A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Inquiry under way into alleged sexual assault on 16-year-old girl
Gardaí in Limerick are investigating an alleged sexual assault on a 16-year-old girl in the city.
The teenager was discovered by gardaí in a laneway between the North Circular Road and the Ennis Road close to Ard Scoil Rís Secondary school at 7pm on Wednesday.
It is understood she had been drinking with a number of friends in the area. The girl was taken to the Mid-Western Regional Hospital and the area where she was found was cordoned off to allow for a complete technical examination of the scene.
Gardaí at Mayorstone appealed for anyone with information to contact them on 061-456980.
Fire officer calls for extra vigilance
Donegal’s chief fire officer has appealed to members of the public to be extra careful in 2011 after one of the county’s busiest years for bog and gorse fires.
Bobby McMenamin was speaking after recently released figures showed the Donegal fire service had responded to 531 calls from January to September of this year, compared to just 122 such calls for the same period in 2009.
This increase, he said, was due to the prolonged dry and frosty spells early in the year.
Men released after cigarette seizure
Three men arrested following a seizure of €860,000 worth of contraband cigarettes in Dublin have been released without charge.
Two million cigarettes were confiscated by gardaí and Customs officers at a business park in Newcastle, Co Dublin, on Wednesday.
They were brought through Dublin Port some days before. One man, aged 38, and two others, both aged 44, were arrested and later released, a Garda spokesman confirmed yesterday.
Inquiry on rights to Kenmare park
Kerry County Council is inquiring into whether the ancient landlords of Kenmare, the Lansdownes, still hold rights over the public park in the town.
Much of the planned heritage town of Kenmare and hinterlands had been owned by the Lansdowne Estate, founded by Cromwellian adventurer Sir William Petty.
The Lansdownes still retain private property in the area.
Independent councillor Michael Healy-Rae has asked the council to determine whether the estate still holds rights over the public park.
He asked the executive to find out whether other public property was owned by the estate, adding that if so, it should now be signed over to the council.
The council believes it either owns the park or has a long-term lease on it.
Generally, where property was in public use, Kerry’s landlords were inclined to hand it over to the authorities.
The search on the ownership of the park in Kenmare town is likely to take some time.