the Withdrawal Agreement for Brexit is not open for renegotiation. Ex-Ireland and Ulster players Paddy Jackson and Stuart Olding, who were earlier acquitted of rape, lost a court bid to recoup the legal costs of their defence. 15 December – A local volunteer cleaning the area found the body of an infant on Bell's Beach in Balbriggan, County Dublin. 16 December – Eight people were injured, four vehicles were burned out and one dog was killed in an attack at a recently repossessed house near Strokestown. 17 December – An investigation began into the theft of a life-size bronze statue from the car park at W. B. Yeats' final resting place at St Columba's Church in Drumcliff. 18 December – Irish Ferries announced that it was unlikely to operate a service between Rosslare Europort and France next year. 19 December The Government announced that it is to establish an independent statutory tribunal to deal with CervicalCheck claims. The Government unveiled contingency plans to cope with a potential no-deal Brexit, identifying affected sectors that would require up to 45 pieces of emergency legislation. 20 December Abortion was legalised, as President Michael D. Higgins signed the Regulation of Termination of Pregnancy Bill into law. A man was arrested after he produced an imitation firearm and a device at a hearing at the family law courts in Dublin. 21 December – The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine announced that large fishing boats are to be banned from trawling within six nautical miles of the Irish coast. 22 December A 34-year-old man was shot dead outside his home as part of an ongoing gangland feud in West Dublin. Gardaí began investigating a suspected arson attack on a branch of KBC Bank in Swords, County Dublin in the early hours of this morning. 25 December – More than 450 people attended the annual Christmas Day dinner for the homeless at the RDS in Dublin. 27 December – Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said he cannot guarantee the next general election will not be called before the planned 2020 date. 28 December – The National Maternity Hospital in Holles Street announced that it will accept referrals for abortion services from 7 January 2019. 29 December – The Taoiseach revealed that the excavation of a site at the former Bon Secours Mother and Baby Home in Tuam will begin in the latter stages of 2019. 31 December