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Ahern says solicitors should have independent regulator
Solicitors should have an independent regulator, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil. p

Concern at public bodies' data security
Data Protection Commissioner Billy Hawkes has issued a stark warning about the dangers of Irish public bodies suffering the same embarrassment as their counterparts in the UK, where disks containing the personal data of 25 million people have gone missing. p

Ballsbridge plan amendment to be debated
A new amendment to the Dublin City Development Plan which would reopen the possibility of high-rise apartment buildings in Ballsbridge is to be debated by the city council early next month. p

Charles Wesley, hymn and carol composer, features on new stamp
The composer of the Christmas carol Hark! The Herald Angels Sing , Charles Wesley, is being celebrated in a new stamp from An Post marking the 300th anniversary of his birth. p

Other Stories

Two more women confirmed with breast cancer
The Opposition has demanded that the Government establish a full and independent inquiry into cancer care at the Midland Regional Hospital in Portlaoise after it emerged that two more women, who had been given the all clear following mammograms, have now been diagnosed with breast cancer. p
Sligo surgeon writes to Harney
A consultant surgeon based in Sligo General Hospital has called on Minister for Health Mary Harney to retain existing cancer services at the facility so patients in the northwest can continue to access potentially life-saving treatment close to home. p
Ahern signals end to lawyers' self-regulation
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has signalled the Government's intention to end self-regulation in the legal profession through the establishment of an independent legal commission to oversee the profession. p
Prisons' head warns on action
The head of the Irish Prison Service, Brian Purcell, has said plans for industrial action by prison officers over the introduction of a new prisons searches regime are in breach of the national pay agreement. p
Mansergh defends the Taoiseach's pay increase
There was further controversy about the Taoiseach's salary increase yesterday with one of his leading backbenchers defending the €38,000 a year pay rise while Fine Gael again attacked the phased increase. p
Almost 7,000 apply to join adoption register over 2½ years
Almost 7,000 people have applied to join the National Adoption Contact Preference Register since it was set up 2½ years ago, according to a report to be launched today. p
New minimum standards for tracing
Minimum standards to be followed by all those providing an adoption tracing and information service will be announced today by Minister for Children Brendan Smith. p
Laws that split up migrant families criticised
Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All-Ireland Dr Seán Brady has criticised immigration laws that split up family members as a serious threat to integration. p
Road safety group to give guarantee on driving tests
The Road Safety Authority is to publish a guarantee next week that all second provisional driving licence holders will be able to take a test before a ban comes into affect next June. p
Claim that Revenue ignores overseas shoppers rejected
The Revenue Commissioners rejected a claim that its Customs officers are turning a blind eye to shoppers returning from overseas trips without paying taxes and duty on their purchases. p
Campaign opposes new use of cafe
The Save Bewley's Cafe Campaign, which was launched three years ago to prevent the closure of Bewley's on Grafton Street, Dublin, has been resurrected to stop the opening of a shop in the former Bewley's premises on Westmoreland Street. p
Few top staff to move if ESB is split up
The Department of Energy and Natural Resources has said only a small number of staff in management positions would be moved from the ESB in the planned break-up of the company. p
RTÉ to discuss cocaine allegation at meeting
The controversy surrounding the broadcasting of a documentary which contains an allegation that a Government Minister took cocaine is to be raised at the monthly RTÉ Authority meeting today. p
Dairy farmers warned on receiving EU supports
Dairy farmers have been warned by a senior EU Commission official that they will be asked why they should be receiving any EU supports at all now that times are so good for them. p
Students happy to rally to Heather and all her favourite causes
A tireless charity campaigner who is a victim of excessive media intrusion? Or a talented self-publicist and estranged wife of a former Beatle who has been only too happy in the past to exploit her notoriety? p
Hearing set for new M50 toll charges
Former Central Bank governor Maurice O'Connell is to chair an oral hearing next month into plans to charge motorists up to 60 per cent extra to cross the M50 when barrier-free tolling is introduced next year. p
Rhys Meyers's mother dies in Cork hospital
The funeral is to take place tomorrow of the mother of actor Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Geraldine (Geri) Meyers-O'Keeffe, who died in the Mercy Hospital in Cork early on Tuesday following a short illness. p
Fachtna Murphy takes charge of Garda as Noel Conroy retires
The new Garda Commissioner Fachtna Murphy yesterday formally assumed his position following the retirement on age grounds of his predecessor Noel Conroy. p
Labour stalwart loses vote for ruling body
Henry Haughton, one of the longest-serving members of the Labour Party's National Executive Council (NEC), has lost his place on the body after a recount, following difficulties with the original count during last weekend's annual conference. p
In Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p

In the Courts

Murder accused says he is Falun Gong member
The man who is on trial for the murder of a Kilkenny postmaster during a raid last year claims to be a member of Falun Gong and an asylum seeker from China, a court heard yesterday. p
Cork Opera House loses drinks case
Cork Opera House has lost its legal challenge to the refusal of the Revenue Commissioners to grant it a drinks licence under a licensing arrangement which operated for more than 100 years. p
Man gets six years for assault on girlfriend
A man who earlier this year received a 12-year sentence for falsely imprisoning and seriously assaulting a young woman in the Dublin Mountains in November 2006, was yesterday given a six-year sentence for subjecting his girlfriend in Kerry to a lesser ordeal a few months later. p
Earlier victim subjected to six hours of physical attack
Robert Quigley subjected a previous victim to a six-hour physical and sexual attack in the Dublin mountains last year. The attack only ended when he was disturbed by hillwalkers. p
Caretaker stole from Cork council
A former Cork County Council caretaker who stole more than €100,000 from his employers to feed a chronic gambling addiction received a four-year suspended sentence yesterday. p
Floating Liffey pub gets go-ahead
A floating pub and restaurant on Dublin's river Liffey has been granted a seven-day licence in the Circuit Civil Court. p
Farmer 'ignored' by Revenue
A Dublin farmer accused of evading duty on cider he made and sold says his requests for information had been "ignored" by Revenue officials before a Revenue raid on his farm. p
Woman jailed for stealing TV
A woman who wheeled a 42-in television screen out of a busy Aldi store without paying for it has been jailed for eight months. p
Motorist banned for reading while driving
A motorist was given a driving ban as well a fine after he was seen by a garda swerving on the roadway as he read his Sunday newspaper at the steering wheel. p
Libel alleged in farm TV show article
RTÉ presenter Paddy O'Gorman has told the High Court he was accused of having a "perverted sexuality" in an article written about his participation in the Celebrity Farm TV programme four years ago. p

Mahon Tribunal

Ahern understated savings, inquiry told
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern declared building society savings of £5,000 to AIB in 1995 when he actually had in excess of £32,000, the tribunal was told yesterday. p
AIB manager tells of two visits to Ahern's office
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern lodged more than £72,000, mostly in cash, to AIB between December 1993 and August 1994, the Mahon tribunal was told yesterday. p

Morris tribunal

Ex-garda rejects link to Barron's death
A former garda has emphatically rejected allegations that he had an involvement of any kind in the death of Raphoe cattle dealer Richie Barron 11 years ago. p

In the Dáil

Lockout is Bertie's striking excuse for pay hike
Dáil Sketch/Miriam Lord: Strikes breaking out all over the place and Eamon Gilmore hinting that the Taoiseach's pay increase is the reason. p
Harney apology after women get cancer diagnosis
Minister for Health Mary Harney renewed her recent apology when she revealed that two more women given the all-clear had been diagnosed with cancer at the Midland Regional Hospital, Portlaoise. p
AG implementing statutory rape changes - Ahern
Recommendations in the Sullivan report into the statutory rape controversy were being implemented by the Attorney General's office but Taoiseach Bertie Ahern told the Dáil he would be "a little wary to say nothing like that could happen again". p
Ratio of psychologists to pupils criticised
Irish schools had one of the worst ratios of psychologists to pupils in Europe, Fine Gael education spokesman Brian Hayes claimed. p
Ahern denies link between pay rise and industrial strife
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has invoked Jim Larkin and the 1913 lock-out to defend his recent €38,000 pay rise. p
Drumm's stalling health services remark raised
Seanad report: The chief executive of the HSE, Prof Brendan Drumm, should clarify what he meant when he described the health services as dysfunctional, Liam Twomey (FG) said. p

In the North

DUP MP names Sinn Féin MLA in parliament as a British agent
A Democratic Unionist Party MP last night claimed that Sinn Féin politician Francie Molloy is a former British agent who is suspected of involvement in the murder of a former RUC reservist. p
Scholarship to honour murdered teenager
Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern travelled to Ballymena in north Antrim yesterday to launch the Michael McIlveen Scholarship, in memory of the Catholic teenager who was fatally assaulted in the town in May last year. p
SF criticised in book by McCartney sister
The McCartney sisters remain resolutely determined to see justice for their murdered brother, Robert, Catherine McCartney said in Belfast last night at the publication of her book about the killing, Walls of Silence. p

Regional News

Marine protection zones could help communities, says biologist
Ireland's coastal communities would benefit from the establishment of marine parks to protect nursery areas for fish and shellfish, according to a Spanish marine biologist. p
Ambassadors start Leitrim trade trip
A unique diplomatic drive to attract foreign investment to Leitrim, Ireland's least-populated county, got under way yesterday with the start of a visit by ambassadors and diplomats from 14 countries. p
Concern over plan for social housing
The Construction Industry Federation (CIF) has expressed "huge concerns" over plans by Clare County Council to impose social houses on private housing development in Clare. The move will have a detrimental impact on the commercial viability of private housing developments in the county, the federation claimed. p
In Short
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p

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