A roundup of today's other news stories in brief
President pays tribute to nuns in Auckland
President Mary McAleese paid tribute to young Sisters of Mercy from Carlow who lost their lives to tuberculosis while establishing the Catholic Church in Auckland during the mid-1880s, writes Maurice Smyth.
It was the final function in a week-long State visit incorporating a call on St Patrick's Cathedral, which is costing NZ$20 million (€10.5 million) to refurbish. Fundraisers are trying to attract the final NZ$3 million.
The President was welcomed by Bishop Patrick Day, who introduced New Zealand's last Irish-born bishop, Bishop John Mackey, who left Bray with his family in 1924. He celebrates his 90th birthday next month.
The presidential party earlier received a civic welcome to "the City of Sails" from Mayor John Banks, having called on the headquarters of Maori language TV, which will host a conference of indigenous broadcasters from around the world early next year. The President returned to Ireland yesterday evening.
Power cut affects 10,000 homes
More than 10,000 homes in Clondalkin, Dublin, were without power for several hours yesterday, following a fire at an ESB substation caused by an electrical fault.
By yesterday evening, power had been restored to about 7,000 customers, and it was hoped to have it restored everywhere by midnight.
Deal urged for Irish in US
Fine Gael will this week bring forward a Private Members' motion in the Dáil calling on the Government to secure an agreement with the US government to help regularise the status of undocumented Irish, writes Carl O'Brien.
Michael Ring, Fine Gael's spokesman on rural and Gaeltacht affairs, said he believed that there was a window of opportunity to help forge a deal to regularise the status of the estimated 25-50,000 undocumented Irish emigrants.
Bill Clinton to attend fundraiser
Former US president Bill Clinton will be in Dublin later this month for a $2,300 (€1,600) a head fundraising reception for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaigns, writes Denis Staunton.
The event on November 17th, which will be held at a private house in the city, is being organised by Irish-Americans for Hillary, a group of Irish-born businessmen who have held fundraisers for Mrs Clinton in the US.
Call to suspend childcare reform
Fine Gael has called on the Government to suspend plans to change the way parents pay for community childcare places, arguing that it will place "intolerable" financial pressure on many families, writes Carl O'Brien.
Under plans due to come into force next July, only parents on social welfare or on the family income supplement will be entitled to subsidised care in community-based childcare facilities. Working parents will have to pay the full cost of these childcare places for the first time.
There are around 10,000 children in not-for-profit community-based childcare, a branch of the childcare sector which was established to help provide affordable childcare to low-income families.