Irish language conditions attached to housing in the Connemara Gaeltacht are "unworkable, unreasonable and offensive", said developers of a scheme in Carraroe, Co Galway.
Jimmy Keady and Caoimhghín Ó Flatharta, are appealing against the condition attached to planning approval for a 22-house scheme, which was granted by Galway County Council last month.
Under the county development plan, which aims to protect the linguistic and cultural heritage of the State's largest Gaeltacht, developers must sign legal agreements to restrict use, including rental, of new housing schemes to occupants with an appropriate competency or fluency in Irish.
The first such agreement was imposed last year on a number of apartments in Spiddal, for 10 years, and the condition has already been the subject of a separate Bord Pleanála oral hearing.
Mr Keady and Mr Ó Flatharta argued that the condition could make it impossible for developers to raise finance for schemes, as lending agencies stipulate that property can be sold on without restriction.
5m contraband cigarettes seized
Customs officers yesterday seized five million contraband cigarettes valued at €1.5 million in a warehouse near the Border. They were found hidden in a container that had been declared as "frozen vegetables" and had been delivered to Drogheda, Co Louth.
A man with an address in Co Monaghan is helping the Revenue service with its investigation. A Customs spokesman said a Scania truck and refrigerated trailer were impounded.
It is thought the cigarettes originated in Ukraine and travelled by sea from Odessa to Dublin via Rotterdam.
According to the Revenue, this was the third major seizure of cigarettes by Customs officers this year, amounting to a total of 13 million with a potential loss of revenue of €3.4 million.
Meanwhile, the PSNI has seized a large quantity of cigarettes and documents as part of an investigation into money laundering and organised crime. One man was arrested after a raid in Enniskillen, Co Fermanagh, yesterday morning. Police also conducted raids of premises in Co Armagh and the Templepatrick area.
Dingle aquarium reopens today
An aquarium in Dingle, Co Kerry, is to become Ireland's first tropical freshwater centre in Ireland when it reopens today.
The Dingle Ocean World attracts 100,000 visitors a year and has seen its numbers increase since it was set up by local businessmen and community representatives in 1996.
Several hundred colourful South American freshwater species have been introduced into the new Mayan-Aztec setting designed to evoke the South American tropics.
The total set will be like coming through a rain forest, said marine biologist Kevin Flannery.
Cork drink-driver numbers increase
A senior garda in Cork has expressed concern about the level of drinking and driving in the city and county, with an average of a dozen people a week being caught driving over the legal alcohol limit.
Insp Billy Duane of Anglesea Street Garda station claims drink-driving is still a major problem in Cork in spite of massive media campaigns over the last 20 years.
"There have been 133 people arrested already in Cork this year. It was socially unacceptable to go out and drink and drive. The drink-driving figures in Cork are increasing every year."
Cork gardaí warned yesterday that they will be mounting extra checkpoints in the coming days to cut down on speeding and drink-driving during the St Patrick's Day festivities.