A round-up of today's other stories in brief
Pensioner on charges of sex abuse
The trial of a 69-year-old Co Galway pensioner who is charged with sexually abusing two sisters in the 1980s has opened at Galway Circuit Criminal Court.
The man, who cannot be named for legal reasons, denies 27 charges of indecently assaulting a 10-year-old girl 25 times and her nine-year-old sister twice from April 1987 to June 1989.
Case not to go to Supreme Court
A man jailed for life for the murder of a Co Waterford mother has lost a bid to have his case referred to the Supreme Court. The Court of Criminal Appeal yesterday rejected arguments on behalf of Samuel Jennings that his conviction raised a point of law of such exceptional public importance as to justify the case going before the Supreme Court.
Jennings, of Kilmacthomas, Co Waterford, was convicted in November 2006 of murdering Mary "Mamie" Walsh (54), of Kilrossanty, Co Waterford, in 2004.
Call for weddings in Dublin City Hall
A Green Party councillor, Bronwen Maher, has called on Dublin City Council to consider offering Dublin City Hall as a venue for civil wedding ceremonies. She has put forward a motion on the matter for a city council meeting on Monday.
New initiative on sea lice
A new strategy for "improved pest control" on salmon farms has been initiated by Minister for Fisheries Mary Coughlan and her junior counterpart John Browne. It involves revitalising the single-bay approach to control of sea lice.