A roundup of today's other news stories in brief
Man in Garda custody after siege
A man was in Garda custody last night following a siege-type incident during which he locked himself into his family home with his three young children and parents. Gardaí were alerted to the incident in a secluded area in Co Wicklow just south of Bray at around 8am.
The man, who was in possession of a slash hook, refused to leave the house. However, a social worker and Garda negotiators persuaded the man to leave and the incident ended peacefully at around 11.30am. No one was injured during the standoff.
Tourism revenue given €16bn target
All-island tourism revenue should reach €16 billion over the next three years, according to plans set out by the Government and the Northern Ireland Executive.
The targets were approved yesterday by the first North/South ministerial council meeting on tourism in more than five years, attended by Minister for Tourism Séamus Brennan, the North's Minister of Enterprise, Trade and Investment, Nigel Dodds and its Minister of Agriculture, Michelle Gildernew.
Call to address energy demand
Governments need to act to curb "runaway energy demand" Minister for Energy Éamon Ryan told a conference on conventional and novel energy sources organised by the Royal Irish Academy in Dublin yesterday. Mr Ryan said decisions need to be made to tackle "the twin threats of climate change and energy security".
Cockle dredging set to be refused
The Government has signalled it intends to withdraw permission for cockle dredging in an environmentally sensitive part of Co Waterford after pressure from the Labour Party, writes Lorna Siggins.
The development was announced in the Seanad yesterday, following a call by Senator Ivana Bacik (Lab) to withdraw permission to dredge at the Suir Estuary at Passage East, Co Waterford. Coastwatch Ireland found significant damage was being done to the seabed, in breach of an EU directive.