Bernadette McAliskey, the former MP and radical Northern Ireland activist, told a court on 23 October that she could  never see her daughter Roisin allowing herself to be extradited to  Germany to stand trial for an alleged IRA attack on a British Army base  in 1996.

Frank Dunlop's evidence has been the cornerstone of the Planning Tribunal's proceedings now for several years but it is now evident that he has continued to lie to the Tribunal long after is infamous “confession” to the former chairman, Feargus Flood and his recent story of having bought part of a racehorse in 1992 for £20,000 is clearly literally incredible. Given that his credibility is not close to rock-bottom, the issue arises, what plausibility can the Tribunal attribute to any of his allegations about councillors being bribed? 

Ends 

Extracts from the “Diary” piece published in London Review of Books

The Moriarty Tribunal has cost €30 million to date but that is before costs are awarded to witnesses who appeared before the tribunal. The final bill is likely to be around €50m. The Planning Tribunal's final costs are likely to be well in excess of €100m.  And almost every single cent of this goes to lawyers.

Ends. 

The Progressive Democrats themselves must appreciate the game is over for them.

The President has just two functions independent of government: to refer a Bill to the Supreme Court to test its constitutionality before it is signed into law; and to refuse to dissolve the Dáil on the advice of a Taoiseach who has lost the support of a majority of TDs.No other powers whatsoever.

Musical Seats in Dublin

While the constituency revision affords the best politician of the last Dáil, Joe Higgins, a chance to return in Dublin West next time (it has got an extra seat), another of the Dáil's best TDs, Ciaran Cuffe, is facing a challenge in Dun Laoghaire, which has lost a seat. Either he goes or Barry Andrews of Fianna Fail goes.

Ends 

The finances crisis from Bertie Ahern now threatens to destroy his career, even though this is not yet publicly appreciated. For evidence is emerging that he got far more money when he was Minister for Finance than so far has been disclosed unravels Bertie Ahern's yarn-spinning. By Vincent Browne

Since last February I have had several meetings with Catherine Nevin in the Dochas centre at Mountjoy. At each of the meetings, her solicitor, Anne Fitzgibbon, was in attendance.

The evidence of three witnesses against Catherine Nevin at her trial raise serious doubts about the reliability of her convinction. By Vincent Browne