More news in brief
The hearing to fix a date for the retrial of Galway county councillor Michael Fahy, in connection with the alleged misappropriation of more than €7,000 of county council funding, was adjourned yesterday at Galway Circuit Criminal Court to next October.
Mr Fahy (57), Caherduff, Ardrahan, Co Galway, was convicted last March on seven counts of theft and fraud that he had used public money to pay for the erection of fencing on his own private farm.
He was sentenced to 12 months in prison and fined €75,000 .
The former Fianna Fáil councillor, who now sits as an Independent, appealed the convictions but he had served most of the sentence at Castlerea Prison by the time they were overturned late last year by the Court of Criminal Appeal.
Drivers say they did not get notices
A District Court judge has criticised the fixed penalty notice system under revised road traffic legislation after several motorists, who were prosecuted for using their mobile phones while driving, claimed they never received a fine notice in the post.
As gardaí had no way of disproving their claims, the matters were struck out by Judge Mary Fahy at Galway District Court.
Fourteen drivers swore on oath they had never received a fixed charge penalty notice in the post and only became aware they had to attend court when they received a summons. Many said they would have paid the fixed penalty of €80 if given the opportunity.
Three years in jail for skimming tools
A man has been sentenced to three years in prison at Naas Circuit Criminal Court, following the discovery of a major payment card skimming headquarters.
Valda Valiukas (28), Naas, Co Kildare, was one of two Lithuanians charged with possession of articles for use in the skimming of payment and credit cards in November 2005.
The operation was intercepted by gardaí when they were informed that a parcel containing blank white cards had arrived at Fedex in Santry. They monitored the woman who collected the parcel until she reached Valiukas's home.
Adult education project to close
A Galway-based project which has supported more than 200 young mothers to continue their education faces closure next month due to a cut in Government funds.
Many of the participants in the Galway Young Mothers in Education project are single parents who would have been unable to pursue second and third-level education without its backing, according to co-ordinator Eleanor Clancy. The project has a €50,000 deficit and no prospect of further grant-aid, she says.
The project was initiated in 1999 with funding from Galway City Partnership as a special initiative for young people on the city's west side. It now has three staff - in the city, in Connemara and in the east of the county.
A number of its participants have qualified as teachers, accountants and nurses during that period, Ms Clancy says.