Irish workers earn 6% less than the average European employee, despite our economy being 16% richer than the EU norm.

Johnny Murtagh has started 2016 in flying form and registered a 71/1 double with Russet and Maronella in Dundalk last night.

Sweeping changes to the Universal Social Charge will see workers make savings from a few hundred euro to almost €1,000 over a year.

Lidl Ireland has become the first large employer to announce a “living wage” of €11.50 per hour for all its employees here. And it will pay a rate of £8.20 per hour for employees in Northern Ireland following a campaign by Unite, the union of retail workers.

Jim Power (Irish Examiner, July 24) describes the Low Pay Commission’s proposal to increase the national minimum wage by 50 cents per hour as “not a good idea”, given that many retail and hospitality businesses outside Dublin are still struggling.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton has said that says the proposed 50c per hour hike in the minimum wage is a balanced compromise.

The Government is facing a backlash over leaked plans to raise the minimum wage by 50 cent, with workers warning it has not gone far enough and business groups claiming the increase will repeat the “short-sighted mistakes that led to the crisis”.

Average wages fell by less than 8% since 2008, yet disposable income, which governs people’s “living standards”, fell by as much as 20% in the last six years, a trade union economic think-tank claimed.

Former employees of Waterford Crystal have voted unanimously to accept a government settlement over their long-running pension dispute.

By Mary Regan, Irish Examiner Political Editor

The trade union Unite has accused the Government of squandering the recovery after today's Budget.

Almost 1,200 Waterford Crystal workers appear to be on the verge of finally receiving €250m worth of pension entitlements for which they have been fighting for the last five years.

Today marks the 75th anniversary of one the most memorable All-Ireland hurling finals in history.

There are fresh hopes that the Waterford Crystal pension dispute could be resolved before it goes to High Court next year.

The UNITE union has said that Ireland needs to be aiming for a sustainable wage led economic recovery.

One in five Irish workers are not earning a "living wage", it was claimed today.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has defended the (average) €240 water charge as a water-saving measure.

The Department of Social Protection has been urged to stop dragging its heels over the Waterford Crystal workers pension row, after it emerged 30 of the firm’s ex-employees have died without any resolution.

One of the country’s largest unions has told Social Protection Minister Joan Burton that the mandatory requirement for jobseekers to participate in Gateway placements or face a potential cut to their benefit is “unjustified and onerous”.

Almost a year after the European Court of Justice ruled in their favour and five years after they lost their jobs, former workers at Waterford Crystal have still not received tens of thousands of euro in pension entitlements to which the court said they were entitled.

Unions have urged the Government to give €10m to charities and increase the minimum wage, claiming that food poverty affects far more people in some counties than the one in 10 national average.

One in 10 people suffers food poverty across the country, new figures have revealed.

Ireland’s levy on pensions may last indefinitely in the light of the Government decision to change the operation of employees’ defined benefit schemes.

Unite Regional Secretary Jimmy Kelly has said that today's Budget will "incentivise emigration" instead of investing in employment.

The UNITE trade union is calling on the government to introduce more than €3.1 bn in adjustments in the Budget.

The Unite union has voted to accept the Haddington Road agreement.

The Government is being told to invest €2bn in getting thousands of people back to work.

The Unite Trade Union has deferred making a decision on what action to take following rejection of the Haddington Road deal.

There has been no reduction in the number of women signing on the live register last month.

Ten former Waterford Crystal workers have won a court battle against the Government over losses in their pensions.

Trade unions warned today that there will be industrial action if the Government imposes further public-sector pay cuts.

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said the Government will reflect on the decisions of unions on the proposed Croke Park II Agreement.

Three trade unions have joined the campaign against the property tax, claiming it is causing “huge distress and despair” among sections of society.

Unite is calling for a public boycott of the Property Tax which, it said, could cause huge distress and despair in society.

SIPTU's National Executive Council will meet today to discuss the proposals on the new Croke Park deal.

Threats by the Government to get public sector workers to agree to the new Croke Park deal won't work, according to the Unite trade union.

Amid emotional scenes, a hush descended on the crowd as the remains of Páidí Ó Sé were removed from his home to Ventry Church, scarcely 100 metres across the road.

A European court hearing next week in relation to 10 former Waterford Crystal workers could secure them €2.6m in pension entitlements — and many millions more for thousands of other Irish workers.

Sarsfields of Galway became the first club to successfully defend their All-Ireland GAA Golf Challenge title when they beat a strong field at Waterford Castle Golf Club.

The North's struggling economy was rocked today with the loss of 760 jobs at one of its main manufacturing firms.

Up to 760 jobs are to be axed by a major engineering company in the North, it was announced today.

A last word on Con Houlihan?