Here's your lunchtime news bulletin.

A homeless woman and her six-year-old son had “no idea” yesterday where they would sleep last night after their demand for the immediate provision of emergency accommodation by Carlow County Council was thrown out by the High Court.

A mother and her young son who have spent several weeks living in a tent outside the offices of Carlow County Council have launched a High Court challenge over the local authority's refusal to provide them with emergency accommodation.

A homeless woman who was arrested for trespassing during a sleep-out protest at Carlow County Council offices last night is continuing her protest outside the offices again tonight, writes Ciara Phelan.

Seven retiring local authority chiefs executive last year enjoyed a pensions bonanza walking away with a combined pension lump sum of €1.8m.

Just one in five who don’t pay on-the-spot fines are pursued

One of two men who may have been living in a car in Co Carlow for a month has died.

An interim examiner has been appointed to the Dan Morrissey company in Carlow - meaning that 160 jobs in the county are safe for the time being.

People have begun moving into a newly refurbished "ghost estate" in Carlow.

A proposal to increase the compensation to homeowners after Nama sold the majority of their estate for social housing has been shot down by the Department of the Environment.

The Department of the Environment has written to all county and city managers giving updated details of the sums deducted from their funding as a result of the non-payment of the €100 household charge.

Want to buy a three-bedroom house for €2,380.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore has denied the Government is suppressing planning inquiries into irregularities in seven local authorities and pledged to publish details of the reviews.

PRESIDENTIAL hopeful Mary Davis was accused of employing a “blocking” strategy to prevent other independents getting nominations from local councils.

Dana Rosemary Scallon has now secured the backing of a second County Council in the bid to get on the Presidential ticket.

David Norris has failed in his bid to receive a presidential nomination from Carlow County Council.

David Norris is now just three short of the 20 names required to allow him enter the presidential race.

IT’S been a busy few days for Sean O’Brien.

GHOST hunters and paranormal enthusiasts take note — something spooky is happening in Carlow.

AS the big freeze took hold again overnight, road conditions remained dangerous with the lack of gritting on minor roads an ongoing problem.

Carlow County Council is set to come in for criticism in a damning report due to be published later today which exposes a raft of planning failings.

THE six local authorities being examined as part of Environment Minister John Gormley’s planning review accounted for one in every three successful planning decision appeals in 2008.

ENVIRONMENT Minister John Gormley’s planning inquiry will focus on the involvement of councillors in pre-planning decisions and their relationship with local planning offices over the past two years.

International investigators are being brought in to probe planning practices at six local authorities around the country, it was revealed today.

A NUMBER of Fianna Fáil black spots have emerged around the country where the party traditionally enjoyed strong support but faced near wipeout at the weekend.

THE pig feed factory at the centre of December’s dioxin scare was not inspected by the local council since it got its operating licence in 2005.

CONVENIENCE food group Greencore, in which property developer Liam Carroll holds a 21.5% stake, has upgraded its earnings forecast by 5% for the full year.

THE planning system is at risk of buckling under the pressure of unprecedented development in Ireland, the country’s planners warned yesterday.

I WAS delighted to learn from Eoin English’s article that CIT Students Union had launched a week of activities dealing with many aspects of safety, particularly road safety (The Irish Examiner, March 6).

The Dublin stock exchange has seen its index make a major leap on foot of news that a major development in Co Carlow promises to boost construction by creating a new town centre.

An ambitious €1.1bn development plan for Carlow was unveiled today by Greencore.

The ISEQ index of Irish shares began the morning on a high note as it recorded a 47.01 point jump to 8852.88 on foot of news that a major development in Co Carlow promises to boost construction by creating a new town centre.

Greencore has applied for planning permission to convert the site of its former sugar factory in to a new €1bn town centre in Carlow, in a project that it claims will create as many as 2,000 jobs.

PROPERTIES being relinquished from sugar production by the Greencore have a total market value of €187 million, according to a study commissioned by the Irish Farmers Association.

Around half a million euro was allocated to local authorities today to encourage the public to adopt a more responsible attitude towards litter.

HOUSEHOLDERS who had to boil water for drinking for the past 40 days have now been advised the local supply is now safe to drink.

Omniplex Cinema Group is planning to invest €8m in a nine-screen multiplex cinema complex in Carlow.

GARDAÍ have appealed for the mother of a foetus found in a sewage works to come forward amid fears for her health.

THE new taxi regulator faces a difficult job as standards in the industry have reached an all-time low, drivers warned yesterday.

Ireland’s new taxi regulator, Ger Deering, has vowed to work with consumers and drivers in an effort to improve the taxi service in Ireland.

THE World Ploughing Contest will go ahead in Carlow despite fears it would be scrapped.

THE 800 jobs to be created in Dublin by eBay and its secure online payments subsidiary PayPal will take a number of years to materialise it emerged yesterday.