Northern Ireland News for December 2002 : Page 3

Northern Ireland News, Dec 13, 2002
Christmas partygoers urged to be vigilant
Christmas revellers have been urged to be aware of the dangers of so-called ‘date-rape drugs' over the festive period. With reports that the number of drug rapes is on the increase, SDLP assembly mem...
Business News, Dec 13, 2002
Winning results as Belfast company partners Microsoft
A new enterprise document management product by Belfast-based technology company Meridio was awarded first place in the Document Management Product section at the recent UK-based Information Managemen...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 13, 2002
Burnside accused of ‘turning blind eye’ to loyalist gangs
The SDLP's John Dallat has accused an Ulster Unionist MP of "cheap" political point-scoring and turning "a blind eye to the loyalist gangs operating in his own back yard". Mr Dallat made his comments...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 13, 2002
Top judge calls for tougher terms for sex offenders
Northern Ireland's top judge has called on the government to bring forward legislation to allow for tougher sentences to be handed down to child sex offenders. Currently, Northern Ireland law provide...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 13, 2002
Thousands of NI homes are 'unfit to live in'
A new report from the Housing Executive has revealed that 31,600 homes in Northern Ireland are unfit for habitation. This number represents around 4.9% of homes across the province, with more expecte...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 13, 2002
Man dies in Co Down road accident
A man has died following a road accident in Co Down this morning. The accident occurred at around 6.30am on the A2 Belfast-Bangor dual carriageway near Holywood. It is understood that the driver l...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Teenager shot in both ankles
A teenager is being treated in hospital for gunshot wounds to both ankles in what appears to have been a paramilitary style shooting in West Belfast last night. The 18-year-old man was found in the g...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Ireland-Scotland 2008 Euro football bid fails
The joint Ireland-Scotland bid to stage football's 2008 European Championships, entitled 'We Can Deliver', has failed. The announcement made at lunchtime today gave the nod to the Austria/Switzerland...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Four injured on Belfast-bound flight
Four people have been injured on a flight from Birmingham to Belfast following an emergency during the flight. The Flybe crew radioed on their way to Belfast at 13.30pm today that they had an emergen...
Recruitment News, Dec 12, 2002
Over one-in-five retired people return to work
According to a new survey, more people than ever are coming out of retirement to re-enter the workforce. New research carried out by the Norwich Union has revealed that as many 22% of retired people ...
Business News, Dec 12, 2002
Businesses 'slapped' into shape
Leadership is the most talked about but least practiced discipline in business, a group of 250 business leaders from the private and public sector were told yesterday. During the Belfast lecture fro...
Recruitment News, Dec 12, 2002
Report on 'New Deal for Lone Parents' published
A study on how the 'New Deal for Lone Parents' programme is operating in Northern Ireland has been published by the Department for Social Development. The report, compiled by PricewaterhouseCoopers, ...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Reform and investment package windfall for DSD
The Department of Social Development (DSD) has revealed how it plans to dispose of its £559.4 million allocation from yesterday's budget, and the lion's share – around £506 million – will go to housin...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Traders warned to be wary of counterfeit cash
The PSNI have issued a fresh warning to traders to be on the lookout for fake sterling and euro notes. Police say that with Christmas just around the corner, shoppers and retailers should maintain vi...
Business News, Dec 12, 2002
£4m investment for Connswater Shopping Centre proposed
Connswater Shopping Centre and Retail Park, which was purchased by Killtulagh Estates in October 2001 for £50 million, could benefit from a £4 million investment programme. It has been revealed that,...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Teachers absenteeism costs economy £38m
A shock report has revealed that teacher absences in Northern Ireland classrooms last year cost the economy here £38 million – the equivalent of employing 1,735 full-time teachers. The findings were ...
Business News, Dec 12, 2002
Dublin electronics plant to close by Christmas
Dublin-based electronic engineering company Trend Technologies Europe is to close this month with the loss of 120 jobs. It is understood that the closure at the plant in Clondalkin will occur in phas...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Budget sees £400m injection into health
Yesterday's budget, which provided over £400 million for health services, will see the "most significant programme of improvements for patients", according to NIO Minister Des Browne. Most of this ne...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Funding increase for education, employment and learning
NIO Minister Jane Kennedy has welcomed the substantial increases in budgets for the Departments of Education and Employment and Learning. The budget package, said the Minister, amounts to an increase...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
War of words erupts over future of cross-border bodies
The Ulster Unionist Party and the SDLP have become embroiled in a war of words over the retention of the north-south bodies – at a time when the Northern Ireland power-sharing assembly remains under s...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 12, 2002
Man dies in road accident
A 28-year-old man has been killed in a road traffic collision on the M2 bypass near Ballymena last night. The man was walking on the road when he was struck by a vehicle. The collision happened just ...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
Pensioners threatened by gunmen
An elderly couple were subjected to a terrifying ordeal last night when two masked men forced their way into their Bellaghy home. One of the men brandishing a handgun forced his way past the pensione...
Business News, Dec 11, 2002
APC chose Galway as European R&D Base
American Power Conversion Corporation (APC) is to base their European R&D Centre in Galway. In an investment supported by IDA Ireland, APC anticipate investing in excess of one million euro in this n...
Business News, Dec 11, 2002
Compass Group announces profits surge
The Compass Group, which employs over 2,000 people in 200 locations across the province, has announced healthy returns for the year with a £4.5 million profit hike. Compass Group Northern Ireland, w...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
Road safety campaign enters the classroom
The police have launched an education resource pack today which is designed to take the road safety message in school classrooms throughout Northern Ireland. The pack, ‘The Right to Drive – The Righ...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
Man injured in paramilitary-style shooting
A man is being treated in hospital after he was injured in a paramilitary-style shooting in west Belfast. The 23-year-old man was abducted and forced into a car by a gang of four men whilst walking a...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
Disabled children’s bus attacked
Children with physical and learning disabilities have escaped injury after a window on the bus they were travelling was shattered by a ball bearing. The children on the bus, who were travelling from ...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
Numbers of plastic bullets fired by army rises sharply
A new report has revealed there has been a large increase in the number of plastic bullets fired by British Army soldiers in Northern Ireland. The Independent Assessor of Military Complaints, Jim McD...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
NI parties give qualified support to budget proposals
Following the budget announcement this morning, all the north's main political parties voiced their broad support for public service investment provision, but were less sanguine on the detail – partic...
Northern Ireland News, Dec 11, 2002
Delegates told social economy has key role to play
Plans to move forward the role of the social economy in Northern Ireland were discussed today at a special meeting chaired by Bruce Robinson, Permanent Secretary of the Department and Enterprise, Trad...