PRESS DIGEST - Ireland - Feb 7

 DUBLIN, Feb 7 (Reuters) - These are some of the leading
stories in Ireland's newspapers on Thursday. Reuters has not
verified these stories and cannot vouch for their accuracy:

 THE IRISH TIMES

 - Children's rights organisations have expressed strong
opposition to plans being discussed by the government to hold a
referendum on child protection on the same day as the European
Union reform treaty.

 - Fianna Fail senator and founder of Lir chocolates Mary
White has announced that she intends seeking her party's
nomination to contest the next presidential election in 2011.

 - Payzone PAYZ.L has conceded before the High Court that
the purported termination last month of the contracts of its
chief executive and chief financial officer was invalid, null
and void and of no effect.

 IRISH INDEPENDENT

 - The businessman at the centre of the Bertie Ahern casino
affair last night spoke out in support of the Taoiseach,
branding the controversy over Mr Ahern's involvement in his bid
to obtain an Irish passport as "a nonsense".
- Cardinal Desmond Connell has told friends that he is
prepared to go to jail rather than release confidential diocesan
files.

 - Airtricity, the Irish wind farm group being bought by
Scottish & Southern Energy SSE.L, will start construction of a
50 megawatt wind farm in northeastern China this year.

 IRISH EXAMINER

 - The dramatic collapse last night of talks aimed at
resolving the Cork GAA players strike could precipitate one of
the biggest crises the association has faced in over a century.

 - A survey of jobs created during 2007 in IDA-supported
companies has highlighted significant discrepancies in
investment levels between different parts of the country.

 - Ryanair RYA.I RYA.L is on course to secure a
significant court victory in Germany over rival Lufthansa.

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