Residents in a quiet corner of Co Limerick now live in fear of dangerous heavy traffic caused by thousands of motorists who use the neighbourhood boreens as a 'rat run' to avoid Adare, one of the country's worst bottlenecks.

A male on-duty Garda motorcyclist was seriously hurt in a single-vehicle road traffic accident near Mallow, north of Rathduff, on the N20 motorway late last night.

Here's what you need to know this lunchtime. 

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Finance Minister Michael Noonan said the building of a N20 motorway connecting Cork and Limerick was a priority, but he ruled out any early move due to lack of money.