29/03/2017 BBC Newsline

Good evening. membership. That's all from the BBC

This is BBC Newsline, on the day the UK

officially triggered its exit from the European Union.

We are of course fully committed to ensuring that the unique interests

of Northern Ireland are protected and advanced.

The response from Stormont is mixed - Sinn Fein say it's a disaster,

while the DUP call it a good day for democracy.

I'm live on the border at County Tyrone -

what will today's move mean for areas like this?

And what will it mean for our export market?

We'll assess the political and economic fallout

with our correspondents in Belfast and Dublin.

Five years ago, this state of the art building in the grounds of the

Royal Victoria hospital was hailed as a beacon for delivering health

care. But what's happened to it, and why, after all this time, at a

majority of the 12 floors still empty?

Rain for many this evening, mild tonight, and tomorrow is mostly dry

with temperatures up to 15 degrees. First Brexit, and in her letter

to Brussels which started the process of leaving

the European Union, the Prime Minister talks

about the UK's unique relationship with the Republic and the importance

of the peace process. Later in the Commons,

Theresa May said she expected that all of the UK's devolved

administrations would see a significant increase

in their decision-making power. Our first report is from our

political correspondent Enda McClafferty, and it begins

with the Prime Minister. The Article 50 process is now

underway. And in accordance with the wishes of the British people, the

United Kingdom is leaving the European Union. It was an

announcement they knew was coming, but didn't want to hear. The Prime

Minister's words may have been welcomed by many at Westminster, but

not at Stormont today. The Yvette -- effect this is good to have is

massive, and we are trying to say to the British Government that this is

not good for the North. We need some sort of free border that people can

travel without the worry of being stopped at checkpoints. But today,

the Prime Minister pledged there would be no return to the borders of

the past. And she said Stormont had nothing to fear from Brexit. No

decision currently taken by the devolved administrations will be

removed from them, and it is our expectation that the devolved

administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will see a

significant increase in their decision-making power as a result of

this process. We want to maintain the common travel area with the

Republic of Ireland, there should be no return to the borders of the

past. And she put that in writing, in the letter to the president of

the European Council which triggered Article 50, saying we wanted to

avoid a return to a hard border with Republic, and wanted to maintain the

common travel area. We on this bench are convinced she

is the right leader for these challenges. And can I also commend

her for putting in article five of the principles that she set out in

her letter, Northern Ireland, the relationship with the Republic, and

can I commend her on the way that has been put forward.

But back in Stormont, Republicans and nationalists had a difficult

message. This will be a -- the biggest economic catastrophe since

partition. I know we will get a fear hey -- fair hearing in Dublin and in

Brussels, but can we get a fair hearing in London? Yellow macro this

is going to be detrimental to people on the island of Ireland, so we need

to get special status for it because we have unique circumstances which

need to be recognised. The Secretary of State was on his own border

mission, reassuring businesses in Newry about trading with their

neighbours. We want to see an ambitious free trade agreement with

the EU, barrier free, tariff free, and recognising how that benefits

both the UK and the EU as well. There will be no stopping this

process now that heat has started. These people here will be hoping

that they at least can help shape the negotiations, to ensure that

their lives to not change post-Brexit. -- now that it has

started. Our political editor joins us from

Stormont. On those negotiations, with no Stormont ministers in place,

who will represent Northern Ireland, how will Northern Ireland be

involved in shaping how Brexit affects us? Yellow macro the views

of the Stormont politicians will frankly be I think fairly limited in

terms of this debate. Even if they manage to do a deal and

get back into their power-sharing Executive, the main players will

probably be the British and Irish governments and the European

Commission. If there is a bit of good

news for those concerned about a hard border, the European Commission

has made it clear that they -- it feels a strong emotional attachment

to the Northern Ireland peace process, and it doesn't want to do

anything to harm peace and dialogue here, so it has bought into that on

the part -- sense, on the behalf of London and Dublin, that it was to

keep the border as open as possible. The Prime Minister said today, she

talked about unique interests, but how much of that is just rhetoric?

There are a number of parties here that say that Northern Ireland

should have special status within the EU, that is effectively being

counted out by the Government which says the UK is leaving as a whole. I

suspect in the end we will be talking about special arrangements

rather than special status, that maybe something London and Dublin

would find favourable, and also it might not scare those regions of the

EU who will be concerned about according any kind of president to

Northern Ireland that could be applied to regions within their own

countries. In particular, since

the Good Friday Agreement, the border is no longer a barrier

to the free movement of trade and services,

we have the work of north-south bodies, and many shared

health services. While the Prime Minister says

Northern Ireland's links with the Republic should be

maintained, what happens after Our reporter Louise Cullen

is in the village of Caledon, on the Tyrone-

Monaghan border. And just outside the village on the

Newbridge, which reopened in 2010 after the road had been closed for

many years. -- the new rage. -- Bridge. But here and many areas like

this, the border has loomed large for many years before that, not just

in its checkpoints and watchtowers, but the violence it has brought and

the bomb attacks. Now the border is looming large again, and not just in

the minds of locals but also in the minds of our exporters and business

people. What will it mean for them? They are not only concerned about

what this place will look like post-Brexit, but also now looking at

new opportunities beyond the European Union. Julian O'Neill has

more. The stakes are high for exporters.

The EU and the republic especially at big markets, and many firms hope

new arrangements will not damage business. Once free from EU, the UK

will also pursue trade deals independently. This company, which

makes construction machinery, has dealers in the likes of Singapore,

and seize opportunities. The the growth in Asia and South America,

and Europe hasn't grown in ten years, so I think focusing more on

the high growth areas in the world for our business that will give us

better opportunities. It has been said today marks the

point of no return, and the Government will seek to strike a new

trade deal with the EU by the time Brexit happens in two years' time.

But there are anxieties are among the many larger scale local

businesses. Ultimately, there is concern about the risk of tariffs,

disruption to supply chains, and uncertainty around European workers.

Local trade unions were almost unanimous in opposing Brexit, and

taking stock today, I worried about the prospect of a good deal. 85,000

workers work in the manufacturing sector, and 58% of their exports go

to the EU. So can anybody tell us that if we are the high Brexit

proposed, that any of those jobs will be affected? But nobody knows

what is to come. It is like any other business deal, both sides are

talking the worst position, and compromise will be somewhat better,

I think, than has been mentioned in the press at the moment. It was

business as usual here after the referendum, and so it will be until

March 2019. Between now and then, negotiators potentially hold the

fortunes of firms like this in their hands. John Campbell is with me.

What is the timetable for Brexit no? This day next month, the leaders of

all EU countries apart from Theresa May will have a summit and basically

set their framework for negotiations. Some sort of talks

will begin fairly shortly after that, but then we are likely to be

into the talks about talks sort of scenario. Then, really the

substantive negotiations don't really start until the autumn of

this year. You've got French and German elections to get out of the

way, so then we will have an intense year of talks which will run from

the autumn of this year until the autumn of 2018. They will end at

this did -- that stage because any deal will need six months to be

voted on by various European national and regional parliaments,

and then two years from now, despite anything that has happened, we will

be out. We saw Louise there, a lot of concerns have been expressed

about the border. What is the UK's stands, and the EU's stands about

it? Yellow macro the worry is to do with customers. We will be pulling

out of the EU customs union, so there's got to be some sort of

Customs enforcement. But nobody wants that, so the Irish and British

governments, the EU's chief negotiator, the local parties, all

say there should be no hard border, and that is also the position we saw

articulated today by the European Parliament's Brexit coordinator. We

are very clear, the Brexit agreement needs to fully respect the Good

Friday Agreement in all its aspects, and that means also that we will

never accept a hard border again, between Northern Ireland and the

Irish Republic. So you've got consensus there, all the players say

they don't want a hard border. But how are customs going to be placed?

We haven't heard how they're going to put that into effect, and that's

going to be one of the more interesting things. And it's

something they're going to have to come to fairly early, because the

European Commission said there are three issues to be sorted before we

talk about trade deals, and that is the rights of EU citizens, it is

what the UK has to pay way out, and it is what happens to the Irish

border. On a separate board -- matter, Stormont. A senior civil

servant has been given the power to look after its finances, how is that

working today? Warm David Stirling is now in control, and what he did

today was he sent letters to all of the department is laying out what

they're spending totals for the next four months ago to be. -- David

Stirling. Macro there have no surprises because there has been

intensive negotiations for the last few weeks and months leading up to

this, similarly he is saying it is business as usual for now, services

will continue operating, but he is emphasising this is not the same as

having a budget. His powers are limited, if there are any unexpected

circumstances, he is very restrained as to what he can do in terms of

releasing fresh money. The officials think this cannot go on for a couple

of months, and would prefer it was not more than a couple of weeks. At

some stage a budget will have to be passed, and the question is whether

it is by a local Finance Minister or buy a direct rule minister.

The Republic's government says its key priority with Brexit

is to continue the free flow of trade north and south,

and to ensure that an invisible border continues to exist.

Our Dublin correspondent Shane Harrison joins me.

What's been said there today? Today is a daily Republic did not want, it

got involved in the referendum campaign last summer, urging the UK

to stay in the EU. Of the remaining 27 EU States, it is the one that is

going to be most badly affected by Brexit, and the only one with a land

border with the UK. The Minister for foreign affairs said today he was

encouraged by Theresa May's letter to Brussels, and her references to

Ireland and peace process, while ender Kenny, who is in Malta

attending a meeting of the European People's party, gave this reaction.

-- Enda Kenny. This will not be easy. We have set out our main

objectives, and I am glad to see these are reflected in the British

Prime Minister's letter to the European Council, including the

special relationship with Britain, and the preservation of the peace

process, the protection of the Good Friday Agreement, there return to a

hard border, and from Britain's perspective, they do not want to do

any harm to Ireland and its opportunities for the future. Asked

about what kind of border there would be post Brexit, he said it

would not be one driven by technology, but one that represented

a political challenge that required creativity. He said the best minds

in Ireland and the UK were working on the issue in an imaginative way.

The focus in Dublin will turn to Friday, and the president of the

European Council, the heads of Government, his presentation of the

draft guidelines, and what parties like Sinn Fein have been campaigning

for Northern Ireland to be given special protected status within the

EU, I understand is much more likely he is good to recognise the special

and unique circumstances of Northern Ireland. As other people have been

saying, there is a recognition at European level of the Irish

concerns. And there's a special

Brexit programme here on BBC One this evening.

Tara Mills explains. Nobody wants a return to the borders

of the past. But what will it look like in the future? Tonight we will

hear from the five big parties, and we will be live on the border.

That's here on BBC One at half past seven.

This is BBC Newsline, and still to come on the programme:

We'll hear from the new Derry City football captain,

who says it's an honour to succeed the late Ryan McBride.

Five years after it was due to open, most of the new Critical Care

building at the Royal Victoria hospital in Belfast remains closed.

The development cost ?150 million, and the BBC understands that

millions of additional funding are required to bring the 12-storey

The first two floors house the emergency department.

Our health correspondent Marie-Louise Connolly has the story.

From the outside, this 12 story building looks like it is business

as usual. Inside, however, it is a different story. While it was due to

open in 2012, work continues to get this entire building up to standard

and fit for purpose. Work that involves new contractors. Five years

on, and corridors, theatres and rooms which should be bustling with

patients and staff, instead are empty. Serious building problems

have meant that this state of the art hospital has remained a building

site. While it all started with corroded pipes, multiple problems

followed, including plumbing, waste and electoral sick -- electrical

systems. According to health unions, it has taken so long, must have

forgotten the building exists. Yellow macro ?150 million of public

money, patients primarily are the people losing out on this.

So our members will be asking questions as to how this situation

has been allowed to develop. In a statement, the Belfast Trust

In a statement, the Belfast Trust said...

but not all of the building's affected.

The new emergency department opened in 2015 to cope with winter

pressures. But legal proceedings between various contractors and the

trust have dominated through much of the build, with the source

describing litigation as acrimonious.

We are talking about transforming health, and yet ?150 million has

simply done nothing, it's cost us more money to replace parts of this

building and not brought it into public youth. -- use. So we need to

get to grips with it. Things can go wrong, we accept that, but they need

to be fixed and five years is too long. Since 2012, senior officials

in the Department of Health including health ministers and those

in the Belfast health trust have been informed. A new deadline for

the opening of the rest of the building is now the end of the year.

A 17-year-old boy who was found lying in an alleyway in East Belfast

The police say they're investigating an incident in the Castlereagh Road

area at around half past one this morning.

A pensioner is being treated in hospital, for injuries

he suffered during an aggravated burglary at his home

He was tied up, attacked and had his head covered with a pillowcase.

By men who got into his house at Slieveshan Park.

It's believed the attackers escaped with a sum of money.

The Public Records Office has just unveiled a unique set of recordings

about life inside prisons here during the Troubles.

The films were shot over the past ten years, and involve

former prison officers, inmates and probation officers.

A new light has been shone into an emotive issue. With a unique set of

recordings recalling life who spent -- for those who spent time in jail

during the years of conflict. This is the prison hospital, which is for

better or worse being preserved. Half ?1 million has now funded a

public archive of three and a half hours of audiovisual recordings. A

former prison officer recalls the hunger strikes. It's quite emotional

being here. It is a little unsettling and a little ghostly

perhaps, the whole world knows really what happened here. It was

difficult not to feel, you know, human pity for what was happening

here. Or perhaps even some sympathy. But at the same time, one had to

carry on with one's duty and try not to think too much. I wouldn't go so

far as to say that if there are ghosts, they are here. I think there

are ghosts in the Maze itself, a ghost of another time. It's taken so

long, because the subject is politically sensitive, it's also

psychically sensitive. These are dramatic places, and I think funders

probably wanted the dust to settle in the peace process big -- before

the invested in this. The aim is to use the memory archive for research

purposes in future generations. Derry City have announced the man

to succeed the late Ryan McBride as football club's captain -

Mark Sidebottom has It's been such difficult days

for the club, Donna. Good evening - goalkeeper

Gerard Doherty is the man entrusted He, his team-mates and the fans know

the best way to honour Ryan McBride's memory is to get back

playing the game he loved. Gerard Doherty is one of the most

senior players at the club, first Johnny in 1998. He rejoined from

Derby County in 2008 and has made 374 up appearances. -- first

joining. He now takes over the role of club captain after the death of

Ryan McBride. One word sums up how he remembers the quiet and

unassuming centre half. An absolute warrior. As soon as he put the

armband on, he was work -- ready for war and he went out and lead by

example. We try to follow that. I couldn't believe the amount of

people and well-wishers coming forward for Ryan, it shows what

respect people have for him. Since his death ten days ago, there's been

a huge oak outpouring of grief for Ryan McBride. The first game back

since his death will no doubt prove difficult. Manager Kenny Shiels said

it will be a night high in emotion, and one number will dominate. We are

going into the game having won four games out of four, which is a good

statistic, and we would like to make it five because it is the number

five, and it is our fifth game, and five's been very dominant in our

thoughts. A number of tributes will be paid to Ryan McBride's memory on

Friday evening. That game is live on Friday evening. That's on BBC radio

Foyle. The Republic of Ireland's 15-game

unbeaten run at home ended last night in Dublin,

Martin O'Neill's men losing 1-0 to Iceland

in an international friendly - on a night when the manager

took a look at some He did make a lot of changes,

particularly in the second half,, I mean from the Atlantic -- Icelandic

viewpoint they will probably think it was great, I am not happy with

the way we set up a wall, we were trying to defend it as best we can,

and I think we should do a little bit better. Big games are being

decided on set pieces. Finally - Ulster prop

Rodney Ahyou has had a two-week ban He'll now be available

for Friday week's fixture The weather forecast is next,

with Geoff Maskell. We've had a bit of everything today,

we started off with grey skies and a little bit of rain, and that was a

scene caught by one of our Weather Watchers over Belfast. By the end of

the day we've had some decent, bright spells across the eastern

half of Northern Ireland. Overnight though just about everywhere is

going to see a bit of rain. Even once the rain clears, the legacy of

the cloud will make it a very mild night, in some places temperatures

could stay in double figures. It set us up for a reasonable to two -- day

tomorrow, certainly very mild. We will always see a bit of rain

particularly across the county Down coast, because we have a weather

front sitting out to the east. For us as we go through the day, plenty

of cloud around, always a few showers popping up here and there,

but we will increasingly start to see a few breaks opening up in the

cloud. Where we get any prolonged sunshine, that will help the

temperatures up to 14 or maybe 15. But first night into Friday, that

front gets a bit of a kink in it, introducing some rain into the

second half of the night. It'll be quite extensive and quite

persistent. It means that Friday is going to get off to a wet and soggy

start, but once the low pressure driving that weather moves after the

North, it drags the rain with it through the morning, and then we are

into something a bit brighter, not a bad afternoon, certainly some sunny

spells around on Friday afternoon. Come the weekend, we've got this

ridge of high pressure, giving us a degree of protection from these

Atlantic Systems, although it's not helping us out too much on Saturday

morning because we have some rain there. It would gradually fizzle out

during the morning, and Sunday starts off quite bright, but by the

end of the day we will see the next Atlantic low starting to drive in

some wind and rain. So it's not bad, but it is certainly a far cry from

the beautiful weather we saw last weekend. Where has all that high

gone? -- high pressure. You can keep in contact with us

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