An investigation is underway after two deaths this week were linked to a new drug similar to ecstasy.

MIGHT I suggest to Education Minister Noel Dempsey that while he considers it unnecessary to consult with teachers prior to introducing state exams for primary schoolchildren, he should at least consult his counterparts in Britain.

The closing stages have been reached in the trial of two youths charged with the manslaughter of a teenager at Portobello Bridge in Dublin two years ago.