IRISH planning authorities can continue to charge an administrative fee for making a submission on planning applications and appeals involving environmental impact assessments, the European Court of Justice has ruled.

IRISH people have become smaller and fatter in the past three years, gaining weight despite 25% being on a diet, according to the latest survey of food and obesity.

IRISH mobile phone users are paying some of the highest prices in the EU when they call home from abroad — but most refuse to switch off or change to cheaper locally-purchased SIM cards.

IRISH workers are more likely than their European counterparts to experience physical violence in the workplace, while older workers say they suffer age discrimination.

THE European Commission is expected to pull back from the brink of partially breaking off accession negotiations with Turkey when it issues its annual progress report today.

MUSLIM women who cover their faces in Europe are not being reasonable in adapting to western society, the President of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso believes.

EVERY six minutes, a woman in the EU dies of breast cancer — but comprehensive screening, in countries such as Ireland, could reduce this shocking statistic.

MORE than 30 million people in Europe have asthma and deaths have reached 180,000 a year, with one person dying every hour.

ALL long-grain rice from the US is set to be tested for genetically modified organisms after several consignments were found to have traces of GM rice varieties banned in Europe.

THE Government has asked the European Commission to prevent Ryanair taking over Aer Lingus but has admitted that although they had considered the possibility of such a takeover, they were taken by surprise when it happened.