Fine Gael junior minister Dara Murphy has defended his controversial €85-a-head fundraising breakfast with the justice minister, and insisted he has “nothing to hide”.

A key figure long associated with the Criminal Assets Bureau said Cork would have suffered far more from the influence of organised crime and drug barons had it not been for the dedication of a senior garda, about to step down.

Private solicitors working for the Director of Public Prosecutions were paid almost €6.5m last year.

A “five strikes” policy for repeat offenders should be introduced with a minimum jail term of seven years for a fifth conviction, according to one of the country’s best known legal figures.

A retiring judge yesterday blasted plans for a new €21 million courthouse in Cork.

A motorist who lost his appeal against his 12th driving test failure claimed yesterday there was a vendetta against him within the Road Safety Authority.

Favourites South Kerry were shocked in Saturday’s Kerry U21 football championship semi-final by the impressive Kilcummin/Rathmore amalgamation (1-10 to 0-12).

The cost of operating the office of the solicitor who led the charge against Limerick’s crime gangs topped €350,000 last year.

The superintendent who got warrants to inspect and search the Rock Bingo hall in Togher, Cork city, said yesterday that he acted on the advice of the office of the Attorney General.

FORMER CAB boss Barry Galvin has told how he helped to nab an international supplier for the Iranian missile programme in his latest role in cleaning up the criminal justice system in the Seychelles.

THE man credited as the driving force behind the Navy’s determined counter -narcotics campaign retired yesterday after nearly 40 years battling the import of drugs into this country.

THE role played by former Criminal Assets Bureau boss Barry Galvin in reforming the criminal justice system of an Indian Ocean island is to feature in an RTÉ documentary.

MORE than 1,000 people packed a church in Co Cork yesterday to pay their last respects to a Circuit Court judge who was described as “a friend to everybody” and “a true man of the people.”

THE operator of a plastic recycling business complained that Cork County Council had discriminated against him.

Another man and woman were arrested and charged today as part of an ongoing investigation into prostitution in Cork.

A THIRD man has been charged in connection with the £26.5 million Northern Bank robbery.

TÁNAISTE and Justice Minister Michael McDowell disclosed last night that a formal agreement will be signed between Ireland, Britain and Northern Ireland that will greatly improve the exchange of information about sex offenders moving from one jurisdiction to another.

A judge in Cork District Court today indicated that he was most likely to dismiss hundreds of drink driving cases next week if they were more than four years old.

THE collapse of the court trials because of suspected intimidation has contributed to calls for dedicated officers to be assigned to protect witnesses.

GOVERNMENT plans to reform the country's criminal justice system are weak, the former head of the Criminal Assets Bureau yesterday said.

BASED on previous performances, Dessie Nutt is the obvious favourite in Sunday’s Killarney Historic Rally.

CAUSEWAY Comprehensive School are back on the All-Ireland Vocational schools SFC glory trail following last year’s semi-final defeat by Clara.

THE man dubbed the Elliot Ness of Irish crime-fighting has retired as chief legal adviser to the Criminal Assets Bureau (CAB).

WE ARE in a sorry state when we need armed gardaí to patrol the streets of Limerick and hardly a day passes without a murder somewhere in the country.

THE Criminal Assets Bureau is preparing to seize €6m worth of cash and properties in the new year. The agency - made up of garda, revenue and social welfare experts - last week got the keys to property worth €5m belonging to a major cigarette smuggler.

A CRIMINAL’S house auctioned by the Criminal Assets Bureau this week fetched almost 100,000 euro more than the guide price, it emerged yesterday.

THE State chalked down another notable success in its crackdown on drug barons yesterday when two luxurious homes owned by one of the world’s biggest cocaine traffickers were put up for auction.

The Munster Maxsport Autocross Championship was won by 24-year-old Ballyvourney driver, Gerard Lucey, who finished the Cork Autocross in Grancore near Clonakilty in second place.