More news in brief
An Oireachtas committee set up in June to decide whether a referendum should be held to deal with issues arising from the statutory rape controversy has extended its original deadline for submissions to August 31st.
In a press statement yesterday, the Joint Committee on Child Protection said it had received a number of written submissions following its invitation last July to interested parties and members of the public to lodge submissions.
"The committee has been given a very strict deadline by the Houses of the Oireachtas to report back by 30th November, 2006, and accordingly is operating within tight time constraints," the statement said.
"In this regard, at its meeting on 25th July, the committee decided to extend the original deadline of 18th August, 2006, to 31st August, where individual parties and bodies contacted the committee indicating any difficulties experienced in meeting the original deadline.
"In order to avoid any confusion, all persons and bodies originally invited to lodge submissions and who have not already done so are being notified of the revised timescale."
Arson attack on refuse company
Gardaí are investigating an arson attack on the main base of one of the largest private refuse collection companies in the northwest. Five trucks, a horsebox and a cattle-trailer were destroyed by fire and the windows were smashed in another truck in the early hours of yesterday.
The attack was launched against Ferry's Refuse Collection company at Rossbracken, near Letterkenny, Co Donegal.
Shotgun attack on man's house
A prominent Ashford businessman whose house was blasted in a shotgun attack said yesterday that he has no idea why his family was targeted.
The front window and door were damaged by shotgun fire on Thursday night at about 9.50pm.
Only the man's wife and young daughter were in the house when the incident took place, although neither was hurt.
Laois car crash victim named
A 70-year-old woman who was fatally injured on Tuesday when the car in which she was travelling collided with a truck has been named as Betty O'Sullivan from Mountrath, Co Laois.
The crash occurred on the N7 at Mountrath at 8.30pm on Tuesday night.
Conflict museum to be discussed
Proposals for a museum of the Northern Ireland conflict will be discussed at a special workshop in Dublin today convened by the Belfast-based Healing Through Remembering project.
The Open Call for Ideas workshop is open to the public and will be held from 2pm to 5pm at the Irish Film Institute on Eustace Street.
Gardaí search aircraft luggage
There was a security alert at Dublin airport yesterday after gardaí delayed the departure of an Air France flight to Paris to allow them to inspect the hold luggage. The flight was due to depart at 9am when gardaí requested access to the aircraft.
Passengers were taken off while the search was taking place. Gardaí identified the luggage of a Kurdish passenger who was flying to Iran, via Paris.
They found a laptop in the bag and another in the man's carry-on luggage. A number of mobile phones were found as well as a large quantity of cash, estimated at €30,000.
Gardaí searched the man's luggage after receiving a tip-off. While the Army's bomb disposal unit was called in, nothing was found in the man's luggage.