The association representing the country’s frontline Defence Forces has taken a case to the Council of Europe to force the State to recognise the right of soldiers, sailors and aircrew to register as conscientious objectors.

A further delay with the State’s scheme to provide redress to survivors of abuse in primary schools illustrates the Government’s inadequate response to its legal obligations, the special rapporteur on child protection has warned.

A group of men who were abused as primary school students intend to run a candidate in the next general election to highlight the lack of action on redress for victims of sexual abuse in day schools.

I worry about Greta Thunberg too. Ryan Tubridy has been heavily criticised for expressing his concern for the mental wellbeing of the 16-year-old climate campaigner on his RTÉ One radio show, particularly as he mentioned she has Asperger’s Syndrome.

A no-deal Brexit would cause chaos in Northern Ireland, a legal challenge in Belfast heard.

A number of survivors of sex abuse in day schools have accepted settlements offered to them by the Department of Education after an independent review directed the Government to do so.

The Council of Europe says there's still 'significant discrimination' towards Travellers in Ireland. In a new report, it says Travellers are 38 times more likely to experience discrimination in pubs compared to other 'white-Irish' people.

The Council of Europe says there's still 'significant discrimination' towards Travellers in Ireland.

Many associate the murky world of ‘dark money’ with the US political system, but its influence has reached far closer to home, including European elections and Ireland’s anti-abortion movement, says Joyce Fegan

An undercurrent of low-level racist violence in Ireland must be tackled, a European human rights organisation has urged.

Overcrowding, black mould on walls and sewage backing up into appliances are just some of the issues facing people living on council estates.

The public spending €68,000 a year to keep a prisoner in jail due to shelter, heating, food and recreational costs, a senior Government official has confirmed.

Ireland is near the top of the table of 47 European nations for the number of life sentence inmates in prison.

Ireland is near the top of the table of 47 European nations for the number of life sentence inmates in prison.

The Council of Europe has expressed “serious concerns” at the delay in setting up the Historical Investigations Unit and other legacy institutions in the North.

The Government will today agree new laws to force firms to publish details about gender wage gaps and will also approve minimum standards to prevent violence against women.

The Taoiseach said it is fine for Micheál Martin to engaging in negative personalised attacks on him, but he won't be responding.

Education Minister Richard Bruton has defended the Government’s interpretation of the European court ruling in the Louise O’Keeffe case following a query from a former High Court judge about a related compensation scheme.

Polish politicians have overwhelmingly approved two bills that would give the ruling party greater power over the judiciary despite blunt warnings from elsewhere in Europe that the legislation contravenes democratic norms.

Middle-ranking gardaí are seeking advice from their solicitors on the prospect of taking legal action against Government plans to push ahead with proposals denying gardaí the right to strike.

It has been revealed that landlords in Dublin are cramming up to 30 people into properties as they rake in thousands of euro a week.

Ireland is lagging behind the European average in not having female political party leaders.

A former Fine Gael senator and one-time general election candidate has been appointed to an €80,000 a year role as adviser to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar in a move that will put further scrutiny on his government’s PR and adviser spend.

WHEN high court judge, Mr Justice Richard Humphreys, opened the Parnell Summer School, in Wicklow, yesterday, he suggested our Constitution should be amended to allow the appointment of more judges, so that cases might be more quickly dealt with.

WE have a disheartening culture of enacting legislation but then ignoring it. 

We blew it up. And our main reason for blowing it up was that Turkey is largely Muslim, writes Victoria White

It costs almost €2,800 per day to detain a juvenile offender in Ireland — almost 10 times as much as the European average — according to a Council of Europe report.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

A minister who calls the Council of Europe a “waste of fucking space” suggests Irish people as well as the Dáil will be forced into debating and considering whether Ireland should leave the EU once Britain exits the union.

Legal experts have urged the Council of Europe to seek urgent clarification from the European Court of Human Rights about the State’s redress scheme for people who allege they were sexually abused in school.

The country’s top judge, Chief Justice Susan Denham, has hit out at the failure of the Government to establish a judicial council, which she said is damaging Ireland’s international reputation.

The Child Law Clinic of University College Cork has sent submissions to the European committee of ministers which could lead to a broadening of the day-school abuse redress scheme which is currently inaccessible to many alleged abuse victims.

Traveller rights groups have said they hope Council of Europe criticism of the Government for failing to provide adequate housing will put “pressure” on the authorities to address the problem.

One of Europe's top rights watchdogs has warned Ireland over the lack of accommodation for Travellers and poor living conditions at halting sites.

Tensions between EU countries and Turkey threatened to unwind a complex deal to resolve the migrant crisis during long negotiations at a summit of EU leaders.

Many of Europe’s politicians are guilty of “shameful bigotry and xenophobia”, the UN Human Rights Commissioner, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein told journalists in a press conference referring to the refugee crisis.

Stop discriminating against children on religious grounds was the blunt message delivered to the State by the UN committee reviewing the country’s protection of children’s rights.

The leader of Russia's Chechnya republic has posted a video that appears to show the country's former prime minister Mikhail Kasyanov in the crosshairs of a rifle - a video Mr Kasyanov is calling a murder threat.

The respected Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell made an emotional farewell to national politics today, as she made her last Dáil speech.

A raft of senior Department of Foreign Affairs officials have been promoted and nominated as ambassadors and heads of mission.

Parents should not be forced to have their children baptised to get a place in a State-funded school, Children’s Minister James Reilly has said, adding that it might be possible to change the situation through legislation rather than a referendum.

Enda Kenny promised to act on sex trafficking and prostitution four years ago, yet a new programme shows these crimes still blight our society, writes Brian Killoran            

Ireland is about to join a growing list of nations intent on wrecking the business model which has allowed prostitution and human trafficking to flourish, writes Denise Charlton

The organisation which represents rank and file members of the Defence Forces is refusing to sign up to the Lansdowne Agreement on public service pay until the Government reverses its decision to cut the wages of new entrants to the military by 10%.