A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Investigation continues into tree accident
Investigations continued yesterday into the circumstances in which a man was seriously injured when he was struck by a falling tree along the proposed route of the M3 motorway in Co Meath, writes Ruadhán Mac Cormaic.
The man, a health and safety consultant employed by the contractor, remained seriously ill but stable at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda last evening. He suffered severe head injuries when he was struck by a tree at a site in Lismullen Wood, opposite the Hill of Tara, on Tuesday.
Call for dedicated stroke units
Up to 1,000 lives could be saved every year if dedicated stroke units were established across Ireland, a leading consultant physician has said. Strokes are the third leading cause of death in Ireland with an estimated 10,000 stroke victims reported annually. A major study focused on how stroke patients fared in a dedicated stroke unit compared to a general rehabilitation ward.
Inis Mór harbour plan approved
An Bord Pleanála has approved plans for a new harbour development on the Aran island of Inis Mór, writes Lorna Siggins.
However, the archaeologically sensitive nature of the area has been taken into account in a series of conditions set by the planning appeals board.
339 patients on trolleys, says INO
The number of patients on trolleys in hospital A&E units across the State climbed to 339 yesterday, the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) said last night. It said overcrowding was worst at Galway's University College Hospital where it claimed 32 patients were on trolleys in the emergency department.
The Health Service Executive claimed, however, that the number on trolleys was 170 and that the number on trolleys in Galway was 18. It conducts its count in the afternoon, whereas the INO does its count every morning.
First farmed cod to be harvested
Harvesting of Ireland's first farmed cod is to be witnessed by the Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cuív in Connemara tomorrow. Several tonnes of the fish will be taken from the sea at Cill Chiarain, Co Galway, marking the success of the first whitefish reared on a farm in Irish waters from egg to maturity.
Schools' secular 'invasion' criticised
The "undue influence of secular ideas and methodologies in Catholic third-level colleges that have percolated down into our Catholic primary and secondary schools", has been criticised by lay Catholic group the John Paul II Society, writes Patsy McGarry. In a statement yesterday it criticised the "secular invasion of our Catholic institutions".