:00:07. > :00:13.Brexit must not harm the peace process or the UK's unique
:00:14. > :00:16.Theresa May's words in her letter triggering
:00:17. > :00:22.The Prime Minister promised extra powers for the devolved governments
:00:23. > :00:29.but didn't spell out exactly how the border would operate.
:00:30. > :00:36.We are very clear, both I, and I have talked to the government in the
:00:37. > :00:40.Republic, we are clear that we don't want to see a return to the borders
:00:41. > :00:44.of the past. And we are working very closely with the Irish government
:00:45. > :00:50.about the arrangements that can be put in place to ensure a
:00:51. > :00:52.frictionless border for goods and services, and people travelling
:00:53. > :00:54.between Northern Ireland to the Republic.
:00:55. > :00:56.The Prime Minister's triggering of Article 50
:00:57. > :00:58.has been praised by the DUP, who said it was
:00:59. > :01:02.But many others fear for future relations between the two parts
:01:03. > :01:05.of Ireland and the free movement of people and goods.
:01:06. > :01:10.Here's our political correspondent, Enda McClafferty.
:01:11. > :01:17.It was an announcement they knew was coming but didn't want to hear. The
:01:18. > :01:20.Prime Minister's words will have been welcomed by many at
:01:21. > :01:25.Westminster, but not at Stormont today. The effect this is going to
:01:26. > :01:28.have on the local community is massive. We are trying to send a
:01:29. > :01:32.message to the British that it is not good for the people of the
:01:33. > :01:39.North. We want some sort of free border that people can travel, north
:01:40. > :01:48.to south, without checkpoints or whatever. Brexit will curtail it and
:01:49. > :01:53.that is a disaster. Today, the Prime Minister pledged there would be no
:01:54. > :01:57.return to the borders of the past. And she said Stormont had nothing to
:01:58. > :02:01.fear from Brexit. No decision is currently taken by the devolved
:02:02. > :02:07.administrations and will not be removed from them. Is the devolved
:02:08. > :02:10.administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will see a
:02:11. > :02:14.significant increase in their decision-making power as a result of
:02:15. > :02:18.this process. And she put that in writing in the letter to the
:02:19. > :02:23.president of the European Council Donald Tusk which triggered Article
:02:24. > :02:28.50, saying they wanted to avoid a return to a hardboard...
:02:29. > :02:35.And her words drew a warm response from Unionists. We on this bench are
:02:36. > :02:39.sure she is the right leader of this country for these challenges. And
:02:40. > :02:44.can I also commend her for putting in Article five of the principles
:02:45. > :02:48.set out in her letter, Northern Ireland, the racial ship with the
:02:49. > :02:52.Irish were, and can I commend her in the way that has been put forward.
:02:53. > :02:55.Back at Stormont, Republicans and Nationalists had a different message
:02:56. > :03:02.for the Prime Minister. This will be the biggest economic catastrophe
:03:03. > :03:06.since partition. We want to protect his Mrs and communities here. I know
:03:07. > :03:10.we will get a fair hearing in Dublin, but can we get a fair
:03:11. > :03:13.hearing in London? This will be detrimental to the people on the
:03:14. > :03:18.island of Ireland. We need the parties to stand together. We need
:03:19. > :03:23.to get special status for the Isle of Ireland, has clearly, we have
:03:24. > :03:29.unique circumstances that need recognition. The secretary of state
:03:30. > :03:36.had his own border mission today. We want to see an ambitious free trade
:03:37. > :03:40.agreement with the European Union, barrier free, tariff free, and
:03:41. > :03:48.recognising how that benefits both the UK and the EU, too. These people
:03:49. > :03:52.here today will be hoping that at least they may be able to shape the
:03:53. > :03:57.negotiations to ensure their life won't change post-Brexit.
:03:58. > :03:59.Well, some reassurance for those who have concerns was offered today
:04:00. > :04:01.by the European Parliament's chief Brexit negotiator.
:04:02. > :04:03.Guy Verhofstadt said the parliament recognised that Brexit posed
:04:04. > :04:10.a special threat to Northern Ireland and the Republic.
:04:11. > :04:22.We are very clear, the Brexit agreement needs to fully respect the
:04:23. > :04:27.Good Friday Agreement in all its aspects, and that means also that we
:04:28. > :04:32.will never accept a hard border again tween Northern Ireland and the
:04:33. > :04:35.Irish Republic. Northern Ireland's biggest export
:04:36. > :04:37.market is the Republic. And many businesses have voiced
:04:38. > :04:39.concern over what might happen with the border
:04:40. > :04:41.and customs arrangements. Some are also focussing
:04:42. > :04:43.on the potential new trade that could be secured outside
:04:44. > :04:45.the European Union. Our Business Correspondent
:04:46. > :04:57.Julian O'Neill has more. The stakes are high for exporters,
:04:58. > :05:03.the EU and the republic especially our big markets, and many firms hope
:05:04. > :05:07.new arrangements will not damage business. Once free from the EU,
:05:08. > :05:12.Britain will pursue trade deals independently. This company that
:05:13. > :05:16.makes construction machinery has dealers in the likes of Singapore
:05:17. > :05:22.and seize opportunities. The growth of the world is in Asia and North
:05:23. > :05:30.America. Europe hasn't grown in ten years. I think focusing more on the
:05:31. > :05:34.growth areas of the world for our business will give us better
:05:35. > :05:39.opportunities. It has been said today marks the point of no return,
:05:40. > :05:42.and the government will seek to strike a new trade deal with the EU
:05:43. > :05:48.by the time Brexit happens in two years' time. But there are anxieties
:05:49. > :05:56.among the many larger scale local businesses. Ultimately, there is
:05:57. > :06:00.concern about the risk of tariffs, disruption to supply chains, and
:06:01. > :06:05.uncertainty around European workers. Local trade unions were almost
:06:06. > :06:10.unanimous in opposing Brexit, and taking stock today, are worried
:06:11. > :06:13.about the prospects of a good deal. 85,000 workers were on the
:06:14. > :06:17.Manufacturing sector, and their exports go to the EU. Can anybody
:06:18. > :06:22.tell us if we have the hard Brexit that is proposed that some of those
:06:23. > :06:26.jobs would be affected? It is a fallacy to suggest it will be all
:06:27. > :06:30.right on the night. But no one knows what's to come. It was business as
:06:31. > :06:36.usual here after the referendum, and so it will be until March, 2019.
:06:37. > :06:38.Between now and then, negotiators potentially hold the fortunes of
:06:39. > :06:43.firms like this in their hands. The Taoiseach, Enda Kenny,
:06:44. > :06:45.said he took some encouragement from what Theresa May had said
:06:46. > :06:53.in her letter to the president This will not be easy. It will be
:06:54. > :06:58.very challenging and very corrugated. We have set out our
:06:59. > :07:03.priorities and main objectives. I am glad to see these are refunded in
:07:04. > :07:05.the letter from the Prime Minister to the European Council, including
:07:06. > :07:09.the special relationship with Britain, the preservation of the
:07:10. > :07:14.peace process, the protection of the Good Friday Agreement, and no return
:07:15. > :07:17.to the hardboard. And from Britain's perspective, they do not wish to do
:07:18. > :07:31.any harm to island and its opportunities for the future.
:07:32. > :07:33.Well I spoke earlier to our political editor,
:07:34. > :07:36.Mark Devenport, and to our economics and business editor, John Campbell.
:07:37. > :07:38.I first asked Mark for his thoughts on the messages coming
:07:39. > :07:43.They have this emotional attachment to the peace process, they do not
:07:44. > :07:46.want anything to disrupt that. And the Irish were is a loyal member of
:07:47. > :07:51.the European Union, so they don't want to punish one of their own.
:07:52. > :07:53.That is a factor they will take into account, not just with agriculture,
:07:54. > :07:58.but across a broader range of concerns. And we still don't have
:07:59. > :08:03.any idea how the border is going to work, it seems to go on and on. No
:08:04. > :08:08.return to the borders of the past, and all the main players, they are
:08:09. > :08:14.on the same page. They don't want a return to customs post. We have been
:08:15. > :08:18.there and we know there are customs posts in Norway and Sweden. Whatever
:08:19. > :08:22.is proposed, it must be more seamless than what happens on that
:08:23. > :08:27.border. They talk about technology, using administrative arrangements to
:08:28. > :08:29.manage the border. But they will need to be a realisation that there
:08:30. > :08:42.won't be a a return to a hardboard. Other news now, and a helicopter
:08:43. > :08:45.with five people on board has gone The privately-owned aircraft
:08:46. > :08:48.is believed to have left Milton Keynes to fly to Dublin
:08:49. > :08:50.and radar contact was A search is being carried out
:08:51. > :08:54.in the Caernarfon Bay Five years after it was due to open
:08:55. > :08:58.most of the new Critical Care building at the Royal Victoria
:08:59. > :09:00.Hospital in Belfast remains closed. The development cost
:09:01. > :09:02.?150 million and the BBC understands that millions
:09:03. > :09:04.of additional funding is required to bring the 12 storey
:09:05. > :09:07.building up to standard. The first two floors house
:09:08. > :09:08.the Emergency department. Here's our Health Correspondent
:09:09. > :09:18.Marie-Louise Connolly. From the outside, this 12 story
:09:19. > :09:25.building looks like it's business as usual. Inside, it is a different
:09:26. > :09:30.story. While it was due to open in 2012, work continues to get this
:09:31. > :09:36.entire building up to standard and fit for purpose. Work that involves
:09:37. > :09:42.new contract is. Five years on and corridors, theatres and rooms, which
:09:43. > :09:45.should be bustling with patients and staff instead are empty. Serious
:09:46. > :09:51.building problems have meant that this state-of-the-art hospital has
:09:52. > :09:56.remained a building site. While it all started with corroded pipes,
:09:57. > :10:00.multiple problems followed, including plumbing, waste and
:10:01. > :10:04.electrical systems. According to health unions, it has taken so long
:10:05. > :10:12.for the building to open, most have forgotten it even exists. 150
:10:13. > :10:17.million has been put in. The patient are losing out on this. Our members
:10:18. > :10:22.will be asking questions as to how this situation has allowed to
:10:23. > :10:42.develop. In a statement, the Belfast trust said:
:10:43. > :10:50.But not all of the buildings affected. The new emergency
:10:51. > :10:55.department opened on the first two floors on 2013 to cope with winter
:10:56. > :10:58.pressures. But legal proceedings between various contractors and the
:10:59. > :11:01.trust have dominated throughout most of the build, with the source
:11:02. > :11:07.describing litigation as acrimonious. We are talking about
:11:08. > :11:11.transforming health, and yet, we have ?150 million that has simply do
:11:12. > :11:16.nothing, costing us more money to replace parts of this building, and
:11:17. > :11:19.not been brought into public use. So clearly, we need to know who is
:11:20. > :11:23.responsible, and we need to get a grip. Things can go wrong. We accept
:11:24. > :11:29.that. But they need to be fixed quickly. Since 2012, senior
:11:30. > :11:33.officials in the Department of Health, including health ministers,
:11:34. > :11:37.and those in the Belfast health trust, have been kept informed. A
:11:38. > :11:38.new deadline for the opening of the rest of the building is now the end
:11:39. > :11:55.of the year. Rain overnight, but cloud coming
:11:56. > :11:59.with the rain meaning a mild night. Temperatures staying in double
:12:00. > :12:04.figures tonight. It sets us up for a good day on Thursday. In the main,
:12:05. > :12:08.staying dry, but a risk of rain across the eastern half of Northern
:12:09. > :12:12.Ireland, and that is the influence of a weather system sitting further
:12:13. > :12:19.out to the east. As we go through the day, cloud cover. In the
:12:20. > :12:23.afternoon, a few gaps punched by sunshine. Temperatures on the right
:12:24. > :12:27.to 14 or 15. Here is the weather front I was talking about. Sitting
:12:28. > :12:31.where it was Saturday. The areas that have seen rain today will see
:12:32. > :12:36.rain tomorrow, but maybe not as much. Temperatures ahead of the
:12:37. > :12:45.front, the South East could see the warmest day of the year so far. For
:12:46. > :12:49.us, shower was popping up, but a front kinking towards us with long
:12:50. > :12:54.periods of rain overnight. Friday will start damp, but behind that,
:12:55. > :13:00.cooler and fresher, brighter conditions. At the weekend, things
:13:01. > :13:06.will improve, although feeling fresher in the cooler air. We have
:13:07. > :13:09.this area of high pressure to thank for the settled weather over the
:13:10. > :13:14.weekend. It is building in and protecting us from the Atlantic
:13:15. > :13:15.weather systems. We pay the price with the temperatures, nudging down
:13:16. > :13:19.as we get into the weekend. Our next BBC Newsline is
:13:20. > :13:24.at 6:25 in the morning You can also keep updated
:13:25. > :13:30.with news online. Goodnight.