A Wexford man, arrested after a garda investigation in to the activity of dissident republicans, has pleaded guilty to explosives and firearms charges.

DISSIDENT republicans have detonated four times as many explosives in the last six months, compared to the previous six months.

GARDA efforts to thwart the rising threat posed by dissident paramilitaries will not be affected by cuts in the next budget, Justice Minister Dermot Ahern has said.

A “significant” dissident republican explosives dump and arms cache has been uncovered by anti-terror gardaí.

GARDAÍ suspect a notorious crime boss may be behind the murder of a serious criminal in north Dublin in a day in which another man was stabbed to death and a young man had a lucky escape in a gun attack.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern found himself in the middle of a plot when visited the National Ploughing Championships at Annaharvey yesterday — but it had nothing to do with politics.

GIANT EAGLE, down in class following respectable efforts at Punchestown and the Curragh, duly did the business in the Bumper at Cork yesterday.

* Pig Out Day Courses with Frank Krawczyk.

SHANE DONOHOE heaped praise on fellow trainer, Charlie Swan, after his Mill House Girl had slammed odds-on Telemachus in the Sean Barrett Bloodstock Insurance Ltd. Novice Hurdle at Tipperary last night.

* Deasy’s Harbour Bar and Seafood Restaurant, Ring Road, Ring, Clonakilty, Co Cork — their delicious seafood is well worth a detour. Tel 023-35741 for reservations.

A woman in her 20s has died in a road accident near Dunleer, Co Louth, in the early hours this morning.

INCREASED safety measures on building sites have been demanded by trade unions after accidents claimed the lives of three construction workers in one week, bringing the total number of construction deaths this year to 20.

Labour Affairs minister Frank Fahey tonight called for greater vigilance in the country’s construction industry following the deaths of three building workers in on-site accidents this week – and looked forward to a hefty increase in fines for safety regulation infringements.

SIPTU has stepped up demands for increased safety measures on building sites today following the deaths of three construction workers this week.

A MAN who died when a trench collapsed on a building site was the 20th person to die in the construction industry this year.

A man in his 60s has died after part of a trench collapsed on him on a road works site in Dunleer, Co Louth.