More news in brief.
Roche brings in new nitrates rules
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche last night announced the introduction of new nitrates regulations which will extend the deadline for pig, poultry and mushroom producers to reduce their use of phosphorus fertilisers, writes Marie O'Halloran.
The regulations revoke many of the rules introduced in December last year and revise others, which had provoked huge criticism from the farming community. Under the new rules, the majority of farmers will also have an increase in grassland nitrogen limits. The regulations were introduced originally in the wake of the EU nitrates directive to protect water supplies from farm pollution.
Mr Roche said the European Commission had agreed to the revised regulations, most of which will come into effect from the beginning of August.
German firm wins dialysis contract
A German company has won a Health Service Executive contract to provide extra dialysis services for patients in the southeast. However, the HSE refused to answer questions yesterday as to whether Fresenius, the company that won the contract, had submitted the lowest tender.
The service will be provided in Kilkenny, the HSE said, but it would not say where exactly in the city the service would be provided from.
Controversy has surrounded the fact that a dialysis unit in a private clinic in Kilkenny has been idle since it opened in January while patients had to travel outside the region for a service.
The company operating this, the Wellstone Clinic, was unsuccessful in the tendering process.
North move to tackle knife crime
The North's criminal justice minister, David Hanson, is to host a conference on knife crime in September after nearly 900 of the weapons were handed over during a Northern Ireland knife amnesty.
He said he was determined to tackle knife crime against a police estimate that there are 1,200 knife-related crimes in every year.
Launching a 12-week consultation period on how to deal with knife crime, Mr Hanson said "although knife crime is lower than in other parts of the UK we have to act now to challenge this growing knife culture".
Church damaged in arson attack
A Catholic church in north Antrim was damaged in a suspected sectarian arson attack early yesterday morning.
The sacristy window of the Church of the Immaculate Conception, Glenshesk Road, Ballycastle, was broken and inflammable liquid poured in and set alight. The sacristy was extensively damaged.
Last week an Orange Order hall in Armoy in north Antrim was gutted in another suspected sectarian attack, and there was speculation yesterday that the attack on the church was in retaliation.
Court protest on Irish activist
A large group of Irish language activists protested outside the Magistrates' Court in Belfast yesterday when an Irish-speaking teacher was charged with disorderly behaviour. Máire Nic An Bháird (24), Dunmurry, Co Antrim, who had earlier claimed that the charge arose after she was arrested on the Malone Road last May for speaking Irish, denied the charge.
Resident Magistrate Fiona Bagnall gave the defence three weeks to make written submissions in support of its application to have the papers in the case translated into Irish and the Crown a further three weeks to respond.
She adjourned the hearing until September 6th and the defendant was remanded on continuing bail.