METRO Friday, December 4, 2009 D METRODigest A TATTOO fanatic who has 11 autographed pictures of celebs etched into his skin hopes to add a 12th outside an Alice Cooper concert. Steve Porter, 41, has 24 tattoos of stars covering his body and nearly half have been signed by the celebs themselves, including Ozzy Osbourne and Andrea Corr. Mr Porter, from Nottingham, UK, is hoping Alice Cooper will sign his portrait at the stage door of the citys Royal Concert Hall. The tattoos are all things I have been really big into over the years and still am now, he said. TOURISM chiefs plan to spend about 1million each month next year to woo British holidaymakers to Ireland. With the UK the single biggest tourist market for the country, Tourism Ireland is increasing its overseas marketing by a fifth. Industry bosses hope to boost visitor numbers by three per cent in 2010, bringing in an extra 230,000 people. Despite predictions of a continuing slump, Tourism Ireland said confidence was gradually beginning to creep back. Niall Gibbons, Tourism Ireland chief executive, said: 2010 is about action to stem the decline and begin the return to growth for tourism from overseas. It expects 7.6million people will have visited the island from overseas by the end of the year, bringing in around 3.7billion. Drive to woo back tourists from Britain THE Department of Education has yet to spend a quarter of its capital budget of 841million with just a month left in the year. Departments may carry up to ten per cent of their budget over into the following year, meaning nearly 130million of the budget for buildings and school fixtures may have to be returned to the Department of Finance unspent. The Education Department claims unprecedented savings in the cost of building projects of up to 30 per cent are the reason for not spending the money. Officials from the department have also told an Oireachtas committee that delays in tendering for new projects are to blame for the lack of new classrooms. School building money going to waste THE Norths culture minister, Nelson McCausland (pictured), was yesterday accused of issuing a political insult by failing to spell-out his plans for Irish and Ulster Scots to an Assembly Committee as he had promised. Stormont Culture Committee chairman Barry McElduff, of Sinn Fin, accused Mr McCausland of delaying the process and breaching commitments on the Irish language contained in the St Andrews Agreement of 2006, by not turning up at the committee. Insult to Irish language THE public are being asked to help find a missing Dublin man. Damian OBrien has not been seen since he left a party around 11pm last Friday night at Percy Place off Haddington Road in Ballsbridge. He is 37, 5ft 9in, medium build, with short, black hair and sallow complexion. He was last seen wearing a black velvet blazer, dark jeans, a purple scarf and loafers. Anyone who has seen Damien is asked to contact Mountjoy Garda Station on 01 6668600 or e-mail find.damian@gmail.com. Have you seen Damian? DISSIDENT republicans who tried to blow up the headquarters of the Norths police oversight body are likely to target the building again, a senior officer has warned. Intelligence suggests another attack on the Policing Board HQ in Belfast is a strong possibility, assistant chief constable Drew Harris revealed. While the main threat is to the building, Mr Harris told members and staff of the independent body that they were at moderate risk. Last month, terrorists drove a car carrying 200kg of home-made explosives through an entry barrier and abandoned it outside the towerblock in the Clarendon dock area. However, the device failed to detonate and no one was injured. Bombers to target police HQ again BOOK SMART: Zach and Thal Rosen enjoy some of the Irish-language childrens books published by An Gm. The publishing house has published 30 Irish titles this year for all age groups Picture: Maxwells index.html2.html3.html4.html5.html6.html7.html8.html9.html10.html11.html12.html13.html14.html15.html16.html17.html18.html19.html20.html21.html22.html23.html24.html25.html26.html27.html