ireland.com - The Irish Times

Man (32) is shot dead in west Dublin
Gardaí in Dublin are investigating the city's latest gangland killing, in which a 32-year-old father was gunned down outside his home in Blanchardstown yesterday afternoon. p

Visit to Shankill area is cancelled
Security concerns have compelled President Mary McAleese to cancel a visit to the Shankill in Belfast today. The President, however, plans to proceed with a visit to a primary school in a loyalist area of south Belfast this morning. p

GP payments up by more than €21m
Fees and allowances paid to GPs for providing care to medical-card patients increased by more than €21 million last year. p

Other Stories

Dail procedural plan dropped
The Government has withdrawn proposals to change procedures in relation to how the Taoiseach is questioned in the Dáil, in the face of strong objections from the Opposition parties. p
Aid target: Taoiseach to make statement
The Government has decided to wait until next week before revealing its new target for reaching the UN target of spending 0.7 per cent of GNP on overseas aid. p
Rabbitte criticises SF over fatal shooting
Labour leader Pat Rabbitte has accused Sinn Féin public representatives of refusing to intervene in a dispute between two families in Dublin's south inner city which claimed the life of Joseph Rafferty who was gunned down on the Ongar estate in west Dublin in April. p
CIE to examine using biofuels instead of diesel
CIÉ chairman John Lynch has ordered an investigation into the use of biofuels and hybrid electric/diesel engines in a bid to cut the company's soaring fuel bills. p
'Bad taste' code being formulated for media
A new code of practice is being developed to police bad taste and indecency in radio and television broadcasting. p
President has 'friendly courtesy meeting' with Pope
The President, Mrs McAleese, had a brief private audience with the Pope in the Vatican yesterday accompanied by her family. p
Amendments to Criminal Justice Bill introduced
The age of criminal responsibility for children is to be raised from seven years to 10 for most offences, under new proposals announced by Minister for Justice Michael McDowell. p
Prosecutors discuss ways to combat global crime
Prosecuting chiefs from common law jurisdictions around the world are meeting in Belfast and Dublin this week to consider best practice in combating national and global crime. p
DCU €22.5m unit to create home diagnostic devices
The development of a small use-at-home device for electronically measuring a person's "cardiac wellness" is just one of the innovative devices likely to come from a new research centre at Dublin City University. p
Leave for workers to 'upskill' urged
The National Adult Literacy Agency (Nala) is calling on the Government to introduce paid educational leave for all adult workers who hold less that a Junior Certificate qualification. p
Garda entry changes set to allow non-nationals join
The Government has approved changes to entry requirements for the Garda as part of an initiative to recruit more non-nationals and members of ethnic minorities. p
Luas set to break even by late 2006, but Smartcard plan slows
The agency responsible for the Dublin Luas system expects the tram will be breaking even on a day-to-day basis before the last quarter of 2006, ahead of recent projections, according to a report issued yesterday. p
Minister rules out ESRI advice on fuel carbon tax
Minister for the Environment Dick Roche yesterday ruled out the introduction of a carbon tax on fossil fuels as suggested in an Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) report. p
UN urges 'more and better' aid
World governments need to provide more and "better" overseas aid if- they are to meet the UN Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), according to a major international report on poverty and underdevelopment. p
Many areas have not benefited from growth
A new study on deprivation across the State shows many communities in rural and urban areas are "locked" in poverty despite the economic success of the last decade. p
Agency highlights child poverty
One hundred and forty thousand Irish children live in poverty according to the Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) who are finalising their pre-budget submission. p
Effort to fight education disadvantage criticised
Government efforts to combat educational disadvantage is poorly co-ordinated and lacks "joined up thinking", according to a report to be published shortly. p
Witnesses to Dutch stabbing sought
Dutch police are releasing thousands of leaflets over the coming weekend appealing for witnesses to the brutal stabbing to death of a young Irishman. p
Food firms to cut salt content
The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) has secured agreement with the food industry to reduce the level of salt in manufactured products by 2010. p
In Short . . .
A round-up of today's other stories in brief. p

In the North

No 'quick fix' to loyalist violence
Northern Secretary Peter Hain has stated there is no "quick fix" solution to loyalist paramilitary violence after he came under pressure from SDLP leader Mark Durkan to declare the UVF ceasefire over. p
Donaldson invites Colombia delegation
In Bogotá DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson has invited victims of terrorism in Colombia to visit Ireland to lobby for the extradition of the "Colombia Three" to serve their sentences in that jurisdiction. p
Roche seeks end to cross-Border dumping
Co-operation between public bodies north and south of the Border is vital to stop the "big money" trade in illegal cross- Border waste dumping, Minister for the Environment Dick Roche has said. p

In the Courts

UK body rejects Eager family's claims on trial
The UK Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) has contradicted claims by the family of the late Georgina Eager that it asked the Irish authorities to extradite Christopher Newman to face trial in Ireland, and that this request was refused. p
Two other women made claims against Newman
Gardaí had sent a file to the Director of Public Prosecutions on the man convicted of killing Irish woman Georgina Eager after a former employee of his told gardaí he had threatened to harm her, stalked her and had forced her to perform sexual favours on his friends. p
Court adjourns inquest because of Garda inquiry into baby death
An inquest into the death of a baby in Dublin that reopened yesterday after a gap of more than 32 years was adjourned until next February because the Garda investigation is still ongoing. p
Imprisoned fathers 'need support'
Stronger support for fathers in prison to maintain good relations with their children would reduce reoffending, an expert on fatherhood will say this evening. p
Girl (5) died after liver biopsy - coroner
A five-year-old Dublin girl who contracted a rare parasitical disease on holiday in southern Europe died months later, not directly from that disease, but as a result of a procedure at Our Lady's Hospital for Sick Children in Crumlin, the Dublin city coroner has found. p
Bail for Dubliner facing arms charges
The Special Criminal Court yesterday granted bail to a Dublin man arrested during Garda investigations into the activities of dissident republicans. p

Festival of Science

CO2 from soil across Britain a 'disaster'
Scientists have described as a "disaster" a research finding that shows soils across Britain are discharging carbon dioxide into the environment due to global warming. p
Rose helps to promote maths and physics
Mayo Rose Aoibhinn Ní Shúilleabháin has encouraged students to pursue careers in science while attending her first public engagement as winner of the Rose of Tralee competition. p
'James Bonds' could identify diseases
Tiny "James Bonds" could enable doctors to perform "diagnostics in a cell" to identify a wide range of diseases in the future. p
Ecstasy use can impair immune system
Taking ecstasy can impair the immune system, according to Dr Thomas Connor at the BA festival yesterday. p
Reasons we choose to follow the leader
Evolution can explain what makes a leader and why as followers we tolerate them, but Darwin's theory tells us much less about why we so often choose a bad leader. p
Festival programme
What's on today and tomorrow. p

Regional News

'Waterford University' could yield €100m
Business and academic leaders in Waterford have warmly welcomed an independent report which has found that granting Waterford Institute of Technology (WIT) full university status would generate almost €100 million a year for the southeast economy. p
Bord Bia in €10m drive to market Irish beef
Bord Bia is to spend €10 million in a major marketing drive over the next three years promoting Irish beef across Europe. p
High Court appearance for Rossport Five
The five Co Mayo men, who have been in prison for 71 days for contempt of court relating to the Shell Corrib gas pipeline, made a brief appearance in the High Court yesterday. p
Flatley to step out for world record attempt
Riverdance star Michael Flatley will put his best foot forward this Saturday when he will take part in a Cork European Capital of Culture attempt to break the world record for the largest ever number of people to dance in a céilí. p
Coroner links fall to woman's death
The Dublin city coroner has said he is satisfied that a fall from her bed at St Colman's Hospital, Rathdrum, Co Wicklow, contributed to the subsequent death of an elderly woman. p
Greed mentality deplored at funeral
Ireland needs to rid itself of the greed mentality afflicting the country since the advent of the Celtic Tiger, a priest said yesterday at the funeral of an 82-year-old man found dead in suspicious circumstances last weekend. p
New suicide support service for Galway
A new counselling and support service for families and individuals bereaved by suicide is to be launched in the Galway region next week. Console, the bereaved by suicide foundation, will launch the service next Monday, September 12th. p

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