More regional news in brief.
Investigation into death of site worker
Gardaí and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) have begun investigations into the death of a man at a construction site in Galway city yesterday, writes Lorna Siggins.
The man, who was in his late 20s and is believed to be from Co Mayo, was killed instantly when he was struck by a girder.
The incident occurred shortly after 1pm during construction work on a new gymnasium for Connacht Rugby at the Galway Sportsgrounds on College Road. Emergency services were called, but the man was pronounced dead.
Gardaí sealed off the area around the Connacht Rugby club premises for technical examination, and the HSA said that it had initiated a separate investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fatality.
The man's name has not been released yesterday.
Call for medics to take samples
A jury in the inquest into the death of a young Limerick mother in a car crash has recommended that hospital medics be permitted to take blood samples from the drivers of cars involved in fatal accidents, writes Michelle McDonagh.
Cathleen Barrett (25) of Moyross was the passenger in a car being driven by her boyfriend, Geoffrey McGuane, when it crashed on the main Cork to Limerick Road on February 18th last year.
The jury passed a verdict of misadventure at the inquest into Ms Barrett's death at Mallow Coroner's Court yesterday. The court heard that Ms Barrett would probably have lived had she been wearing a seatbelt.
The inquest heard that Mr McGuane told gardaí that he and Ms Barrett had gone to Cork that night to celebrate St Valentine's weekend. They had about eight drinks each - beer and vodka and Red Bull - before they decided to drive back to Limerick as it was too late for them to find somewhere to stay in Cork.
Mr McGuane told gardaí he had been doing about 100km/h and believed he may have lost control of the car on black ice.
Garda Catherine Byrne said she had gone to Cork University Hospital to take a blood and urine sample from Mr McGuane. However, he was gone for scans when she arrived and by the time he came back up the three-hour limit to take the sample had expired.
The only prosecutions taken against Mr McGuane had been for driving without a licence and insurance.
Staffing issue at Wexford hospital
A HSE staffing embargo has created major problems for Wexford General Hospital where 20 nurses are on maternity leave without replacements.
Hospital manager Teresa Hanrahan said, "We have been very busy since St. Patrick's Day and we don't have sufficient staff to run a hospital.
"There are not enough replacements. The hospital is working to ensure that the length of time to admit a patient is kept to a minimum."
Hospital management is calling on people not to attend the emergency department unless it is absolutely necessary.