:00:00. > :00:00.for the White House? Join me now on BBC Two or
:00:07. > :00:11.The government and Stormont Executive have been told they've 14
:00:12. > :00:14.days to agree to fund inquests into some of the most controversial
:00:15. > :00:20.killings of the Troubles or face court action.
:00:21. > :00:23.The warning comes two weeks after Northern Ireland's most senior
:00:24. > :00:25.judge called for urgent action on the issue and said there's
:00:26. > :00:27.a legal obligation to ensure the inquests are heard.
:00:28. > :00:37.Our Home Affairs Correspondent Vincent Kearney reports.
:00:38. > :00:44.They came from different backgrounds, Catholics and
:00:45. > :00:48.Protestants, relatives of more than 30 people killed during the Troubles
:00:49. > :00:52.still waiting for inquest to be held to establish what happened. They
:00:53. > :00:57.joined in protest at Stormont today and spoke with one voice. Demanding
:00:58. > :01:03.that the government releases the funding needed for inquests into the
:01:04. > :01:08.killings of their loved ones. They included Nichola Baxter seen her
:01:09. > :01:14.with her cousin, who was shot dead by the UVF 11 years ago. I come from
:01:15. > :01:18.unionist background, we are awaiting 11 years for an inquest and a death
:01:19. > :01:22.certificate. Simple things that the law says we are entitled to as
:01:23. > :01:32.families, answers that we are not getting and it is the same for
:01:33. > :01:36.everyone. Standing alongside her, 38, whose brother was shot dead by
:01:37. > :01:42.soldiers at what has become known as the Ballymurphy massacre -- Rita
:01:43. > :01:46.Bonner. She should meet us. She has never said she would meet us and I
:01:47. > :01:52.think she needs to be doing more to release even the funds for everyone,
:01:53. > :01:55.not just our inquest, it is everyone's. Earlier this year,
:01:56. > :02:00.Northern Ireland 's most senior judge as the Stormont Executive to
:02:01. > :02:04.back a request for ?10 million in funding for a five-year plan to hear
:02:05. > :02:07.all legacy inquest. The Lord Chief Justice wanted the money released
:02:08. > :02:12.before an overall agreement is reached on how to deal with the
:02:13. > :02:19.past. But the request was blocked by First Minister Arlene Foster. This
:02:20. > :02:23.month, Sir Declan Morgan said he was hugely disappointed and said that
:02:24. > :02:26.dealing with the inquest was a legal obligation. The pressing need to
:02:27. > :02:30.make progress has been recognised by the committee of ministers at the
:02:31. > :02:34.Council of Europe which in its last report in June said that it was
:02:35. > :02:37.critical of the United Kingdom authorities and said they should
:02:38. > :02:41.take all necessary measures to ensure that the legacy system is
:02:42. > :02:46.properly resourced and staffed to enable effective investigations to
:02:47. > :02:50.be concluded. Earlier this month, speaking to the BBC at a meeting of
:02:51. > :02:55.the British Irish Association in Oxford, the Secretary of State
:02:56. > :03:00.insisted it is the responsibility of Stormont to do with the issue. It is
:03:01. > :03:03.for the Executive effectively to consider those issues and make a
:03:04. > :03:08.proposal in essence to seek funding from the UK Government around this.
:03:09. > :03:13.I think they are considering these carefully. Lawyer representing the
:03:14. > :03:17.families who took part in the protests accused the government of
:03:18. > :03:22.breaching international law. Very clearly there is a breach on the
:03:23. > :03:26.human rights legislation in this. I would ask the Secretary of State to
:03:27. > :03:29.read the Council of Europe report which states it is the obligation of
:03:30. > :03:33.the UK Government and I would ask him to read the statement that the
:03:34. > :03:38.Lord Chief Justice issued in September which outlined the
:03:39. > :03:41.obligations of the UK Government. He handed a letter to an official
:03:42. > :03:44.representing the Secretary of State warning that legal action will be
:03:45. > :03:49.launched in funding for the inquest is not released within 14 days. The
:03:50. > :03:52.Stormont Executive and the Department of Justice received
:03:53. > :03:54.similar letters. Vincent Kearney, BBC Newsline.
:03:55. > :03:57.A man's died after a fire in an ambulance in County Kildare.
:03:58. > :04:00.He was a patient inside the vehicle when it burst into flames at
:04:01. > :04:13.The ambulance with an elderly man on board pulled up outside Naas
:04:14. > :04:17.hospitals Accident and Emergency department at half past one this
:04:18. > :04:21.afternoon. An explosion was then heard and the ambulance burst into
:04:22. > :04:27.flames. Two paramedics tried in vain to rescue the man inside, but he was
:04:28. > :04:32.pronounced dead at the scene after Fire Service workers had managed to
:04:33. > :04:35.put out the fire. According to the health service Executive, the fire
:04:36. > :04:41.had caused the man's death. I am sorry to have to tell you that the
:04:42. > :04:45.patient's death was a direct consequence of the fire. If the fire
:04:46. > :04:50.had not occurred, then he would have not died. Our sympathies are very
:04:51. > :04:55.much with the family at this time it is a very tragic loss and the staff
:04:56. > :04:59.here at Naas General Hospital and the ambulance personnel did
:05:00. > :05:04.everything that they could to save him, but it was not possible. The
:05:05. > :05:09.two emergency service workers who attempted to save him sustained
:05:10. > :05:14.minor injuries. What caused the explosion, fire and death of a man,
:05:15. > :05:19.is now the subject of two separate investigations. One by the HSE and
:05:20. > :05:26.won by the Gardai and those investigations are looking at
:05:27. > :05:29.whether or not the oxygen supply on the ambulance may have been what
:05:30. > :05:32.caused the explosion. It does appear that the fire started towards the
:05:33. > :05:38.rear of the ambulance, in other words it does not appear that this
:05:39. > :05:42.was related to the engine. We are currently without prejudicing an
:05:43. > :05:45.outcome, we are focusing our concerns or our actions on the
:05:46. > :05:53.possibility and I stress that it is a possibility, but this was an
:05:54. > :05:55.oxygen related incidents, and a safety action notice is being issued
:05:56. > :05:57.to all personnel. Forensic tests will now try to ascertain what was
:05:58. > :05:59.behind this tragic accident. Two women, including
:06:00. > :06:01.one from Londonderry, have been killed in a car
:06:02. > :06:04.crash in Donegal. It happened yesterday afternoon
:06:05. > :06:05.outside the town of Ballybofey, The victims were 38-year-old mother
:06:06. > :06:09.of three Maria Wallis, originally from Derry,
:06:10. > :06:11.and 19-year-old Kiara Baird It's believed the car
:06:12. > :06:14.they were travelling in lost control An Air Ambulance service
:06:15. > :06:26.for Northern Ireland which was announced to some fanfare
:06:27. > :06:29.in the Spring is unlikely to be The BBC understands that several
:06:30. > :06:34.major issues including staffing It's also emerged that work
:06:35. > :06:39.to make a brand new helipad at the Royal Victoria Hospital
:06:40. > :06:58.in Belfast fit for purpose When it comes to major trauma, Time
:06:59. > :07:02.matters. Air ambulance like this one improve patient prospects in other
:07:03. > :07:07.UK regions, but Northern Ireland does not have one. At this years
:07:08. > :07:12.Northwest 200, rider Ryan Farquhar had to rely on the police helicopter
:07:13. > :07:16.to transfer him to Belfast after he was seriously injured. But a major
:07:17. > :07:19.announcement by the former Minister Simon Hamilton promised a dedicated
:07:20. > :07:25.air ambulance would be operational by the end of this year. That is
:07:26. > :07:30.beginning to look unlikely. The BBC understands that issues holding up
:07:31. > :07:34.progress include staffing, hangar facilities and issues with the new
:07:35. > :07:39.critical care building at the Royal Victoria Hospital. This building
:07:40. > :07:45.only opened last year and it cost over ?150 million. A helipad was
:07:46. > :07:49.built on the roof but it turns out it is not suitable for air ambulance
:07:50. > :07:55.use and making it fit for purpose could cost up to ?800,000 and take
:07:56. > :07:59.nine months. I am concerned about the issue of the helipad and I am
:08:00. > :08:04.concerned that there seem to be a lot of other issues that have not
:08:05. > :08:10.been resolved. Before the election we had talk of a tribute to the late
:08:11. > :08:13.Doctor John Heinz, if we are to have a tribute, it has to be a properly
:08:14. > :08:18.functioning service for the benefit of the people of Northern Ireland.
:08:19. > :08:22.Corks can turn slowly, you can get frustrated, but I am trying to apply
:08:23. > :08:26.pressure to ensure that this facility is in Northern Ireland as
:08:27. > :08:29.soon as possible, to help and assist the people of Northern Ireland. In a
:08:30. > :08:32.statement, the Department of Health said that the Minister will announce
:08:33. > :08:36.when the service will start after she has received advice from the
:08:37. > :08:41.Chief Medical Officer on the clinical and patient safety aspects
:08:42. > :08:45.of the service. It went on to say, whilst a functional rooftop pad at
:08:46. > :08:59.the Royal Victoria Hospital would offer significant
:09:00. > :09:02.advantages, the service could begin operation without it. When it
:09:03. > :09:04.arrives, the air ambulance will speed up a trauma victims journey to
:09:05. > :09:07.critical care, but for now the concern is the speed of progress in
:09:08. > :09:10.getting a service here off the ground. David Maxwell, BBC Newsline.
:09:11. > :09:13.There's a new warning this evening about the potentially deadly risk
:09:14. > :09:16.posed to young children by button batteries - the sort found
:09:17. > :09:19.Doctors at the Royal Belfast Hospital for Sick Children say
:09:20. > :09:22.they've seen a rise in the number of toddlers swallowing them.
:09:23. > :09:25.BBC Newsline's Mark Simpson has been speaking to one of the doctors.
:09:26. > :09:33.They are lithium button batteries. They are in lots of household items,
:09:34. > :09:39.remote controls, kitchen scales, scales in bathrooms, they are very
:09:40. > :09:43.common and they are in children's toys. They look quite innocuous,
:09:44. > :09:47.they could choke a child which is a potential risk. What actually
:09:48. > :09:51.happens to the battery inside the body? If these are studied the drug
:09:52. > :09:56.swallowed or put up the nose or in the year, because a chemical
:09:57. > :10:00.reaction and caustic soda is released. Everyone knows what that
:10:01. > :10:08.does, it cleans out drains, so can you imagine what it does to your
:10:09. > :10:14.oesophagus or pallet? We had a little girl called Ava and this is
:10:15. > :10:16.her x-ray, the battery was in her gallop for about three weeks. She
:10:17. > :10:18.had life-threatening breathing difficulties, it had eroded her
:10:19. > :10:22.oesophagus, it was placed up against windpipe and she had a narrow
:10:23. > :10:25.windpipe to breathe through. Our surgeons removed it under
:10:26. > :10:29.anaesthetic, it was wedged into her oesophagus, buried into the tissues
:10:30. > :10:34.and took a huge amount of effort to remove it. Some children are not so
:10:35. > :10:38.fortunate. We have had other children in this hospital who have
:10:39. > :10:53.been referred to great Ormond has it all and the battery has
:10:54. > :10:56.completely their pallet and they have life-changing injuries, also
:10:57. > :10:58.some children die because they have swallowed button batteries. They
:10:59. > :11:00.rode through a main vessels and they bleed to death -- Great Ormond
:11:01. > :11:03.Street Hospital?. What would you say to parents watching? I would say to
:11:04. > :11:06.any carer or childminder or anyone who looks after children,
:11:07. > :11:10.particularly toddlers, because toddlers learn and explore the world
:11:11. > :11:15.through their eyes, if you have remote controls, kitchen scales,
:11:16. > :11:20.weighing scales in bathroom, anything with a button battery, keep
:11:21. > :11:22.it away from small children. Mark Simpson, BBC Newsline.
:11:23. > :11:25.Now to what's coming up straight after this programme on The View -
:11:26. > :11:29.Thanks Jo - and tonight we're looking at the promise
:11:30. > :11:32.of the Ulster Unionists and SDLP to deliver a strong opposition
:11:33. > :11:33.against the DUP-Sinn Fein administration.
:11:34. > :11:35.Have the watchdogs bared their teeth yet?
:11:36. > :11:37.We've all four parties live in the studio straight
:11:38. > :11:49.We have had some lively showers through this evening
:11:50. > :11:52.and the first part of tonight and they will gradually clear
:11:53. > :11:54.to the east leaving us with dry conditions and clearing skies.
:11:55. > :11:58.That will see the temperatures drop away, last night we were down to 0.5
:11:59. > :12:01.degrees and we could get to a similar level to night.
:12:02. > :12:05.It means that there will be the chance of a bit of mist to begin
:12:06. > :12:07.with but for most people quite a bright morning.
:12:08. > :12:10.The difference is that those bright skies will not last as long tomorrow
:12:11. > :12:14.You will start to see the cloud filling in and behind
:12:15. > :12:16.that the showers working their way in from the west.
:12:17. > :12:21.We will not see the bulk of the rain through the day on Friday.
:12:22. > :12:24.That is focused more to the north and west of us but it shows
:12:25. > :12:27.what a different day that Scotland and Ireland are having tomorrow
:12:28. > :12:32.There, it is much warmer and brighter conditions especially
:12:33. > :12:40.For us, we do not really see the bulk of the rain until the early
:12:41. > :12:46.By the time we are looking out the window on Saturday morning it
:12:47. > :12:50.Quite a wet and windy start to the weekend, that rain sitting
:12:51. > :12:57.It will brighten up by evening time and we are then into some cooler air
:12:58. > :13:00.and once that front comes through it is a much cooler air mass
:13:01. > :13:06.and at this time of year you will notice the change quite sharply.
:13:07. > :13:08.Saturday is the day for the inside jobs,
:13:09. > :13:11.come Sunday it will be brighter, drier but markedly cooler,
:13:12. > :13:21.Our next BBC Newsline is at six twenty five in the morning
:13:22. > :13:25.You can also keep updated with News Online.