A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Council seeks to stop HSA investigation
Donegal County Council has launched a High Court bid to stop a new investigation by the Health and Safety Authority and any prosecution of council staff arising from the death of a woman whose car went off a newly resurfaced section of the main road between Malin and Culdaff.
Mr Justice Michael Peart yesterday granted leave to the council to seek orders, in judicial review proceedings, restraining the HSA from investigating the council or prosecuting its staff in relation to the accident on June 12th, 2001, in which Sinéad McDaid from Carndonagh died.
Man's body found in Donegal
Gardaí were last night investigating the death of an elderly man whose body was found behind a holiday home at Meendernaslua, near Rannafast, Co Donegal.
The body was found at about 5.30pm by a construction worker on a nearby building site. Gardaí have cordoned off the area.
Garda denies leak to journalist
A senior garda has denied at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court that any information was leaked about a meeting he had with a man who is accused of threatening to kill journalist Paul Williams.
Det Sgt Joseph O'Hara was giving evidence on day three of the trial of a man charged with threatening to kill Mr Williams, crime editor of the Sunday World.
James Walsh (46), Mountain View Drive, Churchtown, has pleaded not guilty to threatening to kill Mr Williams on June 25th, 2003, and threatening to cause him serious harm.
Det Sgt O'Hara told Dominic McGinn, prosecuting, that he heard of the allegations from a colleague on June 25th, 2003. He later received taped phone conversations with Mr Walsh from Mr Williams which he transcribed.
He said he had met Mr Walsh earlier that day to discuss a different matter. He also spoke with Mr Walsh a number of times and recorded the conversations.
In a call made by him to Mr Walsh on June 28th, 2003, Mr Walsh complained that Mr Williams was ringing him looking for comments and that Mr Williams was able to tell him "what colour shirt I was wearing" after his meeting with Det Sgt O'Hara in Sundrive Road Garda station on June 25th.
Crash car was chased at 90km/h
A Garda motor accident investigator has told an inquest into the deaths of a couple whose car crashed while it was being followed by a patrol car that it was travelling at a minimum of 90km/h in a 50km/h zone.
The crash just before 3am on May 2nd, 2005, at the Long Walk, Dundalk, killed Mairéad Boyle (19) and Shane Hoey (20), both from Crossmaglen, Co Armagh.
The driver had a blood alcohol reading of 137; the legal limit is 80.
Garda Barry O'Hanrahan, forensic collision investigator, told the Coroner's Court that a few seconds before the crash, he estimated there was 69 metres between the vehicles.
He agreed that there did not appear to be any attempt by the BMW to take a corner at the end of the Long Walk road. The maximum speed for successfully taking the bend is 61 km/h.
He found a 41.2-metre skid mark in a straight line; he concluded the ABS system on the car was not operational when it crashed.
The inquest resumes this morning.
Company broke work safety Act
The managing director of an engineering company has admitted at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Michael Reade pleaded guilty on behalf of Reade Engineering Ltd, Richmond Industrial Estate, Dublin, that between March and December 2002 at South Lotts Office Development, Ringsend, Dublin, it used 16/10 anchors to secure a stairs support system rather than 16/30 as advised.