An outlay of almost €11,000 on garden and terrace furniture at the Irish embassy in Beijing has brought the total to €624,218 over the last two years.

Lawyers who represented singer Rihanna in a High Court battle over a t-shirt are seeking $1m in legal costs, a judge heard today as he granted her an injunction.

Ireland’s foreign property portfolio is worth more than €135m, with the State’s Paris chancery worth €45m alone.

The Government was urgently seeking clarification from Berlin last night after Angela Merkel appeared to have dealt a death blow to hopes of cutting the country’s massive bank debt.

STRUGGLING mortgage holders facing home repossession can get help from barristers on a no-fee basis under plans unveiled.