A roundup of today's other Irish news in brief
Man in court over bomb scare
The man at the centre of an alleged mid-air bomb scare on board a transatlantic jet cried in court yesterday as a senior Garda said he was seeking to have the man remanded in custody for a further two weeks.
At Ennis District Court, Dutch national Jorge Flores was making his fourth appearance in court in connection with being charged with saying he had a bomb on board an Aruba bound Boeing 767 flight with 231 passengers from Amsterdam on January 13th last.
Judge Joseph Mangan remanded Mr Flores in custody to Shannon District Court on February 18th next.
Film on danger of texting while driving
A film showing the horrific outcome of a car crash because the driver was texting was shown to more than 1,000 students yesterday in Mayo.
The graphic film, produced by Gwent police in Wales, highlights the dangers of texting while driving as it follows fictional schoolgirl Cassie Cowan. She and her friends are involved in a serious car crash after she loses concentration behind the wheel while texting.
“I hope that after watching this film motorists will think twice before picking up their mobile phone when behind the wheel,” said Mayo road safety officer Noel Gibbons.
Shell to Sea complains about letter
Corrib gas protesters have been told by Minister for Energy Eamon Ryan that there was no intention to interfere in the planning process with a letter sent by a Department of Energy official to An Bord Pleanála.
The letter was criticised by by representatives of Shell to Sea, who met Mr Ryan at Government buildings.
On November 2nd last the planning board determined almost half the proposed route for the project was "unacceptable".
A spokesman for Mr Ryan said the official's letter was a restatement in writing of testimony given at An Bord Pleanála's oral hearing.
Group visits Cork to learn of floods
A delegation from the Oireachtas Committee on Environment, Heritage and Local Government will meet with the ESB at Inniscarra dam in Co Cork today as part of a fact-finding tour around last November's floods in the county,
writes Barry Roche.
The group will also meet with Cork city and county county officials, local residents and councillors to hear the latest plans to repair the flood damage caused when the rivers Lee, Blackwater and Bandon burst their banks.
The group will also tour areas affected by the flooding in the heart of Cork city, as well as Bandon, Skibbereen and Clonakilty in west Cork. It visited Fermoy last night.