 to accept the
:22:43. > :22:45.principles. If accepted they will be used to design a new model for
:22:46. > :22:47.Northern Ireland which could change how local hospitals operate.
:22:48. > :22:52.The Coroner in the Arlene Arkinson inquest says he needs more time
:22:53. > :22:54.before making a decision about whether the police can
:22:55. > :22:59.He says he may hold more sessions behind closed doors.
:23:00. > :23:02.The 15-year-old girl went missing 22 years ago and no-one has ever been
:23:03. > :23:08.Two prominent dissident Republicans Colin Duffy
:23:09. > :23:10.and Alex McCrory were granted bail today.
:23:11. > :23:13.They face charges of conspiring to murder members of the security
:23:14. > :23:18.forces and have been on remand for two years.
:23:19. > :23:21.A PSNI officer who tried to arrest one of Northern Ireland's most
:23:22. > :23:24.senior judges has been sentenced to three months in prison.
:23:25. > :23:27.Thomas Anthony Carlin attempted to arrest Lord Justice Gillen
:23:28. > :23:38.The cross-party body which runs the Assembly has asked
:23:39. > :23:41.the Westminster expenses regulator to do some more work reviewing
:23:42. > :23:45.the Stormont expenses system in light of recent controversy
:23:46. > :23:50.The Speaker held a meeting of the Assembly Commission
:23:51. > :23:58.Our political correspondent Chris Page is at Stormont.
:23:59. > :24:07.What's the latest? The assembly authorities know that any issue
:24:08. > :24:10.around expenses is bad for politicians in general. They have
:24:11. > :24:14.had to do everything they can to deal with perceptions as a problem.
:24:15. > :24:19.There's been extraordinary public row between the panel which sets
:24:20. > :24:22.expense allowances and the assembly commission which administers the
:24:23. > :24:25.expenses scheme. Essentially they disagree over whether expenses
:24:26. > :24:33.payments made in 2012 should be allowed. Last year, the Westminster
:24:34. > :24:36.regulator, compiled a report about the Stormont system and yesterday
:24:37. > :24:40.that report was leaked. It's a bit should be changing the way the
:24:41. > :24:45.assembly reviews expenses claims which have been initially refused.
:24:46. > :24:50.The assembly commission met today. They're stressing that the reported
:24:51. > :24:54.not identify any major areas of concern but that it did make a small
:24:55. > :24:58.number of recommendations which the assembly is acting on. What's more,
:24:59. > :25:03.the Westminster Bridge related being invited back here to do some more
:25:04. > :25:06.work and update in the light of the stories of the last few days.
:25:07. > :25:08.House prices in Northern Ireland grew by 7% last year,
:25:09. > :25:11.the latest evidence of steady recovery in the local property
:25:12. > :25:16.The average home now costs just over ?118,000.
:25:17. > :25:19.The news has been welcomed by some property experts,
:25:20. > :25:21.while others warn there are still many problems with debt
:25:22. > :25:37.House prices aren't booming but they are starting to blossom. Last year
:25:38. > :25:41.'s price rise continues an upward trend which darted two years ago.
:25:42. > :25:49.But in simple terms, what benefits does this bring? Homeowners have
:25:50. > :25:52.confidence that that they may get it by relatively stroked shorts base of
:25:53. > :26:01.time. First-time buyers as well who have been coming back into the
:26:02. > :26:05.marketplace. We had extraordinary marketplace in 2007 and 2008 and we
:26:06. > :26:08.hope they will come back but we'll see that over the coming years and
:26:09. > :26:13.we'll have consistency and that's what we're hoping to achieve. A 7%
:26:14. > :26:18.rise is generally welcome news but there are warnings not to get
:26:19. > :26:23.carried away. House prices in Northern Ireland are worth around
:26:24. > :26:26.53% what they were at the end of 2007 and many people are still
:26:27. > :26:31.struggling with mortgage payments or are trapped in negative equity. We
:26:32. > :26:35.have a lot of people, we see them every day who are struggling with
:26:36. > :26:40.housing debt. We have people who have lost their jobs, health issues,
:26:41. > :26:47.relationship breakdown, it's too simplistic just to see a small
:26:48. > :26:52.increase in house prices as being a salve to our woes. House prices are
:26:53. > :26:57.at the highest in the North Down and Ards area. A home there will cost
:26:58. > :27:03.you more than ?140,000. There's still a long way to go. In 2007,
:27:04. > :27:06.standard house prices have were nine times the average salary. Today,
:27:07. > :27:08.they're just four times what you earn.
:27:09. > :27:11.The IFA confirmed today that the final home warm-up game
:27:12. > :27:15.for Northern Ireland in the run-up to Euro 2016 will be against Belarus
:27:16. > :27:20.Following the game, Northern Ireland will travel to Austria
:27:21. > :27:24.for a week-long training camp before playing their final preparation game
:27:25. > :27:32.against fellow Euro finalists Slovakia on the 4th of June.
:27:33. > :27:43.Plenty of rain that cleared up. Some lovely sunshine around this
:27:44. > :27:48.afternoon but it was a dodgy start this morning with that mix of rain
:27:49. > :27:55.and sleet and snow in places. This was the scene agree to does. Quite a
:27:56. > :28:02.covering there as there was across the mountains. Not so much a low
:28:03. > :28:05.levels. It has been a chilly day and those temperatures now that the
:28:06. > :28:09.skies clearing are falling so quite quickly we will have a widespread
:28:10. > :28:12.frost overlapping and will start to see a few showers pushing in the
:28:13. > :28:18.wars in North and west through the evening. There will be a wintry mix.
:28:19. > :28:22.Temperatures drop to freezing, maybe two or three degrees below. The
:28:23. > :28:26.other problem will be ice. The Met office has a warning in place for
:28:27. > :28:31.the night and into tomorrow morning because there is a risk that there
:28:32. > :28:35.could be minor disruption, slippery and untreated roads and services so
:28:36. > :28:39.something to bear in mind. Once we get into tomorrow, for many, there
:28:40. > :28:45.will be a good deal of try weather, sunshine around as well. Through the
:28:46. > :28:48.morning, it is icy. Showers running their way through, particularly in
:28:49. > :28:52.the north and west and they will still be quite wintry but as we head
:28:53. > :28:56.towards the afternoon increasingly they'll be turned to rain at low
:28:57. > :29:01.levels. Most of the wintry staff in the hills. Not too many making their
:29:02. > :29:05.way across the eastern part of the Southeast, some places avoiding
:29:06. > :29:10.altogether with a fair and of sunshine but chilly with more breeze
:29:11. > :29:15.and hides of 6 degrees. That takes us into tomorrow evening. Again, we
:29:16. > :29:19.start with clear skies will be chilly enough a time, temperatures
:29:20. > :29:24.close to freezing. If anything, they will creep up a degree in the night.
:29:25. > :29:30.A bit more at the breeze, cloud increasing and spells of rain
:29:31. > :29:34.approach from the West. That is the next weather system that moves in
:29:35. > :29:37.for Friday. That has the effect of bringing the cabbage is up but it
:29:38. > :29:42.would feel that way because we'll have cloud and rain for a time. A
:29:43. > :29:45.breeze before drying in the day. Into the weekend, it is if the
:29:46. > :29:48.temperature wise but more rain in the forecast.
:29:49. > :29:53.You can also keep in contact with us via Facebook and Twitter.