THE British Home Office has recorded a startling rise in racially or religiously aggravated crimes in England or Wales since June’s Brexit vote. The office recorded an increase of 41% in July, 2016, compared to July, 2015.

Special parking spaces are to be set aside specifically for elderly motorists in three areas of West Cork and calls have been made for more to be developed as our ageing population increases in the years ahead.

Jack and Emily remain the most popular baby names in Ireland, but 50 years ago John and Mary were the top choices for parents.

Standard & Poor’s, one of the financial sector’s major credit ratings agencies, has raised its ratings on a number of Irish banks due to improved profitability within the industry.

The brother of a young mother, murdered alongside her children, has called for newly announced tougher sentencing and bail laws for burglars to also be applied for more violent crimes.

One of the highlights of the latest report from the Central Statistic Office (CSO) on national income and expenditure, dated October 2014 was that under tax on income and wealth (Page 21).

Prices of homes for sale rose by 5.6% in the past year, but the increase in values was entirely due to a surge in demand for properties in Dublin.

There was an increase of 0.5% in the value of retail sales in September 2013 when compared with August 2013, according to figures released by the Central Statistic office today.

Retail sales fell unexpectedly in November compared with the previous month and year-on-year, according to figures released by the Central Statistic Office.

The number of people actually born on Co Clare soil swelled by one in the early hours of Friday morning when baby Éirinn Christina Robbins Logue was born on the side of the road in the small Burren village of Corofin.

OLDER people are the fastest-growing internet user group, but nearly one third of Irish people who go online every day do not have broadband access.

IRISH households now owe twice their income and are dipping into savings to pay off debts.

THE number of overseas visitors to Ireland over the peak summer months rose by almost 10% compared with the same period last year.

IRISH banking customers have access to less information than other EU small business sectors to compare the overall costs of repaying credit, according to the ICMSA.

I ENJOY doing the census. Dare I use the word fun to describe a task, which some do see as a deep invasion of privacy with 34 questions in this one.

WITH good news as rare as hen’s teeth nowadays, it is heartening to learn that the latest export figures show our export industry is burgeoning.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted today that people must start spending more cash as he dismissed claims that Ireland was heading for a double-dip recession.

The numbers of European travellers holidaying in Ireland continued to fall this summer but people coming from further afield made more trips to Irish shores.

A LEADING advocate for homeless people has expressed concern about new plans to ban begging near bank machines and other premises and has warned they do little to address the root cause of the problem.

THE alarming rise in suicide, particularly among young men who have lost their jobs, warrants an emergency government response, a conference on suicide prevention was told yesterday.

NIGHTCLUB owners are seeking amended legislation to allow for special opening hour permits which would help create 1,600 full-time jobs and pump €95 million into the economy.

The falling cost of living needs to be reflected in reduced wages and business costs, the Irish Small & Medium Enterprises Association (ISME) claimed today.

ANALYSIS of Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures from the past 20 years paint a picture of a rural Ireland with an increasingly ageing population and one haemorrhaging young people.

The actual number of work-related deaths in Ireland is more than 23 times the official figure, a trade union said today.

SINN FÉIN has called for the Dáil to be recalled early to deal with what it described as “an unprecedented public finance crisis”.

ONLY 213 incidents of supplying drugs and possession of illegal substances behind bars have been identified by gardaí over the past five years, new figures reveal.

THE number of unemployed people rose sharply last month by 5,000, making it the biggest jump of the entire year, the latest figures show.

THE Irish economy remains one of the strongest in the EU — but the country’s international trade competitiveness is deteriorating.

Employers group Irish Business and Employers Confederation (IBEC) today welcomed Central Statistic Office (CSO) figures which showed that the overall unemployment rate is now down to 4.2%, a five-year low.

The ISEQ began the day on a positive note moving into the black by 30.15 points this morning.

WITH the appalling weather conditions of recent days fuelling fears that global warming is here to stay, pollution in Ireland continues at alarming levels amid Government failure to meet greenhouse gas targets set out in the Kyoto Protocol.

WATERFORD Fianna Fáil Senator Brendan Kenneally has said the city and the south-eastern region will continue to lag behind the rest of the country unless Waterford Institute of Technology is given university status.

A MINI baby boom and an ongoing influx of immigrants has pushed the population to its highest in nearly 150 years, figures show.

While campaigners have welcomed the Government's new suicide-prevention strategy, they say they still question commitment to resources in the area.

Employer’s group ISME has described benchmarking as one of the greatest scams ever foisted on the Irish people.

AND the Word was made Focal.

The Government has been accused of failing to take urgent action to tackle the issue of declining farm family incomes.

THE decline in the number of dairy farmers is set to accelerate, but those who intend to remain plan to substantially increase the size of their business, a Teagasc survey reveals.

FINE GAEL has urged the Government to investigate claims that Ireland’s trade with other countries is being seriously affected by massive VAT scams.

INDUSTRIAL employment has plunged to its lowest level in over five years as the high-technology sector suffers badly, shock new figures disclose.

ECONOMISTS have clashed in a row over whether GDP or GNP is the best measure of the state of the economy.