A round-up of today's other stories in brief.
Boat on Liffey to be new tourist feature
Dublin's latest tourist attraction, a tour boat on the Liffey, is undergoing final testing in preparation for its launch next week.
The Spirit of Docklands, a 52-seat craft capable of 9.5 knots, will begin operating officially on September 23rd.
This week it is undergoing final tests by ferrying schoolchildren and locals from the docklands up and down the river.
The Spirit of Docklands will operate between the Docklands and the city centre, with landing stations at Ha'penny and O'Connell Bridges and the IFSC.
Loretta Lambkin, of the Docklands Authority, said yesterday: "The boat has received its certificate from the Department of Marine and is ready for carrying passengers. We are just making sure everything works properly."
Ms Lambkin said the new tour service would operate from 10am daily, all year round except in January, and journey times are expected to be up to 50 minutes.The Spirit of Docklands was designed by Peter Lund-Nielsen of Denmark and built in Sweden. The project is an initiative of the Dockland Authority's River Regeneration Strategy.
Spanish police question Dubliner
Police in Majorca are questioning an 18-year-old tourist from Dublin in connection with the near fatal stabbing of a 15-year-old boy on the island last weekend.
The man was arrested early yesterday in Santa Ponsa, where the local youth was stabbed in the right lung at about 6am on Saturday. He had been returning from a night out with friends when the incident occurred. He told police an altercation had taken place between his friends, some of whom are English, and an Irish group.
The arrested man was identified after police interviewed witnesses and conducted inquiries in bars popular with Irish and British holidaymakers. He can be held for up to 72 hours before being charged. A police spokesman in Majorca said further arrests were expected.
Driver charged over fatal accident
A British lorry-driver has been returned for trial in connection with the death of a couple in a road traffic accident near Oranmore, Co Galway, last February.
Dean Stoakes (34), Richmond Street, Burton-upon-Trent, Staffordshire, appeared before Athenry District Court yesterday, accompanied by his wife. He is charged with dangerous driving, which caused the deaths of Therese and Shay English, parents of three teenage sons, of Knocknacarra Park, Salthill.
Mr Stoakes had first appeared in custody before a special court sitting in Galway the day after the accident, but was later granted bail.Judge Joseph Mangan sent him forward for trial and remanded him on continuing bail.
Man charged with assaulting woman
An 18-year-old man has appeared before Limerick District Court charged in connection with the alleged rape of a middle-aged woman at the weekend.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, is charged with assaulting the woman causing her harm in the early hours of Sunday at Sluggery, Dooradoyle, Limerick.
Judge Tom O'Donnell refused a bail application and remanded the defendant in custody until today.
Man killed on Dublin/Galway railway line
A man was killed when he was struck by the Dublin to Galway train yesterday evening, writes Liam Horan. The accident happened between Ballinasloe and Athlone at about 8pm, and the train was stopped on the line for over an hour as emergency services attended the scene.
The man is understood to have been a pedestrian.
1.6 tonnes of fireworks seized
An Garda Síochána said yesterday that in a joint Customs and Garda operation on Monday an articulated lorry was stopped on the M1 at Santry, Dublin, and 1.6 tonnes of assorted fireworks were seized. No arrest was made and the investigation is continuing.
Two men killed in Antrim accidents
Two men have been killed in separate accidents in Co Antrim. At about 3.40am yesterday a pedestrian from Ballymena died after he was struck by a lorry on the Crankhill road in the town. He was later named as Brian Magill (41).
A man in his 20s died in a two-vehicle collision in Drumbo near Lisburn at about 5pm on Monday. The PSNI has appealed for information and particularly wants to speak to the driver of a van that passed the scene at the time.
Dental official to sue association
The man dismissed last week as secretary general of the Irish Dental Association vowed yesterday to fight to clear his name.
Donal Atkins said: "After 26 years of dedicated work and an unblemished record, I regret that the association has left me with no choice but to clear my good name through the law."
A spokesman for the association confirmed that its national council took the decision to dismiss Mr Atkins. One of the allegations against Mr Atkins is that he gave himself an unsanctioned pay rise. Mr Atkins denies all allegations.
Banks accused of discrimination
The Labour Party's spokesman on justice, Joe Costello, has accused the banking sector of "discrimination" for demanding that African people living in Ireland undergo Aids tests when applying for mortgages.
The TD said he was "shocked" when he heard that a prominent Co Louth-based immigrants' rights campaigner had been forced to take an Aids test by two separate financial institutions.
"I have no doubt that this decision was based on race and that an Irish person who had lived for a long period in South Africa or a white South African applying for a mortgage would not be asked to undergo such a test," said Mr Costello.
He was commenting on the case of Benedicta Attoh, a Nigerian who said both Permanent TSB and AIB had demanded separate Aids tests from her when she applied for a mortgage last year. Ms Attoh, a member of the Louth African Women's Support Group, said she believed she had been discriminated against.
Ms Attoh has made a complaint to the Equality Authority, and said that if she did not get satisfaction there she would take the case to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. "This is institutionalised racism - to be asked to take an Aids test twice in one month."