Kenny urged to raise refugee ban with Trump
Catholic Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin has said he would like the Taoiseach to tell President Donald Trump that a complete ban on refugees entering the United States is not on the cards.
He said Enda Kenny would be in a stronger position to address Mr Trump on the issue if he could tell him precisely how many refugees the Republic has taken in to date.
Dr Martin said Mr Trump’s recent executive order affecting immigrants was the most serious matter he would like to see the Taoiseach raise during his upcoming St Patrick’s Day visit to the White House.
The Archbishop said he would also like to know how many asylum seekers have been rejected by Irish authorities at airports here and what kind of scrutiny and transparency there is in relation to this.
Pat O'Malley dies after short illness
Pat O'Malley, the wife of the former Fianna Fáil and Progressive Democrat cabinet minister Des O'Malley, has died.
A native of Co Tyrone, she died in her adoptive city of Dublin after a short illness.
In a statement expressing his condolences, Fianna Fáil leader Mícheál Martin described her as a constant support to her husband's political campaigns since his election to Dáil Éireann as a Fianna Fáil deputy in 1968.
Investigation into aggravated robbery in Limerick
An investigation is under way into an an aggravated burglary in Co Limerick in which a priest was confronted by robbers.
Fr Tony O’Keefe had returned to his house in the village of Shangolden at around 8pm, when he was confronted by three raiders. It is understood they were not armed.
They locked him in a bathroom while they robbed the contents of a safe in the house.
Fr O’Keefe was not injured but said to be shocked by the robbery.
Iranian couple cleared for US as 'exception'
An elderly Iranian couple stranded at Amsterdam's airport for five days have been cleared to continue their journey to the US as an "exception", Dutch national carrier KLM said.
Named by Dutch media as Abdolghasem Eshaghi, 68 and his wife Kobra Alizadeh, 58, the couple has been stranded in transit at Schiphol airport since Saturday.
They were en route from Tehran to the United States when President Donald Trump's executive order blocking entry to citizens from seven Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, was enacted without warning.
A KLM spokeswoman said it was not clear why they have been exempted from the ban. A spokeswoman for the US embassy in The Hague said they could not comment on individual cases.
Wild swan found in Derry tests positive for bird flu
The Department of Agriculture in Northern Ireland says a wild swan found in Co Derry has tested positive for H5N8 avian influenza.
The swan was discovered close to Lough Beg, near Bellaghy.
NI Chief Vetinary Officer Robert Huey said the finding was not unexpected, and said it was possible more cases will be confirmed.
He said consumers should not be concerned about eating eggs or poultry and the threat to public health from the virus was very low.
Concern over access to mental health care for prisoners
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has expressed "extreme concern" about the number of prisoners held in remand and in custody with mental health issues and without access to appropriate care.
Fíona Ní Chinnéide, Deputy Executive Director of the Irish Penal Reform Trust, said it is estimated that 8% of prisoners on remand at Clover Hill Prison have a history of psychotic episodes - a figure ten times greater than that in the community.
She said the IPRT is very concerned about the number of people on remand waiting for transfer to appropriate treatment facilities including the Central Mental Hospital.
She said the capacity of forensic mental health beds could be increased by three times.
