A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Ryanair flight skids at airport in Denmark
A Ryanair aircraft skidded on snow and left the runway at Denmark's Aarhus airport yesterday, but there were no injuries.
Flight FR712 from Stansted airport touched down at 9.41am local time at the airport in east Jutland, according to the airline's spokeswoman. As the Boeing 737-800 was taxiing to the terminal, the nose wheel slid from the snow- covered runway on to the grass verge, she said.
The 105 passengers on board disembarked safely by the rear and were taken by bus to the main terminal. Passengers who had been waiting to travel on the return flight to Stansted were being put on a flight yesterday evening.
Doctor seeks charges dismissal
An elderly Cork doctor has sought to have more than 200 counts of sexual assault against him dismissed after the European Court of Human Rights ruled that his human rights were being violated by the delay in proceeding with the case against him.
Dr James Barry (80), Lauriston Lodge, Glanmire, has been facing 212 charges arising out of complaints by 38 women who allege that he sexually assaulted them at his practice at Sidney Place, Wellington Road, Cork, between 1966 and 1995.
Yesterday at Cork Circuit Criminal Court, Pat Horgan SC for Dr Barry said the European Court of Human Rights found on December 15th in Strasbourg that Dr Barry's rights were violated on the basis of delay.
Mr Horgan told Judge Seán Ó Donnabháin: "There is a continuing violation on behalf of the State of the defendant's rights under the European Convention of Human Rights."
Barrister for the Director of Public Prosecutions Pearse Sreenan said the State had until March 15th to lodge an appeal against the European decision but that if the State did not appeal the decision, he suspected that the DPP would be entering a nolle prosequi (no prosecution).
Judge Ó Donnabháin said he would adjourn the case until March 1st for mention so that the State could indicate then to Dr Barry whether it intended appealing the European Court of Human Rights judgment. "We will see what will happen then," he said.
Teacher seeks return of job
The former principal of St Gerard's private school in Bray, Co Wicklow, has told the High Court he could not say teacher Mary Hennessy was the best person for a permanent position to teach maths at the school. It was a difficult judgment to make, Gerald Foley added.
Yesterday was the fourth day of proceedings by Ms Hennessy against the board of governors of the school which arose from her claim that she was wrongfully deprived of a permanent position at the school.
Ms Hennessy was a maths and business organisation teacher at the school from August 2002. She has claimed that in March 2003, reference was made to a probationary period and at the end of April 2003, she received a letter signed by the chair of the school board which stated it did not intend to offer a contract of continuous employment at the end of her probation.
In her action, she is seeking a declaration that she is a full-time teacher at St Gerard's and an order permitting her to return to her teaching post. She is also seeking damages for alleged breach of contract and exemplary damages for alleged loss of reputation.
Mr Foley, now principal of Belvedere College, said he was asked to recommend that Ms Hennessy should be made permanent teaching maths in the school. It was a difficult judgment, but he could not say she was the best person for the job.
When he had observed a sixth-year pass maths class under Ms Hennessy, there was a lack of rapport. He told Martin Hayden SC for Ms Hennessy he had formed a view by mid April 2003 that he was not going to ask her to stay on at St Gerard's.
The hearing before Mr Justice Kevin Haugh continues today.