In Short

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

A round-up of today's other stories in brief.

Three quizzed after 2.5kg heroin seizure

Gardaí in Limerick were questioning three men yesterday who were arrested after a major seizure of heroin in the city. Members of Limerick Drug Squad seized 2.5 kilos of the drug with an estimated street value of €500,000 during a planned Garda operation on Thursday night.

The three suspects - including two non-nationals thought to be from Nigeria and Sierra Leone and a Limerick man - were being questioned at Henry Street.

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Gardaí said that some of the heroin was seized in a flat on O'Connell Avenue while more was recovered when three men were arrested on Hartstonge Street.

Siptu defers action at Gate Gourmet

Siptu's industrial action committee at the airline catering company, Gate Gourmet, has agreed to defer industrial action. The union's civil aviation branch official, Pat Ward, said the decision was influenced by management's commitment to honour in full the terms of Sustaining Progress. These include the backdating of outstanding money to April 2005 with management refraining from changing work practices without consultation and agreement.

The committee said it reserved the right to reactivate its mandate to take industrial action if talks on restructuring collapse or management reneges on its commitment to agree a change-and-reward package for employees.

Owners say 1860s pub will not close

A historic Sligo pub dating back to the 1860s, which has been the subject of intense speculation, will not be sold or demolished, its owners said yesterday.

Pat and Mary Leigh Doyle, owners of Hargadons pub on O'Connell Street, said the premises will close at the end of this month, but only for maintenance work.

The couple, who have owned the pub for 20 years, said that negotiations on a new lease were at an advanced stage and with the current lease about to expire it was the ideal time to carry out the work.

Yacht rescued off Mayo coastline

A yacht with three people on board, which got into difficulties off the north Mayo coastline, was rescued yesterday afternoon by the Ballyglass lifeboat. A Malin Head helicopter assisted in the rescue.

The alarm was raised just after 1.30pm when the yacht, the Canon Ball, began drifting off the Staggs, off the Erris coastline. None of the three was injured and remained on board as the vessel was towed backed into Ballyglass pier.

According to Ballyglass lifeboat station the yacht was rudderless and so began to drift out of control.

RTÉ contacted on funpark report

The Department of the Marine says it has contacted RTÉ over an alleged breach of water safety legislation during filming for a news report at a Co Wicklow funpark earlier this week.

The department and Irish Coast Guard officials have already met Clara-Lara's owners over the incident. Several teenagers and a news reporter were filmed on a craft in the funpark, none of whom was wearing personal flotation devices or lifejackets. These are mandatory on vessels under seven metres or 23 feet in length and for all children on leisure craft up to 16 years.

RTÉ said yesterday it was not involved in any investigation on the matter.