ENVIRONMENT Minister Martin Cullen will today publish the Government’s new guidelines on rural one-off housing.

AN Bord Pleanala gave the go-ahead yesterday to the controversial €680 million Meath motorway between Clonee and Kells — despite major objections and a protracted appeals hearing.

THE proposed route of the M3 motorway near the Hill of Tara was chosen after extensive public consultation involving some four thousand people and culminating in a 28-day oral hearing by An Bord Pleanála, the High Court was told yesterday.

ONE of the country's oldest GAA clubs faces serious safety and long-term viability concerns if a planned dual carriageway cuts through its grounds and does not allow it room to expand and grow, a safety expert has warned.

THERE were fresh calls last night to change the country’s oil exploration taxes, which are the lowest in the world.

HOME to beauty — that’s what’s on offer at the Ross Road, Killarney, this week where four exclusive sites hit the market at €500,000 apiece.

FORMER political lobbyist Frank Dunlop, who has admitted bribing Dublin county councillors, is due to give further evidence to the Mahon tribunal investigating planning corruption early next week.

AN attempt by residents of a Co Cork town to mount a legal challenge aimed at preventing the construction of Ireland’s first hazardous waste incinerator will be made in the High Court today.

CLONAKILTY’S Glebe House, on the town’s landmark Emmet Square, has had its Easter Rising.

TRANSPORT Minister Séamus Brennan has asked Aer Rianta not to sign any contracts on its new 70 million terminal at Dublin Airport until a final decision is made on a proposed independently-run second terminal.

PROTESTERS last night said they were prepared to take a European court case against proposals to build Ireland’s first toxic waste incinerator.

A MULTI-MILLION euro residential and business development on the outskirts of Nenagh, Co Tipperary, has been granted planning permission by Nenagh Town Council.

A SUPER DUMP proposal at a forestry site on the Cork-Limerick border was rejected yesterday for a second time by Bord Pleanála.

HOUSEHOLDERS in Waterford should not be forced to endure higher refuse charges next year, a local TD has said.

UCC bosses are to resubmit plans for a multi-million euro 200-student outreach centre at the Mardyke, despite their shock at having the project turned down by An Bord Pleanála.

IT'S just as well that Dubya's attention was focused on blowing up balloons for his inauguration party yesterday, or he might have noticed that Taoiseach Bertie Ahern was trying to slip a fast one by him.

THIS morning, as leading GAA officials gather in Croke Park for the official opening of the redeveloped Canal End and Hogan Stands, they won’t need reminding the financial outlook is not quite so rosy — with current borrowings in the order of €70 million and no indication when the last phase can be tackled or how it can be paid for.

SUPERMARKET giants Tesco yesterday sparked a possible price war after it opened its first petrol filling station.

A MAJOR marina plan which will transform a coastal Waterford region has cleared a final planning hurdle.

THE Gortadroma landfill in West Limerick will have no more space next year at current usage but may have its life span extended by 15 to 20 years, a Bord Pleanála oral hearing in Limerick was told yesterday.