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17/10/2011
Other NI News In Brief
North Belfast On Alert
The Antrim Road in north Belfast has been partly closed due to a bomb alert. Army bomb disposal experts are examining a suspicious object with the Antrim Road closed between Glandore Avenue and Skegoneill Avenue, while Sailsbury Avenue is also closed.
Sinn Fein Seek Jobs
A Sinn Fein motion calling for the development of an all-Ireland Job Creation Strategy is due for debate today at Stormont. Speaking ahead of the motion, their Enterprise Spokesperson, Phil Flanagan MLA said: "The main item on most people's agenda is the lack of jobs. This is something that the Executive in the North and the Dublin Government need to work much more closely on. We are calling for the establishment of an all-island job creation strategy, under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council. This would be chaired jointly by both Enterprise Ministers on the island - by Arlene Foster in the north and by Richard Bruton in the south. This strategy would focus on areas of high unemployment across the island," he added. "It is no coincidence that the areas closest to the border suffer from even higher incidence of unemployment and lack of services then other areas. Unemployment and emigration is an island wide problem and therefore it requires an island wide solution." See: All Ireland Job Creation Bid Provokes SDLP
Prison Reform 'On Track'
The Justice Minister David Ford has said that fundamental reform of the Prison Service will be achieved but it will be a lengthy process. Welcoming last week's report by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI) on prisoner resettlement, the Minister said the necessary reforms will be delivered through the full implementation of the Northern Ireland Prison Service's (NIPS) Strategic Efficiency and Effectiveness (SEE) Programme. "I welcome this latest Criminal Justice Inspection report on prisoner resettlement by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS). It has already developed a renewed focus on the delivery of offender services and is working in partnership with others to put the offender at the heart of delivery. The report highlights progress in a range of areas including the appointment of additional Probation Officers and NIPS staff; a better environment for some life sentence prisoners; better engagement with the community and voluntary sector; more consistent delivery of drugs and alcohol services and a greater effort to address the resettlement needs of short-term and remand prisoners," he added. "However, the Prison Service accepts the Inspection's conclusion that there is still a need to develop better outcomes for prisoners. This can only be fully achieved by a fundamental reform of the Prison Service. This is a huge challenge for everyone within NIPS and will take years to implement."
Maltese Cross
The past weekend saw a groundbreaking exchange of referees between the Irish FA and the Malta FA. The Carling Premiership game between Dungannon Swifts and Donegal Celtic was handled by a referee team from Malta with Kevin Azzopardi the referee, assisted by Chris Francalanza & Mitchell Scerri, with Andre Arciola the fourth official. The four Northern Ireland officials who travel to Malta are referees Ross Dunlop and Mervyn Smyth, and assistant referees Tony Sharkey and David Hamilton. On Sunday, Ross Dunlop refereed the Bank of Valetta Premier League game between Tarxien Rainbows and Marsaxlokk, and the following day Mervyn Smyth took charge of the Mosta V Hibernians match. Irish FA Referee Development Officer, Alan Snoddy, said: "We have developed close ties in recent years with the Malta F A having held out training camp there a few years ago, and also helped with developing refereeing structures within their National Association. We see this exchange as benefitting the younger referees in both countries giving them experience abroad in a different environment," he said, adding that the Malta officials will also attend the monthly training meeting of the local Premiership referees on Monday evening before they fly home on Tuesday morning.
Fusion Pays Off
An innovation project, undertaken as part of InterTradeIreland's Fusion programme, at Ballymena-based Moorings Mediquip, has been named 'Project of the Year' at a recent InterTradeIreland awards ceremony. With InterTradeIreland's support, Carryduff graduate Eamonn McKnight was appointed by Moorings Mediquip in 2009to undertake a Fusion project to design, develop and bring to market a new walking aid device for children with cerebral palsy. The new product development will see Moorings Mediquip break into new markets across the UK, Ireland and as far away as Australia and Canada. Eamonn explained: "The Fusion programme offered the perfect link between academia and business and I was tasked with not only the design of a new product but the entire end-to-end processes involved in bringing the design to market. Before I joined, the company had no previous experience of engineering or manufacturing in-house products, so this was a major undertaking and a huge opportunity for the firm. We teamed up with Trinity College, Dublin and I spent time developing and implementing new design capabilities into the firm. As I was supported in-house and via Trinity, it provided a three-way product development partnership and the Buddy Roamer was created," he said.
(BMcC/GK)
The Antrim Road in north Belfast has been partly closed due to a bomb alert. Army bomb disposal experts are examining a suspicious object with the Antrim Road closed between Glandore Avenue and Skegoneill Avenue, while Sailsbury Avenue is also closed.
Sinn Fein Seek Jobs
A Sinn Fein motion calling for the development of an all-Ireland Job Creation Strategy is due for debate today at Stormont. Speaking ahead of the motion, their Enterprise Spokesperson, Phil Flanagan MLA said: "The main item on most people's agenda is the lack of jobs. This is something that the Executive in the North and the Dublin Government need to work much more closely on. We are calling for the establishment of an all-island job creation strategy, under the auspices of the North South Ministerial Council. This would be chaired jointly by both Enterprise Ministers on the island - by Arlene Foster in the north and by Richard Bruton in the south. This strategy would focus on areas of high unemployment across the island," he added. "It is no coincidence that the areas closest to the border suffer from even higher incidence of unemployment and lack of services then other areas. Unemployment and emigration is an island wide problem and therefore it requires an island wide solution." See: All Ireland Job Creation Bid Provokes SDLP
Prison Reform 'On Track'
The Justice Minister David Ford has said that fundamental reform of the Prison Service will be achieved but it will be a lengthy process. Welcoming last week's report by the Criminal Justice Inspection Northern Ireland (CJINI) on prisoner resettlement, the Minister said the necessary reforms will be delivered through the full implementation of the Northern Ireland Prison Service's (NIPS) Strategic Efficiency and Effectiveness (SEE) Programme. "I welcome this latest Criminal Justice Inspection report on prisoner resettlement by the Northern Ireland Prison Service (NIPS). It has already developed a renewed focus on the delivery of offender services and is working in partnership with others to put the offender at the heart of delivery. The report highlights progress in a range of areas including the appointment of additional Probation Officers and NIPS staff; a better environment for some life sentence prisoners; better engagement with the community and voluntary sector; more consistent delivery of drugs and alcohol services and a greater effort to address the resettlement needs of short-term and remand prisoners," he added. "However, the Prison Service accepts the Inspection's conclusion that there is still a need to develop better outcomes for prisoners. This can only be fully achieved by a fundamental reform of the Prison Service. This is a huge challenge for everyone within NIPS and will take years to implement."
Maltese Cross
The past weekend saw a groundbreaking exchange of referees between the Irish FA and the Malta FA. The Carling Premiership game between Dungannon Swifts and Donegal Celtic was handled by a referee team from Malta with Kevin Azzopardi the referee, assisted by Chris Francalanza & Mitchell Scerri, with Andre Arciola the fourth official. The four Northern Ireland officials who travel to Malta are referees Ross Dunlop and Mervyn Smyth, and assistant referees Tony Sharkey and David Hamilton. On Sunday, Ross Dunlop refereed the Bank of Valetta Premier League game between Tarxien Rainbows and Marsaxlokk, and the following day Mervyn Smyth took charge of the Mosta V Hibernians match. Irish FA Referee Development Officer, Alan Snoddy, said: "We have developed close ties in recent years with the Malta F A having held out training camp there a few years ago, and also helped with developing refereeing structures within their National Association. We see this exchange as benefitting the younger referees in both countries giving them experience abroad in a different environment," he said, adding that the Malta officials will also attend the monthly training meeting of the local Premiership referees on Monday evening before they fly home on Tuesday morning.
Fusion Pays Off
An innovation project, undertaken as part of InterTradeIreland's Fusion programme, at Ballymena-based Moorings Mediquip, has been named 'Project of the Year' at a recent InterTradeIreland awards ceremony. With InterTradeIreland's support, Carryduff graduate Eamonn McKnight was appointed by Moorings Mediquip in 2009to undertake a Fusion project to design, develop and bring to market a new walking aid device for children with cerebral palsy. The new product development will see Moorings Mediquip break into new markets across the UK, Ireland and as far away as Australia and Canada. Eamonn explained: "The Fusion programme offered the perfect link between academia and business and I was tasked with not only the design of a new product but the entire end-to-end processes involved in bringing the design to market. Before I joined, the company had no previous experience of engineering or manufacturing in-house products, so this was a major undertaking and a huge opportunity for the firm. We teamed up with Trinity College, Dublin and I spent time developing and implementing new design capabilities into the firm. As I was supported in-house and via Trinity, it provided a three-way product development partnership and the Buddy Roamer was created," he said.
(BMcC/GK)
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Staff At Maghaberry Prison Watched As Prisoner Self-Harmed
Staff at Maghaberry Prison in Lisburn have been criticised after they failed to intervene while a prisoner blinded himself, according to a Prison Ombudsman report. Sean Lynch, 23, was being detained at the prison in June 2014 and inflicted "extreme and shocking" injuries through self-harm over a three day period.
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Northern Ireland WeatherToday:A very mild, but mostly cloudy day, although with some bright or sunny spells. It will be mostly dry in the morning, but a little patchy light rain or drizzle at times in the afternoon. Maximum temperature 14 °C.Tonight:A band of heavier rain will move east during the evening before clearing eastwards after midnight. then mostly dry through the early hours, but a little rain towards dawn. Minimum temperature 8 °C.
