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Rapist jailed for 10 years after attack on tourist
A north Dublin businessman who raped a foreign tourist in a Killarney hotel has been jailed for 10 years by Mr Justice Paul Carney at the Central Criminal Court. p

Nurses step up dispute with total ban on overtime
Health services face even greater disruption from Friday when some 45,000 nurses currently engaged in industrial action escalate their protest by withdrawing from doing any overtime. p

Three A&E units in northeast to close
The A&E departments of hospitals in Monaghan and Dundalk are due to close next year, and the A&E unit at Our Lady's Hospital in Navan will close next year or the year after, it has emerged. p

Election2007

Parties clash over credibility of extra spending
Spending row: A major spending row over the credibility of proposed spending plans broke out yesterday between Fianna Fáil, Fine Gael and Labour amid charges that billions have been promised in unrealistic extra spending.
Harney attacks advert on hospital bids
Private hospitals: A political row has broken out between the Labour Party and Minister for Health Mary Harney over a Labour advertisement in yesterday's Irish Times .
Disability body 'disappointed' at manifestos
Disability federation: The Disability Federation of Ireland has said it is "very disappointed" at the level of understanding of the disability agenda shown by the main political parties.
Ahern says he is best qualified for position of Taoiseach
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday voiced his firm belief he was the best-qualified person for the post and he claimed the Opposition privately accepted this.
Cowen 'getting desperate' on spending plans
Kenny and Rabbitte meeting: The Fine Gael and Labour leaders yesterday strongly rejected Fianna Fáil criticism of their "alternative government" economic policies.
McDowell praises Taoiseach's 'exercise in honesty'
Tánaiste's reaction: Tánaiste Michael McDowell yesterday described the Taoiseach's weekend statement as an "exercise in honesty and truthfulness" and said that his deposit with the Revenue Commissioners had "no significance whatsoever for the formation of government".
Elusive Bertie swotting for his Westminster finals
With the Taoiseach keeping such a low profile yesterday, Bertie-watchers were forced to get their fix elsewhere. p
Greens question feasibility of tax cuts
Health policy
Greens demand an end to corporate donations
Green Party briefing: The Green Party has said Fianna Fáil does not have a monopoly on corruption, and it would be demanding an end to corporate donations in any government deal.
FG pledges child payment reform
A restructuring of the €1,000-a- year early childcare supplement to exclude payment to children of EU migrant workers living abroad is promised by Fine Gael if it gets elected to government.
White could be swept in this time on a Green tide
The man said to be Europe's longest-serving parliamentarian, Seamus Pattison, is retiring after 46 years as Labour TD for Carlow/Kilkenny. His departure is transforming the political landscape in this most traditional and dynastic of constituencies. The sprawling five-seater is a mix of urban and rural - from touristy Kilkenny city and the student town of Carlow to small villages and extensive farmlands.
Burton has fight on her hands to hold seat
Constituency profile - Dublin West: Despite their cosy alliance, a ferocious battle between Labour and Fine Gael is on the cards for the third seat in Dublin West.
FG hopes to win back seat from FF rivals
Constituency profile - Dublin South West: In calculating the gains it needs to be in a position to form an alternative government, Fine Gael is looking to recapture the seat it lost in 2002 in Dublin South West, a four-seat constituency which takes in the sprawling suburb of Tallaght and its environs. p
Campaign trail
An election miscellany compiled by Shane Hegarty .
At a glance
What happened yesterday on the campaign trail.
Henry's hug campaign a bolt of high energy in low wattage town
On the canvass - Keith Duggan with Imelda Henry: Nothing advertises the beauty of the Sligo landscape as dramatically as the descent into the airport at Strandhill and yesterday the movers and shakers turned up to celebrate the launch of the new Sligo-Manchester route. p

Other Stories

Nurses' protests: round-up
About 1,000 nurses took part in work stoppages in Dublin, Naas and Sligo yesterday as the Irish Nurses' Organisation and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association stepped up their campaign for improved pay and conditions. p
Private cancer hospital opens in Sandyford
A new "one-stop shop" for cancer care at the privately owned Beacon Clinic in Dublin has been officially opened by Minister for Health Mary Harney. p
Developer must transfer holiday homes to council
The developer of a holiday home scheme in Kenmare, Co Kerry has been asked to transfer eight luxury houses to Kerry County Council for social and affordable housing after a Bord Pleanála ruling. The exact transfer arrangements and the price the council will pay for the units will now have to be agreed, according to council officials yesterday. p
New group to lobby for better maternity services
A new group is to lobby for improvements to maternity services. p
Former An Post worker gets €70,000 for age discrimination
An Post has been ordered to pay €70,316 to a former employee for discriminating against him because he was over 60. p
Badger groups' claims on bovine TB rejected
Minister for Agriculture Mary Coughlan has rejected a claim by British and Irish animal rights groups that badgers are not to blame for the spread of bovine tuberculosis here and that levels here are higher than in Britain. p
First-time children's author nets top prize in competition
All thoughts of celebrities such as David Beckham or Westlife were temporarily put to one side at yesterday's Children's Books Ireland (CBI)/Bisto Book of the Year awards in Dublin, as authors became the focus of eager young autograph hunters. p
Vintners claim rural voters ignored
The Vintners Federation of Ireland (VFI) has accused all political parties of neglecting voters outside Dublin by not including any rural transport initiatives in their election manifestos. p
Tara group urges rethink on M3
Voters in Co Meath are to be asked to support candidates opposed to the current plans for the M3 motorway, which is to pass close to the Hill of Tara. p
Developer's plan for Ballsbridge rejected
A plan by the developer Seán Dunne for a 32-storey building on the Jurys and Berkeley Court hotel sites in Ballsbridge, Dublin, looks set to fall foul of the planning authorities. p
Big increase in number of US troops using Shannon
The number of US troops passing through Shannon airport increased dramatically last month following a massive 77 per cent drop in the first quarter of the year compared to the same period in 2006. p
Bishop addresses apathy concerns
People do not get "fired up by tweaking the tax system," the Catholic Bishop of Limerick, Dr Donal Murray, has said. What got them fired up was "belief in the kind of society they want". Such belief was where people's convictions and drive came from, he said. p
Councillors vote to ban clamping
Councillors in Dún Laoghaire have voted to ban clamping from the Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown local authority area, against the wishes of county manager Owen Keegan. p
Council to sue over spreading of sewage
Wexford County Council has indicated that it plans to take legal action against Dublin City Council following the spreading of untreated sewage on agricultural land in the county. p

In the North

Cordial tone prevails at Assembly debates
Assembly: The Northern Assembly held its first formal debates yesterday with Sinn Féin putting up no opposition to an Ulster Unionist Party motion for the Assembly to join the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association. p
Ahern's Westminster address to be wide-ranging
The development of the relationship between Britain and Ireland, both historically and in more recent times, will be covered in a wide-ranging speech by Taoiseach Bertie Ahern at Westminster today. p

In the Courts

Family seeks to overturn baby verdict
The Dublin county coroner was biased in his conduct of an inquest resulting in a unanimous jury verdict that an unidentified dead baby girl found in a laneway in Dún Laoghaire in 1973 was the child of Cynthia Owen, the High Court was told yesterday. p
Solicitor urges politicians to help man with brain damage
The solicitor for a young brain-damaged Dublin man, who has spent 22 months in a hospital in England, is calling for political intervention because a treatment facility in Ireland has not been found for him. p
Charge of false sex abuse claims denied
The trial of a man charged with making false claims of sexual abuse against a priest began at the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court yesterday. p
Noble's sentence for killing adjourned
The sentencing of Kelly Noble, who was convicted of the manslaughter of a teenage mother of two outside a supermarket last year, has been adjourned. p
Dangerous driver jailed for four years
A Limerick man who has been jailed for four years for dangerous driving causing the death of his friend, was disqualified from driving at the time of the crash, a court has heard. p
Attacker of girlfriend and her daughter withdraws appeal
A man who slashed and stabbed his pregnant girlfriend as she slept and who also tried to strangle her three-year-old daughter has withdrawn his appeal against the severity of his 15-year sentence. p
Violent robber held for sentence
A teenager who carried out vicious robberies on four men, leaving one with serious head injuries and another with only 60 per cent vision in his left eye, has been remanded in custody pending sentence. p
Guilty of beating man to death in Limerick
A Limerick man has been found guilty of killing another man who was found beaten to death under a bridge in the city last year. p
Inquest told man crushed to death
A county council road worker died after being crushed under the tracks of a giant earthmover, the opening of the inquest into his death heard yesterday in Killarney. p
In short
More court reports in brief. p

Morris Tribunal

Senior garda denies he was told suspects were taped
A senior Garda officer has said it is "totally and utterly untrue" that he was told of allegations that confidential conversations between prisoners and solicitors were secretly recorded during the investigation into the death of Raphoe cattle-dealer Richie Barron in 1996. p

Regional News

Athletic stars fete healing powers of Hartmann
If hard evidence was needed of Ireland's great sporting tradition then it is now on exhibit at Ger Hartmann's new sports injury clinic at the University of Limerick. p
In short
More news in brief. p

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