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Lawlor complains about media comments on rezoning
Former Fianna Fáil TD, Mr Liam Lawlor, has complained to the tribunal about media comments on his involvement in a controversial land rezoning currently under investigation by the Flood tribunal. p
MP urges more Sellafield information
The extent of the information exchanged between the British and Irish governments on Sellafield and not released to the public was a matter of surprise, Labour MP Mr Kevin McNamara said yesterday at a meeting of the British-Irish Inter-Parliamentary Body. p
HSA to investigate state of 34 primary schools
The Health and Safety Authority is investigating conditions in 34 primary schools and it has been confirmed that it has issued "improvement notices" in about six cases. p
Other Stories
Blood bank to refuse donors who have lived in UK
People who lived in the UK for a year or more when "mad cow disease" was at its height will no longer be allowed to donate blood under a strict new safety policy to be introduced early next year. pRape of tourist investigated
A Garda investigation was launched in Cork city yesterday after a young Australian tourist was raped by a man who dragged her into the grounds of a college. pWood searched for clues to killing of Dublin man
A team of more than 30 gardaí continued to comb woodland on the Dublin-Wicklow border yesterday in the search for clues which might lead them to the killer or killers of 39-year-old Mr Stephen Byrne. pFrance flights back to normal after strike
Aer Lingus, Ryanair and Air France have said flights from Ireland to France will operate on normal schedules today. pProposals for Mayo gas terminal scrutinised
The extent to which the proposed gas terminal at Bellanaboy Bridge, north Mayo, will be visible to the naked eye, was carefully scrutinised by an inspector for An Bord Pleanála yesterday. pGreen Party calls for details of Government's Corrib deal
The Green Party has called on the Government to outline precise details of the deal it has struck with energy companies on bringing gas ashore from the Corrib field off Co Mayo, writes Lorna Siggins . pInsurers call for action on flooding
Homes in areas prone to flooding may become uninsurable if action is not taken by Government to build flood defences, Irish insurers have warned. pEvidence begins on rezoning decisions
FLOOD TRIBUNAL: The Flood tribunal has begun taking direct evidence on controversial rezoning decisions made by Dublin county councillors during the review of the county development plan in the 1990s. pGalway's Eyre Square revamp gets approval
An Bord Pleanála has given approval to Galway City Council's plans to redevelop Eyre Square in the heart of Galway. pFarmers in west may refuse to destock sheep
The president of the Irish Farmers Association, Mr John Dillon, has threatened that its members will refuse to remove their sheep from mountain commonage to prevent overgrazing. pRising number of families 'cannot pay mortgage'
An increasing number of families are unable to meet their mortgage repayments and they need help, the mid-west regional president of the Society of St Vincent de Paul, Mr James Ginnane, said yesterday. pFather refuses to give up as second anniversary of missing son looms
The father of missing bank official Mr Trevor Deeley last night said he still believed his son is alive, as the second anniversary of his disappearance nears. pDairy interests will press EU to increase supports for exports
Representatives of the Irish dairy industry met in Dublin yesterday to formulate a strategy for a meeting with the EU Commissioner for Agriculture, Mr Franz Fischler, in Brussels on Friday. pIreland's first real ice-rink opens in Dublin
Even the rain looked ethereal as the first real ice-rink in Ireland opened at Smithfield in the heart of Dublin city last night. pWorkers sacked over allowance
A Dundalk company set up to help reduce unemployment sacked two workers who refused to give up their back-to-work allowance payments, an Employment Appeals Tribunal was told. pAn Taisce proposes increase in petrol price
The price of petrol should be increased by several cents a litre as part of a general move towards "greening" the taxation system, according to a pre-Budget submission by An Taisce. pAmnesty critical of refusal to access Irish prisons
Amnesty International and the Irish Penal Reform Trust have strongly criticised the Department of Justice's refusal to allow them access to Irish prisons for a research project on racism. pTough cutbacks in fishing come with warning
The toughest cutbacks yet in European fishing will be proposed tomorrow - coupled with warnings that the industry will be wiped out within a decade if they are not accepted. pGirl (2) dies after drinking methadone
A two-year-old Irish girl died after drinking the heroin substitute, methadone, in London, the Old Bailey heard yesterday. pIrish Open host remains men's club
Bord Fáilte has said it stands over its €250,000 sponsorship of next year's Irish Open golf championship despite the controversial membership policy of the tournament's hosts, Portmarnock Golf Club. pDylan portrait taken in gallery raid
A "true once-off" portrait of Bob Dylan by the Irish artist William Mulhall was stolen from a Dublin art gallery yesterday. pFive stars for four cars in independent crash tests
For the first time a small family car, the Renault Mégane II, has achieved five stars in Europe's leading independent crash tests. pDismissal at centre of strike at lift firm
The company which services the lifts in the Ballymun flats in Dublin says it is continuing to provide a service to clients despite a two-week-old strike. p
Garda report shows rise in serious crime
The Minister for Justice has expressed his disappointment at the increase in serious crime which is revealed by the 2001 Garda annual report. pA third of sexual assault victims are male
Almost a third of the victims of sexual assaults are men, according to the latest Garda statistics. pChange in definition of statistics on crime urged
The formulation of clear crime-counting rules has been recommended in a report into the compiling of statistics by the Garda Síochána. p
Ahern names Brennan in Aer Rianta case
The Taoiseach named Mr Seamus Brennan in the Dáil as the Minister involved in the alleged non-payment of the Aer Rianta drink and cigars debt. pBrennan denies knowledge of delivery of goods
The following is the statement issued yesterday by the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan: pA man of distinction maybe but he's sure no big spender
The Minister for Transport was discussing the issue of "modal shift". pNo plans to extend terms of tribunal
The Minister for Justice has no plans to change the terms of reference of the Morris tribunal into alleged Garda corruption. However, he repeated the Government's view that it will consider any proposal made to it to amend the terms of reference. pFranchise plans for 25% of Dublin bus market
The Minister for Transport does not intend to deregulate the bus market in the greater Dublin area, he told the Dáil. pBill allows for joint decisions
The Dáil last night passed all stages of a special technical Bill which allows the British and Irish governments to take decisions jointly about the North-South bodies, while the North's Executive and Assembly are suspended. p
'Disbelief' at move to include IRA in policing
The head of the group representing rank-and-file PSNI officers has reacted with "disbelief" to the British government's conditional commitment to allow former IRA members have a role in local policing. pSix questioned about IRA gun smuggling
Four men and two women were questioned last night by police in the North investigating the financing of a transatlantic IRA gun-smuggling operation. They were held after raids on houses in Belfast and north Antrim. pAdams is critical of new policing legislation
Draft new legislation on policing in the North will impose "a significant new restriction" on the ability of the Police Ombudsman to root out human rights abusers within the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI), the president of Sinn Féin, Mr Gerry Adams, said last night. pDavies overnight plan in Belfast 'unwise'
Billy and Violet Coleman went to a lot of trouble for the VIP guest who was to stay with them on the north Belfast peaceline. pForum will have say in Belfast Agreement
The Forum for Peace and Reconciliation meeting in Dublin today can have an important role in restoring devolution and ensuring the full implementation of the Belfast Agreement, according to the SDLP. pNI fisheries board executive 'used abusive language about Catholics'
A former chief executive of the Northern Ireland Fisheries Conservancy Board (FCB) used abusive language about Catholics, a Fair Employment Tribunal was told yesterday. p
Garda killer seeks release under pact
A Garda chief superintendent had expressed his belief that Michael O'Neill, one of the men jailed for the manslaughter of Det Garda Jerry McCabe at Adare, Co Limerick, in 1996, was a member of the IRA, the High Court was told yesterday. pWitness in firearms trial 'lived in fear' of accused
A protected witness who claims to have handled drugs for a man who is on trial for firearms offences said that he lived in fear of the accused man after he [the accused] had allegedly stabbed him at a Christmas party in 1999. p€38,000 for crash victim's mother
The mother of an air-sea rescue crewman has been awarded €38,000 compensation for the death of her son in an Air Corps helicopter crash. pTeacher found not guilty of sexual assault
A Co Tipperary teacher has been found not guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court of sexually abusing two mentally impaired youths at a special school in Limerick. pMan gets 4 years for role in €60,000 TSB robbery
A man described by a judge as a "hardened career criminal" has been jailed for four years by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court for his role in robbing €60,000 from the TSB in Henry Street, Dublin, with inside help from a cashier. pMurder accused's past sexual abuse as child used in his defence
Without unblocking a memory block in a man accused of murder, it was impossible to say if he lost control at the time of the offence, a psychiatrist told a murder trial yesterday. pLeitrim couple challenging School Attendance Act conviction
A challenge by a Co Leitrim couple against their conviction under the School Attendance Act for failing to send one of their children to school, where the child was alleged to have been struck by a teacher, was adjourned yesterday at the High Court. The boy involved is now aged 16 and has been educated at home for the past nine years. pSuspended term, €20,000 fine for handling robbery proceeds
A man who accepted £50,000 from a criminal in part-payment for an apartment has received a five-year suspended sentence and been fined €20,000 for handling the proceeds of an armed robbery. pBoy of 11 in court to answer 18 charges
An 11-year-old boy facing 18 charges in relation to offences committed over the last 18 months was "ruling the roost" and breaking the law after each court appearance, a juvenile liaison officer has told Dublin Children's Court. p
€125m plan for Limerick village approved
An Taisce has claimed that a Bord Pleanála decision giving the go- ahead to a €125 million development in the tiny Co Limerick village of Clarina will dwarf the village and lead to the growth of a car-based sprawl around Limerick city. pRCSI role in decisions on hospitals attacked
The chief executive of the North Eastern Health Board, Mr Paul Robinson, has made a strong attack on the Royal College of Surgeons. pCork drink-driving offences up on last year
Sixty people were arrested for drink-driving offences in Cork city over the past two weekends by gardaí taking part in the annual Christmas road safety campaign. pArmy on standby to fight fires in Donegal
The Army has been drafted in to provide emergency cover in Donegal as a direct result of the firefighters' strike in Northern Ireland. pConcern voiced on growth of one-off housing in Kerry
The unprecedented trend towards one-off housing in the countryside in Co Kerry cannot continue, according to Mr Tom Sheehy, a senior engineer in the planning department of Kerry County Council. Councillors have eight weeks to consider a draft of the new county development plan. pWexford courthouse may close over fears for public safety
A historic courthouse in Co Wexford may be forced to close over fears for public safety. pCourt varies restraining order on site
A High Court order issued last Friday which restrained works on a construction site for 23 houses in Co Tipperary was varied yesterday to allow remedial work to be carried out. On Friday, Mr Justice Kelly said he was satisfied that conditions at the Kilkishen Homes site at Monroe, near Nenagh, were unsafe and in breach of statutory regulations. He made an order, returnable to yesterday, prohibiting any work at the site. p
