ireland.com - The Irish Times

Nurses plan stoppages at 50 facilities
Up to 50 hospitals and mental health facilities will be hit by work stoppages over two days next week under a plan devised last night by members of the Irish Nurses' Organisation (INO) and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association (PNA) to escalate their campaign of industrial action. p

Nurses' protests: from around the country
A roundup of the nurses' dispute p

Giant of Journalism: a bust of Dick Walsh is unveiled in the new Irish Times building
Leading politicians and journalists gathered with family members of the late Dick Walsh in the Irish Times building in Dublin last night for the unveiling by the newspaper's editor, Geraldine Kennedy, of a bust of the former journalist and author. p

Schemes aim to help women at home and work
A new agency to tackle domestic violence and a €148 million package to foster gender equality have been unveiled by the Government as part of the National Women's Strategy 2007-2016. p

Other Stories

Compensation and settlements cost Garda €10m
An Garda Síochána has paid out over €10 million in compensation and settlements to civilians for assaults, unlawful arrests and other reasons such as malicious prosecution in the past five years. p
Overtime bill for Garda more than €100m
The Government's battle against gun crime resulted in the annual Garda overtime bill for 2006 exceeding €100 million. p
Garda chief warns of false alarm problem
Garda Commissioner Noel Conroy has urged the private security sector to offer higher quality intruder alarms to their commercial and residential customers, saying gardaí will no longer go to premises with a history of false alarms. p
Belated Recognition: a medal at last for Congo survivor
Nearly a half-century after surviving the single deadliest event in Defence Forces history, Joseph Fitzpatrick has been officially recognised for his service on a 1960 UN peacekeeping mission in Congo. p
Women's strategy
The key themes of the National Women's Strategy p
'Disquiet' over national strategy for women
The Government's National Women's Strategy is fundamentally flawed because it includes no measurable targets or timescales, the National Women's Council of Ireland (NWCI) has said. p
NTL drops plan for €2 charge on existing customers
Cable firm NTL has abandoned plans to charge customers €2 extra per bill for not paying by direct debit, The Irish Times has learned. p
Murder inquiry expected after man's death
Gardaí are expected to begin a murder inquiry today following the death of a Co Wexford businessman who was assaulted over the Easter weekend. p
50,000 to get refund from bank due to mistake
Some 50,000 Bank of Ireland customers are to get a small windfall after the bank discovered that it had wrongly imposed Government levies on their accounts. p
Bray council changed stance on flooding risk
Frank McDonald looks at why An Bord Pleanála turned down a scheme for the old Bray golf course p
Ireland 'lagging' on flexible working
Tax breaks should be given to companies that stagger their working hours outside the rush hour, a transport expert has said. p
Merger to create second biggest union in Ireland
Ireland's second largest trade union is to be created by the merger of the British parent unions of Amicus and the Amalgamated Transport and General Workers' Union (ATGWU). p
Fundamentally Femine: Helen Cody show
A transport warehouse on Sir John Rogerson's Quay, its interior transformed with black drapes, glitter balls and gilt-edged chairs, was the venue last night for Helen Cody's spectacular couture fashion show for an invited audience of 500 people. p
Development plan 'ignores impact on the environment'
The National Development Plan proposes to spend tens of billions of euro over the next seven years with no analysis of its effect on the environment, a seminar on sustainable development was told yesterday. p
Gardaí seconded to ombudsman
Four Garda superintendents have been seconded to the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission to assist in the investigation of complaints against the force. p
Greens rule out pact with FG/Labour
The Green Party has ruled out entering any vote transfer pact with Fine Gael or Labour before the general election, saying it will campaign as an independent party. p
Government agrees €45m scheme for patients of Neary
A scheme agreed yesterday by the Government to compensate women damaged by the former Drogheda obstetrician Dr Michael Neary will cost €45 million. p
Cowen says trust only FF on tax
Opposition parties clashed with Fianna Fáil yesterday over a claim by Minister for Finance Brian Cowen that his party alone would protect Ireland's low rate of corporate tax, widely regarded as one of the cornerstones of our current economic success. p
FG-Labour to duck stamp duty reform date
Fine Gael and Labour are expected to commit to no definite timeframe for the implementation of their proposals to abolish stamp duty for first-time buyers for houses up to €450,000 when they launch their joint election economic policy today. p
Dublin airport executive insists second terminal is badly needed
A second terminal at Dublin airport is necessary in order to cope with the huge growth in the numbers of passengers, an oral hearing was told yesterday. p
Higgins denies Ahern stories link
Fine Gael MEP Jim Higgins has denied he was the senior Fine Gael figure who contacted Sunday newspapers to say a garda had told him that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern had taken money to Manchester in a briefcase. p
Harney opens unit to house CT scanner that still lies idle
A special unit housing a controversial new CT scanner at Louth County Hospital in Dundalk was officially opened yesterday by the Minister for Health, Mary Harney. However, the CT scanner is still not in operation. p
Extra €1.1m allocated for Galway water
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche says he is "delivering on his promise" to Galway in allocating an additional €1.1 million to deal with the water contamination issue. p
State urged to improve alcohol treatment services
Ireland is not being well-served by its politicians in relation to treatment for alcohol problems, a seminar at the Royal College of Physicians was told last night. p
Ban on record number of dangerous items
A record number of dangerous products were banned from sale in Ireland last year. p
Two charged over shooting of priest
Two men have been charged in South Africa with the robbery and attempted murder of Irish priest Fr Kieran Creagh, police in Pretoria said yesterday. p
Woman gets one year for managing brothel
A Kildare woman who managed a Dublin city centre brothel that had an estimated annual turnover of €4 million has been jailed for one year by Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. p
Broadband procurement process to begin soon
The procurement process for the national broadband scheme is to begin early next month, Minister for Communications Noel Dempsey said yesterday. p
HSE says clause indraft new contracts removed
A clause which had been in the draft new contracts on offer to all hospital consultants - which meant they would have had to get the permission of their hospital chief executive before speaking out on issues of concern - has been removed, the Health Service Executive said last night. p
Irish researchers study causes of mental illness
Ireland has become a world player in the study of the genetic causes for mental illness. Discoveries made in this field have the potential to deliver new treatments and better diagnosis of these diseases, according to a leading academic researcher. p
In Short
A roundup of today's other news stories in brief p

In the North

Blair may attend at return of North's executive
British prime minister Tony Blair may attend the formal restoration of devolution at Stormont on Tuesday May 8th, it emerged yesterday, as the designated first minister and deputy first minister, the Rev Ian Paisley and Martin McGuinness, took two joint initiatives ahead of their official installation. p

In the Courts

Murder accused had mind disorder,trial told
A 21-year-old Clare man accused of murdering his 17-year-old sister was suffering from a mental disorder at the time of her killing, a jury in the Central Criminal Court was told by a psychiatrist yesterday. p
Man tells trial of shooting at 'joyrider'
A man who claims an attacker attempted to murder him by shooting him in the head at a Leisureplex in Blanchardstown, Dublin, has admitted that he shot at a "joyrider" with a legally held shotgun several years earlier. p
Autistic child loses deportation challenge
A mother and her twin children, one of whom has been diagnosed as autistic, face deportation to Nigeria after yesterday losing a High Court challenge. p
10-year jail term for man with 47 kilos of cannabis
A father of three who said he agreed to collect cannabis resin for a €1,000 payment because he needed money to buy Christmas toys has been given a 10-year jail sentence. p
Court increases drugs sentence
The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday upheld arguments by the DPP that an 18-month sentence on a Cork man for drug offences was unduly lenient and increased the sentence to seven years. p
Dentist tells of identity trauma
A dentist who was registered at birth as male and who later underwent a sex change operation has told the High Court it is very important to her sense of dignity that the gender entry on her birth certificate records her as female. p

Regional News

Shell faces €1m costs after ending action
Shell E&P Ireland is facing a legal costs bill of more than €1 million after the High Court yesterday agreed to allow it end its long-running legal action against four opponents of the controversial Corrib gas pipeline. p
Witness claims Shell broke code
The siting of the proposed Corrib gas refinery within the catchment of a water supply for 10,000 people was strongly challenged by Leo Corcoran, of An Taisce, on the third day of the Environmental Protection Agency's oral hearing, in Belmullet, Co Mayo. p
Border Flyover: plaque commemorates secret wartime deal
A deal in which Éamon de Valera secretly relaxed Ireland's wartime neutrality so Allied aircraft could overfly the Republic on Atlantic convoy protection missions was commemorated yesterday in special twin cross-Border ceremonies. p
Warning over quarry effluent
A major quarry operation in Kildare has been ordered to stop pumping huge quantities of water into a local river after complaints from locals that excavations had polluted water supplies. p
Priest's call at funeral
Mourners at the funeral Mass for a young mother of three murdered last week were yesterday urged to reach out and help other women in danger as a real and lasting tribute to her memory. p
Man found fatally stabbed in Thurles field identified
Gardaí believe they know the identity of a man found stabbed to death in a field in Thurles, Co Tipperary, on Sunday evening. The remains were discovered by two brothers out walking their dogs. p

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