More news in brief
It is unrealistic to expect parents to be satisfied with information on schools which does not give some information on academic standards, the Ombudsman and Information Commissioner, Emily O'Reilly, said yesterday, writes Seán Flynn, Education Editor.
She said parents would always want information on academic attainment as long as entry to third level is based on a points system.
In an address to school managers, she also said teachers have "exaggerated negative concerns" about school league tables.
Speaking at the annual conference of the Irish Vocational Education Association (IVEA), Ms O'Reilly said that she had yet to come across "a university or other third-level institution that is likely to express an interest in my son's player of the year medal for Howth Celtic's under-11 team".
"It may well serve him well later in life, but, as any parent who is attempting to fit their child into the only funnel that leads to third level knows, academic achievement is king and it is . . . unrealistic to continue to believe that a school's performance on that score should be kept under wraps."
Man questioned over murder
Gardaí in Limerick were questioning a man last night in connection with the murder of nightclub security man Brian Fitzgerald in 2002.
The man, in his late 40s, was arrested near Ennis in Co Clare last night and was being questioned by detectives.
Mr Fitzgerald (34), a father of two, was shot dead outside his home in Corbally as he returned home from work in November 2002.
Inchicore school given reprieve
Parents have welcomed the decision by the Christian Brothers to keep St Michael's primary school in Inchicore, Dublin, open for a further year.
St Michael's CBS, which has been educating boys since the 1930s, was due to close at the end of the school year.
However, the Christian Brothers have now agreed to retain the school for another academic year after a campaign by parents.
The school is in a designated disadvantaged area and has a high proportion of pupils with behavioural problems and special needs.
Millionaire loses appeal on cottage
Millionaire industrialist Lord Ballyedmond, the former senator Dr Edward Haughey, has lost an appeal over ownership of a derelict cottage adjoining his estate overlooking Carlingford Lough in Co Down.
Three High Court judges dismissed his appeal without hearing legal submissions from the lawyer representing Guy Scott-Foxwell, who bought the family-owned cottage in 1974 and now lives in Scotland where he is a fisherman.
During the original hearing last year Lord Ballyedmond and his two companies - Norbrook Laboratories and Ballyedmond Castle Farms - claimed to have acquired ownership of the cottage through adverse possession - a legal term for squatter's rights.
After hearing the appellants' submissions at the appeal the judges said they did not need to hear from counsel for Mr Scott-Foxwell because they were satisfied the appeal must be dismissed.
The Lord Chief Justice Sir Brian Kerr said the court was entirely satisfied that the decision reached by Lord Justice Campbell was one that was squarely accommodated within the evidence before him and the inferences he drew could not be disturbed.
Lord Ballyedmond was ordered to pay the costs of the appeal.
It is understood that Mr Scott-Foxwell intends to apply for planning permission to build a home on the site.