ONE of the more interesting innovations in Irish tourism in recent years has been the development of abandoned railway lines as greenways for cyclists and walkers, helping to make ecotourism a key niche market.

An Bord Pleanála has rejected its own inspector’s recommendation and also overturned a town council decision to approve planning for a proposed Lidl supermarket in Clonakilty, Co Cork.

Ringaskiddy is to be opened up for major industrial investment after it was confirmed that plans to build a new motorway into it have been reactivated.

The builder who is erecting a stone wall to give Kian Egan privacy at his home has joked that he wish he knew how rich the ex-Westlife singer was before he priced the job.

Plans for new commuter railway stations in Cork have reached “the end of the line” due to a lack of funding and the rejection of the county council’s plan to build a new town at Monard, near Blarney.

A 13-hectare public park in Cork Harbour, with a 3km circuit for walking and running, forms part of a €40m clean-up plan for one of the State’s worst environmental disaster zones.

More than 150 scouts are set to benefit from an unusual joint venture collaboration with a German discount supermarket chain.

More than 1,500 people walked through the cold and rain at the weekend to protest against a proposed Eirgrid network of pylons designated for the area around the Comeragh Mountains.

Plans are being advanced for the creation of a €200m motorway joining Ringaskiddy in east Cork with the Jack Lynch Tunnel, because the EU designated the project as vital infrastructure.

A Limerick man appeared in court charged in connection with a burglary at the lakeside mansion owned by the son of Euromillions winner, Dolores McNamara.

If the Government hoped to avert controversy over the relentless march of giant electricity pylons across the country, the appointment of ex-Bord Pleanála chairman John O’Connor as head of Eirgrid, amounts to another self-inflicted public relations disaster for the Coalition.

A Chinese restaurant can remain open in a popular seaside resort until 3am, An Bord Pleanála has ruled.

Despite serious setbacks in the planning process, there are still hopes of developing cycle lanes along one of the country’s most scenic tourist routes.

An East Cork town council intends amending its Town Development Plan to facilitate a planning application for a major retail development.

The future of a memorial to victims of institutional child abuse is in jeopardy after planning was refused for the €500,000 project in Dublin’s north inner city.

An Bord Pleanála’s decision to turn down a memorial to victims of institutional abuse, planned for the Garden of Remembrance on Parnell Square in Dublin, represents a slap in the face for those who were treated outrageously by nuns and brothers of religious orders under the unseeing eyes of state agencies.

People thought he was mad when he announced plans in 2004 to stage a series of summer concerts, by some of the world’s biggest stars, in a large tent in Cork’s docklands.

The Minister for Energy and Natural Resources Pat Rabbitte is to be told by a county council that Eirgrid’s plans for a major overhead powerline will be a blight on the landscape and may lead to serious health and economic implications.

ON Nov 27 I got a very sad phonecall from Bernadette Fahy and a text from Paddy Doyle.Both Bernadette and Paddy are amazing people who are survivors of institutional abuse.

The chairman designate of Eirgrid, the national power grid operator, has admitted that he would not like to live near electricity pylons.