ireland.com - The Irish Times

Murphy to convene further North talks
Further talks between the pro-Agreement parties in the North will take place over the coming weeks in an attempt to break the current political impasse. An end to paramilitarism, the restoration of the Executive and Assembly, policing and equality issues will be on the agenda. p

Aer Rianta inquiry report expected next week
Serious tensions have developed between the Department of Transport and Aer Rianta over the progress of the investigations into claims that the Minister for Transport, Mr Brennan, left an unpaid bill of €5,000 for spirits and cigars over a decade ago. p

Young bull diagnosed with BSE on farm in Limerick
A three-year-old bull has been diagnosed with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE) on a Co Limerick farm, it was learned last night.Although the Department of Agriculture and Food refused to confirm the report, sources in the industry did so. p

Other Stories

€6m paid for assault, wrongful arrest by gardai
Seventy people have received €6 million in compensation for assault and wrongful arrest by members of the Garda Síochána over the last five years, it has emerged. According to the Department of Justice, 64 cases were settled without going to court, while 52 of the cases were settled for less than €25,000 each. p
No lessening in drink driving - council
In the next 33 days between 150 and 200 people will be killed or seriously injured on Irish roads, according to the National Safety Council (NSC). Alcohol will be a factor in one in three crashes and will be a factor in 40 per cent of crashes that prove fatal, it said. p
Ministers disagree on asylum rules in EU states
European Union justice and home affairs ministers have failed to agree new rules to decide which member-state should take responsibility for processing asylum applications. But Denmark, which holds the EU Presidency, has given other member-states a week to find agreement on changes to the Dublin Convention. p
Republic to accept more UN-selected refugees
A Government proposal to increase the number of refugees taken in annually under a United Nations resettlement programme has been welcomed by the UN's refugee body in Ireland. p
Tougher regime on work permits introduced, says Fahey
A "tougher regime" on work permits has been introduced to provide more jobs for Irish people and tackle "abuse" of immigrant workers, according to the Minister of State for Labour Affairs. p
McDowell rejects article on data retention
The Minister for Justice has described as "misleading" an article in yesterday's Irish Times which revealed plans to retain detailed personal data on phone and mobile calls, faxes and e-mail and Internet usage for several years. p
File sent to DPP over death of hospital patient
A file has been sent to the Director of Public Prosecutions after an investigation into the death of a patient at a Dublin hospital. p
Dail committee rules on new dress code and use of scripts
Casually dressed TDs are to be urged to smarten up by the Dail Committee on Procedure and Privileges p
Bullying a factor in some suicides, forum told
Bullying in school has been a factor in some suicides and even may be "the factor", a conference on bullying and suicide in schools heard yesterday. p
Jobless set to rise for the near future, review finds
Unemployment is set to rise for the immediate future and will become more deep-rooted unless corrective steps are taken, according to a review carried out by FÁS. p
Cuts in class sizes still fall short of target
A total of 125,000 primary schoolchildren are in classes of 30 or more, according to new Department of Education statistics. p
Salmon growers warn on stifling rules
The Government is "suffocating" the fish farming industry with irrelevant regulations and monitoring, salmon growers said in Galway yesterday . p
Traditional arts sector divided on plan for new standing committee
A deep division in traditional arts over a proposed new State funding mechanism for the sector was exposed yesterday at a Joint Oireachtas Committee. p
Luas from Tallaght is facing a long further delay
Luas, Dublin's new light rail system, has been delayed further, with the Tallaght to Connolly Station line now set to come on stream almost a year later than originally planned. p
Governor makes a fine meal of New Jersey taxpayers in Banbridge
When the Democratic Governor of New Jersey, Mr James McCreevey, entertained Irish relatives to a slap-up meal in a restaurant in Banbridge, Co Down, last July, it wasn't the governor who was paying, it was the New Jersey taxpayers. p
Fire crews angered by use of soldiers
Fire-fighters in the Republic have reacted angrily to a decision to draft in Army units to provide emergency cover in Co Donegal as a result of the strike in Britain and the North. p
TDs and Senators demand more resources for EU affairs committee
More resources must urgently be given to the Oireachtas European Affairs Committee if it is to successfully monitor EU issues, the National Forum on Europe has been told. p

National Spatial Strategy

Cuts cast doubt on implementing strategy
The Opposition yesterday criticised the long delay in producing the National Spatial Strategy, saying the cuts in public spending cast doubt on whether it can be implemented. p
Strategy envisages balanced regional growth
The National Spatial Strategy, launched yesterday, is a 20-year planning framework designed to achieve a better balance of social, economic, physical development and population growth between regions. p
Population of Dublin area could reach 2.2m by 2020
Curtailing the Greater Dublin Area's share of the State's population at its current level of around 40 per cent, or reducing it, "is not a realistic objective", according to the National Spatial Strategy (NSS). p
Dundalk welcome for role as new gateway
The designation of Dundalk as a gateway centre in the National Spatial Strategy was broadly welcomed in the Border town yesterday. But there was disappointment with the spatial strategy in nearby Drogheda and Navan, neither of which was included even as a "development hub". p
Hubs and gateways made simple
The National Spatial Strategy defines nine economic "gateways" and a similar number of smaller economic "hubs", writes Tim O'Brien. p
TD criticises Westport's exclusion from NSS
The Fine Gael TD for Mayo, Mr Michael Ring, has criticised Westport's exclusion from the National Spatial Strategy. p
BMW region gains most in new plan
The four new growth gateways in the National Spatial Strategy are located in the Border, Midlands and Western (BMW) region. The gateways are Letterkenny, Sligo, Dundalk and a fourth three-centred gateway based in Athlone, Mullingar and Tullamore. p
South-east lobby group lauds plan
The chairman of the Strategy South East lobby group, Mr Nicholas Fewer, has welcomed the National Spatial Strategy (NSS) in which Waterford is identified as a "gateway" city. The strategy also designates Kilkenny and Wexford as "hub towns" through which growth can be dispersed from Waterford across the south-east. p
Disappointment with hub status designation in Tralee-Killarney
Initial reaction in Tralee and Killarney to their designation as a linked hub in the National Spatial Strategy was one of disappointment. p
Rail and road corridors proposed
The National Spatial Strategy (NSS) has identified as "of particular relevance" public transport corridors in the west linking Derry with Cork via Sligo, Galway and Limerick. p

Flood Tribunal

Dunlop 'sought some Jackson Way land as fee'
Mr Frank Dunlop wanted a success fee of several acres of Jackson Way land - worth several million euro - in return for getting the company's land at Carrickmines rezoned, the Flood tribunal has been told. p
Council motion needed for rezoning, inquiry told
The only way for a landowner to get land rezoned was to persuade local representatives to propose and second a motion at county council meetings, the tribunal has heard. p

Dail Report

Quinn proposes syllabus for students on EU affairs
The former Labour leader Mr Ruairí Quinn has suggested a schools programme to encourage a greater awareness of European affairs. p
Opposition critical of launch of strategy away from Dail
Opposition TDs have condemned the Government over its handling of the launch of the National Spatial Strategy and their exclusion from it. p
Shortall accuses health board of 'criminalising' boy aged 12
The Northern Area Health Board and the manager of a special care unit have been accused of attempting to criminalise a 12-year-old seriously disturbed boy. p
IDs for jail visits to be extended
New identification procedures for visitors to Mountjoy prison are likely to be extended to other prisons, the Minister of State for Justice, Mr Brian Lenihan said. p
Warning on threat to Agreement bodies
SEANAD REPORT: Mr Brendan Ryan (Lab) asked if a recipe was not being provided for allowing wreckers in a restored Northern Ireland Assembly to destroy cross-Border implementation bodies. He was speaking in the debate on the British-Irish Agreement (Amendment) Bill, which passed all stages. p

In the North

President tells of 'amazing opportunities'
The transition from a culture of conflict to that of peace and prosperity was closer than ever before in the history of Ireland, President McAleese said yesterday. p
General admits it was extraordinary shooting of people not reported to HQ
Military chiefs did not know that paratroopers had shot two members of the public just minutes before soldiers shot dead a dozen unarmed men on Bloody Sunday, it was disclosed yesterday p
Four charged with gun-running from the US
Two women and two men were in court yesterday on charges linked to IRA gun-running from the US. p
Man is guilty of murder in restaurant stabbing
A Belfast man was convicted of murder yesterday after stabbing a man in a city-centre McDonald's restaurant in an argument over a faulty door. p
Taoiseach and Blair may discuss North
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, may have an opportunity to discuss developments in Northern Ireland with the British Prime Minister, Mr Tony Blair, during a two-day visit to London, Frank Millar reports. p

In The Courts

Three found guilty of conspiring to rob bank in Abbeyleix
Three men have been found guilty of conspiracy to rob the AIB bank in Abbeyleix on December 7th last and of using stolen cars. p
Woman took sex-assault case after seeing article
A woman has told a Central Criminal Court jury that a newspaper article in which the accused in a sex assault trial asked "How can anyone take away a child's innocence?" made her want to come forward with her complaint that he sexually abused her for four years as a child. p
Firm ceased fitting low letter boxes from 1998, court told
The managing director of a company which supplies doors told the High Court yesterday that, from 1998, it had ceased installing doors with low-level letter boxes because of complaints from An Post. p
Woman gets €170,000 for injury
A 73-year-old woman who sued the Mid- Western Health Board over the alleged failure to diagnose a dislocated shoulder settled her High Court action yesterday. It is believed she is to receive some €170,000 in damages. p
Neighbour of firearms case man 'saw him' on night shots heard
A neighbour of a man charged with firearms offences has said he saw the accused in Ballyfermot on New Year's Eve 1999, the same night that shots were heard near the Grand Canal in Co Kildare where two bodies were later recovered. p
Judge frees teenager on one-year probation bond
A teenager with 75 previous convictions will be released on a one year probation bond in December for a litany of crimes committed after he was let out on a suspended sentence. p
Heroin dealer tried to sell to undercover gardai
A Gambian national who worked as "a sole trader" selling heroin he bought in Amsterdam in Dublin city centre has been jailed for 18 months by Judge Des Hogan. p
Injunction against pickets over sub-contractors continued
The High Court has continued orders restraining pickets on sites in Dublin, Kildare and Wicklow arising from the ongoing dispute over the use of sub-contractors on building sites. p
Man acquitted of possessing €3.5m in heroin
A man has been acquitted by a Dublin Circuit Criminal Court jury of possession of heroin and ecstasy valued at about €3.5 million. p

Regional News

Objectors fear terror attack on proposed gas plant
The possibility of Osama bin Laden having his eye on the proposed gas terminal at Bellanaboy, north Mayo, might seem ridiculous but should have been addressed, a local objector told the oral hearing into the project yesterday. p
Wet weather delays Irish potato harvest
An estimated 40 per cent of the main potato crop is still unharvested because of the wet weather, which has delayed the finish of the harvest by three weeks. p
Traffic Watch leads to increased prosecutions
A pilot project encouraging motorists in the south-east to report suspicious or reckless driving has led to an increase in the number of prosecutions for drink-driving and dangerous driving. p
€10m in export of Christmas trees
Christmas trees to the value of €10 million are being exported to continental markets this festive season. Most of the trees are already on their way to Britain, Germany, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy and Switzerland. p
Award-winning museums praised for their 'diversity and progress'
The National Gallery of Ireland was voted Museum of the Year at an awards ceremony in Kilkenny Castle yesterday. p
Private firms investigate claims against council
A town council in Co Tipperary is using private investigators to help reduce the amount of money it is losing in defending legal cases brought against it. p
Mobile phone company seeks restraining order
An application for an order restraining interference with the erection of mobile telephone equipment on lands at Dromavalley, Tralee, will come before the High Court on Monday. O2 Communications (Ireland) Ltd is seeking an order restraining trespass by a number of defendants at the site. p

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