A roundup of today's other home news in brief
Judgment on serial rapist’s case reserved
The High Court has reserved judgment on an application by a serial rapist for an injunction preventing a number of newspapers publishing his address and pictures of him pending the outcome of his full court challenge to their actions.
Michael Murray (50), who was released from prison last year after serving 13 years for raping four women over a six-day period in 1995, says he cannot live or work anywhere because, as soon as he moves, the papers reveal his address and print pictures of him.
He wants an injunction stopping the Evening Herald, the Daily Star, the Star on Sunday, the News of the World and the Sun from publishing images of him, his location, travel arrangements and place of employment pending his full action.
Closing the case for Mr Murray yesterday, Paul O’Higgins said that while the papers had argued the publicity was in the public interest to prevent him reoffending, it had to be asked was the public interest better served by allowing him to build a life.
Man charged over kidnap case cash
A man has been charged with possessing €61,000 in stolen cash in connection with a so-called “tiger kidnapping” in Dublin last Friday.
Edward McCarthy (23), Reuben Street, Dublin, was brought before Dublin District Court yesterday and charged under section 18 of the Theft and Fraud Offences Act for possession of the stolen money at Kimmage Road West on May 28th.
Det Denis Smith told Judge Cormac Dunne that Mr McCarthy was arrested at Clondalkin Garda station yesterday morning. He made no reply to charge after caution, the court heard.
Det Smith applied for a remand in custody and said there would be an objection to bail.
Judge Dunne remanded Mr McCarthy in custody to appear at Cloverhill District Court on June 8th and deferred a bail application until then. Legal aid was granted.
New RCSI head
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) yesterday elected its first female president in its 226-year history.
Eilis McGovern, a cardiothoracic surgeon at Dublin’s St James’s Hospital, will be president of the college for the next two years.
A graduate of University College Dublin and a fellow of the RCSI, Ms McGovern spearheaded the establishment of the State’s third public cardiac unit at St James’s, which opened in 2000.
From 2006 to 2008, she was appointed by the Health Service Executive as project director of an initiative to reconfigure acute hospital services in the northeast.
Patrick Broe, a consultant general surgeon at Beaumont Hospital, has been appointed the RCSI’s new vice-president.
Trial of two on murder charge
A man and woman from Co Louth are due to go on trial at the Central Criminal Court next week, charged with the murder of Darren McKeown (29), on St Stephen’s Day over two years ago.
Michael Cruise (19), Donore Avenue, Ballsgrove in Drogheda and Louise Wall (21), Cranmore, Clogherhead are charged with murdering him on December 26th, 2007. Mr McKeown, who was from Co Meath, died after being assaulted at a Christmas party he was attending in the Rowan Heights area of Drogheda. Mr Justice Paul Carney has directed that a jury be sworn in for the trial next Tuesday.
Ganley applies to have Libertas wound up
Libertas founder Declan Ganley has applied to have the party wound up in Ireland.
Documents were lodged with the Companies Registration Office in Dublin on Tuesday, in which applications were made for both the Libertas Party and the Libertas Foundation, with the same address in Moyne Park, Tuam, Co Galway, to be struck off voluntarily.
However, the “Libertas Institute” remained “functional and would continue to be active as a think-tank into the future”, a source close to Mr Ganley said last night.
Mr Ganley, a leading campaigner against the Lisbon Treaty, unsuccessfully contested the European Parliament elections last June in Ireland North-West.
The Libertas Foundation was set up to explore the possibility of creating a pan-European party.
Heads of climate Bill to be issued
The Government expects to publish the heads of the Climate Change Bill within four weeks, the Minister for the Environment John Gormley has said. The Bill will also give a statutory footing to the Government’s plan to cut carbon emissions by 3 per cent on average each year.
The department expects the full Bill to be published by the end of the year.
Mr Gormley was speaking yesterday after he was one of 70 Dáil TDs who signed a “climate commitment” calling for a strong climate law, as well as new climate finance for developing countries.
Passport Office staff accept deal
Passport Office staff have voted to accept a deal which will allow the recruitment of 50 temporary clerical officers.
The move will help to clear the backlog of more than 60,000 passport applications. The result of a ballot of members of the CPSU union in passport offices in Molesworth Street, Balbriggan and Cork was released last evening.
The Labour Relations Commission proposal aims to resolve a row between the union and management at the Department of Foreign Affairs.
New head of Anglo-Irish Division
Ireland’s consul-general in New York, Niall Burgess, is to become the new head of the Anglo-Irish Division in the Department of Foreign Affairs, which deals with British-Irish relations and Northern Ireland, writes Deaglán de Bréadún.
The Dublin-born diplomat has held positions in Geneva, Chicago and Brussels. He was private secretary to Dick Spring when Mr Spring was minister for foreign affairs.
Married with two children, he is an archaeologist by training and is related to the first ceann comhairle of the Dáil, Cathal Brugha.