A roundup of today's other news stories in brief.
Robinson to head commission of jurists
Former Irish president Mary Robinson has been appointed president of the Geneva-based International Commission of Jurists, following her election to the post at the end of 2008, writes
Carol Coulter, Legal Affairs Editor
She was first elected to the Geneva body in 1987, and resigned in 1991 when she was elected president. In 1997 she was appointed UN Commissioner for Human Rights, a position she held until 2002.
She is currently founder and president of Realising Rights: The Ethical Globalisation Initiative.
She was re-elected to the International Commission of Jurists in 2004, following the end of her term at the UN, and since 2005 both she and its previous president, Justice Arthur Chaskalson, have been members of the Eminent Jurists Panel on Terrorism, Counter-Terrorism and Human Rights. Its report will be released next month.
€27m recycling centre opens
The opening of a new €27 million green bin recycling centre in west Dublin is proof of the emergence of the “green economy”, Minister for the Environment John Gormley said yesterday.
Commenting as he toured the new plant which will process dry recyclables for the four Dublin local authorities, Mr Gormley said Ireland had less than 10,000 tonnes of recyclables stockpiled, significantly less than had been feared.
The new plant at the Ballymount Industrial Estate will have a staff of 85 people, with a further 100 collecting green bins.
It is to be operated by Greyhound Recycling and Recovery, which also collects the green bins in the Dublin region.
Cork restaurant to pay €20,000
A Co Cork restaurant has been ordered to pay €20,000 in compensation to a former employee after the Equality Tribunal found she had been dismissed on grounds of her gender.
Maneewan Seesan began work at the restaurant in Mallow when it was opened by Thai Thanie Ltd in November 2005. She was dismissed in June 2006, while she was pregnant.
The tribunal said the employer failed to show that there were exceptional circumstances not associated with her pregnancy to justify Ms Seesan’s dismissal.
Chandeliers go back to cathedral
Almost 27 years after their removal during major renovation work at St Mary's Cathedral in Killarney, a set of 12 brass chandeliers are to be returned on Candlemas Day, Monday, February 2nd, writes Patsy McGarry.
More properly termed electroliers, as they were made for use with electricity, the light fittings were designed to hang in the aisles when produced by John Hardman Co, Birmingham, for the cathedral.
After their removal in 1972, they were sold, put into storage and later unearthed by Tralee historian Maurice O’Keeffe who returned them to Hardman Co where they were cleaned and restored.
Man (22) killed in Kildare crash
A 22-year-old man was killed, and a woman seriously injured, in a two car crash on the Monasterevin to Kildare road in Co Kildare last night.