08/03/2017 BBC Newsline


08/03/2017

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This is BBC Newsline with Tara Mills.

:00:14.:00:15.

A murder suspect is on the run after being released by mistake

:00:16.:00:19.

The talks continue at Stormont with this note of urgency from

:00:20.:00:25.

the Irish Foreign Minister Charlie Flanagan.

:00:26.:00:31.

We are operating under a very strict timeframe. I detect a willingness on

:00:32.:00:41.

the part of all parties involved to sit down, engage constructively.

:00:42.:00:48.

Threats against the former Ulster Unionist MLA Jenny Palmer,

:00:49.:00:50.

Jenny is worried, not just for herself, she's bearing the

:00:51.:00:58.

responsibility for her husband and children.

:00:59.:01:10.

Ireland and Wales are both unchanged for Friday evening's Six Nations

:01:11.:01:13.

showdown in Cardiff. It's been a lovely day today and

:01:14.:01:16.

another decent day to come tomorrow. I will have the full forecast just

:01:17.:01:18.

before 7pm. A man who's on remand accused

:01:19.:01:25.

of murder has been released 38-year-old Michael Lawrence Smith,

:01:26.:01:30.

who's been described by police as dangerous, was last seen

:01:31.:01:33.

in the Belfast area on Tuesday. The police have taken

:01:34.:01:36.

the unusual step to publish his photograph and make an appeal

:01:37.:01:43.

for his whereabouts. They say he's dangerous with

:01:44.:01:45.

an extensive history of violence. He was last seen in the Belfast area

:01:46.:01:48.

around 2pm yesterday afternoon. Michael Smith applied for bail two

:01:49.:02:01.

days ago via video link. It was refused. The police say he was freed

:02:02.:02:05.

by mistake. The Prison Service say they're investigating.

:02:06.:02:08.

We have a number of lines of inquiry we are following. Detectives are

:02:09.:02:13.

doing at the minute. And I hope that some of them will maybe lead to us

:02:14.:02:16.

Michael Smith, but it is about members of the public, if they see

:02:17.:02:20.

him at all, or if he himself is watching, that he would give himself

:02:21.:02:21.

up. He's awaiting trial accused

:02:22.:02:26.

of murdering a 28-year-old man at Walmer Street off

:02:27.:02:27.

the Ormeau Road last year. Stephen Carson was killed

:02:28.:02:30.

while he was eating dinner with his partner and nine-year-old

:02:31.:02:32.

son at their home in Walmer Street. The victim tried

:02:33.:02:35.

to hide but was shot The police are urging the public not

:02:36.:02:37.

to approach the prisoner The Irish Foreign Affairs Minister

:02:38.:02:41.

Charlie Flanagan has warned that the political talks at Stormont

:02:42.:02:48.

are operating under He held talks today with some

:02:49.:02:50.

of the parties and the Secretary The DUP leader, Arlene Foster,

:02:51.:02:56.

says Sinn Fein has not raised the issue of her stepping aside

:02:57.:03:02.

in either of the two Here is our political

:03:03.:03:05.

correspondent Stephen Walker. And seasonal change is clearly

:03:06.:03:08.

on display at Stormont. But what of the political

:03:09.:03:14.

temperature? Today, Charlie Flanagan,

:03:15.:03:18.

the Irish Foreign Affairs Minister, We are operating under a very strict

:03:19.:03:31.

time frame. I detect a willingness on the part of all parties involved

:03:32.:03:36.

to sit down, engage constructively on what is a challenge.

:03:37.:03:39.

Charlie Flanagan's meetings included talks with the DUP leader

:03:40.:03:41.

Arlene Foster who met him with the Secretary of

:03:42.:03:44.

Afterwards Arlene Foster suggested that Sinn Fein had not

:03:45.:03:49.

Well, maybe they didn't feel they had to, Mark. I am not saying that

:03:50.:04:00.

it's not an issue for them. It may well be an issue for them but as I

:04:01.:04:07.

have always said, if we get into a situation when we are telling each

:04:08.:04:11.

other's parties who we should nom thought that becomes dangerous

:04:12.:04:12.

because we will obviously want to have an indication around Sinn Fein

:04:13.:04:14.

as to who they nominate. . All the parties

:04:15.:04:17.

had a series of meetings today Sinn Fein insist when it comes

:04:18.:04:19.

to legacy matters the discussions What I am interested in is action.

:04:20.:04:32.

Bewe need to see delivery. The public rightly are demanding

:04:33.:04:35.

delivery on equality issues, on the legacy issues. That's what we are

:04:36.:04:38.

interested in and that's what we are putting all of our efforts into

:04:39.:04:41.

dealing with these issues. We don't want to go through the process of

:04:42.:04:44.

meetings after meetings. We need to see action. We need to see delivery

:04:45.:04:45.

on these keyish use. On legacy, the SDLP say this

:04:46.:04:49.

is the time to strike a deal. Let's make sure that the Irish

:04:50.:04:56.

Government are fully involved and that the victims and survivors are

:04:57.:04:59.

fully involved, as well. We know how to make progress on legacy, it needs

:05:00.:05:05.

people now to move a bit and be prepared to open up the books around

:05:06.:05:06.

what happened in the past. For James Brokenshire it has

:05:07.:05:09.

been a busy few hours. He began it in London on Budget Day

:05:10.:05:11.

and ended it in Belfast. There have been helpful discussions

:05:12.:05:20.

that have taken place over recent days. And a real commitment that I

:05:21.:05:27.

have discerned from the parties to get back into Government, to get

:05:28.:05:31.

back into an Executive. With the involvement of two

:05:32.:05:34.

governments and the parties it is inevitable there are going to be

:05:35.:05:37.

many, many meetings. The The Irish Foreign Minister,

:05:38.:05:40.

Charlie Flanagan, was unable to see was unable to see

:05:41.:05:43.

The everyone he wanted so he will stay

:05:44.:05:44.

in Belfast and tomorrow Police are investigating threats

:05:45.:05:47.

made on social media against the former UUP MLA Jenny

:05:48.:05:52.

Palmer. Ms Palmer lost her seat

:05:53.:05:59.

in Lagan Valley last week. The threat, which was made

:06:00.:06:02.

on Facebook, told her to leave I give notice the following

:06:03.:06:04.

candidates are deemed elected... Jenny Palmer wasn't

:06:05.:06:14.

on the stage when the results That's because she lost her

:06:15.:06:16.

Lagan Valley seat less than a year Like all politicians she's had

:06:17.:06:20.

to face her fair share But on Monday evening she received

:06:21.:06:23.

a particularly threatening message which told her and her husband

:06:24.:06:27.

to leave their home. I have spoken at length

:06:28.:06:35.

to Jenny Palmer today but she says she's too upset to do a television

:06:36.:06:38.

interview and she wants to wait for the outcome

:06:39.:06:40.

of a police investigation. The police say those

:06:41.:06:42.

inquiries are ongoing. In the meantime, her party

:06:43.:06:45.

colleagues have rallied around. Jenny is very worried at the moment,

:06:46.:06:55.

not just for herself, she obviously is bearing the responsibility for

:06:56.:06:58.

her husband and their children. Some of the threats that were made were

:06:59.:07:02.

specific and some of the details put on social media would add to that

:07:03.:07:07.

worry for her. So she's genuinely concerned for her own safety and

:07:08.:07:08.

that of her family. The person behind the message

:07:09.:07:11.

claimed Jenny Palmer Three unionists were returned

:07:12.:07:13.

in Lagan Valley where there had But all local representatives say

:07:14.:07:16.

there is no excuse for such threats. Politics is about democracy. People

:07:17.:07:27.

make a democratic decision. You can be annoyed about it, you can be

:07:28.:07:32.

angry, that does not give you any right whatsoever to threaten another

:07:33.:07:35.

individual. I totally and wholeheartedly condemn it. Social

:07:36.:07:38.

media is a valuable tool for politicians and also a tool to be

:07:39.:07:42.

used against politicians and anybody else in public life. We have to

:07:43.:07:45.

suffer these things. But this is particularly disgusting.

:07:46.:07:48.

Jenny Palmer's political career has been anything

:07:49.:07:50.

She left the DUP to join the UUP after bullying claims.

:07:51.:07:54.

Defeat last week came only months after she joined the Assembly.

:07:55.:07:58.

And now threats which have left her badly shaken.

:07:59.:08:01.

Despite all this, she says she isn't finished with politics yet.

:08:02.:08:09.

A scheme which was to allow older teachers to take early retirement

:08:10.:08:12.

and be replaced by those more recently qualified has

:08:13.:08:14.

just been suspended by the Department of Education.

:08:15.:08:21.

It means that around 100 teachers who expected to retire this

:08:22.:08:24.

Our education correspondent Robbie Meredith is outside the department

:08:25.:08:27.

This scheme has been dogged by problems in the detail. Yes, it was

:08:28.:08:39.

initially announced by John O Dowd in 2015, he wanted to created up to

:08:40.:08:45.

500 jobs by allowing the same number of senior teachers to retire early.

:08:46.:08:49.

It didn't get off the ground because there were disagreements, especially

:08:50.:08:52.

over just how newly qualified a young teacher would have to be to

:08:53.:08:56.

apply for a job under the scheme. When Peter Weir became Education

:08:57.:09:01.

Minister he introduced a slimmed down version. In that, 120 teachers

:09:02.:09:06.

aged between 55-60 would be able to retire this year. Schools had to

:09:07.:09:11.

replace them with 120 young teachers who had qualified since 2012.

:09:12.:09:16.

Eventually that would save ?8 million from the education budget.

:09:17.:09:22.

Why has it been suspended now? Well, it's facing a legal challenge from a

:09:23.:09:27.

teacher who says that 2012 cut-off means they can't apply for a job

:09:28.:09:31.

under the scheme because they qualified before that. They're

:09:32.:09:35.

saying that's unlawful, age-related discrimination. The department are

:09:36.:09:40.

challenging that. But the judicial review into the scheme isn't due to

:09:41.:09:46.

take place until May this year. The department says no matter what the

:09:47.:09:48.

outcome that means there isn't enough time for the scheme to go

:09:49.:09:53.

ahead this school year. That will have serious consequences?

:09:54.:09:59.

It will. This scheme had been in train since last autumn so around

:10:00.:10:03.

100 teachers who had been told they could retire this summer will have

:10:04.:10:06.

been getting calls and e-mail this is afternoon to say that's not going

:10:07.:10:09.

to happen, you will have to change your plans. Also, schools were set

:10:10.:10:13.

to recruit young teachers to replace them, they're now going to stop that

:10:14.:10:17.

process. That means fewer jobs for young teachers this year. Finally,

:10:18.:10:21.

this scheme would have saved schools a significant amount of money by

:10:22.:10:26.

allowing them to replace a senior teacher with a younger one further

:10:27.:10:30.

down the pay scale. According to five figures according to one

:10:31.:10:33.

principal I spoke to this afternoon. There is a triple whammy from the

:10:34.:10:36.

suspension of this scheme today. Thank you.

:10:37.:10:39.

Some self-employed people are facing a higher tax bill as a result

:10:40.:10:42.

He's increasing their National Insurance contributions.

:10:43.:10:44.

Our economics and business editor John Campbell is here.

:10:45.:10:49.

Recap what national insurance is. For the purpose of this discussion

:10:50.:10:53.

we should think of national insurance as a form of income tax

:10:54.:10:58.

that you start paying when your annual salary reaches about ?8,000.

:10:59.:11:02.

If you look at the numbers. If you are an employee, so you are not

:11:03.:11:05.

self-employed, employed by somebody else, you pay national insurance at

:11:06.:11:09.

a rate of 12%. However, if you are self-employed you pay at a lower

:11:10.:11:13.

rate, 9% at the moment and it's that that's going up, up to 10% next year

:11:14.:11:17.

and 11% the following year. There you have it. An effective tax rise

:11:18.:11:22.

for self-employed people. The self-employed tend to be in

:11:23.:11:26.

different sectors, for example, in arts and entertainment, it is full

:11:27.:11:29.

of freeLancers and somebody from that world speaking today said

:11:30.:11:32.

people are worried. I think it's going to have a huge impact. Artists

:11:33.:11:37.

and the freelance self-employed that support the arts sector are already

:11:38.:11:42.

some of the lowest paid members of society with 80% earning less than

:11:43.:11:47.

?10,000 a year. So any small increase in tax on national

:11:48.:11:51.

insurance is going to have a disproportionate effect of the

:11:52.:11:54.

lowest paid people of society already at a disadvantage to those

:11:55.:11:59.

who are employed, with lack of benefits such as maternity and sick

:12:00.:12:04.

pay and holiday pay. I should put minds at rest there, this won't

:12:05.:12:08.

largely hit the lower paid self-employed people. So, those

:12:09.:12:13.

people on lower self-employed salaries, or profits, don't need to

:12:14.:12:18.

worry too much. The Government say some of those self-employed below

:12:19.:12:21.

16,000 pz a year will probably be better off. They say is when you

:12:22.:12:25.

combine this with changes to the income tax system, it is really only

:12:26.:12:29.

going to have an impact on people who have self-employed profits of

:12:30.:12:33.

around ?33,000 a year. It is that sector who will end up paying more.

:12:34.:12:37.

It is those up the higher end of the self-employed scale. How many people

:12:38.:12:42.

are self-employed here? Well, it's about 15% of the working population.

:12:43.:12:46.

If we look at the figures again. We can see it equates to about 130,000

:12:47.:12:52.

people, just over 15%. That's of the total workforce. Where those numbers

:12:53.:12:56.

are concentrated is in the construction sector, about one in

:12:57.:13:01.

five construction workers are self-employed. We are expected to

:13:02.:13:04.

have the biggest impact there. Thank you very much.

:13:05.:13:06.

Firmus energy has announced it will put up gas prices by more

:13:07.:13:09.

The company supplies around 50,000 customers in the greater Belfast

:13:10.:13:14.

The hike means a typical household customer will see gas

:13:15.:13:20.

The company says the price rise reflects the rising wholesale

:13:21.:13:27.

Still to come on the programme: Over the bridge. An East Belfast honour

:13:28.:13:37.

for the late Belfast actor Jimmy Ellis.

:13:38.:13:42.

A woman and two young girls, aged two and three, have died

:13:43.:13:45.

in a fire at a women's refuge in Dublin.

:13:46.:13:49.

This report from our Dublin correspondent, Shane Harrison.

:13:50.:13:54.

It was on the first floor of this apartment building -

:13:55.:13:58.

a women's refuge centre - in Clondalkin that emergency

:13:59.:14:01.

services were called to at half past two this morning.

:14:02.:14:03.

A fire that resulted in the deaths of a woman

:14:04.:14:08.

The scene is sealed off, there is going to be a full investigation

:14:09.:14:18.

into relation to it. We are going to liaise with all the relevant

:14:19.:14:21.

authorities. At the moment we are keeping an open mind on the

:14:22.:14:22.

incident. that the woman who died

:14:23.:14:24.

was heavily pregnant. Another woman and a 4-year-old boy

:14:25.:14:30.

in the apartment at the time are said to be

:14:31.:14:33.

in a critical condition. The building - described

:14:34.:14:35.

as supported housing - was run by the domestic

:14:36.:14:37.

violence charity Sonas. We want to express our absolute

:14:38.:14:46.

condolences and search thees to the families, relatives, friends of all

:14:47.:14:49.

those who lost their lives and all those affected. As it stands right

:14:50.:14:54.

now, we have no further details and are awaiting details from the

:14:55.:14:59.

Gardai. We will obviously work with all relevant authorities to pursue

:15:00.:15:02.

any inquiries that may emerge. It may be sometime before the cause of

:15:03.:15:06.

the fatal fire is known. But there is a suspicion of a faulty domestic

:15:07.:15:15.

appliance may have been responsible. It's justice been confirmed that a

:15:16.:15:18.

four-year-old boy became the fourth victim of the blaze.

:15:19.:15:23.

A County Tyrone cattle dealer who scammed an 83-year-old

:15:24.:15:25.

farmer has been given a suspended prison sentence.

:15:26.:15:27.

A judge told David Lee he'd also shown complete disregard for rules

:15:28.:15:30.

Our agriculture correspondent Conor Macauley reports.

:15:31.:15:39.

Patrick McGorrey and his son James had arranged to buy 8 cattle,

:15:40.:15:42.

but they didn't know the seller was planning to scam them.

:15:43.:15:47.

83-year-old Patrick was at home alone after dark, when the dealer

:15:48.:15:51.

arrived unexpectedly to deliver them - with two extra

:15:52.:15:53.

The cattle cost ?4,000 but weren't what had been ordered.

:15:54.:15:58.

And some were sick, leaving the family with a ?2,000 vet bill.

:15:59.:16:07.

You have a father, you adore and respect your father. You know, he is

:16:08.:16:15.

an old man now. You have to respect that but to take advantage of an

:16:16.:16:20.

older man, they don't think, people don't think that in life they get

:16:21.:16:22.

old themselves. 56-year-old David Lee

:16:23.:16:24.

of Carrickaness Road, Dungannon, was convicted of fraud and pleaded

:16:25.:16:35.

guilty 14 charges of failing to keep the rules around animal

:16:36.:16:38.

sales and movements - rules put in place to protect

:16:39.:16:40.

the food chain, human The judge said he found it alarming

:16:41.:16:48.

that someone like him could be heavily involved in cattle dealing.

:16:49.:16:51.

The court heard he sold 3,000 animals in a ten-month period.

:16:52.:16:54.

Breaking the rules is taken seriously by the department.

:16:55.:16:57.

It undermines the integrity of animal traceability

:16:58.:16:59.

which is the bedrock of Northern Ireland's reputation

:17:00.:17:03.

Traceability is of vital importance to provide food chain information

:17:04.:17:12.

from the farm to the fork, right through the food chain to give

:17:13.:17:16.

assurance to the consumers that the food they eat is fit for human

:17:17.:17:17.

consumption. Patrick McGorrey back

:17:18.:17:20.

the ?6,000 he cost him, but he's planning to appeal

:17:21.:17:31.

his fraud conviction. Effectively delaying

:17:32.:17:33.

the compensation payment. More details about the revised plan

:17:34.:17:38.

for developing the Casement Park GAA stadium in West Belfast

:17:39.:17:41.

have been revealed. The project has been the subject

:17:42.:17:43.

of fierce opposition over the past number of years by some residents

:17:44.:17:46.

who live in the area objecting The latest plan for

:17:47.:17:48.

the redevelopment of Casement park Now some of the new features of that

:17:49.:17:57.

plan have been revealed. These include LED lighting

:17:58.:18:07.

on the stadium canopy so that it can The GAA's latest application

:18:08.:18:10.

would have a spectator capacity of just over 34,000 -

:18:11.:18:13.

down by almost 4 thousand on the original plan however this

:18:14.:18:16.

is still around ten thousand more spectators than what some residents

:18:17.:18:19.

in the area would like. The plan also outlines new "park

:18:20.:18:21.

and ride" transport measures aimed at reducing congestion and these

:18:22.:18:24.

would involve spectators parking at Boucher Road playing

:18:25.:18:27.

fields, the Maze site Last October saw the stadium design

:18:28.:18:29.

reducing its height, While the GAA says the latest plans

:18:30.:18:35.

have received a positive report from the Safety Technical Group,

:18:36.:18:43.

which advises on the construction The STG has raised concerns around

:18:44.:18:46.

the potential interaction between pedestrians and emergency

:18:47.:18:49.

vehicles in the vicinity of Casement One of our best-known actors has had

:18:50.:18:51.

a bridge in East belfast The Jimmy Ellis Bridge

:18:52.:19:01.

is part of the latest phase of the Connswater Community Greenway

:19:02.:19:06.

- a wildlife and cycle corridor stretching from Belfast Lough

:19:07.:19:08.

to the Castlereagh Hills. East Belfast has long

:19:09.:19:10.

been Northern Ireland's The Connswater Community

:19:11.:19:17.

Greenway aims to provide the city with lungs -

:19:18.:19:23.

a place for people and When completed later this year it

:19:24.:19:26.

will provide 16 kilometres 23 bridges have been built

:19:27.:19:31.

or improved, the latest named after actor Jimmy Ellis remembered

:19:32.:19:36.

fondly for his part Let me tell you I have been promoted

:19:37.:19:38.

to crime patrol. East Belfast was where Jimmy Ellis

:19:39.:19:52.

was born and went to school. His family home is metres from the

:19:53.:19:59.

bridge so we were delighted when his family agreed to open it with us

:20:00.:20:04.

today. But we have been out to the public to name the bridges and links

:20:05.:20:11.

and Jimmy Ellis came out tops. That will be the Fenian blood in her...

:20:12.:20:15.

If Z Cars brought Jimmy Ellis national fame, his participation

:20:16.:20:18.

in the Billy Plays and Across the Bridge had more profound meaning

:20:19.:20:21.

for audiences here, the place he always counted as home.

:20:22.:20:25.

Today, Jimmy Ellis's family joined people from East Belfast

:20:26.:20:29.

Despite his later acting years I think he was most proud of putting

:20:30.:20:41.

on Over The Bridge with Sam Thompson which was about the sectarianism in

:20:42.:20:44.

the shipyards and a plea for tolerance and people to stick

:20:45.:20:48.

together. The fact a physical bridge is here next to Sam Thompson's

:20:49.:20:52.

physical bridge when they put on a play called Over The Bridge about

:20:53.:20:55.

bridge-building between communities and religious groups is incredibly

:20:56.:20:58.

apt and incredibly apt in the times we live in today, as well.

:20:59.:21:01.

Three years to the day after his death and East Belfast has

:21:02.:21:04.

now provided a lasting memory to one of its favourite sons.

:21:05.:21:11.

The Ireland team to play Wales in the Six Nations Now:.

:21:12.:21:17.

Mark Sidebottom is here with this evening's sport.

:21:18.:21:20.

Both sides declared their hands today ahead of the match in Cardiff.

:21:21.:21:23.

Wales, despite losing to Scotland and England,

:21:24.:21:25.

Niall Foster has spent the day at the Ireland

:21:26.:21:34.

It's a case of as you were for Ireland as the coach named an

:21:35.:21:42.

unchanged starting 15 for the first time in his four-years in charge.

:21:43.:21:48.

It's a luxury that you don't often get in championship rugby because

:21:49.:21:53.

France, Wales, England, Scotland, they're all so competitive and going

:21:54.:21:59.

ahead now to Wales with an unchanged team it's very much the same for

:22:00.:22:04.

them. They've an unchanged squad through to number 23, so they will

:22:05.:22:08.

have that same continuity. It's challenging and it's Six Nations

:22:09.:22:12.

championship rugby really. Rory Best will captain the side with

:22:13.:22:16.

Jonny Sexton retaining his position ahead of Paddy Jackson who will be

:22:17.:22:21.

joined on the replacements by Ian Henderson and a name familiar with

:22:22.:22:29.

the principality stadium. He's not going to get the Ulsterman!

:22:30.:22:35.

Tommy has trained really well. I think his last couple of games for

:22:36.:22:39.

Ulster have been incrementally improving and some of the things we

:22:40.:22:43.

have asked off him we have seen in what he is doing. Also I think in

:22:44.:22:49.

the context of what we think Wales will bring, Tommy is so strong in

:22:50.:22:53.

the year that his experience as well, it was a good decision in this

:22:54.:22:57.

context. Whether the roof at the Welsh capital's famous stadium will

:22:58.:23:00.

be open or closed for Ireland's first ever Friday night Six Nations

:23:01.:23:04.

fixture, is yet to be decided but one thing is for sure, the

:23:05.:23:06.

atmosphere will be on fire. Meanwhile, Ulster have

:23:07.:23:11.

signed prop Schalk van der The 26-year-old South African moves

:23:12.:23:13.

to Belfast this summer. He weighs in at eight stone three

:23:14.:23:19.

pounds, he's potentially one fight who tops the bill at the Waterfront

:23:20.:23:23.

Hall in Belfast this Friday evening After 18 fights and 18 wins it's all

:23:24.:23:38.

about titles now for Jaime jib conlan, 2017 could be the defining

:23:39.:23:42.

year for his career. All I got to do is keep winning, managers and

:23:43.:23:45.

promoters have to do their job and keep getting me bigger fights and

:23:46.:23:48.

hopefully a world title at the end of it. But my job that I can do is

:23:49.:23:52.

win. In terms that was world title there's been talk about a number of

:23:53.:23:56.

times with you, when do you see that happening? I think the deal is

:23:57.:24:01.

already done. It's about a waiting game now it seems. Hopefully it's

:24:02.:24:05.

happening at the end of May. The bill was put back from its

:24:06.:24:09.

original date in February because conlan picked up a chest infection.

:24:10.:24:15.

A change that impacted one of the under card boxers more than most. I

:24:16.:24:19.

was due to get married the day after the fight which was an exciting

:24:20.:24:26.

time, I was in camp the whole way prior to the fight and then before

:24:27.:24:30.

we got the news I had to come home, get married. And to the delight of

:24:31.:24:34.

my new wife, go back out to camp the next two days later, I think it was.

:24:35.:24:38.

So, I think I have been married and been home for about two days. How

:24:39.:24:43.

has she taken it? She's brilliant, takes me well, gives me a bit of

:24:44.:24:47.

stick. I would say I am on dishes duty for about the next year when I

:24:48.:24:51.

get home. The washing up can wait. Ward is hoping to clean up in the

:24:52.:24:52.

ring to celebrate in style. Finally this evening, in a first,

:24:53.:24:58.

a lifeboat took centre stage at Croke Park in Dublin today

:24:59.:25:00.

where a joint initiative saw Stars from hurling and football took

:25:01.:25:03.

the plunge into a shock pool. The campaign's aim is to reduce

:25:04.:25:10.

the number of drownings That's the sport. Thank you.

:25:11.:25:18.

Straight to the weather now. Is spring going to hang around?

:25:19.:25:21.

It certainly is. Hasn't it been a beautiful day? Such a joy to get to

:25:22.:25:25.

see a little bit of sunshine this morning.

:25:26.:25:28.

And it is going to be another great day tomorrow.

:25:29.:25:30.

This was the scene in Belfast this morning.

:25:31.:25:34.

Maybe too much breeze on the north coast for everyone to have a great

:25:35.:25:39.

day. But we will see more blue skies tomorrow.

:25:40.:25:42.

Tonight a bit of rain in the forecast, just along the north

:25:43.:25:45.

coast. Further inland things staying dry. Clearing skies and temperatures

:25:46.:25:50.

could get cooler tonight. Tomorrow another very good day. It's going to

:25:51.:25:55.

be dry and mild. There will be a bit more cloud around through the day.

:25:56.:25:58.

That's not the story in the morning. The morning is going to be more of

:25:59.:26:01.

the same. Bright weather, top temperatures ten or 11.

:26:02.:26:07.

We saw the magic 14 in Newcastle this afternoon. I don't think we

:26:08.:26:12.

will get up to those heights tomorrow. Through the afternoon

:26:13.:26:16.

increasingly you are going to notice skies clouding over. That's a sign

:26:17.:26:20.

of what is to come. A weather front is moving in from the south-west and

:26:21.:26:23.

through the evening and overnight that will spread to all parts and

:26:24.:26:27.

bring rain. That weather front introduces some more mild air with

:26:28.:26:31.

it. It means that on Friday and Saturday we are in this triangle of

:26:32.:26:35.

mild air, we are going to see a rather different feeling day. It's

:26:36.:26:39.

going to be grey on Friday, cloudy and drizzly for a time. That light

:26:40.:26:45.

rain never very far away. But the temperatures holding up really

:26:46.:26:48.

rather well, despite that. Because we are drawing in mild air from the

:26:49.:26:52.

south, even without the benefit of plenty of sunshine, we will still

:26:53.:26:57.

see temperatures of 11 or 12, which for early March is still pretty

:26:58.:27:02.

good. Friday is really the only grey day. For the rest, it's starting to

:27:03.:27:07.

feel a bit like spring. No complaints about that, Geoff, thank

:27:08.:27:11.

you. I will be back with our late news at 10. 30pm.

:27:12.:27:13.

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