A round-up to today's other stories in brief.
Church stance on accused priests defended
The Archbishop of Dublin Dr Diarmuid Martin said last night that the child protection norms being applied by the Church, when priests were asked to step aside from ministry following allegations of child sex abuse, were precisely the same as those which would apply were the person involved a teacher or social worker.
He insisted the firm application of such norms by the Church was necessary if it were to have any credibility in child protection matters and that this was also in the interests of the protection of the good name of priests.
Speaking on RTÉ's Prime Time programme, he said he was aware of the anxiety of an increasing number of priests at how the Church's child protection policies were being applied currently, where accused priests were concerned.
He had discussed the matter with all priests of the Dublin archdiocese at meetings over the past 10 days, but he felt the problem lay in a lack of clarity on what the Church's norms and procedures were.
Cullen opens Cavan bypass
Minister for Transport Martin Cullen officially opened the €49.28 million Cavan bypass yesterday.The final phase of the N55 Cavan bypass involved the construction of a standard single-carriageway road from the Dublin road roundabout on the N3 at Pollamore to the N55 at Corlorgan, south of Cavan - a length of 2.8km.
Elderly woman injured by truck
An elderly woman was seriously injured yesterday after she was struck by an articulated truck in Longford town. The woman, thought to be in her 70s, was taken to Mullingar Regional Hospital.
Funeral of murdered woman
The funeral of Siobhán McLaughlin from Goatstown in Dublin, who was found dead in her home last week, takes place this weekend. The dead woman has been identified in news reports by her married name of Kearney, but the death notice in today's newspapers appears in her maiden name of McLaughlin.