Patrick Quirke to appeal ‘Mr Moonlight’ murder conviction
Tipperary farmer Patrick Quirke has been granted permission by the Supreme Court for a further appeal against his conviction for the murder of DJ Bobby Ryan in 2011.
The Supreme Court has agreed to hear an appeal, but a date will be set later.
Quirke (51), from Breanshamore, was found guilty in 2019 of murdering the father-of-two, known as ‘Mr Moonlight’, at Fawnagowan in Co Tipperary.
A jury at the Central Criminal Court convicted him by a majority verdict of 10:2 after a 71-day trial, and he was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Russia suspends gas supplies to Poland and Bulgaria
Russian energy giant Gazprom on Wednesday halted gas supplies to Bulgaria and Poland for failing to pay for gas in roubles, the Kremlin's toughest response yet to the crippling sanctions imposed by the West for the invasion of Ukraine.
Poland and Bulgaria are the first countries to have their gas cut off by Europe's main supplier since the February 24th invasion of Ukraine that has killed thousands of people, displaced millions more and raised fears of a broader conflict.
"Gazprom has completely suspended gas supplies to Bulgargaz (Bulgaria) and PGNiG (Poland) due to absence of payments in roubles," Gazprom said in a statement.
Dáil to vote on Sinn Féin motion to scrap turf ban plans
A Sinn Féin TD has accused Government backbenchers of “pantomime” over proposals to ban the sale and distribution of turf.
Regulations to ban the fuel’s commercial sale and distribution – but not its burning – are due to come into force from September, and have been subject to heavy criticism from Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael representatives in western and midland counties.
Roscommon–Galway TD Claire Kerrane said many Government members who have criticised the proposals were not so vocal during a Dáil debate on the matter last night.
It comes as a vote is set to take place in the Dáil tonight on a Sinn Féin motion to scrap the plans to ban the commercial sale and distribution of turf.
Five arrested after leading Gardaí on high-speed chase
Gardaí have arrested five men in connection with investigations into criminal activity, with the incident involving a vehicle that failed to stop for gardaí and later crashed as it attempted to evade them.
Gardaí intercepted the vehicle on Tuesday evening in Co Meath as part of ongoing investigations into criminal activity in the Leinster region.
This vehicle failed to stop for officers, and a "managed containment operation" ensued.
This operation ended shortly before 8pm when the offending vehicle was involved in a single-vehicle road traffic collision on the Newbridge Road in Naas.
New tenancies rent levels ‘very worrying’ – Taoiseach
The Taoiseach has described the rent levels for new tenancies as “very worrying” and “not satisfactory”, blaming the rent costs on supply issues.
Figures release by the Residential Tenancies Board (RTB) shows the average rent in new tenancies stood at €1,415 by the end of last year.
The RTB rent index measures rental price developments faced by those taking up new tenancies in the private rental sector.
It shows the number of new tenancies registered with the RTB has fallen, with a year-on-year reduction of 48 per cent.
