New financial data shows one of the country's largest Education and Training Boards spent almost €2m in 2018 without full tenders being issued.

The group behind plans for an All-Island League has restated its intention to continue working on its game-changing proposals for Irish club football, despite the IFA in Belfast saying last week that the participation of its clubs in such a cross-border league would not be sanctioned.

Purchasing a thatched cottage was a decision that would change Liam Broderick’s life. Kya deLongchamps meets the long-time thatcher

Cork artist Natasha Bourke went on site to film the demolition of the old Fás building, writes Ellie O’Byrne

The latest figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) has shown a decrease of 1,500 people on the Live Register for the month of August.

Apple is under investigation in Russia following a complaint from cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab and may be abusing its dominant market position, Russia’s anti-monopoly watchdog has said.

The economic upsurge isn’t good news for every one. Artists on Leeside are finding it increasingly difficult to find affordable studios, writes Colette Sheridan

Sweeping brushes and spades may be the physical tools of success in the Tidy Towns but the crucial factor is partnership.

With its private cinema and ‘posh dorms’ it’s no wonder the newly re-opened Crosshaven House is topping travel editors’ must-see lists, writes Vickie Maye

There is “no safe amount and no safe time” during pregnancy to drink alcohol, given an estimated 600 babies are born here each year with Fetal Alcohol Syndrome (FAS), a specialist in public health medicine has warned.

Ireland has the world’s highest rate of women drinking alcohol while pregnant, even though public health campaigns warn repeatedly of the risk to the baby.

The Croatian federation has been fined 50,000 Swiss francs by FIFA for the "inappropriate behaviour" of the national team's fans during a World Cup qualifier against Kosovo on October 6.

A father of four with a fetish for breaking into women’s homes to steal their underwear has handed over €700 in compensation for damaging one victim’s designer headpiece, which he broke in a jealous rage because he did not own one like it himself.

A judge has awarded €40,000 to a man finding he was defamed and falsely imprisoned by Dunnes Stores after being falsely accused of stealing a packet of firelighters.

A 61-year-old man with a fetish who broke into women’s homes to steal their underwear, broke one victim’s hat in a jealous rage because he didn’t own one like it himself, a court has heard.

Marek Szepietowski tells Trish Dromey how the firm he founded is meeting the EU-driven demand for quality training manuals.

A former Aldi worker, who claimed he was shouted at in front of customers to ‘move his ass’, has lost a claim for unfair dismissal against the company and now faces an extensive legal costs bill.

Especially since his death, Steve Jobs has become a god to many in IT and design. As a new film on his life is to be released, Michael Moynihan meets up with an Irishman who worked closely with the former Apple head

All babies should undergo a test to find out if their mother drank alcohol during pregnancy, a neonatal expert told the Joint Committee on Health and Children.

The State’s largest government department has spent €100,000 enlisting a US-owned consultancy firm to help to make its discontented staff happier.

Roy Keane has urged Ireland’s schoolboy clubs who might feel threatened by the new U17 National League to embrace change and put the development of their players first.

TWENTY Years a Growing, or Fiche Bliain ag Fás, is a classic memoir of 20th century Irish literature — but, in the case of a Cork city office building, it’s more like a case of Five Years, and no Fás.

Shocked community say Julia Holmes seemed to arrive out of the blue more than two years ago, writes Midwest Correspondent Jimmy Woulfe

The Cork Education and Training Board (ETB) has introduced a whistleblower policy to help prevent a repeat of financial irregularities which rocked the education body it succeeded.

Community Employment Scheme supervisors are no closer to their pension, which was recommended by the Labour Court in July, 2008, given the latest reply by Minister for Arts, Heather Humphreys, to a parliamentary question in the Dail last week.

Fears that upskilling courses could be privatised and ‘dumbed down’ as a cash-saving measure have prompted a threat of industrial action by the Teachers’ Union of Ireland.

In this week’s column, Kehlan Kirwan looks at why skills are the next hurdle for the economy, and not jobs.

THERE was a strange moment during the last 10 minutes of the Ireland-England rugby match last weekend. England were attacking the Irish line. It was a situation for phrases that evoke warfare: ‘battering’, ‘pummelling’, ‘last-ditch effort’, ‘holding on grimly’ and ‘Paul O’Connell’.

David Ginola has withdrawn from the FIFA presidential race after failing to gain the minimum five nominations.

There is no sign of a jobs recovery in Kerry with increases in the number of people signing on the Live Register over three consecutive months, according to local Sinn Féin TD Martin Ferris.

Gibraltar have confirmed their Euro 2016 home qualifier against Ireland next year will take place in Faro.

Taxpayers plugged a €17m hole in the pension funds of University College Dublin and Trinity College Dublin last year.

Ken Fanning’s and Tina Segner’s new show is about trying to stay in love with circus despite hardship and despite having amicably fallen out of love with each other, says Caomhan Keane

A report on pre-schools, nurseries, creches, and day- care centres has found that children had access to dangerous materials, that some centres were damp and rodent-infested, and that there were several instances where staff did not receive Garda clearance to work with children.

The Irish education and training system needs to address the current shortage of apprenticeships, writes Kyran Fitzgerald.

The health and social care services arm of the Rehab Group recorded an operating surplus of €782,000 last year, according to the latest accounts filed with the Companies Office.

Mediocre players from overseas are taking places in club squads that should be going to young English players, Football Association chairman Greg Dyke has claimed.

With children back at school and colleges reopening in the coming weeks, the options for parents or other adults to consider furthering their education are being showcased in Cork over the next two days.

The Department of Education has been told to improve accountability and transparency in the management of the €360m National Training Fund.

The public standards watchdog said it is worried about the number of public bodies it cannot control.

Employers are reluctant to hire the long-term unemployed and more must be done to encourage them, according to the new junior social protection minister Kevin Humphreys.

Residents have described the chilling moments when a river of mud and water swept through their town flooding homes and businesses.

A mothballed retail project on the outskirts of Limerick city, which was abandoned mid-build during the property crash, is set to undergo a €100m redevelopment, with the potential to create 2,000 jobs.

The Houses of the Oireachtas Commission has been hit with significant penalties after it was found to have carelessly under-declared its tax liabilities for taxies used by staff to commute from work.

The provision of courses to match skills needs of the economy are among the top priorities in a five-year strategy for the €800m-a-year further education and training sector.