More regional news in brief.
Investigation as door falls off school bus
Gardaí in Tipperary have launched an investigation after a door fell off the rear of a school bus carrying primary pupils home from school.
Gardaí in Templemore and officials from the Department of Transport have seized the bus.
The incident occurred at Pallas, Borrisoleigh, Co Tipperary, at 3.15pm on Tuesday when the rear door of a bus, operated by a private contractor from the area, came loose and fell into the path of following traffic.
The bus was carrying 12 primary school pupils home from a school in the Borrisoleigh area.
Irish woman killed in Belgian crash
A woman from Co Clare has died following a road crash in Belgium which left her husband in a critical condition.
Treacy Bechdari (34), nee Phelan, from Cappa, Sixmilebridge, suffered fatal injuries when the car her husband Ali was driving crashed on a motorway on the outskirts of Brussels on Tuesday. His condition is said to be critical. The couple married two years ago.
Ms Bechdari worked in the tax department of PricewaterhouseCoopers in the Belgian capital where she had lived for the past 14 years.
Driver drifted across road
Cork Coroner's Court yesterday heard of the moments leading up to the crash in which a car driver lost his life after he drifted across a single white line and collided with an oncoming lorry.
Arthur O'Connor (59), Monkstown, Cork, died in Cork University Hospital after colliding with a lorry at Carr's Hill near Carrigaline, on January 4th, 2006.A statement from Seán Courtney, who was driving the truck, was read to the court.
He said there was "nothing" he could do to avoid the collision. The car came across the central line of the road and collided with him. "The impact was so big that the cab lifted upwards," read the statement.
The jury recorded a verdict of accidental death and recommended that sign posts be erected warning of the "offending bend".
Call for university in southeast
Figures released by the Central Statistics Office, which show the southeast has the lowest level of disposable income of all the regional authority areas, highlight the need for university status being granted to Waterford Institute of Technology, a leading economist has claimed.
Friends First chief economist Jim Power said it was "alarming but unsurprising" that the figures show the disposable income per person in the southeast was 8.8 per cent below the national average.
"Dublin, Kildare, Limerick and Cork are the four counties with disposable incomes above the national average.
"There are other factors at play in the first two areas but again all four have universities," said Mr Power.
"It's clear there are counties within the southeast that fare even worse than Waterford when the disposable income measure is applied and this should serve as a forceful reminder that the university of the southeast is not only a key local issue but also a major regional imperative."