Minister receives Garda penalty points report
The latest Garda report on abuses of the penalty points system has been completed and sent to the Minister for Justice
Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan ordered the inquiry last September following fresh allegations by whistleblower Maurice McCabe that penalty points were still being cancelled even after new policies and procedures had been introduced
Sgt McCabe co-operated with the Garda Audit which was carried out by the Garda's Professional Standards Unit
The Department of Justice said the report had been received this afternoon and was now being examined.
Minister Frances Fitzgerald has said where possible the report will be published.
Hanafin votes against motion on same-sex marriage
Fianna Fáil councillor Mary Hanafin has voted against a Dún Laoghaire-Rathdown Council motion calling for a positive outcome in the upcoming referendum on same-sex marriage.
She said her "vote was not related to the merits of the issue".
Ms Hanafin added that "the council should not be taking a stance and in particular in the absence of any wording".
Ex-pop star Gary Glitter goes on trial for child sex abuse
British former glam rock star Gary Glitter went on trial today on charges he sexually abused three underage female fans in the 1970s and 1980s.
The 70-year-old musician, whose real name is Paul Gadd, faces ten counts including attempted rape, indecent assault and unlawful intercourse.
The singer denies all charges in the current case.
Charlie Hebdo protests continuing
Hundreds of thousands of people have joined a state-organised rally against cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed in the Chechen capital of Grozny.
The Russian interior ministry put the number of participants at 800,000.
Elsewhere, 45 churches were torched over the weekend in Niger's capital of Niamey during similar protests.
Ten people were killed and 173 were injured in the protests in Niamey and the country's second city of Zinder.
Dispute over organic payments resolved - Dept
The Department of Agriculture says a dispute that has delayed payments under the Organic Farming Scheme has been resolved.
However, a number of farmers from Co Galway are staging a protest at the Department offices in Athenry this afternoon.
The Organic Farmers' Representative Body says its members have not had their returns processed in the normal manner, with the organisation saying the late payment of 2014 grants is having a knock-on effect on their businesses.
In a brief statement this afternoon, the Department said payments were now being processed as a matter of top priority.
It said the dispute had delayed payments to organic farmers in all areas but that the issue would be resolved as soon as possible.
Louth Co Co says Dundalk water 'is safe'
Louth County Council has said the water supply to Dundalk is safe, following a report in the Sunday Independent that alleged toxic waste from diesel laundering was entering the water supply.
The council's director of services Frank Pentony said "Louth County Council takes any threat to the public water supply very seriously."
He added that tests on the water supply in 2014 found "no issue".
Kilkenny search resumes
A search has resumed in Kilkenny for a man who fell into the River Nore in the early hours of yesterday morning.
Kilkenny Sub Aqua Club, the Civil Defence and a large group of volunteers are searching the riverbank at Canices Mill in Kilkenny.
The 33-year-old was out with friends when he fell into the water at around 1.30am on Sunday morning.
The search was called off yesterday evening due to deteriorating weather conditions.
Increase in nursing registration fee to be discussed
The Nursing and Midwifery Board of Ireland has said it will meet again with nursing unions about concerns over the increase in the registration fee for nurses to €150 for this year.
It follows an intervention by Minister for Health Leo Varadkar calling on the sides to meet to try and resolve the dispute between the NMBI and the Irish Nurses and Midwives' Organisation, SIPTU and the Psychiatric Nurses' Association.
The board says that the situation remains that it must be self-funding and no other sources of income are available for its statutory obligations.
The annual fee is paid by nurses to remain on the nursing register.
'No evidence' of terrorism in AirAsia crash
Indonesian investigators said on this morning they have found no evidence so far that terrorism was involved in the crash of an AirAsia passenger jet last month that killed all 162 people on board.
Andreas Hananto said his team of ten investigators at the National Transportation Safety Committee(NTSC) had found "no threats" in the cockpit voice recordings to indicate foul play during AirAsia Flight QZ8501.
The Airbus A320-200 vanished from radar screens on 28 December, less than halfway into a two-hour flight from Indonesia's second-biggest city of Surabaya to Singapore. There were no survivors.
When asked if there was any evidence from the recording that terrorism was involved, Mr Hananto said: "No. Because if there were terrorism, there would have been a threat of some kind."
Case against senator adjourned
A case involving Fianna Fáil senator Brian Ó Domhnaill was today adjourned in Letterkenny District Court today.
Seán Cannon solicitor for Ó Domhnaill asked Judge Paul Kelly to put the case back to February 19th for hearing.
Senator Ó Domhnaill, 37, with an address at Killult, Gortahork, Donegal has been charged with four offences relating to an incident in Tullygay, Letterkenny Co Donegal on 2 September 2013.
He was charged with being drunk in charge of a motor vehicle, failing to report an occurrence, failing to remain on the scene and failing to give proper evidence to gardaí.
His solicitor addressed the court in Irish.
