HARDLINE tactics to root out bogus asylum seekers by Justice Minister Micheal McDowell were deemed “disturbing” yesterday, as new figures showed a massive fall in the number of people seeking asylum.

THE bombshell news that Tánaiste and Health Minister Mary Harney is stepping down as leader of the Progressive Democrats with immediate effect will inevitably cause disarray in the ranks of the junior Government partner, leaving her party facing an uncertain political future.

JUST 10 convictions for human trafficking were secured in the last five years, despite campaign groups warning the problem is widespread.

WHETHER he is banning minors from pubs, changing the drinking laws, deporting Nigerian students, or smearing a Fine Gael spokesman as Dr Goebbels, Justice Michael McDowell is never far from controversy.

JUSTICE Minister Micheal McDowell’s plan to encourage prisoners to undergo voluntary drug tests is a publicity stunt which won’t address drug use in prisons, penal reform experts said yesterday.

TOUGH new privacy laws to shield politicians and other household names , even when they are in some public places, are likely to secure Cabinet approval by Easter, Justice Minister Micheal McDowell yesterday signalled.

YOU quote the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law reform, Micheal McDowell, talking about the Wayne O'Donoghue case (Irish Examiner, January 27) as follows: “There were often legal complications in cases which the public does not understand and were not easy to explain.”

THE Fianna Fáil mutiny was as scary as being confronted in a dark alley by a flock of slaughtered sheep.

AS a Fianna Fáil supporter, I was amazed by the recent attack on Sinn Féin by Arts, Sport and Tourism Minister John O’Donoghue.

GARDAÍ expect more than 3,000 illegal firearms will be handed over in the up-coming amnesty ahead of tough new anti-gun laws.

The long wait for the family of 1976 murder victim Seamus Ludlow was extended again today after a scheduled publication of a Government report was abruptly cancelled.

The Government has issued warnings to people that they could face heavy penalties if caught with fireworks this weekend.

CONFIRMATION that money found in garda raids in Cork earlier this year was part of the cash taken in the Northern Bank raid has significant implications for the Provisional movement and Sinn Féin, Justice Minister Micheal McDowell said yesterday.

PUBLICANS were fully prepared to accept restaurants serving a full range of alcohol, if Justice Minister Micheal McDowell’s café bar plan was dropped.

THE Cabinet will this morning clear the way for the Crawford Gallery to receive State funding as it meets in Cork to mark the city’s year as European Capital of Culture.

The Government is set to get tough on the sale of fireworks.

The Minister for Justice Micheal McDowell has called on the IRA to confirm if it has put an end to criminal activity.

The Minister for Justice Micheal McDowell has announced that new measures will be introduced to allow certain foreign parents of Irish born children to legally remain in the country.

A LEADING Church body yesterday launched an unprecedented attack on the Government’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers.

A district judge has accused Minister for Justice Micheal McDowell of interfering in the judicial process, and has said he will refuse to hear any drink-driving cases for six months.

Ireland is being gripped by a mini crime wave despite Garda figures which recorded a drop in the most serious offences, it was claimed today.

RAY BURKE and NASA’s capsule, Genesis, have a few things in common. They were both in orbit and both came crashing down to earth in spectacular fashion.

MENTAL health groups yesterday expressed concern at reports that the Central Mental Hospital is to be relocated to the same site as the replacement complex for Mountjoy Prison.

JUSTICE Minister Micheál McDowell says that “putting a new layer between me and the gardaí would not increase accountability”.

JUSTICE Minister Micheal McDowell is set to unveil plans to grant an increased number of liquor licences, which will allow some cafés to sell alcohol.

The Prison Officers Association is due to meet officials from the Prison Service today to discuss a long-running dispute over overtime.

The Government must live up to its promise of getting 2,000 extra police officers on the streets, members of the force were demanding today.

A controlled explosion of a pipe bomb was carried out in central Dublin today just hours before a visit by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, army officers said.

Justice Minister Micheal McDowell today dismissed personal attacks on him by Sinn Féin as “battle fatigue” and said they would fail miserably.

Prison officers have said they are utterly opposed to Minister for Justice Micheal McDowell closing an open centre for young offenders

OPPOSITION parties yesterday called for the Daíl to be recalled from its summer break to debate what they described as savage Government spending cutbacks.