28/03/2017 BBC Newsline

The Secretary of State James Brokenshire says all options will be

considered including direct rule if more talks to form a power

He told MPs at Westminister that the government didn't

want to see a return to London rule but it has a responsibility

Sinn Fein say they would regard such a move as an act of bad faith.

Here's our Political Correspondent Enda McClafferty:

Believe it or not, today was a day of celebration at Stormont, marking

ten years of Northern Ireland water. But there was no minister and very

few MLAs to taste its success. Northern Ireland water spends a lot

of time and money clearing blockages, removing the political

obstacles at Stormont will be harder. Today we got a taste of what

failure might bring. Should talks not succeed in their objective, the

government will have to consider all options. I therefore want to give

the house noticed that following the Easter recess, as a minimum, it

would be my intention to bring forward legislation to set a rate to

enable local councils to carry out their functions. And to provide

further assurance around the Budget for Northern Ireland. But that, for

some, sounded like a move closer to London rule. It is not an option.

The legislation says if there is no agreement here we need to go to

another election. That is open to the public. They will have their

say. James Brogan Jenny Mr act in tandem with that. He would be acting

in bad faith if he was to do this. -- James Brokenshire. What would be

the chances of fixing this in a couple of weeks? Some feel that Sinn

Fein have decided that devolution is over and they are moving on to a

different phase. Others believe it is time to bring in the political

big hitters. The Prime Minister was in Wales last week, in Scotland this

week, she should go to Northern Ireland, convene these talks and

find a resolution sooner rather than later. Back in Stormont the benches

were empty again today. The only thing moving was the clock is yet

another countdown is underway. If we don't get a deal quickly the British

government will take more powers to London. We will see more and more

direct role. This is a bad scenario. We don't want the British Tory party

to be running Ireland. Three things need to happen, we need to get the

executive back and running to deal with the economy, education, health

and housing. We should send them to a boot camp, not a castle, to sort

it out. Because we need stability, no new issues for the next five

years for the duration of the mandate. The political uncertainty

will continue to cloud around Stormont for at least another three

weeks, but the good news for the politicians is that tomorrow is

payday. They will receive their first checks since the election for

around ?3000. Those who accept the full amount. Not bad when you

consider the vast majority of them were only here for a couple of days.

Well as we heard in Enda's report, the Secretary of State has said that

if further political talks fail, he will ask Parliament to pass

legislation to allow rates bills to be sent out.

Our Economics and Business Editor John Campbell

It is made up of two parts. One is by the local councils, the other is

set by Stormont. Because of the political crisis Stormont has not

set a rates bill. Those bills would normally be going out this Saturday.

We can't have a situation where they are not paid because that would

cause crises for councils. The Secretary of State said he would

step in the place of Stormont and set the regional part of the rate.

That would mean that the rates bills could go out.

What will he do exactly? Set the rate. Then on Saturday a

letter will be sent out saying, sorry you have not got your bill, it

will be coming soon, and rates bills will then start being paid from May.

Normally you pay it for a ten month period, April to January, this time

it will be from May to February. A man who crashed into 15

members of a film crew, seriously injuring five of them,

has been sentenced to 2 years Hugh McGrattan, who is 25

and from Whiterock Drive in west Belfast, drove into the group

on Apollo Road in south He pleaded guilty to five charges

of causing grievous injury Mr McGrattan was driving between 52

and 69 mph before the crash, as he slowed down he struck a curb, lost

control, and hit the film crew at 25 mph. A witness said the car was like

a bowling ball when it struck the group. One woman was left in

paralysis from the chest down. Others suffered life changing

injuries. The court was told Mr McGrattan has been suffering from

post-traumatic stress disorder since the crash. He accepted he was

driving too fast but believed the victims shared some responsibility,

telling a probation officer signs should have been in place alerting

him to their presents. Some of the victims were in court today. The

judge said a custodial sentence was appropriate due to the gravity of

the offences. She also said Mr McGrattan, although not racing or

showing off, was driving at a greatly excessive speed with total

disregard for other road users. He will serve to years and four months

in prison. Sentencing Mr McGrattan the judge said she took a number of

factors into consideration including the fact he stayed at the scene of

the time, showed remorse, and pled guilty at the earliest opportunity.

She also finds him ?50. She disqualified him from driving for

five years. -- fined. The Department

for Infrastructure has won a court case which had been

delaying its upgrade of the Belfast to Londonderry road and it says work

will begin as quickly as possible. An environmentalist had claimed

that part of the route would damage a protected wetland

and its birdlife. Our Agriculture and

Environment Correspondent These are the birds that were at the

centre of the case, Hooper Swans, in my great read visitor from Iceland

to the internationally protected site where they staying over winter.

They were conservation listed. Chris Murphy said they had not been taken

properly into account when assessing the impact of the new dual

carriageway on the ASICs. He went to the court to contest a section of

the route. -- A6. The judge was not persuaded. I don't feel this is the

end of the road. Well, the route. It is only a small section of the road

which concerns me and should be of concern to millions. This should be

a world Heritage site. There is no getting away from it. The finest

freshwater wetland in Ireland. I've no doubt about that. The judge said

protectionism under European legislation -- the judge said that

the protection of the site was under European legislation. She said the

building of the road was national and lawful. The North West is

lagging behind in infrastructure and connectivity. It has been for

decades. Today holds a new chapter in business for the future in

Ulster. There has been further controversy because it passed

through a landscape made famous by Seamus Heaney, but that did not

really feature in the case. The Department for infrastructure said

it would get on with the work now as quickly as possible. To be asked to

do nothing on the contested section -- they've been asked not to do

anything on the contested section while Mr Murphy considers appealing.

The new twelve-sided one pound coin came into circulation today.

It's 34 years since the first pound coin came out,

and our reporter Helen Jones got a handful of the new ones to test

The new ?1 coin is difficult enough to get your hands on at the moment.

Northern Ireland has been given two supplies. They'll become a familiar

sight when more are rolled out over the next few weeks. The most secure

coin in the world, brought out to prevent fraud and counterfeiting.

That is according to the Royal Mint. The new coin apparently has a hidden

security feature. It has 12 sides. An image which works like a

hologram. And micro-sized lettering inside both arms. In with the new

and outwith the old by the 15th of October, is Ireland -- is Northern

Ireland ready? I'm probably safer without them. Shopping trolleys will

also have to be re-engineered. 25% of our parking meters have been

updated. I found that out to my surprise in Belfast city centre. Are

you kidding me? Translink says it's been preparing for the change for

some time. With the launch of the coin that will be in legislation

with the round calling, from today up until the 15th of October, after

that the round coin users, you will have to pay with the new 12 sided

coin. That's fantastic. Can you see the hologram? Yes, I can, the pound

symbol and the one, that's amazing. Apparently one in ?30 coins is

counterfeit. -- one in 30 round pound coins is counterfeit. Will you

let me keep that? CHUCKLES

This is the new coin con is it? It is quite light. Once the old coin is

decommissioned later this year, who knows, maybe it will be a collectors

item? -- this is the new coin, is it? I'll get that back off you.

CHUCKLES Sport and the Republic of Ireland

have lost their friendly The only goal of the match

came in the 21st minute, when Hordur Magnusson's free kick

sailed into the net. Martin O'Neill's team picked up

the pace in the second half Looking ahead to a story tomorrow,

and whatever happened to the multi-million pound critical

care building at the Royal Victoria Hospital, which was due

to fully open in 2012. Here's our health correspondent,

Marie Louise Connolly: 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.

That story is coming up tomorrow across all of our news outlets on

radio, TV, and online. Not much chance of spotting the

Aurora tonight. Too much cloud around. There will be some showers,

but also some lengthy dry spells. Thick cloud will come in from the

south-west by morning. Rain expected during the rush hour in the morning.

But it is a mild night. No frost. Gardens will see some rain. Not

necessarily cold rain. There will be dry spells at times, too. In the

rush hour, expect rain, puddles, and a breeze picking up. One area of

rain moves away from us into south-west Scotland and continues to

move to the north. It will dry out for a time in the morning, but there

is more showery rain across the Republic of Ireland. It would be wet

at times tomorrow. Some of the rain will spill across the Irish Sea into

the North of England and Wales. But it should stay dry over the

Midlands, down towards London, and the north-east of Scotland may stay

largely dry although chilly. Temperatures across Northern Ireland

should be higher than today, maybe 15 degrees, and some gaps in the

rain, and some brightness. Breezy compared to today. More unsettled

conditions. Generally mild for the rest of the working week. But we

should see things dry out this coming weekend. Thursday, if lucky,

a dry morning, but some showers around, especially in the afternoon.

Temperatures could hit the mid-teens. Especially in the

sunshine. More showers for a time on Friday and Saturday, but drying up

on Saturday with dry weather this Sunday.

Our next BBC Newsline is at six twenty five in the morning

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