Roisin Molloy, whose son Mark died shortly after being born in the Midlands Hospital Portaloise in 2012 with a copy of the HIQA report into national maternity services which was released online yesterday. Photograph Moya Nolan By now we were meant to have revolutionised maternity services.

The Government has launched a new campaign on face coverings, urging people to use them where social distancing is not possible.

A "very successful conclusion" to government formation talks has added "momentum" to talks between party leaders as a deal nears completion, the Tánaiste has said.

Speaking in the Dáil, Shane Ross painted a bleak picture for the future of Irish aviation and said there were hopes at earlier stages in the crisis that next year might see a return to business as usual, however that is no longer the case.

The number of people on trolleys in Irish hospitals has risen to its highest level in nearly three months as the Covid-19 crisis appears to recede.

Spending billions is required to support economic recovery, but any new government will face tough choices over cuts and tax hikes if it is to meet Sláintecare and housing pledges.

Simon Harris has responded to questions on driving tests and weddings in a radio interview.

The government is to update measures on travel restrictions tomorrow in the ongoing effort to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Private patients are struggling to access their consultants because of the private hospital takeover, it has been claimed.

The HSE has said that bed occupancy in the State’s 18 private hospitals stands at 46% as the clamour of voices continues to grow calling for the State’s short-term contract to take over those hospitals to be broken.

The number of patients on waiting lists for day case treatment has increased by 19,000 in the first two months of the Covid-19 crisis.

Mr Justice Charles Meenan said: "Unsubstantiated opinions, speeches, rhetoric and a bogus historic parallel [to Nazi Germany] are not substitutes for facts."

The Royal College of Physicians of Ireland want the outdoor areas to be tobacco-free because of the need to maintain social distancing and to protect customers and staff.

Dr Gabriel Scally, President of the Public Health section of the Royal Society of Medicine, has said there is a “real need” for North/South dialogue about Covid-19 testing and the need for travel restrictions.

A Covid-19 community assessment hub based in a major acute hospital is caring for homeless and other vulnerable people unable to access treatment.

The Government U-turn on its Covid-19 tracing app happened because the tech giants forced them to, rather than any nod towards best practice, writes Cianan Brennan.

Pharmacies are struggling to cope with soaring costs while providing frontline care during the Covid-19 crisis.

It’s not the nights that are the hardest for the GAA; it’s the weekends. For it’s at them that the Government come stealing to surprise them with a dig to the solar plexus.

A Dáil Covid-19 committee is close to being finalised but the government is trying to ensure that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar and Health Minister Simon Harris are excluded from being quizzed by TDs.

The Government has confirmed officially for the first time that the national contact tracing app to combat Covid-19 which is currently in development has switched tack fundamentally in terms of how it functions.

The Health Minister is urging people to stay home this weekend, saying the efforts of Irish people have already saved 3,500 lives.

The plan for lifting Ireland's lockdown restrictions is to be completed and approved by cabinet tomorrow.

More than 10,000 nurses have yet to receive thousands of euro in pay and allowances due them since last March.

The Government has announced 26 new Covid-19 research and innovation projects.

The Department of Health says that it is "committed to transparency" on the decisions and membership of the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) on Covid-19.

For the second time in the space of seven days, the GAA are expecting to seek clarification from the Government regarding a newspaper report about a return to Gaelic games activity.

Questions raised about NPHET’s accountability have remained unanswered, writes Paul Hosford, Political Correspondent

One of the still-stinging catchcries from our last economic implosion is that the banks at the root of the catastrophe were too big to be allowed fail.

New Labour leader Alan Kelly said he was “seriously concerned about transparency in decision making in this crisis”.

Detailed data on those impacted by Covid-19, including those charged or detained under emergency powers must be collected and published to ensure the State is meeting its human rights obligations.

More than 100 supporters of John Waters and Gemma O’Doherty crowded into the Four Courts Round Hall today before a mention of their High Court action challenging laws introduced by the State in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Health Minister Simon Harris says the evidence suggests the disease's growth is stalling in here.

Former Dublin defender Dr Noel McCaffrey says the GAA’s true priorities will emerge in their reaction to the medium term restrictions on mass gatherings.

Long before this pandemic struck it was obvious that business and society, though dependent on each other, often march to a different drum.

Minister for Health Simon Harris has said he is not ruling out “more stringent” checks for people travelling into Irish airports.

A Dublin care home for the elderly has had 11 Covid-19-related deaths within the last two weeks.

As the country recorded its highest daily death toll from the virus, new modelling suggests that Ireland may have turned a corner in the fight against the spread of Covid-19, with the virus now close to contained.

The HSE could not provide a figure for how many people had received the incorrect messages.

In a statement, the HSE said 2,489 of 10,647 Covid-19 cases are "associated" with healthcare workers.

In his Easter message, the Minister for Health acknowledged that the country is slowing down the number of people being infected with Covid-19.

Amy Keane, from Co.Wicklow, recently came back through the Ireland's Call initiative and is now in self-isolation for two weeks before she begins work on the frontline.

The National Public Health Emergency Team stated that the people included six females and eight males.

It has tips on coping with stress and anxiety as well as links to online counselling options.

On Tuesday evening, tongue presumably in cheek, C103 GAA commentator Paudie Palmer spelled it out.