In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

Man held after bank robbery in Waterford

A man was arrested yesterday following a bank robbery at the TSB in the Lisduggan Shopping Centre in Waterford City, writes Ciarán Murphy.

The raider, believed to be a local man in his late 20s, entered the bank with a handgun at approximately 10.25am yesterday.

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He was apprehended by security staff as he tried to leave with an undisclosed amount of money.

Gardaí in Waterford have recovered the money and the handgun and have established that the firearm was an imitation.

The man was arrested under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act 1939 and detained for questioning yesterday at Waterford Garda station.

NRA accused of misinformation

The environmental campaigner Vincent Salafia has accused the National Roads Authority (NRA) of attempting to "poison public opinion" in claiming that delays have been caused to the proposed M3 Motorway and that those delays are currently costing €1 million a week.

"Both these assertions are completely false because the M3 has not been delayed in any way whatsoever because of the legal challenge," he said.

Mr Salafia, whose Supreme Court case against the route of the proposed motorway is pending, also insisted it was damaging to his reputation to point out that nine people had died along an existing 10km stretch of the N3 over the past 21 months.

"The misinformation from the NRA is designed to poison public opinion and paint conservationists as murderers and thieves in the public mind, and to influence the Supreme Court by alleging astronomical figures in delays," he maintained.

The NRA yesterday said it could assert "absolutely and without hesitation" that construction had been delayed at a current cost estimated€at €1 million a week. It also asserted that the nine deaths were "a simple, verifiable matter of fact".

Six years for heroin charge

A newly married man who held over €1 million worth of heroin in his mother's home has been sentenced to six years in prison by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.

Christopher McCabe (27), Sundale Walk, Tallaght, pleaded guilty to possession of the drug at Cremona Road, Ballyfermot on May 3rd, 2005.

Judge Delahunt told McCabe that without people like him "in the mid range of the drug industry" people higher up could not trade in this manner.

She suspended the last two years, having taken into account that McCabe had no previous convictions and said it was "somewhat unusual" for a person in his position to come before the courts.

Special Mass at University Church

There will be a Special Mass at the Newman University Church in Dublin at noon next Saturday for couples who were married there. It is one of the events taking place this year to mark the church's 150th anniversary. Making the announcement yesterday, parish priest at the church, Fr Pearse Walsh, was supported by Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform, Michael McDowell, who was both christened and married there.

Man (19) dies in Co Laois crash

A 19-year-old man from Mountrath was fatally injured in a road traffic crash in Co Laois yesterday

The crash occurred on the N7 at Clonboyne, Portlaoise at 8am. Two cars were involved, both travelling in the same direction. One crashed into a tree and went on fire. The driver of this car was fatally injured. The other car crashed into a ditch with the driver receiving non-life threatening injuries. Gardaí are appealing for witnesses to contact them at 0502-74100.