:00:14. > :00:15.This is BBC Newsline with Tara Mills.
:00:16. > :00:19.A murder suspect is on the run after being released by mistake
:00:20. > :00:25.The talks continue at Stormont with this note of urgency from
:00:26. > :00:31.the Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan.
:00:32. > :00:41.We are operating under a very strict timeframe. I detect a willingness on
:00:42. > :00:48.the part of all parties involved to sit down, engage constructively.
:00:49. > :00:50.Threats against the former Ulster Unionist MLA Jenny Palmer,
:00:51. > :00:58.Jenny is worried, not just for herself, she's bearing the
:00:59. > :01:10.responsibility for her husband and children.
:01:11. > :01:13.Ireland and Wales are both unchanged for Friday evening's Six Nations
:01:14. > :01:16.showdown in Cardiff. It's been a lovely day today and
:01:17. > :01:18.another decent day to come tomorrow. I will have the full forecast just
:01:19. > :01:25.before 7pm. A man who's on remand accused
:01:26. > :01:30.of murder has been released 38-year-old Michael Lawrence Smith,
:01:31. > :01:33.who's been described by police as dangerous, was last seen
:01:34. > :01:36.in the Belfast area on Tuesday. The police have taken
:01:37. > :01:43.the unusual step to publish his photograph and make an appeal
:01:44. > :01:45.for his whereabouts. They say he's dangerous with
:01:46. > :01:48.an extensive history of violence. He was last seen in the Belfast area
:01:49. > :02:01.around 2pm yesterday afternoon. Michael Smith applied for bail two
:02:02. > :02:05.days ago via video link. It was refused. The police say he was freed
:02:06. > :02:08.by mistake. The Prison Service say they're investigating.
:02:09. > :02:13.We have a number of lines of inquiry we are following. Detectives are
:02:14. > :02:16.doing at the minute. And I hope that some of them will maybe lead to us
:02:17. > :02:20.Michael Smith, but it is about members of the public, if they see
:02:21. > :02:21.him at all, or if he himself is watching, that he would give himself
:02:22. > :02:26.up. He's awaiting trial accused
:02:27. > :02:27.of murdering a 28-year-old man at Walmer Street off
:02:28. > :02:30.the Ormeau Road last year. Stephen Carson was killed
:02:31. > :02:32.while he was eating dinner with his partner and nine-year-old
:02:33. > :02:35.son at their home in Walmer Street. The victim tried
:02:36. > :02:37.to hide but was shot The police are urging the public not
:02:38. > :02:41.to approach the prisoner The Irish Foreign Affairs Minister
:02:42. > :02:48.Charlie Flanagan has warned that the political talks at Stormont
:02:49. > :02:50.are operating under He held talks today with some
:02:51. > :02:56.of the parties and the Secretary The DUP leader, Arlene Foster,
:02:57. > :03:02.says Sinn Fein has not raised the issue of her stepping aside
:03:03. > :03:05.in either of the two Here is our political
:03:06. > :03:08.correspondent Stephen Walker. And seasonal change is clearly
:03:09. > :03:14.on display at Stormont. But what of the political
:03:15. > :03:18.temperature? Today, Charlie Flanagan,
:03:19. > :03:31.the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, We are operating under a very strict
:03:32. > :03:36.time frame. I detect a willingness on the part of all parties involved
:03:37. > :03:39.to sit down, engage constructively on what is a challenge.
:03:40. > :03:41.Charlie Flanagan's meetings included talks with the DUP leader
:03:42. > :03:44.Arlene Foster who met him with the Secretary of
:03:45. > :03:49.Afterwards Arlene Foster suggested that Sinn Fein had not
:03:50. > :04:00.Well, maybe they didn't feel they had to, Mark. I am not saying that
:04:01. > :04:07.it's not an issue for them. It may well be an issue for them but as I
:04:08. > :04:11.have always said, if we get into a situation when we are telling each
:04:12. > :04:12.other's parties who we should nom thought that becomes dangerous
:04:13. > :04:14.because we will obviously want to have an indication around Sinn Fein
:04:15. > :04:17.as to who they nominate. . All the parties
:04:18. > :04:19.had a series of meetings today Sinn Fein insist when it comes
:04:20. > :04:32.to legacy matters the discussions What I am interested in is action.
:04:33. > :04:35.Bewe need to see delivery. The public rightly are demanding
:04:36. > :04:38.delivery on equality issues, on the legacy issues. That's what we are
:04:39. > :04:41.interested in and that's what we are putting all of our efforts into
:04:42. > :04:44.dealing with these issues. We don't want to go through the process of
:04:45. > :04:45.meetings after meetings. We need to see action. We need to see delivery
:04:46. > :04:49.on these keyish use. On legacy, the SDLP say this
:04:50. > :04:56.is the time to strike a deal. Let's make sure that the Irish
:04:57. > :04:59.Government are fully involved and that the victims and survivors are
:05:00. > :05:05.fully involved, as well. We know how to make progress on legacy, it needs
:05:06. > :05:06.people now to move a bit and be prepared to open up the books around
:05:07. > :05:09.what happened in the past. For James Brokenshire it has
:05:10. > :05:11.been a busy few hours. He began it in London on Budget Day
:05:12. > :05:20.and ended it in Belfast. There have been helpful discussions
:05:21. > :05:27.that have taken place over recent days. And a real commitment that I
:05:28. > :05:31.have discerned from the parties to get back into Government, to get
:05:32. > :05:34.back into an Executive. With the involvement of two
:05:35. > :05:37.governments and the parties it is inevitable there are going to be
:05:38. > :05:40.many, many meetings. The The Irish Foreign Minister,
:05:41. > :05:43.Charlie Flanagan, was unable to see was unable to see
:05:44. > :05:44.The everyone he wanted so he will stay
:05:45. > :05:47.in Belfast and tomorrow Police are investigating threats
:05:48. > :05:52.made on social media against the former UUP MLA Jenny
:05:53. > :05:59.Palmer. Ms Palmer lost her seat
:06:00. > :06:02.in Lagan Valley last week. The threat, which was made
:06:03. > :06:04.on Facebook, told her to leave I give notice the following
:06:05. > :06:14.candidates are deemed elected... Jenny Palmer wasn't
:06:15. > :06:16.on the stage when the results That's because she lost her
:06:17. > :06:20.Lagan Valley seat less than a year Like all politicians she's had
:06:21. > :06:23.to face her fair share But on Monday evening she received
:06:24. > :06:27.a particularly threatening message which told her and her husband
:06:28. > :06:35.to leave their home. I have spoken at length
:06:36. > :06:38.to Jenny Palmer today but she says she's too upset to do a television
:06:39. > :06:40.interview and she wants to wait for the outcome
:06:41. > :06:42.of a police investigation. The police say those
:06:43. > :06:45.inquiries are ongoing. In the meantime, her party
:06:46. > :06:55.colleagues have rallied around. Jenny is very worried at the moment,
:06:56. > :06:58.not just for herself, she obviously is bearing the responsibility for
:06:59. > :07:02.her husband and their children. Some of the threats that were made were
:07:03. > :07:07.specific and some of the details put on social media would add to that
:07:08. > :07:08.worry for her. So she's genuinely concerned for her own safety and
:07:09. > :07:11.that of her family. The person behind the message
:07:12. > :07:13.claimed Jenny Palmer Three unionists were returned
:07:14. > :07:16.in Lagan Valley where there had But all local representatives say
:07:17. > :07:27.there is no excuse for such threats. Politics is about democracy. People
:07:28. > :07:32.make a democratic decision. You can be annoyed about it, you can be
:07:33. > :07:35.angry, that does not give you any right whatsoever to threaten another
:07:36. > :07:38.individual. I totally and wholeheartedly condemn it. Social
:07:39. > :07:42.media is a valuable tool for politicians and also a tool to be
:07:43. > :07:45.used against politicians and anybody else in public life. We have to
:07:46. > :07:48.suffer these things. But this is particularly disgusting.
:07:49. > :07:50.Jenny Palmer's political career has been anything
:07:51. > :07:54.She left the DUP to join the UUP after bullying claims.
:07:55. > :07:58.Defeat last week came only months after she joined the Assembly.
:07:59. > :08:01.And now threats which have left her badly shaken.
:08:02. > :08:09.Despite all this, she says she isn't finished with politics yet.
:08:10. > :08:12.A scheme which was to allow older teachers to take early retirement
:08:13. > :08:14.and be replaced by those more recently qualified has
:08:15. > :08:21.just been suspended by the Department of Education.
:08:22. > :08:24.It means that around 100 teachers who expected to retire this
:08:25. > :08:27.Our education correspondent Robbie Meredith is outside the department
:08:28. > :08:39.This scheme has been dogged by problems in the detail. Yes, it was
:08:40. > :08:45.initially announced by John O Dowd in 2015, he wanted to created up to
:08:46. > :08:49.500 jobs by allowing the same number of senior teachers to retire early.
:08:50. > :08:52.It didn't get off the ground because there were disagreements, especially
:08:53. > :08:56.over just how newly qualified a young teacher would have to be to
:08:57. > :09:01.apply for a job under the scheme. When Peter Weir became Education
:09:02. > :09:06.Minister he introduced a slimmed down version. In that, 120 teachers
:09:07. > :09:11.aged between 55-60 would be able to retire this year. Schools had to
:09:12. > :09:16.replace them with 120 young teachers who had qualified since 2012.
:09:17. > :09:22.Eventually that would save ?8 million from the education budget.
:09:23. > :09:27.Why has it been suspended now? Well, it's facing a legal challenge from a
:09:28. > :09:31.teacher who says that 2012 cut-off means they can't apply for a job
:09:32. > :09:35.under the scheme because they qualified before that. They're
:09:36. > :09:40.saying that's unlawful, age-related discrimination. The department are
:09:41. > :09:46.challenging that. But the judicial review into the scheme isn't due to
:09:47. > :09:48.take place until May this year. The department says no matter what the
:09:49. > :09:53.outcome that means there isn't enough time for the scheme to go
:09:54. > :09:59.ahead this school year. That will have serious consequences?
:10:00. > :10:03.It will. This scheme had been in train since last autumn so around
:10:04. > :10:06.100 teachers who had been told they could retire this summer will have
:10:07. > :10:09.been getting calls and e-mail this is afternoon to say that's not going
:10:10. > :10:13.to happen, you will have to change your plans. Also, schools were set
:10:14. > :10:17.to recruit young teachers to replace them, they're now going to stop that
:10:18. > :10:21.process. That means fewer jobs for young teachers this year. Finally,
:10:22. > :10:26.this scheme would have saved schools a significant amount of money by
:10:27. > :10:30.allowing them to replace a senior teacher with a younger one further
:10:31. > :10:33.down the pay scale. According to five figures according to one
:10:34. > :10:36.principal I spoke to this afternoon. There is a triple whammy from the
:10:37. > :10:39.suspension of this scheme today. Thank you.
:10:40. > :10:42.Some self-employed people are facing a higher tax bill as a result
:10:43. > :10:44.He's increasing their National Insurance contributions.
:10:45. > :10:49.Our economics and business editor John Campbell is here.
:10:50. > :10:53.Recap what national insurance is. For the purpose of this discussion
:10:54. > :10:58.we should think of national insurance as a form of income tax
:10:59. > :11:02.that you start paying when your annual salary reaches about ?8,000.
:11:03. > :11:05.If you look at the numbers. If you are an employee, so you are not
:11:06. > :11:09.self-employed, employed by somebody else, you pay national insurance at
:11:10. > :11:13.a rate of 12%. However, if you are self-employed you pay at a lower
:11:14. > :11:17.rate, 9% at the moment and it's that that's going up, up to 10% next year
:11:18. > :11:22.and 11% the following year. There you have it. An effective tax rise
:11:23. > :11:26.for self-employed people. The self-employed tend to be in
:11:27. > :11:29.different sectors, for example, in arts and entertainment, it is full
:11:30. > :11:32.of freeLancers and somebody from that world speaking today said
:11:33. > :11:37.people are worried. I think it's going to have a huge impact. Artists
:11:38. > :11:42.and the freelance self-employed that support the arts sector are already
:11:43. > :11:47.some of the lowest paid members of society with 80% earning less than
:11:48. > :11:51.?10,000 a year. So any small increase in tax on national
:11:52. > :11:54.insurance is going to have a disproportionate effect of the
:11:55. > :11:59.lowest paid people of society already at a disadvantage to those
:12:00. > :12:04.who are employed, with lack of benefits such as maternity and sick
:12:05. > :12:08.pay and holiday pay. I should put minds at rest there, this won't
:12:09. > :12:13.largely hit the lower paid self-employed people. So, those
:12:14. > :12:18.people on lower self-employed salaries, or profits, don't need to
:12:19. > :12:21.worry too much. The Government say some of those self-employed below
:12:22. > :12:25.16,000 pz a year will probably be better off. They say is when you
:12:26. > :12:29.combine this with changes to the income tax system, it is really only
:12:30. > :12:33.going to have an impact on people who have self-employed profits of
:12:34. > :12:37.around ?33,000 a year. It is that sector who will end up paying more.
:12:38. > :12:42.It is those up the higher end of the self-employed scale. How many people
:12:43. > :12:46.are self-employed here? Well, it's about 15% of the working population.
:12:47. > :12:52.If we look at the figures again. We can see it equates to about 130,000
:12:53. > :12:56.people, just over 15%. That's of the total workforce. Where those numbers
:12:57. > :13:01.are concentrated is in the construction sector, about one in
:13:02. > :13:04.five construction workers are self-employed. We are expected to
:13:05. > :13:06.have the biggest impact there. Thank you very much.
:13:07. > :13:09.Firmus energy has announced it will put up gas prices by more
:13:10. > :13:14.The company supplies around 50,000 customers in the greater Belfast
:13:15. > :13:20.The hike means a typical household customer will see gas
:13:21. > :13:27.The company says the price rise reflects the rising wholesale
:13:28. > :13:37.Still to come on the programme: Over the bridge. An East Belfast honour
:13:38. > :13:42.for the late Belfast actor Jimmy Ellis.
:13:43. > :13:45.A woman and two young girls, aged two and three, have died
:13:46. > :13:49.in a fire at a women's refuge in Dublin.
:13:50. > :13:54.This report from our Dublin correspondent, Shane Harrison.
:13:55. > :13:58.It was on the first floor of this apartment building -
:13:59. > :14:01.a women's refuge centre - in Clondalkin that emergency
:14:02. > :14:03.services were called to at half past two this morning.
:14:04. > :14:08.A fire that resulted in the deaths of a woman
:14:09. > :14:18.The scene is sealed off, there is going to be a full investigation
:14:19. > :14:21.into relation to it. We are going to liaise with all the relevant
:14:22. > :14:22.authorities. At the moment we are keeping an open mind on the
:14:23. > :14:24.incident. that the woman who died
:14:25. > :14:30.was heavily pregnant. Another woman and a 4-year-old boy
:14:31. > :14:33.in the apartment at the time are said to be
:14:34. > :14:35.in a critical condition. The building - described
:14:36. > :14:37.as supported housing - was run by the domestic
:14:38. > :14:46.violence charity Sonas. We want to express our absolute
:14:47. > :14:49.condolences and search thees to the families, relatives, friends of all
:14:50. > :14:54.those who lost their lives and all those affected. As it stands right
:14:55. > :14:59.now, we have no further details and are awaiting details from the
:15:00. > :15:02.Gardai. We will obviously work with all relevant authorities to pursue
:15:03. > :15:06.any inquiries that may emerge. It may be sometime before the cause of
:15:07. > :15:15.the fatal fire is known. But there is a suspicion of a faulty domestic
:15:16. > :15:18.appliance may have been responsible. It's justice been confirmed that a
:15:19. > :15:23.four-year-old boy became the fourth victim of the blaze.
:15:24. > :15:25.A County Tyrone cattle dealer who scammed an 83-year-old
:15:26. > :15:27.farmer has been given a suspended prison sentence.
:15:28. > :15:30.A judge told David Lee he'd also shown complete disregard for rules
:15:31. > :15:39.Our agriculture correspondent Conor Macauley reports.
:15:40. > :15:42.Patrick McGorrey and his son James had arranged to buy 8 cattle,
:15:43. > :15:47.but they didn't know the seller was planning to scam them.
:15:48. > :15:51.83-year-old Patrick was at home alone after dark, when the dealer
:15:52. > :15:53.arrived unexpectedly to deliver them - with two extra
:15:54. > :15:58.The cattle cost ?4,000 but weren't what had been ordered.
:15:59. > :16:07.And some were sick, leaving the family with a ?2,000 vet bill.
:16:08. > :16:15.You have a father, you adore and respect your father. You know, he is
:16:16. > :16:20.an old man now. You have to respect that but to take advantage of an
:16:21. > :16:22.older man, they don't think, people don't think that in life they get
:16:23. > :16:24.old themselves. 56-year-old David Lee
:16:25. > :16:35.of Carrickaness Road, Dungannon, was convicted of fraud and pleaded
:16:36. > :16:38.guilty 14 charges of failing to keep the rules around animal
:16:39. > :16:40.sales and movements - rules put in place to protect
:16:41. > :16:48.the food chain, human The judge said he found it alarming
:16:49. > :16:51.that someone like him could be heavily involved in cattle dealing.
:16:52. > :16:54.The court heard he sold 3,000 animals in a ten-month period.
:16:55. > :16:57.Breaking the rules is taken seriously by the department.
:16:58. > :16:59.It undermines the integrity of animal traceability
:17:00. > :17:03.which is the bedrock of Northern Ireland's reputation
:17:04. > :17:12.Traceability is of vital importance to provide food chain information
:17:13. > :17:16.from the farm to the fork, right through the food chain to give
:17:17. > :17:17.assurance to the consumers that the food they eat is fit for human
:17:18. > :17:20.consumption. Patrick McGorrey back
:17:21. > :17:31.the ?6,000 he cost him, but he's planning to appeal
:17:32. > :17:33.his fraud conviction. Effectively delaying
:17:34. > :17:38.the compensation payment. More details about the revised plan
:17:39. > :17:41.for developing the Casement Park GAA stadium in West Belfast
:17:42. > :17:43.have been revealed. The project has been the subject
:17:44. > :17:46.of fierce opposition over the past number of years by some residents
:17:47. > :17:48.who live in the area objecting The latest plan for
:17:49. > :17:57.the redevelopment of Casement park Now some of the new features of that
:17:58. > :18:07.plan have been revealed. These include LED lighting
:18:08. > :18:10.on the stadium canopy so that it can The GAA's latest application
:18:11. > :18:13.would have a spectator capacity of just over 34,000 -
:18:14. > :18:16.down by almost 4 thousand on the original plan however this
:18:17. > :18:19.is still around ten thousand more spectators than what some residents
:18:20. > :18:21.in the area would like. The plan also outlines new "park
:18:22. > :18:24.and ride" transport measures aimed at reducing congestion and these
:18:25. > :18:27.would involve spectators parking at Boucher Road playing
:18:28. > :18:29.fields, the Maze site Last October saw the stadium design
:18:30. > :18:35.reducing its height, While the GAA says the latest plans
:18:36. > :18:43.have received a positive report from the Safety Technical Group,
:18:44. > :18:46.which advises on the construction The STG has raised concerns around
:18:47. > :18:49.the potential interaction between pedestrians and emergency
:18:50. > :18:51.vehicles in the vicinity of Casement One of our best-known actors has had
:18:52. > :19:01.a bridge in East belfast The Jimmy Ellis Bridge
:19:02. > :19:06.is part of the latest phase of the Connswater Community Greenway
:19:07. > :19:08.- a wildlife and cycle corridor stretching from Belfast Lough
:19:09. > :19:10.to the Castlereagh Hills. East Belfast has long
:19:11. > :19:17.been Northern Ireland's The Connswater Community
:19:18. > :19:23.Greenway aims to provide the city with lungs -
:19:24. > :19:26.a place for people and When completed later this year it
:19:27. > :19:31.will provide 16 kilometres 23 bridges have been built
:19:32. > :19:36.or improved, the latest named after actor Jimmy Ellis remembered
:19:37. > :19:38.fondly for his part Let me tell you I have been promoted
:19:39. > :19:52.to crime patrol. East Belfast was where Jimmy Ellis
:19:53. > :19:59.was born and went to school. His family home is metres from the
:20:00. > :20:04.bridge so we were delighted when his family agreed to open it with us
:20:05. > :20:11.today. But we have been out to the public to name the bridges and links
:20:12. > :20:15.and Jimmy Ellis came out tops. That will be the Fenian blood in her...
:20:16. > :20:18.If Z Cars brought Jimmy Ellis national fame, his participation
:20:19. > :20:21.in the Billy Plays and Across the Bridge had more profound meaning
:20:22. > :20:25.for audiences here, the place he always counted as home.
:20:26. > :20:29.Today, Jimmy Ellis's family joined people from East Belfast
:20:30. > :20:41.Despite his later acting years I think he was most proud of putting
:20:42. > :20:44.on Over The Bridge with Sam Thompson which was about the sectarianism in
:20:45. > :20:48.the shipyards and a plea for tolerance and people to stick
:20:49. > :20:52.together. The fact a physical bridge is here next to Sam Thompson's
:20:53. > :20:55.physical bridge when they put on a play called Over The Bridge about
:20:56. > :20:58.bridge-building between communities and religious groups is incredibly
:20:59. > :21:01.apt and incredibly apt in the times we live in today, as well.
:21:02. > :21:04.Three years to the day after his death and East Belfast has
:21:05. > :21:11.now provided a lasting memory to one of its favourite sons.
:21:12. > :21:17.The Ireland team to play Wales in the Six Nations Now:.
:21:18. > :21:20.Mark Sidebottom is here with this evening's sport.
:21:21. > :21:23.Both sides declared their hands today ahead of the match in Cardiff.
:21:24. > :21:25.Wales, despite losing to Scotland and England,
:21:26. > :21:34.Niall Foster has spent the day at the Ireland
:21:35. > :21:42.It's a case of as you were for Ireland as the coach named an
:21:43. > :21:48.unchanged starting 15 for the first time in his four-years in charge.
:21:49. > :21:53.It's a luxury that you don't often get in championship rugby because
:21:54. > :21:59.France, Wales, England, Scotland, they're all so competitive and going
:22:00. > :22:04.ahead now to Wales with an unchanged team it's very much the same for
:22:05. > :22:08.them. They've an unchanged squad through to number 23, so they will
:22:09. > :22:12.have that same continuity. It's challenging and it's Six Nations
:22:13. > :22:16.championship rugby really. Rory Best will captain the side with
:22:17. > :22:21.Jonny Sexton retaining his position ahead of Paddy Jackson who will be
:22:22. > :22:29.joined on the replacements by Ian Henderson and a name familiar with
:22:30. > :22:35.the principality stadium. He's not going to get the Ulsterman!
:22:36. > :22:39.Tommy has trained really well. I think his last couple of games for
:22:40. > :22:43.Ulster have been incrementally improving and some of the things we
:22:44. > :22:49.have asked off him we have seen in what he is doing. Also I think in
:22:50. > :22:53.the context of what we think Wales will bring, Tommy is so strong in
:22:54. > :22:57.the year that his experience as well, it was a good decision in this
:22:58. > :23:00.context. Whether the roof at the Welsh capital's famous stadium will
:23:01. > :23:04.be open or closed for Ireland's first ever Friday night Six Nations
:23:05. > :23:06.fixture, is yet to be decided but one thing is for sure, the
:23:07. > :23:11.atmosphere will be on fire. Meanwhile, Ulster have
:23:12. > :23:13.signed prop Schalk van der The 26-year-old South African moves
:23:14. > :23:19.to Belfast this summer. He weighs in at eight stone three
:23:20. > :23:23.pounds, he's potentially one fight who tops the bill at the Waterfront
:23:24. > :23:38.Hall in Belfast this Friday evening After 18 fights and 18 wins it's all
:23:39. > :23:42.about titles now for Jaime jib conlan, 2017 could be the defining
:23:43. > :23:45.year for his career. All I got to do is keep winning, managers and
:23:46. > :23:48.promoters have to do their job and keep getting me bigger fights and
:23:49. > :23:52.hopefully a world title at the end of it. But my job that I can do is
:23:53. > :23:56.win. In terms that was world title there's been talk about a number of
:23:57. > :24:01.times with you, when do you see that happening? I think the deal is
:24:02. > :24:05.already done. It's about a waiting game now it seems. Hopefully it's
:24:06. > :24:09.happening at the end of May. The bill was put back from its
:24:10. > :24:15.original date in February because conlan picked up a chest infection.
:24:16. > :24:19.A change that impacted one of the under card boxers more than most. I
:24:20. > :24:26.was due to get married the day after the fight which was an exciting
:24:27. > :24:30.time, I was in camp the whole way prior to the fight and then before
:24:31. > :24:34.we got the news I had to come home, get married. And to the delight of
:24:35. > :24:38.my new wife, go back out to camp the next two days later, I think it was.
:24:39. > :24:43.So, I think I have been married and been home for about two days. How
:24:44. > :24:47.has she taken it? She's brilliant, takes me well, gives me a bit of
:24:48. > :24:51.stick. I would say I am on dishes duty for about the next year when I
:24:52. > :24:52.get home. The washing up can wait. Ward is hoping to clean up in the
:24:53. > :24:58.ring to celebrate in style. Finally this evening, in a first,
:24:59. > :25:00.a lifeboat took centre stage at Croke Park in Dublin today
:25:01. > :25:03.where a joint initiative saw Stars from hurling and football took
:25:04. > :25:10.the plunge into a shock pool. The campaign's aim is to reduce
:25:11. > :25:18.the number of drownings That's the sport. Thank you.
:25:19. > :25:21.Straight to the weather now. Is spring going to hang around?
:25:22. > :25:25.It certainly is. Hasn't it been a beautiful day? Such a joy to get to
:25:26. > :25:28.see a little bit of sunshine this morning.
:25:29. > :25:30.And it is going to be another great day tomorrow.
:25:31. > :25:34.This was the scene in Belfast this morning.
:25:35. > :25:39.Maybe too much breeze on the north coast for everyone to have a great
:25:40. > :25:42.day. But we will see more blue skies tomorrow.
:25:43. > :25:45.Tonight a bit of rain in the forecast, just along the north
:25:46. > :25:50.coast. Further inland things staying dry. Clearing skies and temperatures
:25:51. > :25:55.could get cooler tonight. Tomorrow another very good day. It's going to
:25:56. > :25:58.be dry and mild. There will be a bit more cloud around through the day.
:25:59. > :26:01.That's not the story in the morning. The morning is going to be more of
:26:02. > :26:07.the same. Bright weather, top temperatures ten or 11.
:26:08. > :26:12.We saw the magic 14 in Newcastle this afternoon. I don't think we
:26:13. > :26:16.will get up to those heights tomorrow. Through the afternoon
:26:17. > :26:20.increasingly you are going to notice skies clouding over. That's a sign
:26:21. > :26:23.of what is to come. A weather front is moving in from the south-west and
:26:24. > :26:27.through the evening and overnight that will spread to all parts and
:26:28. > :26:31.bring rain. That weather front introduces some more mild air with
:26:32. > :26:35.it. It means that on Friday and Saturday we are in this triangle of
:26:36. > :26:39.mild air, we are going to see a rather different feeling day. It's
:26:40. > :26:45.going to be grey on Friday, cloudy and drizzly for a time. That light
:26:46. > :26:48.rain never very far away. But the temperatures holding up really
:26:49. > :26:52.rather well, despite that. Because we are drawing in mild air from the
:26:53. > :26:57.south, even without the benefit of plenty of sunshine, we will still
:26:58. > :27:02.see temperatures of 11 or 12, which for early March is still pretty
:27:03. > :27:07.good. Friday is really the only grey day. For the rest, it's starting to
:27:08. > :27:11.feel a bit like spring. No complaints about that, Geoff, thank
:27:12. > :27:13.you. I will be back with our late news at 10. 30pm.