A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Man faces sentence for having sex with underage employee
A former business owner who had sex with an underage employee will be sentenced this morning at Dundalk Circuit Criminal Court. The 40-year old man, who cannot be named to protect the victim's identity, told gardaí that he knew the girl was 16 when she began working for him.
He pleaded guilty to engaging in sexual intercourse with a child under 17 between September 1st and September 30th, 2008. The court heard yesterday that the two had been drinking and the teenager had a significant amount of alcohol taken when they began kissing. They had intercourse, after which she went home. When her family became aware they contacted gardaí, who arrested the accused.
Increase in number of donkey rescues
Cork's donkey sanctuary has said last January marked its busiest month in its 46-year history, with 51 rescues in that period.
More than 100 donkeys were taken in to the Liscarroll-based sanctuary in the three months up to the end of March. Staff have been forced to build more temporary shelters for emergency intakes.
Five hundred donkeys are now being cared for at the 100-acre sanctuary, with hundreds more regularly exported to the sister centre in Devon in the UK.
Paddy Barrett, spokesman for the sanctuary, said yesterday: "I've never known it as bad. We made 51 rescues in January. I think the last time we had anything even approaching that number was back in the 1980s when we rescued over 40 in the same period."
Moher and Fundy wonders join forces
Two natural wonders, each competing to become one of the New Seven Wonders of Nature, have taken the unusual step of joining forces in an effort to improve their chances of securing the coveted title.
The Cliffs of Moher in north Clare and the Bay of Fundy in Canada have both been shortlisted in the final 28 of the New Seven Wonders global competition. The final wonders will be confirmed on November 11th.
Cliffs of Moher director Katherine Webster said: "There are a lot of connections between Co Clare and that area of Canada . . . so we . . . appeal to voters in Ireland to vote for the Bay of Fundy and get those in Canada to vote for the Cliffs of Moher."
Terri McCulloch, executive director of Bay of Fundy Tourism, has described the cliffs as "absolutely stunning".