A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Man charged with murdering prison inmate
A man has been charged with the murder of an inmate at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin in June of last year.
David Byrne (26) died after he was attacked and beaten with a sock containing batteries in the prison’s C-Wing.
He was brought to the Mater hospital but discharged himself later that evening and was returned to the prison.
The next morning staff were unable to awaken him and he never recovered.
Yesterday at Dublin District Court, Alan Smith (33), of Ballybough House, in Dublin, was charged with Byrne’s murder, at the C1 landing in the prison.
Det Sgt Robert O’Reilly told Judge David McHugh that the accused made “no reply” to caution when the charge was put to him.
There was no application for bail and Judge McHugh remanded Smith in custody
to appear at Cloverhill District Court on October 14th next.
Claim for damages after fall dismissed
The High Court has dismissed “an exaggerated and inflated” claim for damages by a former fisheries officer arising from injuries suffered after he fell through a trap-door located within the bar counter area of a pub. Mr Justice Daniel O’Keeffe yesterday rejected the claim by Gerard Duffy (62), of Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan, as a result of an accident in May 1997 at Gerard Boylan’s pub on Main Street, Carrickmacross.
The judge said Mr Duffy’s version of what happened “lacked conviction and consistency”, was “exaggerated” and he was the author of his own misfortune. Mr Duffy had given “false and misleading” evidence, including evidence to support an initial €400,000 claim for loss of earnings.
Financial workers lose challenge
Employees of the Central Bank and Financial Service Authority have lost a High Court challenge to the Minister for Finance’s refusal to exempt them from the public service pension levy.
They claimed their pension scheme is like a private fund and the Minister’s refusal to exempt them amounts to double or special taxation.
The Unite trade union and Paul Gallagher, chairman of its staff committee in the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority of Ireland, had brought the challenge against the Minister and the State.
Mr Gallagher said the levy has cut his monthly pay by €405, on top of €312 per month which he already pays towards his pension. Yesterday, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, dismissed the action.
Man remanded over assault
A man charged in connection with the death of a Polish man last weekend has been remanded in custody until October 21st.
Edward Byrne (20), with an address at a YMCA hostel in Dublin 8 is charged with assault causing harm to Lukasz Rzeszutko (27).
An application for bail made by solicitor Orla Farrell on behalf of the accused was yesterday refused at Cloverhill District Court.
Mr Rzeszutko had been on his way to work at a fish processing plant at the Newtown Industrial Estate in Coolock early last Saturday morning when he was assaulted by a number of men.
Mr Rzeszutko sustained serious head injuries and died at Beaumont Hospital on Monday.