23/11/2017 BBC Newsline

earnings growth. Philip Hammond says

he hopes to prove the earnings

forecasts wrong.

Good afternoon.

The inquest into the Buncrana pier

tragedy has been hearing

from an RNLI diver and more

about the frantic rescue efforts

that were made within minutes

of the car going into the water.

Five members of the same family

drowned when their car slid

off the pier last year.

Yesterday the hearing was told

that the driver, Sean McGrotty,

was more than three times over

the Republic's drink driving limit.

Our North West reporter, Keiron

Tourish, is in Buncrana for us.

Tell us more about this morning's

evidence.

Yes, indeed. As you say,

this is the second day of the

inquest into the tragic events which

happened on the 20th of March last

year at Buncrana. We heard evidence

this morning from the RNLI member

who was an experienced diver. He

said the alarm was raised at seven

point 13 pm. . The RNLI responded

within seven minutes and recovered

Ruth Daniels, who was 57, from the

water. She was given CPR at the

pier. John Ross said the car had

been submerged when he died down in

three metres of water. He could not

get any doors open. He said the

driver window was broken but intact

and facing inwards. He said he could

see nobody in the front two seats

and said visibility was at arm's

length.

Who else arrived at the

slipway to try and help?

We got more

dramatic evidence as the morning

went on. Seamus Callanan said he

received a call to the station at

quarter past seven an evening that a

car had gone the pier at Buncrana

with people on board. He was on the

scene within one minute. He saw a

young baby being cared for and was

told four or five others were

missing. He said the baby was taken

to hospital by ambulance. He said

CPR was being performed on Ruth

Daniels. He added the pier was very

slippery with thick algae. He

cleared the pier and sealed it off.

Callahan said four people were later

taken from the water and they all

died. He placed blankets over them

and a local priest said prayers over

each of the bodies. Seamus Callanan

recovered a number of personal items

from the car when it was towed from

the water. He said they included a

baby bag and he noticed a number of

empty baby bottles. He said it was

obvious to him that the baby was

very well looked after.

For now,

thank you. More about that from half

past six this evening.

A woman whose uncle was once accused

of being a serial killer has told

BBC Newsline that he sexually

assaulted her as a child.

Debbie Ross has waived her

right to be anonymous

to talk about the abuse.

Leslie Ross from Dromore

in County Down was on trial

earlier this month for the offences.

He took ill and he died.

Here's our Investigations

Correspondent Kevin Magee.

Debbie Ross said one of the reasons

she emigrated was to forget her

uncle, who abused has a child. He

was accused of killing three former

girlfriends. He was eventually

cleared of all the murder charges.

But he had been facing 44 sex abuse

charges when he passed away this

month. This means his niece's

allegations cannot be tested in

court.

Absolute monster. To have

done what he did to me, I was also

very afraid of him.

A research

scientist has waived the right to

anonymity to talk to the BBC. She

hopes she can inspire other victims

to speak out.

And there will be a full report

on that on this evening's programme.

The 78-year-old mother of a man

who was shot dead by loyalists

has appealed to the Secretary

of State to make

sure her son doesn't

become a forgotten victim.

35-year-old Brian Service

was walking home in Ardoyne in

North Belfast when he was attacked.

No-one has been

convicted of his murder.

His mother Ann, is calling

for proposed legacy institutions

from the Stormont House Agreement

from 2014 to be put in place

while she's still alive.

As I get older I am getting angrier.

I am not mellowing. I owe it to my

son. I owe it to my son to do

whatever has to be done. If anybody

asks me to do something I will do

it. I will do it. He wasn't involved

in anything. He was reared not to

hate. They put it together in the

streets. There was no hate in our

family. I want to know when they are

going to take up the case of my son

and say this is what happened. It is

not about punishment. It is not

about punishment. It is about doing

the right thing.

Five cities cannot take part in the

contest for the city of culture in

2023. The Department of culture

media and sport was disappointed by

the decision of the European

commission concerning Londonderry

and would appeal.

A senior member of the Ulster

Council of the GAA has said players

who want to join the PSNI should be

able to do so without any impact

on membership of their local club.

The Provincial secretary

Brian McEvoy's remarks come

after a newspaper interview

with Peadar Heffron -

a serving police officer and Gaelic

footballer targeted in a dissident

republican bomb attack in 2010.

He has criticised the reaction

at his club when he announced his

decision to join the police.

Given that there is a whole media

coverage we have had following the

very frank interview, I think this

is time for us to come out and say

publicly that any club member who

wishes to join the PSNI should do so

free in the knowledge it will not

impact on their membership of the

local club.

Rugby and Wasps' forward

Marty Moore will join Ulster

next summer on a two-year deal.

Meanwhile several of

Ulster's young players

will feature against Benetton

in tomorrow night's

Pro 14 game in Belfast.

There's a debut for 19 year

old Aaron Hall and Paul Marshall

could become only the 5th Ulster

player to notch up 200 appearances.

He's on the replacements bench.

He's on the replacements bench.

Now the weather. If you have not

done it yet, may I suggest breaking

out the big winter coat? There is a

chilly feel to the weather in the

next few days. The flow of the

weather is all coming from the

north-west. Through the end of this

week. It is a cold direction and

damp direction. Cold moist air is

feeding this pattern of wintry

showers we will see in the next few

days. In the main sleet and snow on

the hills but through the week we

might see some snow falling to lower

levels. If you do get out and about

to enjoy any brighter spells between

showers, wrap up because it will be

pretty chilly. Because we have a day

with clear skies overnight the

temperature will really drop away

and widespread frost tonight. It

means Friday will be a very chilly

start. It will be a day of sunshine

and showers but I'm afraid they are

going to be wintry again. As we go

through the day, highs of three,

four, maybe 5 degrees. Surely even

for late November. Overnight a risk

of frost in the weekend. That is

pretty chilly for late November.

Coming out to the north-west, it is

going to be cold and windy. We will

see wintry showers. Saturday will

maybe be slightly brighter, Sunday

will be brighter than Saturday, but

it is always going to be very chilly

indeed. Whatever you are doing, make

the as this weekend. Up warm.

indeed. Whatever you are doing, make

the as this weekend. Up warm.

Now a signed news summary.

An RNLI diver has told the inquest

into the Buncrana pier tragedy

that the first body was recovered

from the water minutes

after the alarm was raised.

He said his colleagues had been

on a training exercise nearby

prior to the incident.

Five members of the same family

drowned when their car slid

off the pier last year.

The niece of a man who was once

accused of being a serial killer has

waived her right to anonymity

to tell her own story of abuse.

Debbie Ross says she was sexually

assaulted by Leslie Ross

from Dromore Co Down as a child.

The trial was halted

earlier this month

and he later died.

The 78 year old mother of a man

shot dead by loyalists

in north Belfast in 1998 has

appealed to the Secretary

of State to make sure her son

doesn't become a forgotten victim.

She is calling for proposed

legacy institutions

from the Stormont House agreement

to be put in place

while she's alive.

The British government has just

confirmed that UK cities including

Belfast and Londonderry can no

longer apply to take part

in the European City

of Culture in 2023.

Stormont's Department for Culture,

Media and Sport said it was

disappointed by the decision and

would appeal.