Other stories in brief.
12% increase in Irish visits abroad
The number of Irish visits abroad in the second quarter of 2007 was 2,048,000, an increase of 12 per cent on the same period in 2006.
Trips on continental European routes increased by 20 per cent.
Irish visits abroad for business reasons increased by 27 per cent.
Meanwhile, there were 2,138,000 overseas visits to Ireland in the same period, an increase of 1 per cent over the same period last year.
However, overseas visits here by residents of Britain fell by 1 per cent, according to the figures released by the Central Statistics Office yesterday.
The CSO also reported that the average length of stay of overseas visitors to Ireland with at least one overnight fell from 7.3 nights in the second quarter of 2006 to 6.7 nights in the second quarter of this year.
Man held after cannabis find
Gardaí were last night questioning a man in connection with the discovery of an imitation AK-47 and quantity of cannabis during a search of a house in Dublin, writes Conor Lally.
In a separate operation in Ballymun, gardaí found a quantity of cocaine after a planned search of a house.
The gun and cannabis were found when gardaí from Mountjoy Garda station raided a house at Gloucester Place at about 9.15am.
They discovered a small quantity of cannabis and the AK-47, which was found to be a replica weapon.
A man in his early 20s was arrested.
In Ballymun, gardaí found a large quantity of cocaine with an estimated street value of about €160,000 during a planned search of a house at Marewood Crescent.
Seven held after dispute at funeral
Gardaí in Galway detained seven people for public order offences in the city yesterday, following a dispute at a funeral in Ballybane.
About 40 gardaí had been deployed in the area, and confiscated a number of makeshift weapons, including hurleys and wooden sticks. The seven were taken to Mill Street station in the city.
Admissions at UCHG deferred
Overcrowding in casualty forced University College Hospital, Galway (UCHG) to suspend elective admissions yesterday .
The hospital's accident and emergency department was under "considerable pressure", with 20 patients awaiting beds, management said.
"Elective admissions have been deferred, but the situation is being kept under review with the appropriate medical teams," the hospital said, adding that it regretted the delays.
McManus gives out college scholarships
JP McManus last night handed out almost €200,000 worth of third level scholarships to eight students from his old school.
Each student from Coláiste Mhichíl, formerly the CBS secondary school in Limerick, will receive €6,000 per annum over their next four years in college.
The scholarships were awarded at a special ceremony last night at the Dunraven Arms Hotel Adare.
More than 170 guests attended the ceremony, including Minister for Education Mary Hanafin, Minister for Defence Willie O'Dea and Mayor of Limerick Ger Fahy.
Established in 1996, this is the 11th year of the JP McManus Scholarship Awards, which have resulted in payments of more than €1 million to date.
The eight recipients of this year's scholarships are James Hickey, Raymond Kerley, Kevin McKevitt, David Mullane, Kevin Reardon, Kevin Ryan, Raymond Slattery, and Seán Tobin