In Short

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

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

Criticism of ticket prices for Waterford regeneration forum

The People Before Profit group in Waterford city has called on the city council and the chamber of commerce to “facilitate attendance” for residents, community groups, trade unionists and environmental activists at a regeneration conference.

The cost of the Waterford conference, organised by the Waterford Chamber, is €151 for members and €193.60 for non-members. It will be held at the Theatre Royal on September 23rd and will focus on the regeneration of the city and county. Paul O’Reilly of Waterford People Before Profit, said: “The cost of the tickets for the one day event has been set at almost €200 for non-chamber members, putting it far beyond the reach of most ordinary citizens.”

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Vets link up to offer new service

Eighteen independent veterinary practices in 12 counties have agreed to a co-operative arrangement which they claim will enhance the services they provide, writes Seán MacConnel l .

The initiative, under the banner XLVets Ireland, was officially launched by Prof Patrick Wall of University College Dublin.

The group will comprise 80 vets with a farmer client base of more than 10,000.

Chairman Gerard Cusack said the Animal Health Ireland group, which had brought all the stakeholders in the livestock industry together, had successfully promoted awareness of the economic benefits of improving the health of the national herd.

Prof Wall said that the initiative would address the problem of under- performing herds and flocks due to inadequate nutrition or subclinical disease and would help ensure the sustainability of Irish agriculture.

No fines in Clare for dogs on beach

There were no fines this summer for contraventions of Clare County Council’s contentious daytime beach ban on dogs.

“Only two fines in five years speaks for itself,” Brian Meaney (Green) said.

“The council has made people aware of the health risk to the general public by allowing dogs on the beaches, but it does not have the resources to be chasing down people who contravene the bylaws.”

Wicklow court moves to Bray

Wicklow’s District Court will sit for the first time in Bray instead of Wicklow town today because the courthouse in Wicklow has to be refurbished on health and safety grounds.

The Circuit Court sittings for Co Wicklow were also moved from Wicklow to Bray three years ago on health and safety grounds.

Refurbishment works in Wicklow will take 18 months and cost more than €250,000.