Extra gardai on duty at Shell pipeline after €150,000 damage to machinery

Extra gardai are on duty in Co Mayo this weekend after violence broke out at a protest against the Shell gas pipeline last Sunday when a security guard had his arm badly injured and €150,000 worth of damage was done to machinery, writes Jim Cusack.

Sixty protesters, mostly local people but including anarchists who travelled to Ireland for the G8 summit protest, were said to have been involved. Gardai made six arrests last Wednesday and Thursday after examining CCTV images and are preparing prosecutions files.

The protesters targeted a construction site at Aughoose last weekend as part of an annual protest campaign, and security guards at the scene were assaulted.

DIPLOMATS RECEIVED €8M IN ALLOWANCES

Irish diplomats have received more than €8m in allowances for living abroad. Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore told Pearse Doherty of Sinn Fein that Foreign Service Allowances are designed to offset the additional costs that arise for officers when they are temporarily posted abroad.

Despite Dublin's status as one of the costliest cities in the world, Irish diplomats working abroad were paid almost €2.4m to defray costs for living in cities that are more expensive. An additional €5.5m was paid to mandarins in Local Post Allowance (LPA), which provides assistance towards the additional indirect costs arising from the representational role of diplomats.

NO WINNER OF €3.6M LOTTO JACKPOT

THERE was no winner of last night's €3,579,553 Lotto jackpot. The numbers were 12, 17, 19, 22, 28, 43 (bonus 36).

There was one Match 5+bonus winner who gets €25,000; 43 Match 5s (€1,596); 120 Match 4+bonus (€144); 1,970 Match 4s (€54); 2,577 Match 3+bonus (€27); and 33,756 Match 3s (€5). The Lotto Plus 1 numbers were 2, 18, 26, 27, 28, 42 (bonus 43) and the Lotto Plus 2 numbers were 12, 17, 21, 22, 31, 38 (bonus 25).

In the UK draw for £6m the numbers were 7, 13, 25, 31, 34, 45 (bonus 4).

MOBILE ROAMING ABROAD TO BE CHEAPER

It will be cheaper to use your mobile phone in other EU countries from tomorrow. The move has been welcomed by Ireland South MEP Sean Kelly, who said some operators had been making profits of more than 200 per cent on the back of calls made by customers roaming in other EU countries, and 400 per cent for calls received.

Under the new rules, consumers travelling in another EU country will pay no more than: 24c per minute to make a voice call (down from 29c); 7c per minute to receive a voice call (down from 8c); 8c per text message sent (down from 9c); and 45c per megabyte downloaded (internet usage charged by the kilobyte used).

RISE IN SUPPORT FOR GOVERNMENT PARTIES

A POLL in today's Sunday Business Post carried out last week shows increases in support for the two government parties and Sinn Fein and a drop for Fianna Fail.

Fine Gael was up two to 28 per cent; Labour up one to 12 per cent. Support for Fianna Fail fell four points to 22 per cent. Sinn Fein was up one to 17 per cent, while others and independents were unchanged at 21 per cent.

RETAIL SALES IN MAY REMAINED STEADY

Retail sales remained steady last month, with volumes rising 0.1 per cent compared with the previous month, latest CSO data shows. Slow car sales continue to impact on overall figures. When that sector was removed, core retail sales showed a 1.4 per cent rise in volume during the month, and remained static year on year.

In May, volumes in the hardware sector rose 14 per cent, and food and drink saw a 5.2 per cent rise in volumes. In the car trade, volumes dipped 5.5 per cent. Sales in the books and newspapers sector fell by 3.9 per cent.

TWO PUBLIC TOILETS COST €1.4M A YEAR

TWO public toilets in Ennis are costing taxpayers €1.4m a year, a local councillor has claimed. The cost of spending a penny in the Clare town was highlighted by Paul O'Shea, who wants the local authority to renegotiate the contract.

"Local authorities are locked into contracts costing taxpayers millions of euro," he said. "How can we justify spending this extortionate sum on sub-standard toilets when the Government is cutting special needs assistants and mobility grants for the most vulnerable?"

PILGRIM FLASK TO FETCH UP TO €35,000

A large Irish silver pilgrim flask commemorating a 1909 victory by the horse Bachelor's Lodge, trained by Michael Dawson, is expected to fetch up to £30,000 (€35,000) at an auction in Sotheby's of London on July 10.

The auction is part of the Arts of Europe sale, which also includes a pair of Irish silver loving cups by Thomas Bolton, which are expected to fetch up to £8,000.

HOSPITAL CELEBRATES 80 TRANSPLANTS

Temple Street Children's University Hospital celebrated 10 years of kidney transplants with a function in Croke Park yesterday.

The hospital has carried out more than 80 transplants since 2003, and many of the children and their families joined consultant nephrologist Dr Afit Awan and transplant surgeon Mr David Hickey at the event.

VEC TO BE REPLACED BY TRAINING BOARD

Louth and Meath VEC will cease to exist at midnight tonight when they are replaced by the Louth and Meath Education and Training Board (LMETB). The Education and Training Boards Act will see the abolition of the country's 33 VECs and their replacement with 15 ETBs.

The CEO of the LMETB, Peter Kierans, will oversee the management of 16 secondary schools, one primary school and nine Youthreach centres. It will have an annual budget of €100m and just under 2,000 staff.

CUSTOMERS FACE LOSS OF WATER SUPPLY

Customers in parts of the north-east of Dublin city will experience reduced water pressure and, in some cases, a loss of supply today between 6am and midnight. Works are being carried out to improve the supply. Areas affected include Donnycarney, Artane, Raheny and Coolock.

PRIZE BOND HOLDER WINS €1M IN DRAW

A Tipperary resident won €1m in last month's Prize Bonds Millionaire draw. More than 8,700 other Prize Bond holders won prizes. The winning bond number for the €1m prize was HJ271209, bought in 2007. More than €1,506,000 was won in Friday's draw.

RETIRED FARMER LEAVES €2.8M IN WILL

retired farmer Richard Hendy, of Kilcullen, Co Kildare, who died on May 13, 2008, has left €2,820,265 in his will.

Other wills: Ann Mary Boland, retired air hostess, Waltham Terrace, Blackrock, Dublin, €1,978,050; Patrick Moran, farmer, Carramoneen, Tuam, Co Galway, €1,854,660; Carmel O'Morain, housewife, St Helier's Copse, Stillorgan, Dublin, €1,681,813; Maire Neary, Hyde Park Avenue, Blackrock, Dublin, €1,209,296; Fidelma De Paor, set designer, Upper Mount Pleasant Avenue, Rathmines, Dublin, €747,532.

The value of wills includes property, including the family home and should not be regarded as cash amounts.