14/09/2016 BBC Newsline

Good evening, the headlines on BBC Newsline.

The final straw - a children's pathologist tells us

why she resigned over the Attorney General's

They had to transport their own baby's body back in a picnic cooler

overnight on the ferry. I think it is disgraceful.

Why the health authorities say

we shouldn't be worrying about the Zika cases here.

He cried for help, they watched him, they looked through the door, they

looked through and not one of them thought to go in and help them.

he didnt want to live - but with his family watching on,

Dungannon Paralympian Terry Eaglesham has competed in Rio.

Dry and bright with temperatures in the high teens.

I'll have the full forecast just before 7pm.

A paediatric pathologist has resigned over interventions by NI's

Attorney General on abortion laws surrounding fatal

Dr Caroline Gannon investigated the deaths of babies including those

She said the final straw was having to advise a couple to use a picnic

cooler bag to return their baby's remains to NI following

Our Health Correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly

Doctor Caroline Gannon's job involves investigating the deaths of

babies. She can also carry out postmortem examinations after an

abortion. However, abortion on the grounds of fatal people abnormality

remains illegal here, she says some couples travelled to England for

termination after a diagnosis can face problems bringing remains home

for a post-modern. -- postmortem. If this has happened in Northern

Ireland, there would be hospital processes in place, where someone

else would be able to bring the body to the more tree to ensure the

postmortem was carried out. But they were on their own, they had to

transport their own baby's body back in a picnic cooler in the boot of

the car on a ferry overnight. I think it is disgraceful. I can't see

how that is compassionate care. Doctor Gannon says she feels the

role of the pathologist is under greater scrutiny because of legal

adventures by the eternal Attorney General. What were these?

Earlier this year, he wrote to the TUV's Jim Allister...

I think he was the tipping point, the Attorney General, has made my

professional life here are untenable and I do not consider that I can

work under those guidelines and rulings any longer. In a statement

to the BBC the Attorney General said he added there is no clinical

definition of the term fatal faecal abnormality. They should never have

been placed in a position where they had to use the call about to

transport the remains of their baby back home, she says. Imagine, we

were talking about places to buy a cooler from. It was hurtful and

upsetting. The father of the young woman who had the abortion broke his

silence. I see nothing wrong at all with what we did. It is the most

humane thing one could do for one's daughter to try and end the type of

pain she is suffering. We pray everyday she will have the child she

longs for. There was no alternative. The BBC understands other couples

have used various modes of transport including a parcel courier company

to carry the remains of their baby home.

And there's been a lot of political reaction to this

Yes, the Health Minister Michelle O'Neill said she thought the issue

of abortion and fatal foetal abnormality was one which does

She said the joint working group which has been set up to look

specifically at the issue has met and she hopes that within the next

couple of weeks they will have a report which can be put

to the executive setting out the way forward.

This was echoed by the Justice Minister Claire Sudgen.

I think we need to see what comes out of the working group. We need to

take an informed perspective on this and this is what hopefully will will

get at the end of September. It is a serious situation when someone who

is part of a professional aspect of the situation is telling us that in

spite of all of those who are saying there are certainly out there for

consultants and medical professionals, quite clear as a

result of this resignation that there is no certainty.

And we also need to talk about another health story.

Up to five people in Northern Ireland have been

How concerned should people be about this news?

When people hear this, at first they will be concerned, perhaps even a

little shocked. But let's put it in context. Since the outbreak of Zika

last year, there have been around 120 cases confirmed right across the

UK and that number is expected to rise as people return back from the

likes of Rio, where we have the Olympics, and also after people had

been holidaying in Florida and other country that had been affected.

People who have been diagnosed as having the virus, it is not because

we have the deadly mosquito flying around in Northern Ireland. Those

people who have been diagnosed, it is because they have been travelling

abroad. I think what was more shocking was the way in which I

found out about it arriving in Northern Ireland, the tip-off from a

medical source who felt the public had a right to know it was here. I

then contacted the public-health agency and as far as they are

prepared to go, the airline is fewer than five people have been treated

for the disease. Let's look at this in terms. Sore

throat, sore eyes, headache, joint pain, but it can be treated with

antibiotics and advisers to rest and plenty of fluids. It is usually a

mild form, most people do recover and recover well but as we know, it

is particularly dangerous for babies in the womb so those people who have

travelled to affected countries who are showing some symptoms and who

are concerned, get themselves along to the GP.

Prison officers at Maghaberry have been criticised for not intervening

as they watched a young mentally-ill prisoner blind himself in his cell.

The family of Sean Lynch tonight spoke of their devastation

An investigation by the Prisoner Ombudsman recommnded 63 changes

to ensure a similar incident never happens again.

Sean Lynch was a promising young footballer but his career was ruined

by drug and alcohol abuse. He has now blind after self harming in

Maghaberry jail. He was on remand prisoner for the -- awaiting

charges. On the night he blinded himself, several prison officers

were checking on him but didn't take any immediate action. The family of

Sean Lynch sene has paid the price for the failings of others. It is

heart-wrenching to think these people could watch Sean for that

length of time and let him do that to himself and not intervene. He

cried for help, they watched him, they went to the door, they looked

through it and not one of them thought to go in and help him. We're

talking about a young 23 old. Today's report by the prison

ombudsman criticises the prison office for not intervening sooner.

The reports says "It seems remarkable that several

it was neither necessary nor appropriate to enter his cell

to prevent Mr Lynch from self-harming further."

The report says they didn't not realise the seriousness

And they feared he would attack them and take the prison keys off them.

He had attacked a prison officer two days previously.

But the Prisoner Ombudsman wasn't convinced.

He said the officers' "duty of care was trumped by security concerns

that appear to have had little basis in reality."

The report lists a series of changes that are needed.

And he outlined 63 recommendations for improvement.

He is never going to see his niece and nephew again. It has been tee

years since they'd seen him and they've grown up so much. Every time

I look at him, my heart breaks. It really does break. And that is so

sad. The family say that lessons must be learned from this case. The

justice minister says she is ready to take action. I think we have to

do it as soon as possible and we have to have a genuine discussion

about what needs to happen and what the realities are. We have a

situation where a young man is now blind. The family of 25-year-old

Sean Lynch say his life will never be the same again and for that they

claim the prison service. -- blame. Well, earlier I spoke

to Sue McAllister, the out-going Director General

of the Northern Ireland Prison Service and I asked her what more

should have been done to help Sean Our staff are required to exercise

judgment every hour of every day and one thing that we require them to do

is balance security, good order, control and care. The public expect

us quite reasonably to run secure it presents. They expect us to run

prisons where people behave decently towards one another, they expect our

staff to care for individuals whose behaviour and needs are very complex

and challenging. None of us were there on that day, on that landing

at the end of a period of days in which Sean Lynch had behaved

violently and threatened staff, demonstrated an intention to run out

of his cell and passed the staff. What I would say is that our staff

exercise their judgment at that time on that day and it is easy for us

with the benefit of hindsight to say what they could have a should have

done was different to what we would have done. That they found those

security concerns had little basis in reality and his condition was

beyond what officers could deal with. Why was that not flagged up?

That is absolutely not something for me to comment on, whether someone

should be your not in prison is not a matter for me. Pity not the

perfect example of somebody, I mentally ill prisoners who should

not be in prison and at the very least is the only thing at your

disposal there is the hospital prison, why was he not in the

hospital prison? It didn't come out of the blue, he was behaving

erratically. Old days, been self harming. Old days, why was he not in

the hospital in the prison? You mention two things, should he have

been in prison are not? That is the matter -- that is not a matter for

me. But you are the chief executive, your institutional responsibility is

to keep people safe. If you are the parent, wife or mother of this young

man would you have not wanted the prison service to keep him safe and

prevent this happening to him? We have no control over who comes to

our gates, I've made that clear already. You mention the prison

hospital. There are no prison hospitals nowadays, health care and

prisoners provided by the Southeastern health and social care

trust and their ability to provide inpatient care inside prisons does

not exist. They do not have the resources to do that. They actually

give prisoners as patients the equivalent level of health care they

would receive in the community. Sean Lynch was taken to outside hospital

on a number of occasions in the days leading up to these incidents of

self harm. The Sega should have been in the prison hospital, simply isn't

possible. -- to say he should have been. As director general of the

prison service, should you be saying we should have that facility,

instead of having suicides and serious self harm as in this case,

we should have another system. Is that not something you should be

saying just as you finish in your post? We are a public service and

funded by taxpayers money. It is absolutely self-evident if we were

to provide an alternative facility for people with mental health

issues, and it isn't for me to comment on whether that would all be

desirable or not, that would have to be funded from the public purse. We

would have to make a decision as to what else we didn't do to allow that

to happen. I know our new justice Minister Clare Sugden has a real

interest in mental health and is talking with just as colleagues now

about what that looks like for the coming years, but it isn't for me to

comment. The Irish government says it intends

to set up an inquiry into the controversial sale

of the bad bank, Nama's Northern Ireland portfolio,

known as Project Eagle. This follows a report this afternoon

that suggests the Republic's tax-payer could have lost hundreds

of millions of euro in the deal. There have also been a series

of allegations about impropriety Our Dublin reporter

Shane Harrison joins me. Pardon me. The Project Eagle

property portfolio was once worth about ?4.5 billion and was sold

about two years ago for just over ?1 billion. There have been allegations

that former Nama insider may have used inside knowledge for personal

gain and also suggestions of payments to an offshore bank

account. Those matters are being investigated by the National Crime

Agency in the UK and by the American authorities. Today there was a

report by the controller and auditor general in the Republic whose job is

to see whether the taxpayers are getting money from their public

services and he found that Nama should have taken more action once

it became aware that its former Northern Ireland portfolio manager

was due. Mac and 80 member was due to get a payment from the eventual

sale of the property. -- committee member. They'll so found the

Republic's taxpayer could have lost up to 200 million euros and the

eventual sale. This evening, Nama has categorically rejected those

findings and has said the report is fundamentally unsound and unstable

and cannot be left to go unchallenged. What form will the

investigation take? We don't know yet. Consultations will take place

tomorrow, but we know there will be Rob 's because of the two

jurisdictions involved, ongoing criminal investigations, and also

problems about the compatibility of witnesses.

In Belfast, the call centre firm Concentrix -

which employs around 1,800 people - says it remains committed

to its operation here despite losing a major contract.

Trade union Unite claims as many as 500 staff here work on a benefit

system contract for Revenue and Customs which finishes next year

In a statement Concentrix says it'll do everything possible to minimise

There has been significant anger over the announcement that low

cost airline Ryanair is to axe its Londonderry

Summer flights to Faro, in Portugal, are also being dropped

while the airline's service to Liverpool is being reduced

Keiron Tourish has been speaking to people in the north west.

This man's family have been in business for over half a century.

She regularly travels to London and was less stunned by the Ryanair

decision. -- this woman's family. You see the same faces every Monday

morning, people going to work, lawyers, bankers, traders. It is

working commuting fright rather a leisure flight and that is why it's

important to us as a business. We are just devastated. Ryanair will

end its London Stansted flight in March 20 17th and will also reduce

its flight to Liverpool to twice a week and Glasgow remains at the

current level. 75 employees will keep their jobs but one union says

its members have lost confidence in airport management. The worries are

for the future of the airport. We are fully committed to the airport,

we believe it is an important transport link. Ratepayers currently

pay an annual subsidy of ?2 million to support the airport, is it value

for money? We need to have good links to the city of Derry because

our road links are so poor. If you had trains services linking Belfast,

Belfast International or Dublin, you have a better infrastructure. That,

to me, might be a better answer. Airport management is hoping to

secure only London connection under a scheme known as a public service

obligation. It was set up to help maintain regional Elling is to

London. In order for us to grow the economy, we need to have fevers that

help support the economy and airport is vital, as is the road

infrastructure and well skilled workforce. Management at the airport

as well as Derry City remains confident that in its talks with the

Department for Transport, a new London route can be secured. All

sides have admitted there are no guarantees. An anxious wait over the

coming months. The former chief executive

of the animal charity the USPCA has been questioned by police

investigating an Stephen Philpott was arrested

in Newry today along with a 52-year-old woman

but released on bail. The charity says it became aware

of suspected irregularities and passed the information

on to the PSNI. The derelict Dunluce Centre

in Portrush is up for sale - at a third of the price it cost

to build more than 20 years ago. The building and lands

have a guide price of ?910,000. The former tourist attraction

is owned by Causeway Coast and Glens If you spent a rainy day

on the north coast in the '90s, chances are you visited the Dunluce

Centre. Its viewing tower and turbo tours

made it a popular family attraction But it closed its doors

for good in 2013 because of Now it's up for sale

with a price tag of ?910,000. It's a lot of money,

but it's still less than a third of the ?3.3 million it cost to build

the attraction in 1993. The building has cost the council

more than ?40,000 per year to maintain since it closed -

so why's it taken so long The money isn't the key factor. It

seems strange to say, that getting the right person to do the right

being on that site is really the key thing. You could get far more money

if you put a supermarket or something in there, that isn't what

we want. We want something that will boost the local economy, tourism and

hopefully the rest will enjoy as well.

The site's future will become clearer on Monday when the deadline

Meanwhile, people in Portrush have plenty of ideas on how

If it was used for like a restaurant or a cafe or something. What this

town needs is a real hotel. Maybe then indoor trampoline work-out.

Whoever this site is sold to, politicians and business

people agree, it's not about reliving past glory days,

but rather creating better ones to come

Sara Girvin, BBC Newsline, in Portrush.

On last night's BBC Newsline we promised you'd hear

from Royal Marine and Dungannon paralympian Terry Eaglesham.

from Royal Marine and Dungannon paralympian Phillip Eaglesham.

It's one of those stories, Tara, which gives us

Wheechair bound with an incurable disease,

Q Fever, which he contracted while on duty in Afghanistan six

years ago, Phillip Eaglesham thought he might not be around

But he made it with his wife Julie and sons Travis, Tyler and Mason.

As Nigel Ringland reports - that he missed out on a medal

Sometimes sport isn't about winning medals, it is about inspiration,

dedication, overcoming the unthinkable. Even then, it doesn't

always have a happy ending. As Phillip Eaglesham finished 30th in

the ten metre air rifle qualification in Rio, it wasn't the

result he wanted, but behind him cheer him cheering him on worth his

family. Afterwards, they were all smiles as they congratulated dad.

Happy I got here. First international last October. It's not

even been a year. Just to be here, it was great. But disappointed at

the same time. I know I can hit those scores but perhaps it was too

much pressure. We are here, I'm apparent in the, I can't be upset.

The truth is, Q Fever is incurable, the any prognosis is deterioration

that from the darkest places, he has found strength through sport. He

wanted to show his boys that when life gets tough, they can turn

around, see what happened to him and that he eventually found his way to

the greatest show on earth. And he says he is determined to make it to

Tokyo. Between them, nine, ten and 11

helped hit Celtic for seven The 7-0 result was Barcelona's

biggest win in Europe Among those central to humbling

the Scottish champions, Brendan Rodgers' former player Luis

Suarez. His movement will always make it

difficult. He runs to score goals, make forward runs. He plays on the

shoulder, his combinations with the other two attacking players. You try

to seek your lines tight and block spaces but players of that quality,

that speed, they move as fast as that, they get high-level top

players. Big confidence, big belief, and that is where they are where

they are. Messi also chipped in

with a hattrick last night but for all his,

Neymar and Suaraez's brilliance - Joel Cooper's goal at the Oval last

night arguably upstaged all of them. This mesmering effort

from the Glenavon man was the pick of the goals in their 2-2 league

draw with Glentoran - Cooper's wonder strike,

which has had almost 50,000 hits on our Facebook site

and counting, had it all - the Johnann Cryuff turn

with the left foot and then the poise and precision

of Eric Cantona to chip the hapless You can see all the goals on our

website. Finally, back to the Paralympics -

Bethany Firth will go for a third gold medal in the pool

tonight in Rio. She won her heat today to qualify

for the 100m breaststroke final. Fingers crossed. Let's get the

weather now. It was like sum up all day. It's been a fantastic day

today, glorious temperatures. Over the water, they saw highs of 30

degrees. We didn't quite reach that here but we certainly benefiting

from that lovely warm air over the water. It means as we head into this

evening, it is really rather pleasant. This is the picture at the

moment, dry and bright for most, temperatures in the high teens,

perfect night for getting out and mowing the lawn or having a brother

cute if that is your preference. -- having a barbecue. This sets us up

for a rather different day tomorrow, a good deal more cloud around and

while temperatures pretty similar to today, it will be a rather different

feel to the day. That cloud sits over us like a blanket through the

day, the front working slowly and from west to east. I don't think the

rain that it brings will amount to much but it will add to that dull,

grey, damp field to the weather. With temperatures between mid teens

and low 20s, quite ugly feel. -- muggy. What is really happening

as we have these two fronts squeezing the cloud over Northern

Ireland through the day tomorrow. Once it clears, there is some cooler

and fresher conditions and a ridge of high pressure building in.

Promising something a bit more subtle. Friday is setup to be a

decent day. A few showers around through the day but it will be nice

and bright. You will notice temperatures down by about five or 6

degrees on what we have been used to through today and tomorrow. We hold

onto those pretty respectable temperatures as we head into the

weekend. Highs cost 16 Celsius but a bit more in the way of cloud through

the first half of the weekend. I'm afraid I can't promise you the

glorious 30 degrees temperatures that they have seen in south-east

England, but for Northern Ireland in the middle of September, I don't

think that is looking to bad. We will take it! Thank you!

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