Figures from the Central Statistics Office show that the number of people on the Live Register fell last month.

Five euro extra is being added to social welfare payments from this week.

Irish fruit and vegetable distributor Total Produce could be transformed into a €2bn company in the next five years on the back of its investment in US fruit giant Dole, according to analysts.

There's been a mixed reaction to a new social welfare plan to stop people 'milking' the system.

There has been a 2,000% increase in the number of people having their dole cut for turning down jobs.

New figures show almost 2,500 people aged 65 are now on the dole.

The number of people on the live register fell by 3,500 last month.

The Department of Social Protection has confirmed that 43 people have been disqualified from their social welfare payments for up to nine weeks for refusing to take part in its Gateway jobs initiative.

The Live Register total recorded a monthly decrease of 2,200 (-0.7%) to 330,000 last month on a seasonally adjusted basis.

The number of people signing on the dole fell by almost 2,000 last month.

The unemployment rate in August was unchanged from the previous month at 9.5%.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has confirmed that her department has 194 cases still open in an initiative targeting dole cheats which has generated €21m for the State to date.

Gardaí have launched a murder investigation following the discovery of a body in Wicklow yesterday, the Dáil’s disciplinary committee says Mary Lou McDonald abused her parliamentary privilege, Munster may be going in for more transfer business and the introduction of TechNow. These are some of the latest and most read news on irishexaminer.com this evening.

An unemployed chef, who received almost €30,000 in dole payments after he failed to mention he had more than €100,000 in the bank, is to be sentenced next year.

A pilot project aimed at taking young people off the dole under the EU’s Youth Guarantee scheme will have to return money to Europe after failing to make use of all its funding.

A female social welfare tourist who fraudulently claimed more than €6,000 in benefits has escaped a conviction.

The author of a report two years ago that indicated some families were better off on the dole than working said yesterday that reform of the system was "still completely off the political radar".

Death threats, knife attacks, physical assaults, verbal abuse, and attacks on security staff and members of the public are just some of the dangers Social Protection staff as well as dole claimants are facing in welfare offices.

GARDAÍ were alerted to attacks, abuse, and threats against Department of Social Protection staff and clients in almost half of serious incidents recorded by employees over the last two years.