A GROUP representing rural families has called for an urgent review of the composition of An Bord Pleanála, claiming its membership may be unlawful.

HAPPY New Year to all the readers of the Irish Examiner!

In the first of a two-part series, Caroline O’Doherty details the differing views in the rural housing debate.

DEBATE about the desirability of one-off housing has raged since the 1980s although in the early days the argument was more about aesthetics than environmental and social sustainability with many builders accused of destroying the landscape with incongruous Spanish-style villas, mock Palladian mansions and mini-Southforks.

AMORPHOUS was a new one on Mary Sweeney. She had seen planners use many descriptions before but this one necessitated consulting a dictionary.

LONG-DISTANCE farming wasn’t what Bernadette and Gerald Sheehan had in mind when they bought 160 acres of land in coastal west Cork 10 years ago.

IRISH music fans are digging deep to keep home grown talent at the top of the charts.

FAMILIES were left shocked and disturbed after a robbery and “vicious” knife attack on a young couple in Athlone yesterday.

THE Dublin man who died in a Garda station cell on the weekend was arrested in connection with the possession of drugs.

THERE were 29 fewer people killed on the roads in 2007 than in 2006, with road safety groups predicting a further reduction in fatalities this year.

WILLIE Mullins ended 2007 on a high when, in addition to winning with O’Hana at Tramore, he saddled Snowy Morning and C’est Ca to triumph at Punchestown yesterday.

AFTER the opening round of the Galbally Stakes and Russell Cup at Galbally yesterday Gaytime Chesney, who won his Trial Stake here last season, is given a cautious vote to win out.

AFSOUN can floor the Jonjo O’Neill duo of Black Jack Ketchum and Wichita Lineman in the Steel Plate And Sections Hurdle at Cheltenham today.

SUBLIMITY could take in a spin on the all-weather at Dundalk as part of his final preparations for the Champion Hurdle.

THE advice from the health and fitness gurus this New Year’s Day is to make a series of small attainable new year’s resolutions rather than planning to change your life in a matter of days.

TOTTENHAM could face a fight to keep star striker Dimitar Berbatov during the January transfer window.

ALEX FERGUSON does not blame Alex McLeish for walking out on Scotland.

HARRY KEWELL is not even thinking about a new contract as he tries to claim a regular place in the Liverpool side.

WHAT an extraordinary last day of 2007!

KNIGHT Legend gets the nap to land an interesting and valuable Wilf Dooly Chase at Tramore this afternoon.

FRANCE is cutting off talks with Syria until Damascus shows its willingness to let Lebanon elect a new president, said French president Nicolas Sarkozy.

MORE than a thousand Palestinian pilgrims set fire yesterday to temporary camps set up by the Egyptian government to house them until a dispute over how they will return to the Gaza Strip is resolved.

IT was meant to be one of the highlight’s of China Central Television’s 2008 calendar — the rebranding of the State station to coincide with the Olympics.

THE Irish prison service is set to enlist the support of sniffer dogs from the North to weed out drugs in the country’s jails.

ASTHMA rates have increased dramatically over the past decade and the condition now affects more than one in five Irish children.

COCAINE addicts seeking help for their habit have had to be turned away from a community drug programme because of a lack of space.

LOSING weight after the Christmas splurge won’t just leave you looking well — it could have you seeing well too, researchers say.

IN TIME the big story of last year may not be the general election and Bertie Ahern’s hat trick of general election victories, but the questions that would not go away about his finances, or the Punch and Judy routine between his government and the Mahon Tribunal.

DESPITE the gloom of some of the global economic predictions, there are still indications that the Irish economy will grow this year, though not at the same rate as recent years. This should be taken as a positive indication.

WISE old political commentators who made their names by predicting the outcome of elections and other momentous events used to have a saying when things went wrong.

I’VE asked this before and I’ll ask it again: why isn’t New York representative Peter King heading up the office of Homeland Security?

IT’s the season for pantomimes, and if you are looking for the best show of all, it’s ongoing in Dublin Castle where it’s set to run for another few years at least.

LISTENING to the steady flow of depressing statistics from the various think-tanks and from individual economists has convinced me that bad news is both contagious and counter-productive.

LIVING a lie is what fishermen throughout Ireland and Britain are doing at the moment in relation to conserving fish stocks. It is a problem that nobody wants to talk about and nobody wants to know about.

WHAT’S become a new year tradition has so far shown no signs of dimming despite the economic gloom: the holiday-booking rush is up and running.

IN WHAT would herald a sea change in attitudes to planning, Junior Environment Minister Batt O’Keeffe has pledged the days of upside-down development are over and roads and schools will now be developed in tandem with residential housing.

SUNDERLAND striker Daryl Murphy is happy to fight for his place on Wearside but admits his future is up in the air.

READING have insisted they have “no intention” of selling Stephen Hunt in the January transfer window.

CHELSEA chairman Bruce Buck has called on FIFA to deal with the “craziness” of the international calendar as the club prepare to lose four players to the African Nations Cup this month.

SEASON-ENDING victories by the Washington Redskins and Tennessee Titans advanced both teams into the NFL playoffs, with reserve quarterbacks named Collins leading each triumph.

THERE is no good time to pick up a serious injury but some months are better than others.

TWELVE months ago this week Darren O’Neill’s Olympic dream was shattered when he fractured his wrist while training for the national senior boxing championships.

OUR normal host Liam Mackey has been unexpectedly called away for more pressing New Year’s Eve duties so this week we’re calling occasional substitute Allan Prosser from the bench to mediate over your angry views and decide who will win the first glittering prize of 2008.

THE Government has announced a €6 million package for local authorities that operated recycling facilities.

TALIBAN militants attacked a police checkpoint in the south and killed 16 officers, officials said yesterday.

HUNDREDS of people, including many children, chanted slogans praising Saddam Hussein as they tossed flowers on to his tomb one year after he was executed.

FOR years, anyone needing a nicotine fix in a German pub or French cafe didn’t even have to light up — the air was already so full of smoke that they only had to open their mouth and inhale.

DEMOCRAT Hillary Clinton holds a slim lead in Iowa over Barack Obama and a rising John Edwards, who are tied for second place three days before the state opens the presidential nominating race, according to a Reuters/C-SPAN/ Zogby poll released yesterday.

NORTH KOREA, facing a looming deadline in a nuclear disarmament deal, blamed the United States yesterday for hurting the prospects for peace on the Korean peninsula with plans to attack the reclusive state.

A trawler was towed to shore after a fire broke out on board the vessel on the Irish Sea.

New Fulham boss Roy Hodgson endured a losing start to his Cottagers reign as Chelsea overcame a lifeless first half to edge their west London rivals.

It appears “impossible” for Pakistan to hold a vote on January 8 because of unrest following the killing of Benazir Bhutto, the country’s election commission said today.

Kenya’s president threatened a tough crackdown as rioters rampaged for a third day to protest what they called his sham re-election.

The Taoiseach has said that Ireland will continue to work towards meeting its overseas aid target of 0.7% of national wealth in 2008.

Fine Gael will keep up its attacks on the Government in the coming months.

Food and drink industry experts predict that 2008 will be a strong year for producers.

John Part is determined it will be he – and not rookie sensation Kirk Shepherd - who will make history in tonight’s Ladbrokes.com PDC World Championship final at Alexandra Palace.

State Of Play could be set for a switch back to hurdles after his fifth-place finish in the Lexus Chase.

Kicking King is still poised to return to the track this month – but not at Thurles.

A trip to Newbury in the spring is on the agenda for Maggie Mathias after the consistent sort was rewarded for her efforts in the Mares Only “National Hunt” Novices’ Hurdle at Warwick.

Motorway toll charges have risen by between 10c and 20c across the country.

A €2 increase in the RTÉ licence fee comes into effect from today.

Sonia Gandhi, the head of India’s ruling Congress party, is being treated in a New Delhi hospital for a chest infection, a hospital official said today.

Manchester City midfielder Elano may find himself on the bench as the high-flying Blues look to heap more pressure on Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce.

Emile Heskey is expected to face former club Liverpool as Wigan attempt to haul themselves out of the relegation zone by winning at Anfield for the first time.

Bolton full back Nicky Hunt remains doubtful for the Barclays Premier League match against Derby tomorrow at the Reebok Stadium.

Derby boss Paul Jewell faces a striker dilemma ahead of tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League game at Bolton after selling Steve Howard to Leicester.

Sunderland midfielder Ross Wallace is a doubt for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League trip to Blackburn as he battles against a hamstring injury.

Bolton boss Gary Megson has given the clearest indication yet that he may be forced to sell star striker Nicolas Anelka this month.

Birmingham skipper Damien Johnson will be out of action for a fortnight after suffering a depressed fracture of the skull.

Truckers across the EU’s 27 member states are being hit with new regulations from today.

A 19-year-old male pedestrian has been injured after being struck by a Garda patrol car in Dublin.

Newcastle striker Alan Smith is a major doubt for tomorrow night’s Barclays Premier League clash with Manchester City as he recovers from concussion.

Assassinated Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto is to posthumously receive the 2007 Tipperary Peace Prize, it was announced today.

Liverpool will have Peter Crouch available again for tomorrow’s Barclays Premier League match with Wigan.

Kenyans ventured warily out in search of food today after an explosion of post-election violence killed more than 200 people in four days.

Check out today's tips from selected courses.

Henrietta Knight is considering giving Racing Demon a run over hurdles after he finished a respectable fourth in the King George VI Chase at Kempton on St Stephen's Day.

€4m in additional funding has been announced to reinforce the protection of salmon stocks.

A man has been taken to hospital following a stabbing in Co Louth.

Gardaí in Co Louth have arrested a sixth person in connection with the murder of a 29-year-old man in Drogheda.

A US diplomat was shot and wounded while in a car in Khartoum, Sudan, today in an attack that also killed the official’s Sudanese driver, the US Embassy said.

Slovenia, the former Yugoslav country of 2 million, took over the European Union presidency today, becoming the face and the voice of the 27-nation bloc of 500 million people for the next six months.

Few trainers finished 2007 in the same fine form as Alan King, so it was hardly surprising to see that man on the mark with Oh Crick in the Club 16-24 Annual Big Bash “National Hunt” Novices’ Handicap Hurdle at Cheltenham.

Irish Aid will open its first public office, on Dublin's O'Connell Street, later this month.

A US diplomat shot while riding in a car early today in Khartoum has died of injuries sustained in the attack, which also killed the official’s Sudanese driver, the US Embassy said.

The Progressive Democrats admits it faces tough time to maintain presence at national level.

A mob attacked and set fire to a church where hundreds of people had taken refuge from post-election violence, killing at least 15 people today, police and a witness said.

Knight Legend came home in his own time to record an easy victory in the Wilf Dooly Chase after the hat-trick seeking Our Ben suffered a fatal fall at the penultimate fence.

Fulham 1 Chelsea 2

Middlesbrough 0 Everton 2

Northern Ireland's Secretary of State Shaun Woodward has said politicians face the challenge in the New Year of deciding if they are ready to take control of justice in the province.

About 200 Palestinians stranded for months on the Egyptian border have crossed back to their homes in the Gaza Strip and more are expected to follow, Israel said today.

Arsenal 2 West Ham 0

Manchester United 1 Birmingham 0

Reading 0 Portsmouth 2

Gardaí in Roscommon are investigating an assault in the town.

A mob torched a church sheltering hundreds of people fleeing post-election violence in Kenya today, killing up to 50 people, including many children, as four days of rioting and ethnic clashes marked one of the darkest times in the country’s history.

Andy Murray won one and lost one at the Qatar Open in Doha today but will be contented with the way 2008 has begun.