Minister for Education Jan O’Sullivan has said she is disappointed
that a school in Dublin called off a workshop on homophobic bullying.
Speaking at the opening of a school in Kildare, Ms O'Sullivan said there were no sides when it came to homophobic bullying.
HSE to investigate four cases of syndrome in small area
The HSE will investigate concerns that environmental issues could be
behind four confirmed cases of Guillain-Barre Syndrome in the Duleek
area of Co Meath.
Local environmental groups say four cases of such an unusual
condition in four years in an area with as small a population as Duleek
(around 2,500) is highly unusual.
The syndrome is a disorder in which the body's immune system attacks part of the peripheral nervous system.
Symptoms can increase in intensity until certain muscles cannot be used at all. Most individuals make a good recovery.
After meeting local environmental groups in Navan today, the HSE said
it would now talk to individual patients to investigate further.
Irish Water registration levels 'improving', says Kelly
Minister for the Environment Alan Kelly has told the Dáil that 1,030,000 people had registered with Irish Water by yesterday.
Minister Kelly said: "The registration levels are improving all the time."
He also said that Irish Water expects to take in €500m in 2015 -
€271m in domestic water charges and €229m in non-domestic charges.
Answering a question from Sinn Féin's environment spokesperson Brian
Stanley, the minister said the costs of Irish Water's cost and billing
will be €22m.
Kenny hopes referendum passes 'strongly'
Taosieach Enda Kenny has said that the referendum on same-sex marriage is a straight question about equality, dignity and love.
Mr Kenny told Newstalk FM this morning that he hopes it is approved strongly.
He said the issue of children is not involved in the referendum.
Clare Daly initiates legal action against Garda Commissioner
Clare Daly has told RTÉ News that she has initiated a civil legal
action against the Garda Commissioner in connection with leaking of
information to journalists about her arrest on suspicion of
drink-driving two years ago.
Tests subsequently showed that Ms Daly was not over the legal alcohol limit.
Ms Daly said she is still waiting for a decision from the Garda
SÃochána Ombudsman Commission (GSOC) on a complaint she has made about
her arrest.
She had hoped to wait for that decision before lodging a complaint
but says that as the second anniversary of the incident fell this week,
her legal representatives have lodged papers with the High Court
initiating the civil action.
She does not know when the action will be heard.
Man recovering following shooting incident in Clare
A man is recovering in hospital following a shooting incident in Co Clare last night.
A second man has been arrested in connection with the incident which occurred at a house near Tulla.
Gardaà are investigating all the circumstances of the matter,
including whether the men had been engaged in a disagreement at the time
or if the shotgun was accidentally discharged.
The injured man, believed to be in his 30s, sustained a gunshot wound to his upper leg.
The other man, who is in his 50s, was arrested at the scene and is being detained at Ennis Garda Station.
Kim to attend WWII anniversary ceremony in Moscow
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has accepted an invitation to attend a
ceremony in Moscow to mark the 70th anniversary of the end of World War
II.
The trip would be Mr Kim's first foreign visit since taking power in the reclusive state in 2011.
"About 20 state leaders have confirmed their attendance, and the
North Korean leader is among them," said a spokesman for Russian
President Vladimir Putin.
Australia's detention of asylum-seekers at sea ruled legal
Australia's detention of 157 asylum-seekers at sea for weeks in June
was legal, the nation's High Court has found in a win for the
government's hardline immigration stance.
In a tight 4-3 decision, the court ruled the government was entitled
to hold the group of Tamils from Sri Lanka on a customs ship with a view
to return them to India, where they had set out from.
The ruling means they are unable to seek compensation for their month-long detention.
"I am pleased with the result," Immigration Minister Peter Dutton
told reporters in Canberra. "It has vindicated the government's position
and we welcome the result."
Syrian opposition and Assad officials meet in Moscow
Syrian opposition figures and representatives of President Bashar
al-Assad started talks in Moscow aimed at restarting long-stalled peace
negotiations to end the country's brutal war.
The Kremlin-sponsored talks are not expected to yield a major
breakthrough as the main opposition group, the exiled National
Coalition, has refused to attend.
At least 100 killed in Mozambique floods
More than 100 people have been killed and 150,000 displaced by floods in Mozambique, a senior government official said.
The United Nations said last week the rains in early January had
triggered floods affecting nearly one million people in Mozambique,
Malawi, Madagascar and Zimbabwe.
About a quarter of a million people in total were forced to leave their homes.