02/03/2017 BBC Newsline

This is BBC Newsline: Tonight's top stories.

There are signs the turnout may be up as Northern Ireland goes

to the polls for the second time in a year.

This is perfect country for a deer poachers who want to make a mint out

of a legal meant -- meet. The four A level subjects

which are not being accepted The salmon and trout fishing season

has just begun but how healthy are our rivers? I have been talking to

some anglers. I've been talking to the Dublin are

living three feet under at a church in Belfast.

is Croke Park on a collision course with its players?

After a bright start this morning our weather

Rain moving in tonight and a cold, wet and increasingly

There's just over three hours left to vote in the Assembly election.

And already the signs are that turnout may be up

Here's our political correspondent Gareth Gordon.

Ten months after the last Assembly election, voters

were back at polling stations from 7am this morning.

Under normal circumstances an Assembly poll was not due

for another four years but the collapse of Stormont

And there's something else that sets this election apart.

For the first time the number of seats on offer is reduced

from 108 in previous Assembly elections to just 90 -

down one in each of the 18 constituencies.

Accordingly, the number of candidates is down too -

228, which is 48 fewer than last May.

The main party leaders were among the early voters,

including the DUP leader Arlene Foster and Sinn Fein's new

The Ulster Unionist leader Mike Nesbitt and the Alliance leader

Naomi Long both voted in Belfast, while the SDLP leader Colum Eastwood

Voters should mark their ballot with 1,2,3 and so on.

You can indicate as many or as few preferences as you like.

Polling cards are not required to vote, but you will be asked

That could be a UK, Irish or EU driving licence or passport,

an electoral identity card or one of Translink's smartpasses

for senior citizens, blind people or those with disabilities.

So far the signs are that turnout is set to be up. The electoral office

says voting has been steady throughout the day in all places

without a lull and what is traditionally the busiest time for

voting is still to come. The polls close at 10pm with the first results

are expected at lunchtime or early afternoon tomorrow.

And we'll have a special programme tomorrow with all

Our coverage starts at half past one here on BBC One.

The Foods Standard Agency has warned of the risks posed

by venison from deer which has been illegally hunted.

A carcass can be worth up to ?200 to the poachers if they can get it

And the police are stepping up patrols to counter

Our agriculture and environment correspondent Conor Macauley joined

And we've joined a PSNI patrol on the lookout for poachers.

They are using the engine of the vehicle to power strong lamps. The

animal is almost paralysed in the beam of light and then quietly and

quickly it will be shot, 99% of the time through the head because they

are mindful that they want to protect the meat, which will affect

the price. This is real dear country. That cover is what brings a

poacher here. It happens at night in isolated

areas, often close to the border. They would get it right away and

that reduces the opportunity for us to track them. As an illustration of

the danger of firing blindly into the dark, this is a metal plate into

which a couple of rounds have been fired similar to those used to take

down here. This is an inch of solid steel and the rounds have gone

straight through. Shooting at night...

If you miss you really don't know what's behind that animal

But I can tell you it can go another mile and a half.

In that line of fire, how many victims could there be,

other animals or, even worse, human beings?

In order not to be caught with the rifle and the deer

together, poachers will sometimes gut the animal and string

it up in a tree to be returned for the next day.

And that has implications for human health.

There were strict legislation and rules, legitimate suppliers of meat

in the industry know-how could do that, these guys who were out

shooting deer aren't doing that. They are looking to make a quick

buck, get it into the food chain and there is a risk because they are

doing that. Task will be one of the most likely times to see deer

around. Anecdotally at least,

there are far fewer now The risks involved in taking even

a legally held firearm out It seems that deer are an unwitting

victim of the political process. BBC Newsline has learned that

universities in the Republic are not accepting results in four A-levels

set by Northern Ireland's exams Our education correspondent

Robbie Meredith has the story. Sixth-former Laoise Duffy

is a computer whizz, which is why she decided to take

an A-level in Software Systems Development at Our Lady

and St Patrick's Grammar in Knock. She had intended to use

it to apply to study at University College Dublin -

but that's when she found My friend and I were in

careers class and the website had a link saying "list

of accepted A-levels". We thought we might

as well click on it to And we found out it

wasn't on the list. Basically it means they don't accept

it as a real A-level, so it wouldn't count

towards my application. And that, says her careers

teacher, was vital. The way the application

process works is that they score a number of points

depending on their grade. But unfortunately that

subject would not have contributed any points

at all to the application. Laoise won't be the only local

pupil affected this year. According to the Irish

Universities Association, ..are not accepted by the seven main

Irish universities in 2017. The problem seems to be

that the Irish universities regard those four A-levels as applied

or vocational rather than explicitly academic ones,

and therefore don't accept them. That's bemused CCEA,

given that universities in the UK In a statement CCEA said they had

asked IUA "for clarification on their admissions policy"

and "requested they The IUA say they will review

the subjects for students applying in 2018, but it is "not possible

to make any changes" for this year. So it should be sorted out by next

year, but that doesn't help Laoise. I wanted to go to Dublin for a long

time and so I just had to completely change my plans and start looking at

other universities. The First Trust Bank made a profit

of ?54 million last year - that's up nearly 15 per cent

on the previous year. Last week the bank announced

it was closing half of its branches. First Trust's parent company AIB has

posted a ?1.5 billion As a result it's planning to make

a dividend payment to shareholders, something that no Irish bank has

done in almost a decade. The Civil Aviation Authority has

suspended a Czech-owned airline from flying in the UK,

including a route between Belfast Van Air Europe, which operates

on behalf of Citywing, faced the action after an incident

at the airport A flight bound for George Best

Belfast City Airport was forced Spirit Air will run the routes

until an investigation is complete. Still to come on

tonight's programme... Changes in how we take and use

photographs leads to the closure Do you use a film camera? The

old-fashioned once? No. At the start of this year's salmon

and trout fishing season, new official figures indicate

a downward trend in pollution For this evening's programme Donna

has been to Antrim to see how anglers with the help of the local

community are helping This is the six mile water river,

which has suffered many serious pollution incidents. Our cameras

have been here after those incidents, seeing the dead fish on

the surface of the water, a sorry sight especially for the many

angling clubs that work hard to preserve fish stocks and help

conserve the habitat. With me is Maurice Parkinson from the Antrim

and district Angling Association. When you see the aftermath of a how

devastating is it? It's like being in a war and when you see grown men

and children and local residents wandering along the bank looking at

the dead fish, but even weeks after it there is a dead river, nothing

moving and people walking along hoping there is something there but

nothing, it devastated your community. A major incident he was

in 2008, 14 miles of the river were devastated. How can the river

recover? We were fortunate, we had little streams and tributaries, they

were rich in small fish and good breeding areas, we were lucky they

were well populated. After the 2008 fish kill week imposed a ban on the

association that no fish would be taken from the river. There were no

fish in it but to the state the bulk of those bumblers do not take the

fish home at all -- anglers. 90% of them return all fish. Fish come

first year and we have to look after them. After that 2008 pollution

incident, checking the health of the river has become a vital and Jim

Greg is doing that. Tell me what you're doing. I've been working for

the trust for the last five years, carrying out in vertebrate sampling.

We take samples out of the river bed and monitor the life of the bugs

that live in the river body. These are sensitive to different pollution

sources in the river and it highlights the background pollution

that otherwise would go undetected. The Environment Agency says it has

seen a trend of confirmed pollution incidents recently. Why do you think

that is? I would put that down to the public being more aware of

pollution and quicker to report pollution. Social media has played a

massive point in terms of pollution, people can communicate and

highlighted an arm or were of pollution and how to report it. The

six meltwater trust and other river trots have a more clear

identification of how to track down pollution and working with the NIA

we have more positive results, we are more a factor of as a team.

There is always a risk of pollution but as salmon and trout season

begins, anglers here will remain vigilant and will continue to work

with others to ensure this ecosystem survives.

Donna at the Six Mile Water River in Antrim -

and if you have any thoughts on people working together

to protect our rivers, you can share your view

Boots has announced it's closing a number

The company hasn't said which stores will be affected,

but it says the decision has been taken because of changes in how

How it used to be - and for some, still is.

A roll of film, carefully removed from a camera,

left in to be developed and a breathless wait

But then technology put instant pictures in everyone's pocket,

and film was relegated to second place.

It's popular in certain areas. A lot of students would come in having

learned on digital, coming through to learn the full end of things as

well. But that drift away from film has

seen Boots announce the removal of more than 200 photo labs

from its stores. The company isn't revealing

which stores will be affected, but it says because of the customer

demand for instant kiosks to print photos and order gifts,

it's adapting how it delivers It says affected staff

will be offered retraining and redeployment, but some roles may

be made redundant. On the streets, using film

and getting photos developed What do you mean by a film camera,

like the old-fashioned ones? As opposed to modern

digital cameras, you mean? I just back them up

to the cloud and look at them But there is still the

occasional film devotee. Those were the days when photography

was photography, when you went up into the dark room and you developed

and printed your own photographs. I have another wee camera

and I simply point it at something. Sure that's no skill,

sure any goof could do that! Boots will still be

offering film processing We still love our photos -

it's just how we take them Still to come on

tonight's programme... McElroy from Northern Ireland aiming

to follow in Rory's footsteps. East Belfast has never seen

anything quite like it. A Dublin man living three feet under

ground in an over-sized coffin in the grounds of an Anglican

Church. But John Edwards says he's doing

it to try to give hope Hello, John, I've got a cup of tea

for you. Thank you, love. Hot water bottle?

He's three feet under, but he's alive, and he's available

to talk to anyone who needs help, using his mobile phone

This afternoon I gave him a quick ring to see how he was getting on.

I'm fine, thank you. What do you hope to achieve by this? I'm hoping

to reach people who are depressed and suicidal and addicted and reach

them before they end up in a premature grave and inject some hope

and believe they can have a great life in future and give them

support. What's it like down there? I've been down here since Wednesday,

it's about 8-foot long by three and a half foot wide.

There's another one for his food and he's got a caravan-style toilet.

Up above he's created quite a mess, so what does

If a church gets worried about a mess, there is a problem. We live in

a messy world, we live in a world without a lot of hurt. It will be

cleared up for Sunday but I'm not particularly worried about the mess.

John himself is a former drug addict and alcoholic.

Although he comes from Dublin, he says he feels at home in Belfast.

People in East Belfast have been so hospitable and kind, there are some

of the nicest people I've met anywhere in Ireland. He only has one

night to go down there and he now has everything he needs, to hot

water bottles. Recent radical changes to the GAA's

annual calendar have created fresh tensions between players

and administrators - A few days ago in Dublin delegates

voted to move the All-Ireland hurling and football finals forward

to August, from their That, and the introduction

of a new round robin group format at the quarterfinal stages,

has prompted an angry Supporters say the changes, to be

trialled over a three year period, He becomes the first man from across

the border to receive the Sam Maguire cup.

The third Sunday in September, the All-Ireland final, a packed

Croke Park and the Sam Maguire Cup - the pinnacle of Gaelic games.

However, this is the real GAA - the club.

There's nine intercounty teams in the Ulster Championship.

That compares to 581 clubs - in other words,

Terry O'Neill is a former intercounty player for Antrim.

Now he plays for his club and is frustrated over one

Keep going. The next one is the Spiderman press. I think it's an

important issue. The GAA have said the looking after the club players

and they want the club to beat the grassroots of the Association but

that's happening. A lot of the clubs and players, speaking in my own

club, aren't happy about the way things have gone.

Over the weekend the GAA tackled the problem with two

Instead of a straight knockout at the All-Ireland quarterfinal

stage, there will now be two Champions League-style groups

where everyone will play each other once.

The GAA also brought forward the All-Ireland football

and hurling finals to August, freeing up September onwards

It's a radical plan, but one the GAA are content with.

I was pleased about this, it was a democratic process with a lot of

debate but I'm happy with the outcome.

The players at St Gall's have a different opinion.

I understand those at the top of difficult decisions to make, with

that many fixtures it's hard to get them all but if it starts from the

bottom of you have a chance of getting it right, but from the top

down, that a different matter altogether unless they're looking

after the top, the bottom will fall out of it and the worldwide audience

will not be there any more. The GAA are trying to squeeze more games in

during the summertime, which will affect the club because we will not

get to play as county players during the leagues.

There's a belief that those controlling the GAA are out of touch

The hierarchy attempted to solve the problem over the weekend.

It's a possible step forward but it hasn't eased the concerns

Ulster's Jared Payne has been included in Ireland's 36-man squad

for the final two rounds of Rugby's Six Nations Championship.

Payne returns for the first time since he picked up a kidney injury

Payne is one of three members of the Ireland squad that will start

tomorrow night for Ulster against Italian side Treviso.

Craig Gilroy and Andrew Trimble join Payne in the backs as Les Kiss mixes

up his side for the vital Pro12 clash in Belfast.

Gareth's focus is to do the best he can for Ulster and if he gets

himself right, we have a number of players who can play different

positions well, the last three or four weeks I have asked players to

play different combinations and we are knitting that together nicely

but the team will be desperate this week to beat the team that finishes

on top of the Italian league, so it's a tough match.

Rory McIlroy is back playing competitive golf for the first time

The world number two has started his opening

round at the World Golf Championship event in Mexico.

He's one under par after four holes, one shot off the lead.

And hoping to follow in Rory's footsteps is another McElroy

23-year-old Dermott from Ballymena is just setting out on his

professional career and the former amateur star knows

The daily routine of winter practice sessions at Galgorm Castle are a far

cry from the glamour of the PGA Tour in America, but Dermot is hoping the

hard graft at home will pay off. There are no private planes or a

nice hotels, I feel I've done everything I had to do in the

amateur game and I'm happy I turned pro when I did, just to get

experience coming into the season. I want to win the big events, I want

to play with the top players and beat the top players. One of my main

goals is to compete when I have the chance to compete against them.

Beautifully done on the par-5 from Dermot McIlroy. He's already rubbed

shoulders with some of the stars of the game and there is financial

support in place for young players starting their professional careers,

as well as advice. I remember when I was 20, you are putting all your

eggs on one basket and going into a competitive environment, so you had

better make sure you have plenty of talent and a high work rate, you

will need them both. And a surname like his isn't a bad start either.

It's an advantage, a lot of people, and ask if I am any relation, I get

a lot of publicity which is good but no pressure, I'm just going to stick

to my own game and do what I do best. It might be early to make

comparisons with Rory, but Dermot has the game to become a big name in

his own right. In Schools Gaelic Football

St Mary's Magherafelt are through to the MacRory Cup Final

for the first time since 2003. Kevin Small scored with the last

kick of the semifinal replay to give St Mary's a 1-11 to 13 points

victory over They face St Coleman's Newry

in the decider on St Patricks Day. That live on BBC One, followed by

the schools cup rugby, the busiest day of the year in sport.

Geoff has the weather. We had sunshine this morning and it seems

like a distant memory because our weather is going downhill in the

next few days thanks to this area of low pressure tracking slowly north

up the Irish Sea and that means we're in for some miserable, wet and

windy weather for the next few days, maybe a little improvement by the

end of Saturday, Sunday not quite as bad but it will not be very nice

Generale. That change started as we went through the early part of the

day with rain moving gradually north and leaving clear skies, chance of a

bit of frost and icy patches on untreated roads in the north and

west, a chilly start to Friday before that rain moves in. It's

being driven by this area of low pressure which is down to the south,

as it moves north it brings associated weather fronts across

Northern Ireland so you will see plenty of rain through the day, cold

with a breeze coming out of the north-east for file and that rain

makes a miserable end to the week. That weather will continue overnight

Friday into Saturday so with the extra cloud not quite as cold

overnight, a soggy start to Saturday, the chance of a little

brightness later if things go to plan, depending on that low pressure

system. If it behaves we should start to see some clearance in the

East in the second half of the day but it's all about the position, it

is so close, 50 miles either way make the difference between a

dreadful day and one that is OK. On Sunday it looks like that Alan is

between sunshine and showers, sunshine just misses -- winds out

that there is always the chance of rain, so not the best outlook, rain

every day, Friday until Monday, pretty cold, I'm sorry it's not

looking great. I'm going to pretend I didn't hear

that! I will be back with the late news at 10:30pm. From everyone on

the BBC Newsline team, have a good evening. Goodbye.

This Assembly election will see fewer faces return