The resumption of talks at Hillsborough did not resume yesterday afternoon as the DUP parliamentary party was locked away in discussion until 6:00pm. A grim Peter Robinson eventually emerged and in a curt statement to the waiting media he spoke of "some issues that have to be resolved". He walked away without answering journalists' questions.

There have since been reports of heated exchanges at the DUP meeting with a number of senior party members threatening resignation if the deal brokered at Hillsborough was accepted. When the issue was put to a ballot, 14 of the 36 members present were opposed. A two-thirds majority was either required or desired.

Further talks have since taken place at Hillsborough but no further progress has been reported. It now appears that everyone thought they had  agreement on Saturday night and Monday's planned meeting was expected to just tie up a few loose ends.

HSE investigating abuse complaints

The Irish Times reports that the Health Service Executive is investigating more than 500 complaints of abuse or neglect since 2007 against staff in residential care homes for the disabled. The allegations include physical assault on patients by staff and lapses of care. Over 8,000 adults and 400 children live full-time in the residential accommodation run by voluntary organisations which receive some €1.5bn each year from the State.

Increased competition for third-level places

With an increase in the number of mature students applying for college, and a drop in those taking up apprenticeships, it has been estimated that half of those applying to the Central Applications Office this year will not secure a college place. There has been a 10% increase in applications, from 66,000 last year to 72,500 this year, resulting in an expected increase in points for arts, business and science courses.

Gardaí investigating two cash robberies

Gardaí are investigating two cash robberies, in Meath and Dublin, in which €100k was stolen. In Ratoath, Co. Meath, two men held up a security van servicing an ATM at the shopping centre and escaped with a cash box believed to contain €70k.

A robbery from a security man collecting cash at Century Business Park in Meakstown in Dublin yesterday afternoon, resulted in the two men escaping with €30k. The men attacked the security man with what is believed to be a crowbar before escaping on foot.

Permission granted for new cycle lane

Dublin City Council has approved the construction of a €10m cycle lane stretching from Portobello to Clontarf. The route, which will be largely off-road and along the towpaths of the Grand Canal and the Royal Canal, will involve the construction of a number of pedestrian and cycle bridges. However the new cycle path has not met with the approval of the Dublin Cycling Campaign, which maintains that it will underline the perception that cycling on the road is unsafe. Since the new route will also remove 270 parking places businesses along the route are also unhappy with the plan.

Warning issued over loss of hearing

Specialists have reported that one in five people are damaging their ears by listening to music on their MP3s at levels of more than 100 decibels. The findings come following a survey carried out for Hidden Hearing, which found that more than half of the 1,000 people interviewed were listening to MP3 players at volumes of above 89 decibels for some two hours each day. Hidden Hearing has advised following the 60/60 rule, listening for no more than one hour a day at a decibel level of no higher than 60.

In a separate survey the European Commission has forecast that within the next ten years 10% of 30-year-olds will have to wear hearing aids.

Tuesday's Papers

Three diverse headlines feature on the front pages of the Southern papers this morning. The Irish Times leads with a HSE investigation with "Hundreds of complaints over abuse of disabled people"; the Irish Examiner goes with a financial story under "Mortgage holders to be hit by all main banks"; and the Irish Independent leads with the increase in applications to the CAO under the headline "Only half of applicants to get place in college"

The Irish News headline reads "Help me prevent US killer driver's parole", referring to the road death of Eileen McGurk in a road accident in Texas in September 2007.

The Weather in Galway

It is a damp-looking morning in Galway and we are promised further rain during the day. Temperature 9C.

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