08/01/2017

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:00:00. > :00:08.The Executive has been criticised over the ongoing failure to resolve

:00:09. > :00:17.The SDLP MLA Claire Hanna says the lack of action by the DUP

:00:18. > :00:19.and Sinn Fein has turned the row over the debacle into

:00:20. > :00:33.For a month now, the political wrangling over the Renewable Heat

:00:34. > :00:37.Incentive has dominated the news, and with the Assembly still in

:00:38. > :00:40.Christmas recess, patience is wearing thin on the opposition

:00:41. > :00:45.benches. The DUP and Sinn Fein are playing

:00:46. > :00:49.this out like a soap opera, but on the 16th we will be trying to get

:00:50. > :00:53.the most robust inquiry we can get. We still believe Arlene Foster does

:00:54. > :00:57.not have the confidence of the public and should step aside. But we

:00:58. > :01:00.need to get on with addressing the major challenges of Brexit and

:01:01. > :01:05.getting a budget in place. Yesterday at a meeting in West

:01:06. > :01:09.Belfast Sinn Fein president hinted Martin McGuinness could resign if

:01:10. > :01:14.Arlene Foster does not stand aside while the scandal is investigated.

:01:15. > :01:19.If the first minute that does not take the action Society desires and

:01:20. > :01:25.deserves, and which are sustainable process of change requires, and Sinn

:01:26. > :01:30.Fein will bring this ongoing and totally unacceptable state of

:01:31. > :01:35.affairs to an end. When the Assembly returns on Monday the 16th, Sinn

:01:36. > :01:39.Fein is to launch a motion of no-confidence in the speaker, Robin

:01:40. > :01:42.Newton. He has been criticised by MLAs for allowing the First Minister

:01:43. > :01:47.but to make a statement last month without the support of the Deputy

:01:48. > :01:49.First Minister but that Assembly return is a week away, and a week

:01:50. > :01:51.can be a long time in politics. A service supporting people

:01:52. > :01:53.appealing their benefits decisions has been given a reprieve,

:01:54. > :01:56.after it lost its funding last week. The Belfast Citywide Tribunal

:01:57. > :01:58.Service was set up three years ago, with money from the City Council

:01:59. > :02:00.and the Department It had closed last week,

:02:01. > :02:04.but is now able to continue until March while looking

:02:05. > :02:19.for further financial support. The project is absolutely vital to

:02:20. > :02:25.citizens of Belfast. The numbers, thousands of people have used it

:02:26. > :02:26.over the past three years, and it is oh -- even more vital going forward

:02:27. > :02:28.giving welfare reform. The Prime Minister has said today

:02:29. > :02:31.that she'll set out a plan She's denied government

:02:32. > :02:34.thinking is muddled, but it's still not clear what impact

:02:35. > :02:36.Brexit will have across Some cities, however,

:02:37. > :02:40.are hoping it will bring benefits - like Limerick, which is trying

:02:41. > :02:43.to move on from a difficult past. Our Dublin correspondent

:02:44. > :02:55.Shane Harrison has been to find out On a sunny winter's day, Limerick

:02:56. > :03:00.can look quite beautiful and peaceful. A long way from its

:03:01. > :03:07.violent reputation of the past. Almost symbolically, the new

:03:08. > :03:10.stadium, the home of Munster rugby, dominates the housing estate that

:03:11. > :03:16.was once in the news for all the wrong reasons. Gangland crime. Key

:03:17. > :03:19.decision-makers in the city stress that Limerick has put its past

:03:20. > :03:26.behind it and is ready for new challenges. We are accessible to do

:03:27. > :03:30.business in so many ways, but we are a good location for quality of life.

:03:31. > :03:35.Crime rates, we have the lowest crime rates in the country at this

:03:36. > :03:38.point in time. There will always be issues in the context of a growing

:03:39. > :03:45.city, but those issues have been dealt with and managed exceptionally

:03:46. > :03:51.well at local level. In 2009, it is estimated 5000 jobs were lost.

:03:52. > :03:54.Something had to be done. Local government was rationalised, and it

:03:55. > :04:03.began to bite up and build sites for office space, like this property. A

:04:04. > :04:09.new company called 2030 was set up. It was given the target of

:04:10. > :04:13.attracting 12,000 new jobs by the end of 2030. It is already two

:04:14. > :04:17.thirds of the waiver, and there is a strong belief Brexit will help

:04:18. > :04:25.entice even more of foreign businesses to the city. If the UK

:04:26. > :04:29.leaves its going to be 27 countries, but 27 countries and 300 million

:04:30. > :04:33.people, and the obvious place to access them from is from an

:04:34. > :04:36.English-speaking country, not just because of language but because of

:04:37. > :04:43.the law. One enterprise that has already moved to Limerick is the

:04:44. > :04:49.Chicago -based Northern trust financial company. In 2007 it had 19

:04:50. > :04:54.staff; today it has nearly 900, mainly local people and many are

:04:55. > :05:02.graduates from the local university in well-paid jobs. Very affordable

:05:03. > :05:09.to live down here, it's a very good region for that. Whether Limerick's

:05:10. > :05:13.hopes are justified is as yet a bit like Brexit, unknowable, but one

:05:14. > :05:17.thing is clear, it is already a city transformed, looking forward to a

:05:18. > :05:22.future that it hopes will be bright, after a very dark start.

:05:23. > :05:25.Turning to GAA, and the first round of the McKenna Cup.

:05:26. > :05:27.Ulster University Jordanstown beat a young Donegal

:05:28. > :05:31.Derry beat Armagh by a point, while there was also a win for Down

:05:32. > :05:35.New Cavan boss Mattie McGleenan watched his side win 1-13 to 12

:05:36. > :05:37.points against Tyrone, with Gerard Smith getting

:05:38. > :05:45.And in hurling, Antrim beat Westmeath by nine

:05:46. > :05:49.Let's get the weather forecast for the new week,

:05:50. > :05:58.It has been a fairly quiet weekend, but it's all change in the coming

:05:59. > :06:02.week. We will see the wind picking up, and it will become more

:06:03. > :06:07.unsettled as we head towards the end of the week. It'll certainly turn

:06:08. > :06:11.colder. Tonight it stays mild for the time of year, we avoid any

:06:12. > :06:16.frosty conditions with loads of five or 6 degrees in quite a few spots,

:06:17. > :06:20.but we will have overnight rain, and some of it will be heavily during

:06:21. > :06:24.the early hours of Monday. Once we get rid of the rain, we will get

:06:25. > :06:28.unsettled weather and it will be very windy especially towards the

:06:29. > :06:32.north coast where we may even have some severe gales in sunspots.

:06:33. > :06:36.Throughout the day, are bricks of rain coming in, but also sunny

:06:37. > :06:40.spells. Tonight's train will slowly make its way across England and

:06:41. > :06:45.Wales, pushing its way south and east. Behind it, for everyone across

:06:46. > :06:49.Wales, Scotland and Ireland, scattered showers, sunny spells, but

:06:50. > :06:54.suddenly feeling colder with those wins. For us into the second part of

:06:55. > :06:58.the afternoon and through into the evening, the scattered showers will

:06:59. > :07:02.continue to come and go. It will be noticeably colder, five or 6 degrees

:07:03. > :07:07.for many of us. That is about five or six down on today. And it will

:07:08. > :07:10.stay quite windy again towards the north coast. As we make our way

:07:11. > :07:15.towards midweek, the colder air begins to sink in from the Arctic.

:07:16. > :07:19.It's going to turn much colder, and for the time being, for Thursday, we

:07:20. > :07:22.are expecting sleet and snow, even for some low -- low-level areas.

:07:23. > :07:25.I'll be back with the late bulletin at ten to eleven this evening.

:07:26. > :07:28.Until then, you can keep up to date with local news

:07:29. > :07:30.on BBC Radio Ulster and on the local news online service.