Four men convicted
A jury has convicted four men of a range of sexual assaults of a teenage girl in a car six years ago.
In the early hours of the morning of December 27th, 2016, the then 17-year-old girl got into a car with five men after she became separated from her friends at the end of a night-out in Tullamore, Co Offaly.
She asked for a lift to a place in the county, but instead the car drove along backroads towards nearby Kilbeggan, Co Westmeath. During this journey the girl was repeatedly sexually assaulted by a number of men who groped and molested her.
The car was parked up at a remote spot on the Harbour rd., Kilbeggan and two of the defendants and another man then raped her one after another. The car was then driven back into Tullamore and parked at the Whitehall car-park.
Excess deaths
A further 7,005 new cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed as figures show Ireland had one of the lowest rates of excess deaths in the EU during the second half of last year.
According to the Department of Health, a further 3,150 PCR-confirmed cases of Covid-19 have been recorded while 3,855 people registered a positive antigen test through the HSE portal.
As of Thursday morning, there were 1,251 patients with Covid-19 in hospital, 56 of which were in ICU.
Meanwhile, new HIQA analysis shows Ireland's excess mortality during the second half of last year was among the lowest in Europe.
Main course increase
A restaurant owner has warned that diners could face at least €4 extra on a main course as biting price increases hit businesses "left, right and centre like a pin cushion".
Mick Hughes from The Stockhouse Restaurant in Trim, Co Meath, estimates that his supply and wage costs have increased by an average of 26 per cent - and this is before the spikes in energy from May 1st.
The owner of the highly rated eatery, which has been open for eight years, says the industry is "running on borrowed time".
Tony Holohan role
The full details of a new university role created for Dr Tony Holohan should have been made public earlier, the Tánaiste has said.
Taking questions in the Dáil on Thursday, Leo Varadkar indicated that greater transparency over the appointment would have been “preferable”.
Questions, including why the Department of Health is funding the secondment for Dr Holohan at Trinity College Dublin and who approved it, have dogged the Government in recent days.
High court settlement
A 45-year-old Tipperary woman who claimed she suffered brain damage around the time of her birth has won a €5 million settlement of her High Court action.
Claire Sullivan’s case is believed to be the oldest ever such birth action alleging negligence and breach of duty before the courts.
The settlement against the HSE is without an admission of liability and was reached after the case had been at hearing for four days before the High Court.
