A round up of today's other stories in brief...
Man held over murder of horse dealer
A 46-year-old man was last night being questioned by gardaí over the murder of a well-known midlands horse dealer Christy Hanley, writes Steven Carroll.
Mr Hanley's body was discovered in his home in Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath, last month after a suspected robbery.
Detectives investigating the murder arrested a man in Dublin yesterday afternoon, and took him to Athlone Garda station for questioning.
He is being held under Section Four of the Criminal Justice Act, and can be detained for 24 hours.
Mr Hanley was a much-liked character in Kilbeggan, and was known for performing card tricks.
Reform of estate management
An inter-departmental committee has been set up to consider recommendations on changes in the law relating to modern apartment and housing estate management companies, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said last night, writes Carol Coulter.
He was speaking at the launch of the Law Reform Commission Report on multi-unit developments.
Mr Gormley also said that he intended to publish amendments to the planning legislation which would help ensure that the policies and measures adopted by planning authorities were consistent with national and regional guidelines.
The Law Reform Commission has recommended that planning authorities inspect residential estates at the construction phase.
The commission also recommended that the taking in charge of areas of the estate by the developer be identified at the planning stage.
Ferry link to Spain proposed
The first passenger ferry service between Ireland and Spain could be up and running as soon as next March, a conference heard yesterday, writes Ronan McGreevy.
A feasibility study carried out by the Port of Cork and Gijon in the south of Spain will be presented to the Spanish port authorities in Madrid tomorrow.
It envisages a Ro-Pax (freight and passenger) service running three times a week between the two ports.
The journey between the ports would take 24 hours.
Such a service would leave ferry passengers within a day's drive of popular sun destinations like the Costa Blanca, the Costa Del Sol and Portugal's Algarve.
Port of Cork commercial manager Capt Michael McCarthy said there was "phenomenal interest" in the proposal from passengers and haulage companies.
Capt McCarthy said a direct service between Spain and Ireland would save hauliers an average of more than €1,000 per container on a notional journey between Limerick and Madrid in comparison with the landbridge route used through France and the UK.
That gap is also likely to widen as diesel prices continue to rise.
Call to abandon EU energy target
The Government has been urged to abandon an EU target of meeting 10 per cent of transport energy needs from renewable sources by 2020, writes Paul Cullen.
Oxfam Ireland says the target is being met by the cultivation of biofuels which are contributing to food insecurity and inflation and hurting poor people in the developing world.
In a report published today, the charity claims rich country biofuel policies have already dragged more than 30 million people into poverty as a result of recent rises in food prices.
"To support a huge increase in biofuels use when we're already seeing the damaging impacts of increased demand would be hugely irresponsible," says Colin Roche, Oxfam Ireland's policy and advocacy co-ordinator.
"It may have once looked like a good idea but clearly now is the time to rethink and drop the target."