Saturday/Sunday
the foster parents of Jade and Hannah Bennett arrived in Britain on Saturday after spending most of the 17 weeks they were missing with the two children in the Tralee area of Co Kerry. The Bramleys flew into Stansted Airport in Essex, from Kerry airport at Farranfore, with the children after going on the run from their Cambridgeshire home. Police questioned Jeffrey and Jennifer Bramley about the abduction of the two sisters. The High Court in London will determine the future guardianship of the children.
Fianna Fail party sources expressed grave misgivings at the appearance by Ireland's EU Commissioner, Mr Padraig Flynn, on last Friday's Late Late Show. They were particularly concerned about comments made by Mr Flynn about an allegation made by London-based property developer, Mr Tom Gilmartin, that he made a payment of £50,000 to Mr Flynn in the late 1980s.
Monday
Opposition parties called for the Minister for Public Enterprise, Ms O'Rourke, CIE, Iarnrod Eireann and the authors of a controversial report on Irish rail safety to appear before a Dail committee. Fine Gael produced additional discrepancies between the five working papers that formed the basis of the final report by British consultants International Risk Management Services last October. The British company denied claims it came under pressure to water down its conclusions.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, defended the record of Mr Padraig Flynn in Brussels, but he refused to endorse or reject him for a further term as Ireland's EU Commissioner. Allegations made against him are to be heard by the Flood Tribunal.
Tuesday
The head of Tallaght Hospital, Dr David McCutcheon, resigned at a board meeting. His departure followed months of conflict between Dr McCutcheon and the Minister for Health, Mr Cowen, and Department officials over the hospital budget. If he had stayed on, he would have been joined by a team of three to oversee his management, two nominated by Mr Cowen and one by the hospital board. Dr McCutcheon would also have faced staff layoffs.
The former building company executive, Mr James Gogarty, described to the planning tribunal how the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr Ray Burke, had received two envelopes which he alleged contained £80,000. Mr Gogarty said he went with Mr Joseph Murphy jnr and Mr Michael Bailey to Mr Burke's home in early June 1989. He put an envelope containing £40,000 on the table and Mr Bailey then placed another envelope on the table, which he assumed had another £40,000.
Wednesday
The FAI announced plans for a £65 million stadium in south-west Dublin, with an all-seater capacity of 45,000. The Arena, as it would be known, would feature a retractable roof and removable pitch and is expected to be completed by autumn 2001, subject to planning permission. It would serve as the headquarters for Irish domestic and international football. The development has the backing of Deutsche Bank and the world's largest sports marketing body, IMG.
Mr James Gogarty told the planning tribunal he had been handed £50,000 by a developer, Mr Michael Bailey, at a north Dublin hotel to buy his silence over the payment given to the former minister for foreign affairs, Mr Burke. During the tribunal hearing at Dublin Castle, a gun was found by a solicitor in the men's toilets. It had been left there accidentally by a Garda detective.
A prosecution witness in the trial of four men accused of murdering Det Garda Jerry McCabe was jailed for 18 months for refusing to testify to the Special Criminal Court. Patrick Harty, a farmer, from Toomevara, Co Tipperary, said he could not give a reason for his refusal to give evidence.
Thursday
Gardai investigating the disappearance of Ms Deirde Jacob from Newbridge, Co Kildare, released without charge a man they were questioning on suspicion of wasting police time. The man, from the Lisnaskea area of Co Fermanagh, was questioned about a series of anonymous phone calls in which the caller claimed he had given Ms Jacob a lift on the day she disappeared.
It was confirmed that the ISPCC was being investigated by the Garda National Bureau for Fraud Investigation. The inquiry followed reports in the Sunday Business Post about an alleged under-payment of commission to collectors for the charity. The ISPCC chief executive, Mr Cian O Tighearnaigh, described the investigation as "a routine inquiry" and insisted that no one had made any allegation of fraud or misappropriation of funds.