News from around the 32 counties of Ireland

Down

The smoking ban in Northern Ireland is comparable to a prohibition imposed by the Third Reich in Hitler's Germany, senior judges have heard. A north Down man seeking to quash his conviction for lighting up at council offices also claimed smokers' rights to freedom from torture were being infringed. Opening his case in the Court of Appeal, Chris Carter (56) produced a photograph of a cancer patient he claimed was made to go outside Belfast City Hospital for a cigarette. The former security consultant, who represented himself as a personal litigant, is seeking leave to apply for a judicial review of the legislation which led to him being fined.
(Source: Belfast Telegraph)

Dublin

Dublin's two sheriffs have slammed the barrier-free tolling system on the M50 -- describing the massive fines motorists incur as a "disaster". More than 500 people who ran up fines on the M50 toll charges were pursued by the Dublin City Sheriff in the last month alone. But a spokesperson for the City Sheriff's office said the vast majority of these debts cannot be collected because the debtors either have no money or they cannot be traced.
(Source: The Herald)

Fermanagh

Millie Martin's mother's former partner, who is charged with the Enniskillen baby's murder, has been refused bail. The High Court heard that Millie had suffered 11 rib fractures, apparently sustained weeks before her death last December. It was claimed she had been sexually assaulted. Barry McCarney, 31, who had been living at the infant's home at Glebe Park in the town with Rachel Martin, 25, denies a charge of murder.
(Source: BBC News)

Galway

A damning report has accused the taxi industry in Galway City of racism – suggesting that the companies have a policy of not employing Africans. The controversial report, which will be published this week, says that no taxi company in Galway employs black drivers and accuses the companies of being “private clubs”. A number of local TDs are also slammed in the report for making statements to the media in relation to “foreign national” taxi drivers operating in the city.
(Source: GalwayBay Fm)

Kildare

The clean up of Naas/Kerdiffstown dump could cost €30 million but it is urgently needed.
Kildare county councillors are in possession of a report from an environmental consultancy firm saying that the pollution coming from the Naas/Kerdiffstown dump is a danger to the water supply and that gas emissions from the site are at explosive levels. It also says that the leachate contains four or five times the maximum amount of ammonia allowed by the EU, which the report says will cause a “progressive deterioration.
(Source: The Kildare Nationalist)

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