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National News Briefs

Two arrested following seizure of cannabis in Laois

Two men have been arrested and cannabis with an estimated street value of €140,000 seized following a garda raid on a premises in Laois.

Gardaí said the raid on a house in Balllacolla yesterday was part of an ongoing investigation into the cultivation of cannabis.

The suspects are currently detained under Section 2 of the Criminal Justice (Drug Trafficking) Act, 1996, at Portlaoise Garda Station.

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Minister to respond to recommendations on primary schools

Education Minister Ruairi Quinn will later today give his response to recommendations made by a committee set up to explore ways to make our primary schools more diverse.

At present, over 90% of all national schools are run by the Catholic Church.

Minister Quinn last year set up the Forum on Patronage and Pluralism to divest some of these schools.

The Forum has already given its recommendations to the Minister and later he will hold a press conference outlining his response.

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Man still held in connection with stabbing death

A man remains in Garda custody this morning in connection with a fatal knife attack in Dublin on Monday night.

Twnety-year-old Colm Hughes died when he was stabbed during a row at Fortlawn Avenue in Blanchardstown.

A man was in his early 20s was arrested near the scene and taken to Blanchardstown Garda Station for questioning.

Gardaí investigating the killing say they are following a definite line of enquiry.

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Court to hear Rattigan murder appeal

The Court of Criminal Appeal will today hear an appeal by Dublin man Brian Rattigan against his conviction for murder.

The 30-year-old, with an address at Cooley Rd in Drimnagh, was found guilty by a jury of stabbing Declan Gavin outside Abrakebabra on August 25, 2001.

He was jailed for life in 2009 after a jury convicted him of the murder of 21-year-old Gavin eight years earlier.

There was evidence that a man in a balaclava got out of a Nissan Micra that pulled up outside Abrakebabra at the Crumlin shopping centre and made for his victim with a knife.

Rattigan's palm print was found at the scene.

Moments before the killing witnesses heard someone in the car shouting at Gavin, calling him a "rat".

Rattigan is now appealing against his murder conviction in a hearing scheduled to last two days.

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Report on deaths of children in state care expected to highlight HSE failings

An independent report into the deaths of children in State care to be published later today is expected to be heavily critical of the HSE.

The review found that 196 children died between 2000 and 2010, while in the care of the State.

Some 115 of these child deaths were from unnatural causes - ranging from suicide to drug abuse, accidents and killings.

The report is expected to show that the majority of children did not receive adequate care from the HSE, with poor record-keeping and no follow-up care.

Fergus Finlay, Chief Executive of Barnardos, said the report will outline the tragic failure of the HSE to take proper responsibility for the children in its care.

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