A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Investigation into Finglas shooting
Gardaí investigating the shooting of a 25-year-old man at a pub in Finglas in Dublin on Saturday night are following a definite line of inquiry.
Gardaí say two men entered the Finglas Inn on Barry Road shortly before 11pm and attacked the victim while he was in the toilets. One of the men fired a sawn-off shotgun, wounding the man in the shoulder.
The injured man was brought to the Mater hospital. His injuries are not life-threatening.
Dates for posting Christmas cards
December 19th is the latest date for posting Christmas letters and parcels for the island of Ireland, An Post said yesterday. For Britain and Northern Ireland, December 18th is the latest date by which delivery is guaranteed in time for Christmas.
For European destinations the deadline is December 9th for parcels and December 18th for letters. For all parts of the US, Central and South America, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, India and the Philippines, the standard deadline is December 5th for parcels and December 7th for letters and cards.
O'Sheas says HSE laboratory unused
A new cardiac catheterisation laboratory at Waterford Regional Hospital, which is urgently needed to save lives and prevent lasting damage to patients' hearts, is lying idle because the Health Service Executive will not employ the necessary staff to run it, a local TD has claimed.
Labour's Brian O'Shea said yesterday that the laboratory is built, the equipment is in place, and a consultant appointed, but an additional €1.2 million is required to recruit extra high-calibre staff and the HSE won't sanction the money.
"This is another outrageous example of a chaotic health service in which money is wasted in some areas and in others refused for a vital service," he said.
Approval needed for golf club sale
A member of Dublin City Council has raised concerns about the legal status of a decision by Clontarf Golf Club to sell the course to a private developer, writes Olivia Kelly.
The club's 670 members voted last Friday to sell the course to Capel Developments in a deal worth €125 million.
The developer's offer includes a commitment to pay all full members €100,000, conditional on the sale going through.
However, the club leases 62 of its 77 acres from Dublin City Council. Labour councillor Seán Kenny said yesterday that councillors had recently been told that the permission of the council must be secured before any sale could take place.
Mr Kenny has called on the city manager, John Tierney, to confirm that no such consent has been given.
Red Cross saving child soldiers
Children forced to serve as soldiers, and other children in danger of conscription into armies, are the focus of this year's Irish Red Cross Christmas appeal.
In a letter to more than 60,000 individuals, David Andrews, chairman of the Irish Red Cross, said that children in many parts of the world faced a sad and terrifying Christmas. Last year the Red Cross helped rescued 1,000 children.