A round-up of today's other stories in brief...
Survey finds price of agricultural land down nationally by 9.3%
The price of agricultural land dropped by 9.3 per cent nationally last year but has actually risen in some parts by nearly 20 per cent, according to property consultants Knight Frank Ireland, writes Seán MacConnell.
In a national survey on agricultural land prices, Knight Frank found that the price for agricultural land averaged €8,776 an acre. It said this represented an overall drop of 9.3 per cent on the national average of €9,678 in 2009.
“The 2010 survey found that one region showed an increase. Dublin, Wicklow and Kildare recorded an increase of 19.5 per cent with land rising to €13,055 an acre in the past 12 months from the 2009 average of €10,920 an acre,” the report said.
The survey found there were no sales of farmland reported for Waterford, Donegal, Leitrim, Galway and Sligo.
Man seriously hurt in Donegal crash
Former All-Ireland captain Anthony Molloy has escaped serious injury in a road crash in which another man has been left badly hurt.
Three people were brought to hospital following the head- on collision between the car, in which he was a passenger, and a van between Ballintra and Laghey, near Donegal town, at 10am yesterday.
The van driver, Daithí White, Ballisodare, Co Sligo, was seriously injured. He has undergone surgery in Sligo General Hospital, where he has been described as “critical”.
Mr Molloy (48) was captain when Donegal won the All- Ireland football final in 1992. He and the driver of the car are “stable” in hospital.
Fraudster’s T-shirt read ‘Trust Me’
A Clare resident who defrauded a company out of goods valued at nearly €5,000 while wearing a shirt saying “Trust Me” has been given a two-year sentence with the balance suspended from yesterday.
Ladislav Klier (39), Ennis, pleaded guilty at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court to stealing a diesel generator, a breaking machine and an extension lead with a total value of €4,800 from Active Tool Hire Sales in Tallaght on June 1st, 2008.
Judge Tony Hunt told Klier: “This was a case of intentional dishonesty causing a loss to the injured party.”
He imposed a two-year sentence.