A round-up of today's other news in brief
Detention for boy (16) who stole 25 cars in seven-month spree
A 16-year-old boy stole 25 cars over a seven-month crime spree that spanned four counties, a court heard yesterday.
The Limerick teenager who was just 15 when the majority of thefts were carried out was also on High Court bail at the time of some of the offences.
The boy, who cannot be named for legal reasons, appeared before the Children’s Court in Limerick yesterday on more than 40 charges arising out of incidents on dates between September 2010 and March this year. The offences relate to the theft of 25 cars mostly from Limerick but also Tralee, Co Kerry, Tipperary town and Shannon, Co Clare.
He also pleaded guilty to several charges of dangerous driving and to the possession of a bunch of filed-down keys, which are used to break into cars, the court heard. Judge Tom O’Donnell said he appreciated the ethos of the Children’s Act, which says custodial sentences should be a last resort but said the matters before the court were too serious. He sentenced the teenager to six months detention in St Patrick’s Institute and disqualified him from driving for five years.
Kerry GP centre needs permission
The use of the upper floors of a commercial office block in Killarney as a medical centre where most of the town's GPs have relocated since Christmas needs planning permission, an Bord Pleanála has ruled.
In conjunction with healthcare company Prime Healthcare, and against opposition from local pharmacists, more than a dozen GP practices have moved into the Reeks Gateway building.
Two new pharmacies have opened there. However, many pharmacists in Killarney, backed by their union, opposed the centralisation of the GPs.
The council had said the medical centre there was "exempted development.".
Abandoned boats to be sold off
Waterways Ireland is to remove a number of sunken or abandoned pleasure craft from Shannon Harbour in Co Offaly.
Following fruitless efforts to contact the owners, five cruisers, a yacht, day boat, speed boat and a barge will all be removed and scrapped or sold at auction. The apparently abandoned vessels are considered a hindrance to navigation and a safety hazard. They are blocking limited mooring space at the harbour near the last lock on the Grand Canal system before the waterway links up with the river Shannon.
The largest is a 32ft steel- hulled cruiser called Celtic Mist; the smallest is a 16ft speedboat,
Wave Dancer.