Other stories in brief.
Louth man (27) dies in road crash
A 27-year-old Co Louth man died when his motorcycle left the road. The incident happened at Ballybarrack Road, Dundalk, shortly after 9pm on Sunday.
The man's body was removed from the scene and taken to Louth County Hospital. Gardaí from Dundalk station are investigating the fatal single-vehicle incident.
Vodafone rejects top-up fees claims
Vodafone has confirmed it plans to reduce by 15 per cent the margins payable when customers top up their mobile phones from mid-February.
However, the company has rejected claims made by retailers in yesterday's Irish Times that this will lead to the widespread introduction of handling charges for customers. It says customers will still be able to get top-ups with having to pay a surcharge by availing of the service in Vodafone stores, at ATMs, online and by text.
A spokeswoman said the company had reviewed the commissions it paid to payment collection companies and found that rates in Ireland were higher than elsewhere in Europe. She said retailers benefited substantially from the product, with over 500,000 customers a week topping up their phones in retail stores.
Four in court over crane damage
Four people, one of them a 17-year-old youth, have appeared before Belfast magistrates accused in connection with damage done to a 70-metre high crane at a hotel building site in Belfast city centre at the weekend, writes Dan Keenan.
The court heard that some £10,000 damage was done to the electronic systems of the crane which stands on a site close to City Hall.
Appearing in court were Darren Sloan (18), of Victoria Street in the city; Patrick Nalty (23), Centenary House in Belfast; and Graham Garrett (20) of Bristol Park in Newtownards, Co Down. The youth cannot be named for legal reasons. He was remanded in custody while the three adults were released on bail to appear in court again on February 25th.
New Aer Arann route to France
Aer Arann has announced a new route from Cork to La Rochelle, adding to its existing three French routes out of Cork, writes Olivia Kelleher.
The Cork to La Rochelle service will operate every Saturday from May 24th to September 13th. Flights will depart Cork at 1pm arriving in at 4.01pm.
All services will be operated by an ATR 72 aircraft until September 2008.
Project aims to curb heart disease
A new project designed to curb heart disease and promote exercise and healthy activity within the workplace was launched in Dublin yesterday, writes Steven Carroll.
Slí 2, an Irish Heart Foundation project, was launched yesterday at the Hermitage Medical Clinic in Lucan, which is the first independent hospital to launch the healthy walking initiative.
The aim of the initiative is to make it easier for people to include physical activity in their daily routine.
It forms part of Slí na Sláinte, meaning path to health, which is a series of more than 150 public walking routes located throughout the country.
Studies show that Ireland has the highest rate of death from heart disease in Europe.
Every year approximately 10,000 people die from heart attacks, strokes and other circulatory diseases.
The Irish Heart Foundation said this represents almost 36 per cent of all deaths in Ireland annually and that physical activity is the key to reducing the risk of developing illnesses such as heart disease.