A round-up of today's national news in brief
8 remanded for Mullingar disturbances
Eight men appeared before Mullingar District Court yesterday evening in connection with disturbances in the town earlier in the day. Six were charged with public order offences and two others were charged with assault.
In objecting to a bail application, gardaí described one of the men as a "ringleader" and claimed he has rejected attempts to organise mediation in an ongoing feud between two families.
The men were remanded in custody to appear before Tullamore District Court next Monday.
Cowen meets both sides in pay talks
Taoiseach Brian Cowen attended the partnership talks at Government Buildings yesterday, as negotiations reached a critical phase.
He met employers and unions separately to apprise himself of the situation, writes Ronan McGreevy.
Construction Industry Federation director general Tom Parlon said there was no scope within his industry for any pay increases, as the entry-level wage was twice that of the minimum wage. He said senior management was taking pay cuts of the order of 25 per cent in some cases to save jobs.
The talks are due to conclude on Friday. A union source said that if there was no progress by this evening on the substantive issues of pay and collective bargaining, it may mean there will be no deal by the talks' deadline.
Three new judges for child cases
Three new District Court judges are to be appointed to deal with cases involving children.
Minister of State for Children and Youth Affairs Barry Andrews said the appointments would help reduce waiting times for cases to come to court and improve delivery of youth justice. They would also improve the efficiency of Children's Court functions.
Iarnród hopes to resolve dispute
Iarnród Éireann management and unions have been invited to talks at the Labour Relations Commission in an attempt to avert a possible strike in Munster over the bank holiday weekend.
Line maintenance staff at stations in Cork, Limerick and Kerry are planning a 24-hour strike on Friday in a dispute over contract staff doing work which company employees say is part of their duties.
A spokesman said the firm was hopeful a resolution will be achieved before one of the busiest travelling weekends of the year.
Gardaí inquire into fatal crash
Gardaí at Bunclody, Co Wexford are investigating a fatal road traffic collision yesterday morning at Ballyrankin, in which a 38-year-old man was fatally injured when the car he was driving collided with an articulated truck.
He was the sole occupant and was pronounced dead at the scene.