Other home news in brief
Labour accused over Gormley whereabouts
The Labour Party has been accused of persistently making "misleading and disingenuous" claims about the whereabouts of the Green Party leader and Minister for the Environment, John Gormley, writes Stephen Collins.
A Green Party spokesman was commenting on a claim by Labour's environment spokeswoman, Joanna Tuffy, yesterday that the absence of Mr Gormley from the Dáil for a debate on climate change was baffling.
The spokesman pointed out that Mr Gormley was in Paris yesterday to attend an EU Council of Environment Ministers meeting and that was a matter of public record.
Coughlan in Wavin jobs talks
Minister for Enterprise Trade and Employment Mary Coughlan yesterday met management of plastic pipe manufacturer Wavin to discuss the loss of 50 jobs at its Dublin plant.
Wavin, which employs 198 people in Ireland and has its main plant at Balbriggan, announced in March that it would be laying off one quarter of its staff. It said the redundancies came as a direct result of the declining construction market.
Minister of State for Agriculture Trevor Sargent, a TD in the Balbriggan area, said he was confident the visit would help chart a path through the downturn in construction.
A spokeswoman for Ms Coughlan said the meeting, which was arranged at the request of the company, had been "useful".
New laws due on food labelling
Consumers are being asked for their views on the information that should appear on the food they buy, in a first step towards introducing new laws on the labelling of food products.
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland yesterday announced a public consultation calling on consumers and other interested parties to express their views and opinions on the subject.
The consultation is expected to attract submissions on such issues as nutritional information, details about country of origin, alcohol labelling and information about potentially allergic substances in food.
€170,000 taken from Dublin ATM
Two armed men held a security van crew at gunpoint yesterday and made off with up to €170,000 in cash.
The raid happened at 1.15pm at the AIB ATM on the Clontarf Road. The two men produced what appeared to be a sawn-off shotgun and a single shot was fired. They made their getaway in a Dublin-registered black Jeep Cherokee.
Man held over Co Down murder
A man has been arrested in connection with the murder of an elderly guesthouse owner in Co Down.
The body of Billy Spence (67) was found on Tuesday morning in the premises he ran near Bangor's marina for the past 18 years. He had been beaten and stabbed, probably in an incident late the night before.
Man dies after PSNI car chase
The North's Police Ombudsman has been called to investigate the death of a young man following a car chase in west Belfast in which a PSNI car was rammed.
The man (25) died after the stolen car in which he was a passenger left the road in the Hannahstown area of the city early yesterday.
Dublin rock'n'roll bus tour
Dublin's first rock'n'roll writers bus tour will begin this month. Rory Gallagher Way, the U2 wall at Windmill Studios and Phil Lynott's statue will among the places covered in the 75 minute journey. Buses will leave Westmoreland Street five times a day and the tour will cost €15.