Taoiseach Brian Cowen is in Limerick today to officially open the Shannon road tunnel. When the formalities are over cars and  trucks heading for the roads to Dublin, Cork, Galway, and Tralee will be able to avoid the city centre. This is the final link in the Limerick ring road which connects the N7, N18 and N20 and should remove an estimated 25,000 vehicles from the centre of Limerick each day.

Infrastructure plan gets mixed reception

Yesterday's announcement of a €39bn infrastructure investment programme between now and the end of 2016 received a mixed reception. There were those who contrasted it with the National Development Plan which called for infrastructure expenditure of €75bn over this period. The critics also focused on the projects that had to be dropped. The other view welcomed the fact that the Government is prepared to spend 5% of GDP on its capital programme compared with an OECD average of 2.9%.

The Government has made much of the argument that the cut in planned  expenditure is not reflected in the number of projects postponed. Tender prices are coming in much lower than had been budgeted and so much more can be done with the available funds.

Wife convicted of 1987 murder

Vera McGrath (61) yesterday started a life sentence after a jury found her guilty of murdering her husband Brian at the family home in Coole, Co. Westmeath, in the spring on 1987. McGrath's son-in-law, Colin Pinder, was convicted on Friday of the manslaughter of Mr McGrath and will be sentenced in November.

The chief witness at the trial was McGrath's daughter, Veronica, who is the estranged wife of Pinder. She was described in court as an "accessory after the fact" to the killing. This is being described as the country's first "cold case" murder conviction.

Knife killer jailed for nine years

Stephen Penrose (28), of no fixed abode, was jailed for nine years yesterday after he pleaded guilty to the manslaughter of Dubliner David Sharkey (28). Penrose, a drug addict, armed himself with a knife with the intention of robbing Mr Sharkey who he knew would be delivering heroin to an apartment in Naas, Co. Kildare. Mr Sharkey was stabbed 13 times and his body left in the boot of a car.

Arrests in investigation into organised burglaries

In a major co-ordinated operation across Munster and south Leinster gardaí, this morning arrested ten Albanian nationals who are suspected of carrying out around 50 burglaries at business premises in counties Carlow, Cork, Kerry, Kilkenny, Limerick, Tipperary, Waterford and Wexford.  The burglaries took place between October 2008 and May 2010.

Today's Papers

The Irish Times and the Irish Independent are in agreement this morning as to what constitutes the main story, though they have a slightly different take. The Irish Times has "Rail projects in Dublin spared in revised €39bn plan" while the Irish Independent goes with "Jobs pledge as Cowen puts €39bn to work". The Irish Examiner takes a more general view of the topic under the headline "Capital spending slashed to reboot economy".

The Irish News carries a photo of Andre Shoukri alongside the headline "UDA leader warns police chief: Shoukri wants blood".

The Weather in Galway

It is a dull morning but dry so far. Temperature 18C.

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