In 1999 the Irish people passed the 20th Amendment to the Irish Constitution, the purpose of which was to recognise the constitutional importance of local democracy in the form of local councils and& local government.

TOMORROW, the Green Party celebrates. At a gathering in the Central Hotel in Dublin, members will raise a glass to 30-years-a-growing.

I FEEL I must respond to Fine Gael TD Michael Ring’s comments (Morning Ireland, August 14) in relation to Aer Lingus’s decision to cut its Shannon-Heathrow route.

THE fatal truck crash on the N8 last Thursday highlights the inherent dangers of operating heavily laden lorries on the road network.

The Green Party Mayor of Galway City, Cllr Niall Ó Brolcháin, today dismissed speculation that a quick-fix solution had been ignored.

YOUGHAL in Co Cork was reeling last night from the decision by a local company to close down with the loss of 55 jobs.

THE ESB decision to close its generating station at Tarbert, on the Shannon Estuary, came as a shock to the north Kerry and west Limerick areas last night.

THE Government’s failure to plan education facilities has left more than half the children in west Dublin schools in some of the country’s most overcrowded classes, the Labour Party has claimed.

Only people with wealth can buy health in Ireland’s unequal healthcare system, it was claimed today.

THE number of unemployed rose in July to around 170,000, a figure 8,000 down on the same month last year.

THE Government yesterday denied it had not done enough to tackle spiralling house prices as the latest report found between a third and a half of the population will soon not be able to afford a house.

Labour Party leader Pat Rabbitte has strongly criticised proposals from the Fianna Fail/PD Government to substantially raise the cap on corporate donations to political parties.