Last December’s UK general election was really only about one thing: Brexit.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is to travel to Liverpool on Friday for a make-or-break showdown meeting with British Prime Minster Boris Johnson.

The Central Statistics Office is to spend €780,000 on providing incentivised gift cards to people participating in two major surveys it is set to conduct.

The 88th Ploughing Championships have broken all attendance records.

Speaking in London as Prime Minister Boris Johnson travelled to Dublin, Mr Donohoe told BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "As of this point in time my understanding is that the detail of how this would work is yet to be fleshed out."

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said comments made by new British Prime Minister Boris Johnson about the Irish backstop are “not in the real world” saying the two administrations are “at odds”.

The Minister for Justice, Charlie Flanagan, has today confirmed that the Government will oppose the EU’s proposed change to daylight saving time.

It will be two years before the Government knows for sure if Ireland will have a vote on ratification of a final Mercosur agreement.

Every six years, in tandem with the European parliamentary election, the EU changes the management of its top jobs.

The German chancellor’s attempt to end the deadlock over the selection of the EU’s top jobs has been rejected, even by Leo Varadkar, says Political Editor Daniel McConnell.

Mercosur (Southern Common Market) is the South American trade bloc. That’s Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela — although Venezuela is currently suspended.

Leo Varadkar has said Ireland will be under an obligation to protect the single market if Britain crashes out of the EU in October.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has remained tight-lipped on whether the Government will nominate European commissioner Phil Hogan for another term.

Farmers and Government authorities are collectively pushing the EU Council to take time to fully analyse the implications for agri-food producers before ratifying any Mercosur deal.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar acknowledged ex-Rehab chief executive Angela Kerins was "treated badly" by a previous Dáil public accounts committee during its pursuit of serious financial issues at the organisation.

European Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly has initiated an investigation into the lack of transparency around EU ministerial decisions on annual fish quotas.

It was conspiracy theory central in the Dáil on Wednesday.

Ireland and other EU states must support a long extension of the Brexit deadline if the UK significantly shifts its approach to leaving the EU, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has insisted.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has denied the extension offered by the EU to the UK is an example of the rolling cliff-edge Brexit scenario.

Neutrality does not suffice in a world dominated by the US and China, and with the far right resurgent, Ireland must stand up for the values of the European Union, says Malcolm Byrne.

Ireland has dropped from first to third place on an annual, overfishing “shame” list compiled by a British non-governmental organisation.

With Tony Blair and Jacob Rees-Mogg bafflingly on the same page, what happens next with Brexit may be hard for Ireland to stomach, writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell.

EU negotiators are hoping for a Brexit breakthrough with a proposal that could allow for a UK-wide customs union.

It’s a long hard summer for pig farmers.

The EU should be “flexible” on its red-line Brexit issues if British Prime Minister Theresa May is to force through her Chequers plan for a soft Brexit, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

The Minister for European Affairs has dismissed the suggestion that other EU countries will “sell us down the river” in Brexit negotiations.

European Commission president Jean-Claude Juncker is to spend two days in Ireland this week as Brexit talks heat up.

Ireland has been making contingency arrangements for a hard Brexit for “some time” but will never tolerate a border with the North, the Taoiseach has said.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has called on Britain to change its approach in the Brexit talks on the North in order to avoid the collapse of negotiations.

The future trading relationship between the EU and the UK is obviously the most crucial question of all from an Irish perspective. says Jim Power.

Automatic intervention buying-in of skim milk powder (SMP) was ruled out at last Monday’s EU Council of Agriculture Ministers.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has declined to publicly back official plans to repeal the Eighth Amendment, allow unrestricted abortion access up to 12 weeks and other law changes, until he meets Fine Gael colleagues in January.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is refusing to budge on a crucial deal for a frictionless border and special status for the North after unionists slammed the brakes on the planned EU-UK Brexit agreement.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar is refusing to budge on a crucial deal for a frictionless border and special status for the North after unionists slammed the brakes on the planned EU-UK Brexit agreement.

The Taoiseach has refused to meet opposition leaders to formulate a united approach ahead of Brexit talks.

Jeremy Corbyn claimed it was "Groundhog Day" over Brexit before warning Theresa May her biggest battle is with the "warring" Tory factions rather than the EU.

As EU leaders continue to cling to safe words and avoid dealing with major issues, Brexit could become one of the longest drawn out break-ups.

The Taoiseach has said all European leaders must ensure the EU does not "sleep walk" towards a Brexit cliff.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Brexit talks can only move forward if sufficient progress is made before October.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said Brexit talks can only move forward if sufficient progress is made before October.

Not for the first time, Ireland looks like it will be centre-stage at this weekend’s meeting of European leaders in Brussels, writes Political Editor Daniel McConnell.

British prime minister Theresa May will file formal Brexit divorce papers today, pitching the UK into the unknown and triggering years of uncertain negotiations that will test the endurance of Ireland and the EU.

Ireland must make it clear that we will not be “railroaded” into a Brexit agreement by other EU countries, warns MEP Brian Hayes.

LATEST: Donald Tusk has "overwhelming support" to retain one of the European Union's top jobs, despite staunch opposition from the government of his native Poland, the EU leader overseeing the election process said.

British Prime Minister Theresa May could have accidentally triggered Article 50 of the Lisbon Treaty which allows member states to leave the EU, according to a legal challenge due to begin in the Irish High Court this month.

We are rarely aware of the high-water marks in life until after the water recedes.