A round-up of other stories in brief...
Bail for boy accused of killing man
A 16-year-old boy charged with the murder of Dublin man Aidan O’Kane, who was shot dead near his home in East Wall in December, was remanded on continuing bail at the Children’s Court yesterday morning.
Judge Ann Ryan agreed to an application by the State to allow further time for the book of evidence to be completed.
The teenager was accompanied to court by his father and remained silent as the judge remanded him to appear again in the Children’s Court in eight weeks.
Defence solicitor Maura Kiely said she was consenting to the State’s application.
Release of trio accused of affray
Three men charged in relation to an incident in which one man was shot and another man was stabbed in the back have been released on bail.
Kieran Keane (19), Ross Buckley (21) and Tyrone O’Connor (20), all with addresses in Limerick city, appeared at Roscrea District Court yesterday.
They were arrested last Tuesday and charged with affray following an alleged incident at a house at Glen Court, Emly, Co Tipperary, at 3.30pm on March 31st.
Judge David Anderson remanded the men to appear on May 13th.
Talks break down over plant jobs
Sixty-five jobs are to go at the Dawn Meats plant in Midleton, Co Cork, with an additional 70 agency jobs under threat. The company employs 220 people at its boning and slaughtering operation in Midleton.
Talks yesterday at the Labour Relations Commission in Dublin broke down as union officials tried unsuccessfully to negotiate an improved redundancy package. The company announced in March its intention to close its boning operation and transfer it to Charleville in north Cork.
Sinn Féin rejects flats allegations
Northern Ireland’s Deputy First Minister Martin McGuinness yesterday robustly defended his fellow Sinn Féin MPs over allegations they were fleecing the British taxpayer over expenses.
The Mid-Ulster MP said the British government actually owed Sinn Féin millions of pounds in unpaid salaries.
Rejecting criticism following revelations that Mr McGuinness and four other party members claimed more than £400,000 on a pair of London flats, he said they did nothing wrong. In the last financial year the five were reported to have claimed £105,000 on the flats even though they do not take their seats at Westminster. – (PA)
Three new names for North litany
The names of the three recent victims of violence in Northern Ireland will be included in the reading of a litany to be read at Dublin’s Unitarian Church on St Stephen’s Green from noon tomorrow, Good Friday,
This year’s litany of more than 3,500 will include the names of soldiers Mark Quinsey (23) from Birmingham and Patrick Azimkar (21), who were shot dead at Massereene Barracks in Antrim on March 7th, and of PSNI constable Stephen Carroll (48), who was shot dead in Craigavon, Co Armagh, on March 9th.