TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern last night said he had no choice but to wipe out drift-net salmon fishing, but insisted he understood the concerns of those people whose livelihoods have been ruined by the decision.

It may be of little consolation to those who fought such a frustrating campaign for the new E60 million Cork School of Music, but some good may eventually come of the appalling inter-departmental management of the project which completely delayed it.

THE head of the Dáil’s public spending watchdog has warned senior civil servants that he will not stand for budget overruns on major projects.