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Kenny includes Greens in transfer strategy
Fine Gael supporters should continue their transfers to the Greens in the forthcoming general election, after first transferring votes to the Labour Party, the party's leader Enda Kenny said yesterday.

52 hospitals targeted as nurses' action escalates
Nurses yesterday named 52 hospitals and services targeted for stoppages next week in an escalation of their industrial action - but they also offered a glimmer of hope of a breakthrough. p

Supporters defy warning to see Flynn launch campaign
Supporters of Mayo Independent TD Beverley Flynn attended her campaign launch last evening in Castlebar despite a written warning that they risked expulsion from Fianna Fáil.

Rossport five man wins 'Nobel' prize for environment
A north Mayo farmer who was jailed over his opposition to the Corrib gas pipeline and an Icelandic businessman who lobbied the Government to implement the new ban on driftnetting for salmon are among six winners of the Goldman Environmental Prize. p

Other Stories

FG pledges new department to tackle environmental concerns
Fine Gael will set up a department to co-ordinate climate change policy if it is elected to government, its leader, Enda Kenny, told a seminar in Dublin yesterday.
FF transport plan includes regional Luas lines and bus-trams
Proposals to develop Luas and bus-based trams in regional cities, to run Dublin's metro north underground through Ballymun, and to increase borrowing limits for the Dublin Airport Authority were put forward by Minister for Transport Martin Cullen yesterday.
Bill to expand role and duties of coroners
A Bill designed to reform substantially the role of coroners was published yesterday by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell. p
Rabbitte says co-location status unsure
A Labour Party claim that the Government's plan to co-locate private hospitals on public hospital sites would have to restart from scratch has been rejected by the Department of Health. p
Consultants' contracts unverifiable, says auditor
New contracts for hospital consultants could end up costing the State more without increasing the amount or quality of the work received from the consultants, the State's financial watchdog warned yesterday. p
Claims made by Shell on gas cold-venting an 'insult'
Suggestions that Shell E&P Ireland held a series of formal consultation meetings with residents living near the Bellanaboy site regarding the decision to cold-vent the gas rather than flare it have been described as an "insult to the intelligence of the people". p
Call for courts to refuse bail to major criminals
Organised crime gangs would be seriously disrupted if the courts refused bail to major criminals at the request of a senior Garda officer, the former head of the Criminal Assets Bureau (Cab) Felix McKenna has said. p
Irish firm behind world's tallest residential project
An Irish company is to develop the world's tallest residential building in Chicago.Shelbourne Development was given planning permission by the City of Chicago Planning Commission to construct a 2,000ft high twisting tower at the mouth of the Chicago river on the shores of Lake Michigan. p
Judge warns buyers over car purchases
A judge has told car buyers not to trust everyone they meet on garage forecourts. The warning was handed down yesterday in the Circuit Civil Court by Mr Justice Esmond Smyth, who was referring to two Dublin car sales outlets he said had taken car buyers for a ride. p
Irish airlines see rapid rise in complaints
Ryanair and Aer Lingus are among the most complained about airlines in Europe, an investigation by The Irish Times has established. p
President marks school's anniversary
President Mary McAleese was reminded of the power of the people yesterday when she asked the students of the Muslim National School in Clonskeagh to vote on having one day without homework. p
Developer warns of divided society and ghettoisation
The health of the community has suffered because "the main party in Government is too closely linked to the construction industry" and does not put the interests of society first, according to unconventional property developer Mick Wallace. p
InShort
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PD Economic Document

PDs pledge tax cuts and reform of stamp duty
Economic Policy: A range of tax cutting commitments, including the immediate reform of stamp duty before the Dáil summer recess, were reiterated by the Tánaiste and leader of the Progressive Democrats, Michael McDowell, when he unveiled his party's economic policy for the election in Dublin yesterday. p
McDowell backs stamp duty package by summer
Policy launch: Progressive Democrats leader Michael McDowell has suggested that Fianna Fáil might come up with proposals to deal with stamp duty similar to those being proposed by his own party ahead of the general election. p
Taking credit for economic miracle
Political analysis: The Progressive Democrats helpfully provided a map for journalists seeking to find the news conference where they launched Sustaining Success, their economic and enterprise policy. p
PD tax package more generous, but stamp duty niggles persist
If they were judged on conviction alone, yesterday's PD manifesto would top those of either Fianna Fáil or Fine Gael and Labour. p

In the Courts

Hearing told Poolbeg is still best site
A senior engineer with the company that selected Poolbeg in Dublin as the best location for an incinerator has told An Bord Pleanála it does not matter that homes will be built in the vicinity of the site, even though distance from housing was one of the reasons for choosing Poolbeg. p
Man gets 9 years for raping young mother
A Galway man who raped a teenage mother in her home has been jailed for nine years by Mr Justice Kevin O'Higgins at the Central Criminal Court. p
DPP loses case against road deaths sentence on circus owner
The Court of Criminal Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by the Director of Public Prosecutions against the leniency of a two- year suspended sentence imposed on a circus owner when a trailer used to transport equipment collided with and caused the deaths of two women outside Galway city in April 2006. p
Three-year sentence for death crash is doubled
A youth who was jailed for dangerous driving causing the deaths of two teenage girls has had his sentence doubled to six years by the Court of Criminal Appeal. p
Jury to consider verdict in murder trial
The jury in the trial of a Clare man accused of murdering his 17-year-old sister will return to the Central Criminal Court in Dublin on Monday to consider its verdict. p
'Peaceful protester' threw barrier at gardaí
A "peaceful protester" against last year's Love Ulster march has been fined €500 for throwing a barrier at gardaí. p
Senior officers tell of White's transfer
Morris tribunal: Det Sgt John White was not given any special treatment when a request for a transfer was granted following his suspension, two senior Garda officers have told the Morris tribunal. p
InShort
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Regional News

CPSU concern at outsourcing
As progress in decentralisation of civil servants to the regions was debated here last night, the outsourcing of public service work to private contractors also emerged as a matter of acute concern to delegates at the annual conference of the Civil Public and Services Union. p
Man loses 'choking' case against gardai
A man who claimed that he was punched and choked until he became unconscious' by a garda after being arrested has failed to secure damages at a civil court in Waterford yesterday. p
Roads closed due to multiple gorse fires
Galway fire brigades were fighting an extensive gorse fire which forced the closure of the main Galway-Headford road. Similar outbreaks closed roads in Wicklow and Leitrim. p
Methodist Church: Notes
The Harlandic male voice choir was formed in Belfast in the 1940s. Its name comes from the fact that its members were workers in the Harland & Wolff shipyard. The music of the choir has been bringing pleasure to many for more than 60 years. p
Church of Ireland: Notes
The Dean of Killaloe, the Very Rev Dr Stephen White, is one of the more productive authors among Church of Ireland clergy. He has written books on doctrine, on authority in Anglicanism and on human sexuality and he was the editor of the APCK volume A Time To Build. p

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