An out-of-court settlement is understood to have been reached in a civil case taken by a senior member of Drogheda Borough Council against his employers.
The borough engineer, Mr John Dineen, is believed to have reached a settlement in his action against Louth County Council, Drogheda Borough Council and the Louth county manager, Mr John Quinlivan, in recent days for a six-figure sum.
The High Court claim is believed to have related to alleged "undermining of authority". The claims were denied. The settlement was reached without any admission of culpability or liability.
Glowing tributes were paid to Mr Dineen, who has 25 years' service in Drogheda, at this week's meeting of the council. He is due to leave the council tomorrow.
Courthouse work gets under way
Work on a €25 million project to refurbish the courthouse in Washington Street, Cork, is to get under way next week.
The project is due to be completed by the end of 2004. Facilities will include seven courtrooms, facilities for judges and staff, consultation rooms, waiting areas, family law facilities, disabled access, media facilities, judges' chambers, legal practitioners' room, jury rooms and conference rooms.
Father appeals to accident driver
The father of a young Cork man killed in a hit-and-run accident last week made an emotional appeal yesterday to the driver of the car involved in the fatal incident to come forward.
Mr Damian Murray (20), South Douglas, a pillion passenger on a motorcycle driven by a friend, Mr John Cronin, was killed in a head-on collision with a car on the South Link Road. His father, Donal (45), said yesterday that his family were not interested in seeking revenge but wanted the driver of the car to tell them how their son was killed so that they can put him to rest.
Gardaí believe that both vehicles were travelling in the same direction on the dual carriageway when a car carried out an illegal U-turn on the outbound lane, hitting the motorcycle head-on.
Sahara dust found on west cars
Met Éireann was yesterday inundated with calls from throughout the west after motorists awoke to find their cars covered in a mysterious reddish dust.
A spokesman for the service confirmed that the fine dust probably originated from the Sahara Desert and was quite a common phenomenon after a run of dry weather with south-easterly winds.
Taxi fares raised in Galway
Taxi fares in Galway city are set to increase by an average of 40 cent per journey following approval by Galway City Council.
The minimum fare was increased from €2.70 to €3.19 after drivers argued that insurance, maintenance and vehicle repayment costs had all gone up since the last price increase in 2001.
Cork incinerator plan criticised
The newly elected chairwoman of Cork Harbour Alliance for a Safe Environment(CHASE), Ms Mary O'Leary, has criticised a decision by the county manager, Mr Maurice Moloney, to favour a controversial plan for a hazardous waste incinerator at Ringaskiddy, writes Frank McDonald.
She said Mr Moloney's support for a material contravention of the county development plan to facilitate the proposal by a Belgian-owned company, Indaver Ireland Ltd, made nonsense of the plan, which had been adopted only two months ago.
It also made a mockery of the Cork Strategic Plan, which allowed for the development of the lower harbour area for leisure and amenities and the attraction of clean industry to that area of the harbour, she said.