Other NI News In Brief

Architecture Group Gets Chairman

The Stormont Culture Minister Nelson McCausland (pictured) has announced the appointment of Arthur Acheson as the new Chairman for the Ministerial Advisory Group for Architecture (MAG) and the Built Environment in Northern Ireland. Mr Acheson is a partner in the Belfast-based Boyd Partnership Chartered Architects LLP. Welcoming the new Chair, Minister McCausland said: "Arthur's appointment as Chair is a positive step and I am confident that his experience and skills will further advance the work carried out by MAG since its inception in 2007. Government is committed to being an exemplary client in the delivery of good design. With Arthur as Chair, MAG will continue to address the many challenges ahead and capture the opportunity to deliver the highest level of design quality. I am looking forward to working with Arthur and the MAG Members to build on the progress that has been made to date," said the Minister.

Dublin Devices 'Made Safe'

Irish Army bomb disposal experts carried out two controlled explosions on devices found in Dublin last night. The discoveries were made outside a shop in Parslickstown and outside a house in Cherry Field Close in Hartstown. Gardaí said the area was evacuated and the all-clear was given at around 1am this morning.

Child Hit By Garda Car In Limerick

A child was taken to hospital in Limerick after being struck by a garda vehicle in the city. The incident happened on Patrick Street shortly after 1.30pm yesterday. The 12-year-old boy was taken to the Midwest Regional Hospital, Dooradoyle. His injuries are not believed to be life threatening. The Garda Ombudsman Commission has been informed of the incident.

Slurry Pollution Fine

A Co Tyrone farmer was fined £950 plus court costs at Dungannon Magistrates' Court this week for polluting discharge to a waterway. David John Allen, Claggan Lane, Cookstown, pleaded guilty for causing the entry of nitrogen fertilizer into a waterway, a tributary of the Lissan Water. A Water Quality Inspector, acting on behalf of the Northern Ireland Environment Agency, inspected the farmyard owned by Mr Allen and found a manhole adjacent to cattle sheds which contained a diverter which appeared to be sending slurry, overflowing from the tank, in the direction of the river to the rear of the site. This was a serious polluting incident that allowed an extremely polluting farm effluent to discharge into a tributary of which is an important salmonid waterway. A sample taken at the time of the incident confirmed that the discharge contained poisonous, noxious and polluting matter which was potentially harmful to fish life in the receiving watercourse.

Callely Handed Two Week Deadline

The Republic's under-fire Senator, Ivor Callely, has been given 14 days to explain his controversial expense claims by two separate Government committees. The Seanad Committee on Members' Interests and a Fianna Fáil internal committee have announced two investigations into the latest allegations against Mr Callely. The beleaguered Senator paid back the sum of €2,879 to the Oireachtas after it emerged letter-headed receipts he submitted for mobile phone equipment were dated years after the supplier had folded. Despite this, in a statement issued over the weekend, Mr Callely claimed his expenses were made "in good faith" and that he had submitted the receipts "in good faith". Mr Callely along with two other senators have been given two weeks to explain issues surrounding expenses to the Seanad Committee on Members' Interests, which last night demanded 'detailed statements' by 10am on August 23.

SF Calls For Investment In Housing

Sinn Féin MLA and NI Housing spokesperson Fra McCann has called on the Government to provide additional funding to alleviate the housing shortages in Northern Ireland and stimulate the local construction industry. This follows the announcement that councils in England are to be offered extra funding for each new build as part of a British Government drive to alleviate housing shortages. Mr McCann said: "At a time of severe financial restrictions the British Government can see fit to provide extra money for new builds in England as a way of alleviating housing shortages yet there is equal if not greater need in NI. While it is not the responsibility of councils here to build housing developments there should be a scheme devised to enable the NI Housing Executive, Housing Association or developers to administer this type of extra funding for new homes. This would have a double impact of addressing housing needs while stimulating a devastated construction sector," he said.

(BMcC/GK)