Northern Ireland News for February 2002 : Page 5

Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Public services deficit leaves £4billion budget shortfall
The Stormont Minister for Finance Sean Farren has said there is a £4billion spending gap between what the Executive has to spend and what they need to spend in order to address chronic underfunding in...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Robinson says new trains are ‘once in a lifetime event’
Regional Development Minister, Peter Robinson has joined the Chairman of the Northern Ireland Transport Holding Company, Joan Smyth, to announce the largest ever single investment in railway rolling s...
Business News, Feb 19, 2002
Fourteen NI companies shortlisted for Technology Awards
Fourteen companies from Northern Ireland have been short listed for the Deloitte & Touche Fast 50 Technology Awards 2002. The awards, which recognise and rank the fastest growing technology companies...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Cross-border joint initiative to tackle tax evasion
Tax evaders in border areas have been targeted for investigation in a joint initiative by government agencies in the Republic and Northern Ireland. The Irish Republic Revenue Commissioners and Northe...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Belfast man critical after suicide bid in Dublin police station
A Belfast man is on a life support machine after walking into a police station in the Republic of Ireland and shooting himself in the head. Police in the Irish Republic said the man, who is reported ...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
DOE's seatbelt advertisement clicks with public
The Department of Environment is celebrating a major success in raising public awareness of the benefits of wearing a seat belt. Independent research supplied to the Department of Environment (DOE) h...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Bad weather closes in on search for fishing vessel
The search for Kilkeel fishing vessel the Tullaghmurray Lass, and the three members of the Greene family who were aboard her, may be disrupted by gales. Although sea conditions were calm on Tuesday m...
Business News, Feb 19, 2002
ROI software companies upbeat on prospects
A new report on the computer software industry in the Republic of Ireland predicts there will be a major increase in employment levels in the sector over the coming months. The ISA's 'Software Indust...
Business News, Feb 19, 2002
UK houses price survey reveals rise
A monthly survey by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) has found that house prices rose by up to two per cent on the back of strong consumer confidence. During the three months to th...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Man jailed for his role in £6m fuel smuggling scam
A County Armagh man has been jailed for two and a half years for his part in a major fuel smuggling scam worth £6 million. John Alexander Hunter of Brentwood Park, Richhill sold millions of litres of...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 19, 2002
Ulster Unionist Party reshuffles Stormont team
The Ulster Unionist Party's Stormont team has undergone a major reshuffle of its key ministerial posts. Sam Foster, 70, who had been the Minister for the Department of Environment since the executive...
Business News, Feb 18, 2002
Venture Capital boost for Ireland's West and Border Counties
A new €9 million Venture Capital (VC) fund to support existing companies and early stage start-ups with high export growth potential has been announced for the West and Border Counties of Ireland. En...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Teenage girl dies in car accident
A teenage girl has died after a road traffic accident in County Down. The accident happened on the Katesbridge Road near Banbridge at about 8pm on Sunday February 17. Two cars were involved in the c...
Business News, Feb 18, 2002
Coaching and teambuilding seminar set for Belfast
A one-day workshop, which aims to sharpen leadership skills and staff productivity, is set for Belfast in May. 'Coaching And Teambuilding Skills For Managers And Supervisors', which is run by Surrey-...
Business News, Feb 18, 2002
Biggest ever Trade International mission to Iran
Nineteen Northern Ireland companies are seeking to build businesses in Iran on a trade mission organised by Trade International, the export and trade arm of the Industrial Development Board (IDB), whi...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
FMD crisis report highlights shortcomings in port control
The Department of Agriculture and Rural Development has been criticised for the lack of controls at Northern Irish ports that contributed to the spread of foot-and-mouth last year. The first independ...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Church attack condemned as 'sacrilege'
A Presbyterian church in north Belfast has been badly damaged by burglars who escaped with a multi-gym, two stereo sets and a television. The thieves set off fire extinguishers and went on a wrecking...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Blair and Ahern discuss Northern Ireland peace process
The British Prime Minister Tony Blair has held talks with Irish Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in London to discuss political progress in Northern Ireland. The lunchtime discussion at Downing Street on Monda...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Bloody Sunday picks up top award at Berlin
A controversial film about events surrounding the 'Bloody Sunday' shootings in Londonderry 30 years ago has been recognised with a top award at the Berlin Film Festival. The film, which stars 'Cold F...
Business News, Feb 18, 2002
Temps directive will damage UK labour market
The proposed EU directive on agency workers, giving them comparable terms and conditions to permanent staff, will damage the UK’s labour market flexibility, according to people management specialists ...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Police arrest four men as RPG and warhead seized
Four people have been arrested following a weapons find in County Tyrone. Army bomb experts have sealed off part of the Ardmore Road in Coalisland where officers discovered weapons during an operatio...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Navy drafted in to assist in search for three family members
The British and Irish Navy has been drafted in assist in the search for three family members whose fishing boat went missing off the coast of County Down. The move was confirmed by Fisheries Minister...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Marble Arch Caves achieve European Geopark status
Sam Foster, the Minister for the Environment, said the new European Geopark designation for Fermanagh’s Marble Arch Caves and Cuilcagh Mountain is another step in conserving the natural heritage of No...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
Strike action averted to allow further talks at Derry Airport
The possibility of further strike action at the City of Derry airport has been averted for at least the next four weeks. Last minute talks between Derry City Council and Transport and General Workers...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 18, 2002
British Midland introduce red eye flights Belfast to Heathrow
BMI British Midland have confirmed they intend to introduce early morning and late evening flights for commuters flying from Belfast International to London Heathrow. A spokesperson for BMI said flig...
Business News, Feb 18, 2002
AIB may seek help from other banks following fraud case
A report in a national UK Sunday newspaper has claimed the Allied Irish Bank (AIB) has approached other banks to ask for help on how to improve its financial controls. According to the Sunday Telegra...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 15, 2002
Postal workers in Derry receive death threats
Death threats from a previously unheard of loyalist paramilitary group have again disrupted some postal services in Derry city. The threat came in the form of a letter signed by 'Waterside Young Loya...
Northern Ireland News, Feb 15, 2002
Bomb made safe outside Ballymena hospital
A suspicious device has been defused by British army bomb experts in the grounds of a former hospital in County Antrim. The alarm was raised at the Braid Valley Hospital on Ballymena's Cushendall Roa...
Business News, Feb 15, 2002
FTSE rallies to top two-week high
The FTSE 100, which had slipped below the 5200 mark, rallied late on Friday afternoon to top a two-week high. At one stage in early morning the index was trading at the 5185 before the midday come ba...
Business News, Feb 15, 2002
BAE Systems remain confident of resurgence
BAE Systems have offered employees hope for some optimism this week after rumours of job cuts at the company. The company's pre-tax profits dropped from £179 million in 2000, to £70 million in 2001. ...