ireland.com - The Irish Times

Curtin expected to try to block inquiry
Judge Brian Curtin is expected to begin a legal battle to halt the Oireachtas inquiry into his conduct if he fails to stop evidence seized from his Tralee home from being used against him. p

New penalties set for driving without care
More than 1,000 drivers have six penalty points or more, according to the latest statistics.The figures come as motorists now face five points, a fine and a mandatory court appearance for careless driving, including the use of mobile phones. p

Artists defend right to citizenship
Referendum: No campaign A group of Irish artists and writers have called for a No vote in the referendum saying that the right to citizenship through birthplace is a "beautiful concept" which should be kept. p

Other Stories

O'Hanlon acts to de-escalate Rabbitte row
The Ceann Comhairle, Dr Rory O'Hanlon, has chosen not to escalate his confrontation with Mr Pat Rabbitte, despite the Labour leader's refusal to withdraw his claims that the chair of the Dáil is "congenitally incapable of fairness". p
Figures reveal drop in private funding to parties
The Exchequer gave the State's political parties almost 70 times the total received in disclosable donations from private individuals and companies in 2003, according to figures released yesterday by the Standards in Public Office Commission. p
Met office predicts dry weekend
Temperatures are expected to reach 23 degrees in some parts of the country over the next few days. p
Bumper weekend of music, theatre and comedy ahead
Thousands of people will be enjoying music, theatre and comedy events over the bank holiday. p
Cork docklands development plan launched
The development of the docklands area of Cork offers the city the opportunity to expand and become a real alternative centre of development to Dublin and the east coast, said the Lord Mayor of Cork, Cllr Colm Burke, at the launch of the Cork City Development Plan 2004-2010 last night. p
Number living in Cork to rise by 78,000
The Cork City Development Plan - the result of two years of research by the city planning department - predicts a population increase of 78,000 by 2020 in the Greater Cork area. This area encompasses the city and a surrounding area extending out to Ballincollig, Blarney, Glanmire, Midleton, Cobh and Carrigaline. p
FG deputy says accident was not his fault
Mr Billy Timmins, Fine Gael TD for Wicklow, has said he was not at fault in an accident on Wednesday night, in which a pedestrian was injured. p
Key witness may withdraw over fees
Morris Tribunal The Raphoe nightclub owner whose allegations of Garda harassment led to the setting up of the Morris tribunal has withdrawn his co-operation from the tribunal because of a disagreement over the payment of legal fees. p
Union seeks 7% increase for low-income workers
The trade union Mandate has put down an early marker in talks over a new national pay deal, calling for a flat-rate pay hike of €20 a week for low-income workers. p
Call to lift cap on Post Leaving Cert places
The Minister for Education and Science, Mr Dempsey, is facing increasing pressure to lift a cap on the number of places on Post Leaving Certificate (PLC) places next year. p
State accused of jobs discrimination
The union Impact has accused the Government of failing to implement new legislation aimed at protecting temporary workers in the civil service. p
Five held in Cork as gardai seize drugs worth €1.8m
Gardaí last night hailed the seizure of €1.8 million worth of drugs and the arrest of five men in Cork city and county as a major blow against one of the biggest drug-dealing operations in the State. p
Stewardess held on arms charge
A 24-year-old woman airline employee appeared before Strabane Magistrates' Court yesterday on a firearms charge. p
Plea for price rise to reduce alcohol abuse
A plea for a significant increase in the price of alcohol was one of the key recommendations to emerge yesterday from a forum on alcohol whose chairman described Ireland as being "truly awash with drink". p
Cork hospital opens two new cancer units
Two cancer treatment units which are being opened today at Cork University Hospital will allow patients from Munster who previously had to travel to Dublin for treatment to receive care in Cork. p
Figures show 8% increase in visitor numbers
The tourism industry rallied strongly in the first quarter of this year, with visitor numbers up over 8 per cent on last year. p

Elections2004

A seat for the anti-immigration ADR would cause shockwaves
Country profile: Luxembourg When Luxembourg goes to the polls on June 13th, its voters will not only choose the Grand Duchy's six representatives in the European Parliament but will elect a new national parliament too. p
Voters urged to aid 'genuine migrants'
Referendum: Yes campaign The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Cowen, has claimed the Chen case raises the prospect of Ireland becoming "the destination of choice" for migrants seeking the benefits of EU citizenship. p
Berlin, Boston, but most of all Lisbon
The candidates speak little of Europe, although they complain that this is because the press doesn't ask them about it. Their slogans range from the banal to the vacuous. Yet they almost all come from political parties with published European manifestos. These parties belong in turn to European Parliament groups with very specific positions on the key European issues. p
FF fears PD breakthrough in 'Cowen country'
Local area profile They may be best of friends in the Dáil but in their home county of Offaly, Brian Cowen and Tom Parlon are barely on speaking terms. p
Low-key election campaign could deliver another cliffhanger result
Local area profile: Wexford When it comes to shaking up the status quo and, for good measure, delivering a cliffhanger result, you can probably count on the voters of Wexford. p
Knocking on doors in the great unknown
In Newbridge, the locals have a name for Liffey Hall, one of the newer housing estates on the outskirts of the Co Kildare town. p
PD mayor in transport cost row
The Mayor of Galway, Cllr Terry O'Flaherty, has defended the cost of mayoral transport in the city and has said that figures quoted by a Fine Gael local election candidate are "misleading". p
RTE asked party to change scripts
TV adverts RTÉ asked the Christian Solidarity Party to remove references to the citizenship referendum from their party political broadcasts. p

In the Dail

Joint Oireachtas group established to study Curtin case
The Dáil and Seanad yesterday formally passed a motion establishing an Oireachtas committee of four TDs and three senators to inquire into the conduct of Judge Brian Curtin of the Circuit Court. p
Judge Curtin's statement of claim to Dail
The following is an extract from the plenary summons and statement of claim by Judge Brian Curtin, served on the Office of Chief State Solicitor, and read in the Dáil by the Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh: p
Labour critical of decentralisation
The Government's decentralisation plans were sharply criticised by the Labour spokesman on rural affairs, Mr Brian O'Shea. p
McDowell accused of undermining FoI Act
The Minister for Justice, Mr McDowell, broke the Government's guidelines for handling Freedom of Information requests by passing the results of a query from the Fine Gael leader, Mr Enda Kenny, to a journalist first, the Department of Finance said yesterday. p
Information on family law cases to be redefined
Seanad Report The Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Mr McDowell, said he would be tabling an amendment to the Civil Liability and Courts Bill to define how proceedings in family law cases could be reported. p
Rabbitte caught in the glare of the Dail spotlight
Dail Sketch Michael O'Regan The parliamentary defendant came down the steps and took his place in the political dock next to his colleagues. p

In the North

INLA deny McAlorum murder
INLA sources have denied that the murder of Mr Kevin McAlorum in front of school children in Belfast yesterday was an 8-year-old feud being revisited.'s murder p
Chinese woman found dead in Belfast
PSNI detectives investigating the brutal murder of a young Chinese woman in north Belfast on Wednesday night or early yesterday morning have appealed to the local Chinese community to help identify the woman. p

In The Courts

Woman fined for harassment by text
A 36-year-old hairdresser who gossiped with customers to gather information on a younger love rival so she could text her "nasty and degrading" messages had engaged in one of the worst cases of harassment he had ever come across, a judge said yesterday. p

Regional News

Cashel bypass decision angers residents
Traders in Cashel, Co Tipperary are threatening to take High Court action against the National Roads Authority's (NRA) decision to delete two access roads from the town's new bypass. p
Work of 30 local poets displayed on Galway buses
A new project to be launched in Galway today gives new meaning to the phrase "poetry in motion". A collaboration between the Western Writers' Centre and Bus Éireann, the Poetry on Buses scheme is the first of its kind in the country. p
Spiddal beach standard queried
The Office for Environmental Enforcement is to seek information from Galway County Council about the cause of a serious deterioration in the quality of bathing water at one of the county's top beaches. p
€1,500 fine for destruction of habitat
The managing director of one of the country's largest quarrying operations yesterday defended his firm's environmental record after a court fined a subsidiary €1,500 for the destruction of a protected habitat on the Shannon estuary. p
Charges of badger hunting dismissed
A man had charges of illegally hunting badgers dismissed against him, but was convicted and fined €350 for other offences under the Wildlife Act at Mullingar District Court yesterday. p
Waterford schoolboy dies suddenly after playing rounders
Day and boarding students at the Church of Ireland's Newtown co-educational school in Waterford city were in mourning yesterday following the sudden death of one of their classmates. p
Restored, modernised courthouse at cost of €12m to be opened today
A refurbished Castlebar courthouse will be officially opened by the Minister for Justice today. p

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