Other stories in brief.
Application to freeze assets of solicitor to be heard on Thursday
An application to freeze the assets of a solicitor will come before the High Court this Thursday. Last Friday, at a private hearing, the Law Society secured permission to bring the application for the freezing order yesterday.
The President of the High Court, Mr Justice Richard Johnson, consented to an application by Paul Anthony McDermott, for the Law Society, to adjourn the case to Thursday. He said nothing should be published to identify the solicitor unless and until a freezing order is made. That was because, if the order was not made, the "stain might stick". The solicitor was only referred to as "S" during yesterday's hearing.
Agreements for Gilligan houses
Caretaker agreements for properties occupied by drug dealer John Gilligan's ex-wife and son, and now under the control of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), may be finalised by the end of the week, the High Court heard yesterday.The agreements relate to Jessbrook House, Enfield, Co Meath, where Geraldine Gilligan lives, and a house at Corduff Avenue currently occupied by Darren Gilligan, but formerly the Gilligan family home.
The properties are among a number to which CAB legal officer Frank Cassidy has been appointed as receiver following a High Court ruling that the assets were the proceeds of crime. The Gilligans are appealing that decision.
Six years for raping relative
A 74-year-old Laois "devout Christian" who told a young female relative that if she revealed he was raping her "the shock would kill your mother" has been jailed for six years by Mr Justice Paul Carney. He pleaded guilty at the Central Criminal Court to 16 charges of raping her on various dates from 1977 to 1981 and to one charge of indecently assault between May 1976 and 1977.
The court heard the victim was 12 when the abuse started and it continued until she was 16 and moved away.
Drug addict jailed for arson
A drug addict who broke into a house and caused damage of €100,000 by setting it on fire has been given a five-year sentence at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Thomas Kelly (20), Whitestown Avenue, Blanchardstown, Dublin, pleaded guilty to arson and the theft of two guitars from a home in Palmerstown in February 2007.
Love Ulster rioter jailed
A man who admitted to taking part in the riots during the Love Ulster parade in Dublin city centre in February 2006 has been sentenced to 18 months in prison. Ross Farrelly (23), St John's Gardens, Railway Street, Dublin, pleaded guilty to violent disorder on O'Connell Street.
Armed raider gets four years
A man who took part in an armed raid on a family's home has been sentenced to four years in prison at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court. Anthony Hyland (23), Blackhorse Grove, Grangegorman, Dublin was armed with a screwdriver and was one of four men who beat up and threatened Séamus O'Farrell, the owner of the house on the Old Cabra Road, while his wife and young children slept upstairs. The men ransacked three rooms.
Hyland pleaded guilty to aggravated burglary.
Man questioned over alleged sexual assault
Gardaí investigating an alleged sexual assault in north Dublin on New Year's Day have arrested a man for questioning, writes Conor Lally.
The suspect, who is in his 50s, was arrested in Dublin last Friday, and questioned for a number of hours before being released without charge. A file is being prepared by gardaí for the Director of Public Prosecutions.
The investigation is ongoing, according to reliable Garda sources.
It centres on an allegation made by a woman in the early hours of New Year's Day that she had been sexually assaulted at a house in north Dublin.
After spending the evening socialising, the alleged victim went to the house with another woman and the man now at the centre of the investigation.
Vietnamese leader in Dublin
Vietnam's prime minister Nguyen Tan Dun met Taoiseach Bertie Ahern in Government Buildings yesterday in what was the first such official visit to Ireland. Political and diplomatic ties between both countries have grown significantly in recent years. Ireland has designated Vietnam as one of its priority countries for Irish aid.
Mr Ahern paid tribute to the benefits of the reforms that have taken place in Vietnam over the past 20 years.
The Communist Party of Vietnam approved free-market reforms in 1986.
While remaining a single-party state, it has been one of the fastest-growing economies in the world in recent years.
Schoolgirl hurt in crash
A schoolgirl was injured yesterday when a car and a lorry collided with her school bus in Co Tyrone.
The bus was carrying 16 children to St Ciaran's High School at around 9am on the Favour Royal Road near Augher when it crashed.
Last month, another pupil of the school, Nicola Murray, was killed when a lorry struck the bus she was travelling in.
The girl who was hurt in yesterday's collision is receiving treatment for neck injury in Craigavon Area Hospital.
Goal calls for aid review
Goal, the aid agency, has called on the Government to review its aid policy to Tanzania. This follows Finland's decision to freeze part of its direct budget funding over suspicions of corruption.
In a statement yesterday, Goal said: "Some European nations are becoming increasingly concerned at the level of corruption among African governments. But our Government keeps its head solidly in the sand, refusing to accept that institutionalised corruption is the biggest obstacle to the safe delivery of aid to the poorest of the poor."
Ireland, said Goal, was a major contributor to the Tanzanian aid budget.
Ambulance staff give notice
Some 1,200 ambulance personnel have served notice of strike action on the HSE and are due to begin industrial action on April 7th, writes Eithne Donnellan
Siptu, the union representing the personnel, said the dispute concerns the HSE's unilateral decision to sign contracts with three private ambulance service providers in contravention of an existing agreement that no such action would be taken without their prior acceptance.
Matt Merrigan, SIPTU national industrial secretary, said the union regretting industrial action had become necessary.
"However, in view of the clear breach of faith by the HSE and in order to protect the ambulance service in the longer term, our members feel they have no other option but to take this action."
The HSE has said private contracts existed for providing patient transport for many years and the work given to private companies represents less than 4 per cent of the total budget of the national ambulance service.