The North: At last, DUP agree on transferring policing and justice powers from London

RTÉ reports:

"The First Minister and DUP leader Peter Robinson has said his party's representatives at the Stormont Assembly have backed a deal with Sinn Féin on the devolution of policing and justice powers from Westminster.

"The breakthrough follows lengthy negotiations involving both governments at Hillsborough Castle over the past two weeks.
Taoiseach Brian Cowen and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown will travel to Belfast this morning to put their seal on the agreement."

Watch the press conference live from 10am

FÁS Failure: FÁS boss pockets half a million while community groups axed, FÁS training budgets slashed

FIANNA FÁIL Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has defended the huge pay-out to former FÁS Director General Rody Molloy (left) who was given a "larger than necessary" severance package because the Government wanted to "move the organisation on and make sure it changed".

Molloy retired on a pension of €111,245 per year and also received a once-off lump sum of €333,735 and two other separate payments of €55,622. He was also allowed to keep a car.

This is all at a time when Community Development Programmes are axed and people trying to get back to work through FÁS jobs training and employment programmes are having their training budgets slashed.

RTÉ says in its report headed Coughlan defends Molloy severance package:
"[Rody Molloy's] departure in November 2008 came after months of criticism at the excessive expenses incurred by executives of FÁS.

"The Tánaiste said his package was agreed following advice from her officials and under sanction from the Department of Finance." (My emphasis.)

So the Fianna Fáil minister and her advisers are responsible for the half-million pay-out to get rid of someone who, it appears, wasn't up to the job.

Whatever happened to the sack?