ireland.com - The Irish Times

Industrial action by nurses deferred for talks
The work-to-rule and possible work stoppages by 40,000 nurses, which were to take place from Monday, have been deferred to allow for new talks. p

Bill planned to overhaul pharmacy sector
The Government is to lift a 130-year-old ban on pharmacists trained outside Ireland owning, operating or supervising a pharmacy, Minister for Health Mary Harney announced yesterday. p

Study of restorative justice plan
The Government is to establish a commission to examine the potential for introducing a national programme of restorative justice as an alternative to sending some offenders to jail. p

AssemblyElections

Paisley has two choices
Analysis Paisley has his mandate but the governments say he must use it or lose it, writes Gerry Moriarty , Northern Editor p
Wedding date set but still no sign of the love
The arranged marriage of the DUP and Sinn Féin is scheduled for March 26th, but nobody yet knows if it will actually take place. Dr Paisley's party is playing hard to get, while the "Shinners" are holding a ballot paper in one hand and a wedding ring in the other, writes Deaglán de Bréadún , Political Correspondent, in Belfast p
SF to meet on NI powersharing
The Sinn Féin Ardcomharile is to meet in Dublin this morning to begin preparations for a return to a powersharing government in Northern Ireland, party president Gerry Adams said last night. p
Ahern and Blair optimistic over new executive
Governments' reaction: Democratic Unionist Party leader the Rev Ian Paisley will have to explain to voters if he does not use his party's increased vote to establish a Northern Ireland executive, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said. p
Stormont must be restored by March 26th, says SF
Adams press conference: There is now no reason the Stormont institutions should not be back in place by the governments' deadline of March 26th, the Sinn Féin president said. Dan Keenan , Northern News Editor, reports. p
SF management of votes returns five candidates
West Belfast: Sinn Féin's vote-management strategy paid huge dividends as it became the first party to have five candidates elected in the same constituency. p
Warning about responsibilities of 'two-party' system
US reaction: Congressman Richard Neal, who chairs the Friends of Ireland in the US House of Representatives, said yesterday that the emergence of "what appears to be a two-party system" in the North places a new responsibility on Sinn Féin and the DUP. p
DUP's Wilson tops poll and brings two more in
East Antrim: A brisk first count in East Antrim saw the election of the DUP's Sammy Wilson, who topped the poll with 6,755 first-preference votes, closely followed by party colleagues George Dawson on the second count and David Hilditch on the third. Things then slowed to a crawl as the UUP and the Alliance Party yesterday slugged it out for the last seat. p
Green breakthrough
Wilson victory in North Down: Standing in front of the television cameras and giving interviews to jostling journalists, Brian Wilson, the Green Party's first ever member to win a seat at Stormont, appeared relaxed yesterday. p
Arlene Foster's first preferences up by 2,200
Fermanagh-South Tyrone: Five of the six MLAs who won Assembly seats in 2003 were re-elected in Fermanagh and South Tyrone. Former UUP MLA Arlene Foster, who defected to the DUP in 2003, was the big winner topping the poll. p
Paisley may play for time but he ultimately wants an agreement
Analysis: Tony Blair and Bertie Ahern called it correctly yesterday. The people of Northern Ireland have spoken, and the political path ahead is clear, writes Frank Millar , London Editor p
Close shave for UUP as party holds Trimble's old seat
Upper Bann: It would have been the final ignominy for the Ulster Unionists in what was already a humiliating election - a Sinn Féin upstart snatching their former leader's old seat in the unionist heartland constituency of Upper Bann. p
Loquacious Paisley says nothing that rules out SF powershare
North Antrim and Mid-Ulster: DUP leader Ian Paisley topped the poll in North Antrim, getting elected on the first count with Sinn Féin's sole candidate, Daithí McKay. Paisley's son, Ian jnr, followed on the second count. p
McDowell calls for end to Sinn Féin equivocation on issue of policing
Dublin reaction: Tánaiste Michael McDowell said yesterday it was "unhelpful" that some senior Sinn Féin people are already fudging on whether they would inform the PSNI about the activities of dissident republicans. p
Face of UUP changes as party numbers remain the same
South Down: The numbers remain the same and just one face has changed. By the end of the South Down count at the Lisburn Leisureplex, it was still two Sinn Féin, two SDLP, one DUP and one UUP. p
Selection error sees SDLP run three, lose seat
West Tyrone: The SDLP has been left without a seat in the West Tyrone constituency following a selection blunder which saw the party field three candidates. p
Quote unquote
What they said p
Winners and losers . . .
A round-up of the main winners and losers. p

Other Stories

Mother and baby die following childbirth
The Health Service Executive (HSE) is to carry out a review of the circumstances surrounding the deaths of a mother and her newborn child after complications developed following childbirth yesterday. p
Deaths of women from childbirth complications now rare event here
Twin births increases risk of complications, writes Dr Muiris Houston , Medical Correspondent. p
Kerry man forces BA flight to Arizona to divert to Canada
A Kerry businessman who forced a 747 passenger aircraft to make an emergency stop in Canada is to face a deportation hearing next Tuesday. He was fined $2,000 and has to repay British Airways $15,000 for the cost of the diverted flight. p
Concerns grow over missing English woman
Gardaí in Dublin are concerned for the safety of a young English woman who has not been seen since the beginning of the week. Karen Mason (26), a non-medical employee of the Mater hospital, was last seen moving her car from the front of her house at Fassaugh Avenue, Cabra, Dublin, at about 6am on Monday. p
Trócaire agrees to revise Lenten advert
The debate surrounding a Trócaire advertisement for its Lenten campaign took a fresh twist yesterday when the Broadcasting Commission of Ireland (BCI) upheld its decision to ban the advertisement but said a revised version was acceptable. p
Website launched to help students with exam options
A website designed to help students make informed choices about Leaving Cert options has been launched by Minister for Education and Science Mary Hanafin. p
98 jobs lost in Blanchardstown
A Co Dublin company has announced the loss of 98 jobs in Blanchardstown. Zomax/MPO, which was engaged in CD and DVD replication for clients in the electronic industry, said it was closing its manufacturing plant with immediate effect. p
Ahern says tech firms are hiring Motorola workers
Software companies have already sought to hire many of the 300 Motorola workers to be made redundant from the company's Cork plant, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern said in Brussels yesterday. p
No reply to council on pension liabilities
The Department of the Environment has failed to respond to a letter from Dublin City Council warning about the council's deteriorating financial situation. p
McDowell attacks Opposition on policies
Tánaiste Michael McDowell yesterday launched a blistering attack on the economic policies of the Opposition parties, warning that there would be an "ebbing" in business confidence and a slump "within months rather than years" if they got into government. p
Protection of IRA gunmen to be examined
Allegations that the security forces protected IRA gunmen who were informants and failed to prevent murders are being investigated by the Northern Ireland Police Ombudsman. p
Action urged to achieve energy targets
One of the Government's advisers on energy has said that immediate action will be needed across all sectors if ambitious new targets for renewable energy are to be met. p
MIRIAM LORD'S WEEK
The speaker clock in Leinster House that dare not chime its tunes . . . Michael Woods and the joy of antiques . . . Civvies in the Garda Press Office . . . How the Greens are helping population growth . . . Farewell knees-up in the Oireachtas restaurant . . . p
In short
More news in brief. p

In the Courts

Trial told murder accused asked for 'blade'
A young woman accused of murdering a teenage mother of two was overheard on her mobile phone asking for "a blade", a witness has claimed at the Central Criminal Court. p
Councils must grant compliance certs
In an important decision relating to social and affordable housing obligations, the High Court has declared that local authorities are not entitled, without good reason and reasonable public notice, to terminate the practice of granting developers certificates of compliance necessary to complete the sale of housing units. p
Man gets two years for having child porn images
A pensioner with "a long-standing entrenched sexual interest in children" dating back over 40 years has been sentenced to two years in prison for possession of child pornography. p
Wife told gardaí about husband's porn
A man whose wife reported him to gardaí after finding child pornography on his computer is to be sentenced later by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. p
Garda awarded €37,000 for back injury
A Garda sergeant who injured her back when a chair collapsed under her has been awarded almost €37,000 damages against the State. p
'Very dangerous' teenager is given 13-year prison sentence
A "very dangerous" teenager has been given a 13-year prison sentence by Judge Michael White for violent crimes, including robbery, hijacking, assault and threatening to kill gardaí. p
In short
More news from the court in brief. p

Moriarty Tribunal

O'Brien adviser denies Lowry involved in football club deal
An accountant and former adviser to telecoms tycoon Denis O'Brien has said it was "preposterous" to suggest that former minister Michael Lowry was involved in a deal to buy and redevelop the grounds of Doncaster Rovers Football Club in the north of England. p

Morris Tribunal

Barrister felt inquiry would create 'sideshow'
A senior barrister told the tribunal he thought a Garda investigation into allegations of high-level corruption in the force, which he brought to the attention of an Opposition TD, would create a "sideshow" and distract from the inquiry into complaints by the McBrearty family in Co Donegal. p

Regional News

US envoy urges joint renewable energy ventures
Ireland and the US should become involved in joint renewable energy ventures to reduce carbon emissions affecting global warming, according to the US ambassador to Ireland, Tom C. Foley. p

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