More news in brief.
No contact to end dispute, say nurses
Two unions representing around 40,000 nurses last night expressed surprise there had been no effort over the weekend to try and resolve a dispute with their members, over which they begin industrial action this week, writes Eithne Donnellan.
The nurses, who are members of the Irish Nurses Organisation (INO) and Psychiatric Nurses Association (PNA), are expected to engage in a work to rule at various hospitals this week, during which they will refuse to undertake certain duties.
The unions will hold a lunch-hour protest outside the gates of Cork University Hospital today at 12.30pm.
Bishop praises role of Cura
Crisis pregnancy counselling was "at the cutting edge of the engagement of the church with the modern world", the Bishop of Killala and president of the Catholic pregnancy counselling agency Cura, Dr John Fleming, has said, writes Religious Affairs Correspondent, Patsy McGarry.
"It faces issues of fundamental concern to the church and of great importance for society. It is inevitable, therefore, that we are the subject of public debate as we continue to do our work and engage with the greatly changed modern world".
He did not address directly the ongoing dispute between Cura and the Crisis Pregnancy Agency over distribution of the latter's Positive Options leaflet.
Former Methodist leader convicted
The Methodist Church in Ireland has said it was "greatly saddened to learn" of the conviction of a former president of the church, Kenneth Best, of sex abuse. In a statement it also said it "deeply regrets any suffering caused by his actions".
At Belfast Crown Court last Friday, Best received an 18-month prison sentence for each of six charges, to run concurrently, and suspended for two years.
Best was president of the Methodist Church in Ireland from 1996 to 1997.
He pleaded guilty to sexually abusing a boy in the 1960s. He admitted six charges of sexual assault between January 1st, 1963, and December 31st, 1966. The court heard he was 19 when he first interfered with the victim, then aged 14.
Suspected grenade attack in Limerick
A man in his late 30s was being questioned by gardaí in Limerick last night after a suspected grenade attack on a house in the city.
Shots were fired into a house in O'Malley Park, Southill, at 9.50pm on Saturday. A device believed to be a grenade was also thrown at the house and exploded in the front garden.
There was one person in the house at the time but nobody was injured.
Anger at EU duty-free rules
EU rules on duty-free goods brought in by passengers on transit flights are causing mayhem in world airports and destroying the duty-free industry invented by Ireland, according to Irish MEPs, writes Paul Cullen.
Fianna Fáil MEP Seán Ó Neachtain said Irish travellers would be hit by copycat measures being introduced by Australia at the end of March and other countries were likely to follow the EU's example.