A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Hobbs will not feature on 'Late Late'
A disagreement has developed between financial adviser Eddie Hobbs and RTÉ over his appearance on this week's Late Late Show, writes Fiona Gartland.
Following his recent success on the economics entertainment programme, Rip Off Republic, RTÉ advertised Mr Hobbs's appearance on the Late Late Show this coming Friday during the week.
But on Today FM, Mr Hobbs said he would not be appearing on the show and that advertising that stated he was, was a matter for the programme. A spokeswoman for RTÉ said that it was its obligation as a public service broad-
caster to discuss issues generated by Rip Off Republic. "The issues raised are not about Eddie Hobbs or Rip Off Republic," she said. "The programme will go ahead, and the issues will be discussed whether he appears or not."
Asylum-seeker figures fall again
The number of asylum-seekers coming to Ireland continues to drop, although the rate of decline is slowing.
Asylum applications were down 6 per cent in the first six months of this year compared to the same period in 2004, according to international statistics compiled by the Office of the United Nations Commissioner for Refugees.
The total of 2,216 applications represents a 53 per cent fall over the first half of 2003.
Four held after Meath shop raid
Four men were arrested in Co Meath yesterday after an armed raid on premises in Bettystown. At about 10.30am staff in a shop in the village were threatened with a gun, and the gang made off in a black Audi A6 with an undisclosed amount of cash.
They later set fire to the car, and gardaí arrested them as they tried to leave in a second vehicle. Searches were continuing yesterday for the weapon used in the raid and the cash that was taken.
All four men were detained under Section 30 of the Offences Against the State Act. Two, aged 20 and 21, were held in Drogheda and the other two, aged 19 and 32, in Balbriggan Garda station.
Detectives from Drogheda have appealed for witnesses.
Meanwhile, gardaí in Cahir have appealed for witnesses to an armed raid at a post office in the village of Ardfinnan, Co Tipperary. At around 11am three men, one armed with a sledgehammer, entered the post office, threatened staff and made off with a small amount of cash.
The men escaped in a dark Ford Mondeo heading in the direction of either Cahir or Clonmel.
No one was injured in either of these incidents.
18 people hurt in bus-truck collision
Eighteen people were injured yesterday morning after a double-decker bus was in a collision with an articulated lorry in west Dublin.
Shortly before 8.30am the bus, on its way from Ballymun to Blanchards-
town, was pulling into a bus stop at Snugboro Road when it is thought it was rear-ended by the lorry.
According to Dublin Bus, there were 25 passengers on board at the time, and 18 were taken to Connolly, the Mater and Beaumont hospitals for what have been described as "precautionary reasons".
Transfer for tourist injured by dolphin
Arrangements were being made last night to transfer a German man, injured by a dolphin on Sunday, from Ennis Hospital's intensive care unit to Germany for further treatment, writes Gordon Deegan.
The 41-year-old tourist was struck by a wild female bottle-nosed dolphin while swimming off the Clare coast near White Strand beach at Miltown Malbay.
He was admitted to hospital suffering from abdominal injuries.
A Health Service Executive spokeswoman confirmed yesterday that the man remains in intensive care.
Anger over water cuts in Mayo
An elderly couple's home in Shrule, Co Mayo, was extensively damaged by fire yesterday morning. Both pensioners escaped unharmed but there is local anger because the town's water supply is cut off at night.
According to a neighbour, the fire brigade arrived quickly but could not hook into the water main as Mayo County Council had cut off the local supply at night for several weeks.
"It's an absolute disgrace in 2005, that a house is on fire and the fire brigade team must start sourcing water to deal with the blaze from the local river," the neighbour said.
"There has been an inadequate supply of water to Shrule for years, and for weeks now Mayo County Council switches off the supply at night to conserve the little that is there," he said.
Local Fianna Fáil councillor Damien Ryan said: "It is imperative the fire services are fully aware of where the authority has shut off supply."
Fine Gael councillor Patsy O'Brien said: "Since 2001 we have been assured that the new supply will come from Tuam, but four years down the line, despite promises, the scheme has not yet gone out to tender."
Sligo Cemetery vandalised
Sligo cemetery is to be closed at night following a spate of vandalism which resulted in several headstones being smashed during the summer, writes Marese McDonagh.
Last month it emerged that groups of black-clad teenagers known as goths were congregating in the cemetery at night, with some reported to be sleeping on graves.
Cemetery caretaker Brian Scanlon said these youths did not drink or take drugs but their presence was adding to the problem.
Thousands of euro worth of damage was done at the cemetery, part of which dates back to Victorian times, when headstones and a vault from the 1800s were damaged.
Cllr Veronica Cawley (Lab), a member of the Friends of Sligo Cemetery, said the decision to close the cemetery at night was taken with regret but was unavoidable given the level of antisocial behaviour there.
"I think people latched on to the goths this summer because it was a buzz word, but this problem has been there for years and years," Cllr Cawley said.
Death notices on new website
A new website providing details of Irish death notices online has been launched in the Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology.
Galway-based Cyril McCarthy has developed www.RIPnotices.com. The website provides a county-by-county list of up-to-date bereavements in the Republic, including notices of Irish people who have died abroad.
All current death notices are shown in alphabetical order, under each county name.
Jean Williams, manager of the company, said: "A valuable benefit of this site is that it provides 24-hour accessibility, which means people don't have to depend on radio and newspaper announcements alone.
"More importantly, you don't have to be in the country to find out about a death."