American spirits giant Beam Inc has hired five Irish graduates to promote its Irish whiskey brands in the US market.

Waterford County Council is to host a conference on mental health and suicide in a fresh bid to “help remove the stigma still attached to such conditions”.

Up to 20cm of snow is forecast to fall over the east of the country in the coming two days – a record for the month of November.

DARREN BALFE said he didn’t have to act much to play a drug addict casually traumatising ordinary people by robbing them on the street.

MORE than 850,000 pupils will have to stay at home until at least Thursday after Education Minister Batt O’Keeffe’s decision to close all schools because of worsening weather conditions.

Up to 15cm of snow is forecast this weekend as authorities tonight ordered salt rationing to conserve dwindling supplies.

Salt stocks to grit the country's roads are now described as "critical".

A VICTORY for commonsense. That was how campaigners yesterday described the government decision to retain coastguard radio stations in Valentia, Co Kerry, and Malin, Co Donegal.

Tragic INXS star Michael Hutchence is to return from the grave in a new biopic produced by Morgan Freeman.

WITH the recent archaeological find at Lismullen, I am reminded of comments made in 2004 by Michael Egan, corporate affairs director of the National Roads Authority, when he predicted it was “not unlikely” a “show-stopper” would be discovered at Tara along the planned route of the M3.

A SMALL support group set up less then three years ago in North Tipperary to help people bereaved by suicide, is growing into a nationwide movement.

WATERFORD’S Mayor Cllr Hilary Quinlan has welcomed news that work on the N25 Waterford bypass will begin in April this year.

A National Roads Authority official has defended the toll for the Kilcock to Kinnegad motorway, which rises 10 cent to €2.50 in January, only three weeks after opening.

A high speed Atlantic Corridor will link the key cities in the west under the Government’s 10-year transport strategy, it emerged tonight.

YOUR editorial (Irish Examiner, August 17) is critical of the National Roads Authority (NRA) against the background of the pending award of the contract for the Castleblayney bypass.

THE Government has been urged to place a temporary block on awarding contracts to construction firm Gama until all investigations into the company have been completed.

A sceptical public could be forgiven for asking why a construction group investigated by the State over worker exploitation is about to be awarded a €50 million contract by the National Roads Authority (NRA).

PETROL stations and restaurants are expected to be included along all motorways following the direct intervention of Transport Minister Martin Cullen.

Several sites of possible archaeological interest have been identified along proposed motorway routes running through Co Laois, it was confirmed today.

A lack of service stations along the State’s motorway network is a major safety issue for drivers, it was warned today.

PRELIMINARY investigations confirmed warning devices for vehicles carrying high loads were functioning prior to the weekend collision in the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork.

Mary Dundon, Political Reporter

Mary Dundon, Political Reporter

Niamh Nolan

THE construction of the Waterford city bypass will not be affected by the decision to divert €8 million of its funding to other road projects, the National Roads Authority pledged yesterday.

PRESSURE is mounting on Transport Minister Seamus Brennan to impose tolls on existing roads to make up for a €10 billion overrun on a national road improvements programme.

YOUR edition of May 18 carried a letter from university teachers and researchers seeking the release of information on the archaeological discoveries at Woodstown as part of preparatory work for the Waterford city bypass.

Legislation dealing with sites of historical importance must be updated, it was urged today.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) has said it is in need of a further €2bn, if some of its major routes are to be completed by the deadline of 2008.

SPEED limits below 20 miles-per-hour will be introduced when Ireland changes over to a metric system in September.

ENVIRONMENT Minister Martin Cullen is expected to rush through new laws to get the stalled M50 motorway project at historic Carrickmines Castle in south Dublin back on track.

JOYCEAN sayings, memories of Roman emperors and talk of Cassanova surfaced in Westport, Co Mayo, at the weekend.

THE National Roads Authority has denied protestors’ claims of victory after archaeologists resumed work on the controversial Carrickmines Castle site.

THE National Roads Authority (NRA) has proposed raising a section of the South Eastern Motorway to save the archeological discoveries at Carrickmines Castle.

A MOTORWAY plan linking the country’s two biggest cities could face lengthy delays, a judge has warned.

€1bn will be ploughed into the construction of national roads this year.