Talks are to begin this morning between the Government and the public sector unions in relation to the dispute over pay cuts announced in December's Budget. At the invitation of the Taoiseach officers of the Irish Congress of Trade Unions yesterday met Mr Cowen, Minister for Finance Brian Lenihan and Environment Minister John Gormley. It was agreed that this new round of talks would be facilitated by Kieran Mulvey, Chief Executive of the Labour Relations Commission and Kevin Foley, Director of Conciliation at the LRC.

It is hoped that the discussions will bring about the deferment of the planned escalation in industrial action by teachers, hospital staff and civil servants.

HIQA investigates abuse allegations

A total of 19 allegations of abuse against foster carers in Dublin are being investigated by the Health Information and Quality Authority. The allegations of abuse, some of them sexual, came to light during an investigation into seven local health areas in Dublin and Cork and the results of the investigation are due to be published in the next few months. The matter arose after a case was raised in the Dáil by Alan Shatter of Fine Gael concerning a 16-year-old boy who was awaiting a psychiatric assessment was allegedly left in an internet cafe overnight by the HSE because it had no other place for him.

Man in court over Dublin murder

John Douglas (25), of O'Devaney Gardens, Dublin, appeared before Dublin District Court this morning where he was charged with the murder of Aidan Byrne in Dublin three weeks ago. Mr Byrne was shot dead while sitting in a car just off the North Circular Road.

Mr Byrne was one of seven victims of gangland shootings this year. Normally gardaí find it difficult to bring such investigations to a successful conclusion but charges have now been brought in relation to four of this year's killings.

Two more swine flu deaths

The deaths of two men from swine flu brings the total number of fatalities to date to 24. The two men, both of whom had underlying medical conditions, were from the east of the country. After a significant drop in cases at the beginning of the year, incidences of swine flu have begun to rise again, increasing from 7.3 people per 100,000 to 8.8 last week.

Another claim from ‘accident-prone' man

Gerard McWilliams (52), an addiction counsellor and taxi driver from Tallaght in Dublin, admitted in the High Court yesterday that he had taken claims for compensation for accidents ten or 11 times in the 1990s. Mr McWilliams is suing Eircom after claiming to have suffered injuries by tripping over a manhole cover near his home. Previous claims have involved alleged food poisoning, falling over in a neighbour's driveway and sustaining injuries while out jogging.

Anglo Irish Bank pursues former chairman

Anglo Irish Bank has initiated legal action in an attempt to recover some €70m which it had loaned to former chairman Seán FitzPatrick. In last year's accounts Mr FitzPatrick, who was for many years the Bank's CEO, was shown as having loans from the bank totalling €106m.

Friday's Papers

The Tallaght Hospital issue continues as the lead story in the Irish Times, under the headline "Concerns by board led to report into management of hospital" while the Irish Examiner looks at another facet of the HSE remit with "Probe into foster care abuse". The Irish Independent reports on the response of former bank chairman to a demand for repayment of loans; the headline reads "FitzPatrick ‘broke' and can't pay €70m loan".

The Irish News takes up once again the future of education in the North with the headline "Top Catholic schools set to lose grammar status".

The Weather in Galway

It is milder this morning and for the first time in what seems a very long time we have had a shower of rain. Temperature 10C.

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