Coalition and witness find trouble in bringing home cash

Saturday/Sunday

Lawyers described as "nonsense" the suggestion that the £300,000 allegedly brought home by Mr George Redmond from the Isle of Man was for legal bills. Mr Redmond, a former Dublin city and county assistant manager, was arrested at Dublin Airport on Friday by officers of the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB), who seized the money. Mr Redmond, a potential key witness for the Flood tribunal inquiry into planning corruption, said he faced a legal bill of £100,000.

The CAB began its own investigation into the source of the money.

Ireland's rugby team beat Wales by 29 points to 23 in a thrilling match at Wembley stadium in the Five Nations Cup. The soccer arena was the venue because of rebuilding at Cardiff Arms Park.

Monday

EU farm ministers prepared to do battle in Brussels over the future shape of European agriculture. As the Agenda 2000 negotiations got under way, some 30,000 farmers from across the EU converged on the city to demand full compensation for the swingeing price cuts proposed by the Commission.

The Minister for Agriculture, Mr Walsh, described as disappointing a paper by the German presidency to break the deadlock on beef and milk. The IFA president, Mr Tom Parlon, bitterly attacked the Commission's rationale. He said it was not about fighting for the last buck but about the survival of the family farm.

A sharp slide in the value of the euro on the international currency markets raised fear of higher inflation later this year. The new currency fell to less than $1.10, 8 per cent lower than when it was introduced on January 1st.

The euro has fallen almost continuously since its launch, and this has led to fears that Irish consumers will be hit by higher prices for goods from outside the euro zone.

Tuesday

Lawyers for Mr George Redmond were to meet CAB officials as pressure increased for an agreement securing his co-operation with the tribunal. Allegations were made that he had received two large payments from builders.

The Sinn Fein president, Mr Gerry Adams, was confronted by the family of a victim of the IRA as he continued his eight-day visit to Australia.

Mr Roy Melrose, the father of Mr Stephen Melrose, a Brisbane lawyer who was mistaken by gunmen for an off-duty British soldier in the Netherlands in 1990, criticised the way Mr Adams was being feted at a civic champagne reception.

Wednesday

Eurostat, the EU's statistical service, ruled out the inclusion of Clare and Kerry in a proposed new disadvantaged region intended to qualify for EU structural funds. The Government said it would strongly challenge the ruling.

This led to opposition claims that the Government was jeopardising Ireland's future benefits from the funds. The EU agency's letter, which was leaked in Brussels, said the Government's proposals for two regional authorities did not go far enough in devolving powers.

The Consumers' Association of Ireland criticised the use of "scare tactics" to dissuade consumers from buying genetically modified (GM) foods. However, it added that people should not be "forcefed" these products by their not being labelled.

A Co Armagh man, Mr Colm Murphy (48), was charged at the Special Criminal Court in connection with the Omagh bombing on August 15th last year, in which 29 people died.

Mr Murphy, a publican and building contractor with an address in Ravensdale, Co Louth, was charged with conspiring with another person to cause an explosion likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to property in the State or elsewhere between August 13th and 16th last. He was also charged with membership of an unlawful organisation.

Thursday

The Flood tribunal rose in disarray when the chairman, Mr Justice Flood, withdrew the right to address the hearing from Mr Garrett Cooney SC, for Joseph Murphy Structural Engineering, after he refused to apologise for remarks made the previous day.

Anglo-Saxons may have been in Dublin before the Vikings, it was suggested after the discovery of a "strange house" during an archaeological dig at Copper Alley in Temple Bar West. The house is believed to have predated the Vikings because it was not Scandinavian, and a comb found in it could have come only from Roman Britain.

Friday

Fianna Fail's support has dropped by eight percentage points to 48 per cent in four months, according to the latest poll carried out by The Irish Times/MRBI. It is the party's lowest rating since the general election in 1997. The Taoiseach's personal rating fell by 11 per cent to 70 per cent.

Fine Gael's support rose by 5 per cent to 25 per cent while Labour, incorporating Democratic Left, saw a rise in support from 12 per cent to 14 per cent and the Progressive Democrats' support doubled to 4 per cent.

The personal rating of the Fine Gael leader, Mr John Bruton, remained unchanged at 47 per cent, while the Labour leader, Mr Ruairi Quinn, enjoyed an increase of 4 percentage points to 55 per cent.

The public's satisfaction with the Government dropped by some 16 per cent to 52 per cent, according to the survey, which covered 1,000 electors at 100 sampling points.