Staff at Aer Lingus and the Dublin Airport Authority have voted for industrial action – in a row over a 700 million euro shortfall in the workers’ pension fund.

Six unions representing airport workers are now mandated to take action if either company attempts to make changes to their pension scheme without staff agreement.

The unions say the travelling public won’t be affected for the time being.

But Liam Berney from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions says Aer Lingus and the DAA must come up with a way of bridging the massive shortfall.

A 50 year old man has been convicted of raping his now ten year old daughter in a Co Westmeath town 2 or 3 years ago.

The man who cannot be named to protect the victim, was also found guilty on 3 charges of sexually assaulting the young girl, and of inviting her to watch a pornographic film.

Her father denied the allegations and told gardaí he believed the girl’s mother “put her up to” it, claiming that his former partner had a ‘vendetta’ against him.

He’s been remanded in custody for sentencing this October.

The Irish National Organisation of the Unemployed says the numbers out of work for more than a year – hit an all time high last month.

Figures from the Central Statistics Office show just over 200,000 people or 44 per cent of the Live Register total are long term claimants.

When seasonally adjusted – there was a 2,300 drop in those signing on to 437,300 in July – but the unemployment rate is unchanged at 14.8 per cent.

John Stewart – from the INOU – says the long term jobless figure is deeply worrying:

/> The European Commission has penalised Ireland for catching too much fish.

According to the Commission, we exceeded our fish quotas for 2011 and therefore our fishing limits for this year will be cut.

The European Commission puts quotas in place so as to ensure sustainable fishing in the EU.

Other countries penalised were Spain, Britain, Denmark, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland and Portugal.

/> A UK court has been told that Eva Rausing was dead for two months before her body was found covered by clothes and bin bags at her London home.

Tetra Pak heir Hans Rausing has been given a suspended jail term and was ordered to enrol in a two year residential detox programme after pleading guilty to preventing the lawful and decent burial of his wife.

A post mortem has revealed that Mrs. Rausing had taken a number of drugs including cocaine shortly before her death.