Northern Ireland News for October 2001

Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Omagh retailer scoops retailing awards
Peter McBride of McBride’s Spar in Omagh has taken top honours at the prestigious 2001 Neighbourhood Retailing Awards gala dinner in Belfast’s Europa Hotel. Mr McBride, whose store is in the town’s G...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Teenager killed in road crash
The police have released the name of the 16-year-old girl who was killed in a road accident on the main Coleraine to Limavady road on Tuesday October 30. The dead girl, who was a front seat passenger...
Business News, Oct 31, 2001
Micro Computer Solutions top Sage league
Craigavon based computer services company, Micro Computer Solutions Ltd (MCS), has received a prestigious award from Sage for outstanding sales of its Line 50 accounting and payroll solutions range. ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Hard line unionists meet with de Chastelain
Two hard line Ulster Unionists have met with General John de Chastelain on Wednesday to discuss the latest IRA arms moves. Both Peter Weir and Pauline Armitage asked for the meeting with the head of ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Views invited on Genetically Modified crops
The Minister of the Environment has launched a consultation paper to seek views on how a new European Directive governing the deliberate release and marketing of genetically modified organisms (GMOs),...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Special effects at the 14th Foyle Film Festival
Seagate Technologies have teamed up with the 14th Budweiser Foyle Film Festival this year to bring the excellent special effects programme to Derry. Seagate are the entertainment industry's leading ...
Business News, Oct 31, 2001
Avoid cost cutting on training warns CIPD
Cutting expenditure on course-based training and relying on e-learning to fill the gap would be an understandable, but a wholly inappropriate reaction in the business current climate. This was the vi...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Musgrave Group unveils plan for Belfast Harbour facility
SuperValu-Centra, part of the Musgrave Group, has unveiled plans to centralise its operations at a new development at Dargan Drive in Belfast Harbour Estate. Ireland’s largest independent food and gr...
Business News, Oct 31, 2001
Local firm scoops environmental award
The Department of the Environment has commended a County Londonderry firm for its attainment of a prestigious environmental award. Precision Industrial Services Ltd was presented with an ISO 14001 ce...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Lords refuse to hear objections to £80M retail park
Work could soon commence on the controversial D5 retail park development at Tillysburn. On Tuesday the House of Lords turned down a petition to hear an appeal raised by objectors to the D5 scheme. S...
Business News, Oct 31, 2001
Accents speak louder than words
According to a survey by a UK leading independent spoken communications consultancy, strong regional accents are a distinct disadvantage to people who want to succeed in business. Results taken from ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
DoE survey shows more people “belting up”
As a result of this summer’s seatbelts TV campaign and a stepping up of enforcement by the RUC, more people are belting up according to figures just out from the Department of Environment. The most r...
Business News, Oct 31, 2001
‘Fat cat’ pay continues to rise
New research by the Incomes Data Services (IDS) has revealed that despite government moves to clamp down on "fat-cat" salaries, boardroom pay continues to grow. In their survey IDS calculated that ba...
Business News, Oct 31, 2001
UK consumer confidence drops
A new survey compiled by the GfK Group for the European Commission Consumer has revealed that confidence in the UK has slumped to its lowest level since last year's crippling fuel crisis. The survey ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Sx3 to partner with Viglen on NI £16m education contract
A £16 million IT contract for Northern Ireland's education sector has been awarded to Learning Technology plc, the parent company of Viglen Ltd, who will work in partnership with local IT services pro...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 31, 2001
Armagh and Derry vote to retain Rule 21
The GAA county boards of Armagh and Derry have voted against scrapping Rule 21, which bans members of the RUC and British army from joining the Gaelic Athletic Association. News from the two hardcore...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
Primary schools to receive £16 million ICT boost
The Education Minister Martin McGuinness has announced that primary school pupils are to benefit from a £16 million cash boost over three years to install 5,000 computers across the province. The con...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
Republicans blamed for “brutal” murder in Strabane
The Royal Ulster Constabulary have said they believe republican paramilitaries were responsible for the murder of a Protestant man outside the County Tyrone home of his 16 year old Catholic girlfriend...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
McGimpsey publishes soccer report
Michael McGimpsey has published for consultation, the report of his Soccer Advisory Panel, which contains recommendations for the future of football in Northern Ireland. Launching the document the Cu...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
Major investment in Down’s water and sewerage
DRD Water Service is planning to invest almost £80 million on water and sewerage projects in the Down District area over the next three years. Details of the investments were outlined by Fred Keatley...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
RIR soldier appears in court charged with murder
A Royal Irish Regiment soldier has appeared in court charged with the murder of a Catholic man in County Tyrone. At Cookstown Magistrates Court 27-year-old Glen Strong, whose address was given as c/o...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
Latest report shows NI economy is holding up
Despite the impact of the global slowdown and the aftermath of 11 September, Northern Ireland remains one of the UK’s better performing regions, according to business advisors PricewaterhouseCoopers (...
Business News, Oct 30, 2001
NI tourism awards go ahead without BA
In a break with tradition the Northern Ireland Tourist Board (NITB) has announced its decision to “go it alone” by hosting this year’s tourism awards without British Airways. Traditionally known as t...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
UK business gets dedicated helpline
As part of its dedicated service to business, learndirect, the UK’s leading online learning provider, is piloting a helpline for employers. The helpline - 08000 150 750 - will provide an advice servi...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
Managing employee risks boosts competitiveness
Northern Ireland companies could strengthen their competitiveness by using business improvement techniques to cut the estimated £240 million annual bill from work related injury and ill health attribu...
Business News, Oct 30, 2001
Go increase Belfast to London schedule
Budget airline Go is to increase its flights between Belfast International Airport and London Stansted by 50 per cent. The move follows the decision by British Airways in September to abandon the rou...
Business News, Oct 30, 2001
London business award for gem
Belfast company gem, a leading provider of customer relationship management services, has won a highly prestigious business award. The award - an Electronic Business Transformation (eBTA) ‘Oscar’ spo...
Business News, Oct 30, 2001
EasyJet looks to expand services from Belfast
Low fares airline EasyJet has announced that it plans to build on its existing routes from Belfast to London after posting a healthy increase in profits. EasyJet’s preliminary results for the year en...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
Ministerial committee meets to review UK devolution
Among the senior ministers from the UK’s devolved administrations meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair to discuss the UK’s second full year of devolution were Sir Reg Empey and Mark Durkan. ...
Northern Ireland News, Oct 30, 2001
RUC blame dissident republicans for bus bomb
Dissident republican paramilitaries are being held responsible for a bomb on a hijacked bus outside a west Belfast police station. The device, containing an estimated 5kg of explosives, went off on t...