IRELAND will face fines of about €150 million if it fails to implement a law banning government deficits under the new draft treaty to be discussed by finance ministers in Brussels on Monday.

GREATER efforts should be made to help the vulnerable and unemployed, according to a member of the troika, who appealed for hard evidence of the effects of the austerity programme on people.

IRELAND’S company tax system will come under renewed pressure from France and Germany at the EU summit later this month.

THE Government could accept a ban on Ireland and other eurozone countries accessing the EU’s aid fund if they do not adopt the new treaty, according to Finance Minister Michael Noonan.

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan travels to Berlin today to convince his German counterpart not to force a referendum on Ireland.

THE resignation of MEP Proinsias De Rossa has led to a row over how his successor as Labour delegation leader should be chosen.

NEGOTIATIONS on the new fiscal treaty makes one wonder if Germany has a death wish for the euro, or at least for some of the eurozone countries.

IRELAND has double the number of pensioners at work as other EU countries, and most favour people being allowed to work for as long as they wish after they reach the official retirement age.

BEING young is not as much a matter of age, how you look or how you feel as much as where you live, according to a Eurobarometer survey.

THE trade in counterfeit pesticides is booming and is expected to reach an all-time high worth billions of euro over the coming weeks as farmers prepare to plant crops, Europol has warned.