15/05/2017 BBC Newsline

So, it's goodbye from me, and on BBC One, we now join

Teachers are harming their pupils' education by taking industrial

action and their pay and pensions are attractive - that's

what Northern Ireland's top education official has said

in a strongly worded letter to all teachers today.

But it's provoked an angry response, as our education correspondent

Some teachers have taken strike action over pay and workload,

but they're also not co-operating with school inspections.

And that's led to a blunt message from the head

Gavin Boyd says that by their actions are "seriously

affecting the education of children and young people."

He also says that, "The average teacher's pay in Northern Ireland

is just over ?40,000pa," and that "This compares very favourably

with other graduate professions locally and is actually higher

than the average teacher's pay in England and Wales."

The starting salary for new teachers is around ?23,000 a year,

but they can go on to earn much more than that, depending how

long they're in the job and which responsibilities they take

The teaching unions who were meeting today were united in their fury.

All love our offices have experienced a high number of calls

over the weekend and this morning. Teachers completely frustrated and

angry at the patronising and Trump like communications. This will do

nothing to improve the climate in the education sector.

But doesn't Gavin Boyd have a point in that teachers

This principal says his staff are worth every penny.

1% pay increase was not awarded in 2015-16. As a result teachers feel

undervalued and staff would be, morale would be at an all-time low

as a result of that decision. Govan Boyd wasn't available for interview

today. He, the other teaching employers and the unions have been

talking for months with about pay with that agreement. This letter

shows just how divided the seller. -- they still are.

A woman has been injured in a suspected petrol bomb attack

It happened around 11:30pm last night in Clara Street.

The victim was treated in hospital for injuries to her legs,

The house was badly damaged in the attack.

The funeral has taken place of the Londonderry businessman

Brendan Duddy who played a key role in the peace process.

The 80-year-old, who died on Friday after a long illness,

acted as a secret intermediary between the IRA and

the British government for more than two decades.

The final journey of a secret peacemaker.

Brendan Duddy, who was 80, died on Friday after a long illness.

His death came just a few years after his identity as a secret link

between MI6 and the IRA was publicly revealed in a BBC programme.

It explained how Brendan Duddy's role had been a closely guarded

secret during some of the worst years of the Troubles.

Today, mourners were told that Brendan Duddy's

contribution to peace involved risk and commitment.

The first steps towards a possibility of a peaceful future

required trust. And Brendan knew the value of creating and maintaining

trust on all sides, which would allow the seeds planted through

dialogue to produce the peace process. Brandon possessed a

determination and persistence to remain actively involved for many

decades and the task of creating opportunity for dialogue which could

lead to peace. Among those who travelled

to the city for the funeral, Peter Taylor - the journalist

who revealed Brendan Duddy's role as a back-channel

between MI6 and the IRA. He spoke to mourners

at today's funeral. His legacy and the legacy of Martin

McGuinness also is the part that both of them and many others played

in helping to bring about the piece that all of us enjoyed today. It is

ironic that both Martin and Brendan Parsley away within weeks of each of

the marking the end of an era and the eventual transition from war to

peace. Brendan Duddy has been buried this

afternoon at the city cemetery. The DUP leader Arlene Foster has

been criticised for newspaper comments she made at the weekend

about Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill. Mrs Foster's comments have been

described as sexist and disparaging. Our political editor

Mark Devenport joins me now. What exactly did

Arlene Foster say, Mark? These comments were made in the

course of what I suppose was meant to be a soft focus and depute in the

Sunday Independent. At the end of that interview the journalist asked

Arlene Foster to play a word association game, what word came to

mind she said a name? And cheaper to the name Michelle O'Neill. Let's

look at Commons. After she did that Arlene Foster said... The journalist

said go on, and she came out with the word blonde. She went on to say

that Michelle O'Neill always looks the same, she said Michelle is very

attractive and she added that she was always well presented. She said

you never see her without her make up for her ever perfect. And what

has been the reaction? Sinn Fein not amused by this. They said this was

sexist and disparaging. We haven't heard from Michelle O'Neill and this

is because she has been in transit today, she was pictured at the

airport in Dublin together with Mary Lou McDonald as part of the Sinn

Fein campaign to achieve designated EU special status for Northern

Ireland in Strasberg. Heard daughter took to Twitter and made this

comment... Disgraceful... Has the DUP said anything? Was in

the last hour and a half DUP MP Sammy Wilson said that if Arlene

Foster wanted to be disparaging to quite a lot of things she could say.

She was taking the line that the comments were complimentary and they

have got nothing to apologise for. Thank you.

A Londonderry-based manufacturing company is to add 61 jobs

GES makes steel components for major international companies.

The jobs will be created over the next three years

with the assistance of almost ?400,000 in grants from Invest NI.

Now let's have a look at the weather forecast, here's Barra Best.

Thank you. We have got off to a shaky start today. A good bit of

rain this morning. Most of it has cleared the way. Some brighter

spells coming into the north and west. A cloudy picture across the

island of you are troubling. Further spells of wet weather for making

further north. It is one. 18 or 19 in parts of the West if we do get

prolonged spells of sunshine. Although they will be a good bit of

dry weather some patchy light rain and drizzle will make its way in

through the seeming tonight. A rather mucky necklace of us.

Temperatures likely to stay at about 14 or 15. After a bit of a dry start

tomorrow it will become wet again and 20. It will improve through the

day. We begin to see the wet weather coming in the parts of the West. We

could even have some thunder and lightning. Behind it brightens up

nicely. But sunshine. Many of us enjoying a fine evening. 15 or 16.

Likely to see some further wet weather especially during the second

night of Wednesday but we hold onto those temperatures slightly above

average. As for the rest of the week scattered showers are always in the

forecast. Not all a complete wash-out. Some sunshine but a

cooling trend from 18 on Tuesday to 13 on Friday.

Now a signed news summary with Raymond Abernethy.

Northern Ireland's top education official has accused teachers of

harming people's' education by taking industrial action. He also

said they got better paid than their counterparts in England and Wales.

It has provoked an angry response from the unions.

A woman has been injured in a suspected petrol bomb attack

It happened around 11:30pm last night in Clara Street.

The victim was treated in hospital for injuries to her legs,

The funeral has taken place of the Londonderry

businessman Brendan Duddy, who played a key role

The 80-year-old, who died on Friday after a long illness,

acted as a secret intermediary between the IRA and

The DUP leader Arlene Foster has been criticised for newspaper

comments she made at the weekend about Sinn Fein's Michelle O'Neill.

Mrs Foster comments have been described as sexist and disparaging.

A Londonderry-based manufacturing company is to add 61 jobs,

GES makes steel components for major international companies.

The jobs will be created over the next three years

Our next television news is at 6:30pm this evening.

In the meantime you can follow this programme

From all of us on the BBC Newsline team, good afternoon.