More news in brief.
Two held after drugs seizure in Rosslare
A man and woman were being questioned by gardaí last night after the seizure of more than €8 million worth of cannabis resin at Rosslare Port.
The drugs were discovered by customs officers hidden among legitimate cargo on a container which had arrived by ferry from Cherbourg, France.
The 2,500lbs of cannabis resin, which was packed on two wooden pallets described as "footwear", was discovered following risk profiling by Customs officers who were assisted by a drug detection dog.
The suspects, both Irish nationals, were being held at Wexford Garda Station.
Motorcyclist killed in Leitrim
A 33-year-old motorcyclist who died after a collision with an SUV on the Carrick-on-Shannon to Mohill road in Co Leitrim at the weekend was named yesterday as John Mee (33) from Mohill.
Gardaí have also named two people killed in crashes in Cork and Dublin. The 17-year-old youth killed in a two-car collision on Sunday evening in north Cork was named as Kevin Walsh from Kilclare, Upper Conna, Fermoy. He was a front-seat passenger in a car being driven by his brother, Mark (20), when the car was involved in a collision with a car travelling in the opposite direction between Conna and Curraghglass at about 6.30pm.
A cyclist who died last Wednesday on the Nephin Road in Dublin was named by gardaí in Blanchardstown as Maureen Martin (51) from Navan Road, Dublin. Ms Martin was fatally injured in a collision with a truck at about midday.
Couple say no lawyer available
A couple whose claim of overcharging by lawyer Gerald Kean was rejected by the Solicitors' Disciplinary Tribunal have told the High Court they are still unable to find a solicitor to represent them in their appeal against that decision.
Dajamel Mennad and his wife, Fatima Zohra Azizi Mennad, are seeking to overturn the tribunal's clearing of Mr Kean of claims by the couple that he had not outlined his fees in writing as required under Section 68 of the Solicitors Amendment Act 1994.
At a previous appearance in the High Court, the Mennads said they had been unable to find a lawyer who was prepared to represent them against Mr Kean and the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Johnson, asked the Law Society to provide them with a list of solicitors.
Yesterday, Mr and Mrs Mennad said they had contacted the solicitors on the list but, as soon as they heard the case involved Mr Kean, the solicitors had said they were not prepared to get involved.
Counsel for Mr Kean said he had offered to deal with the matter through arbitration and this might resolve it.
Mr Justice Johnson said the Mennads wanted legal representation and all he could do was ask the Law Society to try again and send them another list of solicitors.
Majority back zero drink limit
A majority of people favour the introduction of a zero drink-driving limit, according to the findings of a new survey by Parc (Parents against Road Carnage), and supported by Alcohol Action Ireland. It found that 57 per cent of people would prefer a zero drink-driving limit.
Overall, 87 per cent of the 3,262 people surveyed favoured a reduction in the current limit of 80mg/100 ml.
The survey showed gender differences, with female motorists aged between 25 and 49 more likely to favour the zero tolerance approach.
Some 62 per cent of women aged 35-49 were in favour of the zero alcohol limit. Male drivers aged between 17-24 were more likely to favour a reduction in the blood-alcohol limit level to 20mg or 50mg.
Non-drivers, typically aged under 24 or over 65, were more likely to favour a two-tier limit.