IT is hard to believe that anyone with any intelligence was surprised by the High Court ruling this week that the Donegal South-West by-election should be held without further delay. The existing delay, since the election of Pat ‘the Cope’ Gallagher to the European Parliament in June 2009, has been the longest in the history of the state.

Tánaiste Mary Coughlan has today moved from Enterprise, Trade and Employment to the Department of Education, pending the expected Dáil approval.

The Irish tourist industry is in crisis, as a result of a decline of almost one million visitors and €900m in tourist revenue during 2009.

THE company constructing the €380 million Dublin Convention Centre is part of a group relying on banks to rollover repayments on loans.

IF YOU came down this direction to get refuge from the John O’Donoghue furore towards the front of the paper, don’t take flight because you see his name printed here.

THE GAA yesterday moved to combat the costly and dangerous tradition of pitch invasions and announced that they are lobbying the government to make such incursions illegal, possibly by this time next year.

CEANN Comhairle John O’Donoghue was at his desk meeting constituents yesterday – but has yet to comment publicly on his recent expenses controversy.

The Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism is defending the expenses run up by government ministers while attending overseas events.

Economist and chairman of An Bord Snip Nua Colm McCarthy has been invited to appear before a joint Oireachtas Committee.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has appealed to the public to avoid "knee-jerk and defensive reactions" after the publication of today's report by An Bord Snip Nua.

An Bord Snip's long-anticipated report into cuts in public spending includes recommendations for large-scale job cuts of 17,300 in the public sector, cuts of 5% to all social welfare benefits, an increase in hospital charges and cuts of €746m in the education sector.

ECONOMIST Colm McCarthy is expected to deliver recommendations for €5 billion of the toughest spending cuts in the State’s history to Finance Minster Brian Lenihan tomorrow.

THE Government was last night left in no doubt that the GAA will not contribute to the state-backed grants scheme for inter-county players.

THE future of the GAA inter-county player grants scheme looks increasingly uncertain with confirmation yesterday that it will not be included in the government’s 2009 grant package for sport due to be announced next week.

ELITE activities that do not encourage public participation receive two-thirds of all sports funding despite government policies aimed at promoting healthier lifestyles.

LIMERICK’S galleries, theatres and castles will host free cultural events on September 19 which has been designated Culture Night in the city.

A production of one of the world’s best known theatrical masterpieces will visit the length and breadth of the country this autumn.

Shamrock Rovers are to finally get a home after the Government today pledged €2.75m towards its Tallaght stadium.

ON WHAT was described by chief executive John Treacy as a proud day for the Irish Sports Council (ISC) the completion of the National Network of Sport Partnerships was announced at the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham yesterday.

A €220,000 funding shortfall for an exhibition during Cork’s year as European Capital of Culture had to be met by taxpayers, the state spending watchdog has revealed.

LIGHTHOUSE chiefs are continuing a search for an engineering firm prepared to rebuild a famous, century-old footbridge in west Cork.

THE FAI is confident the association’s bid to host the 2011 UEFA Cup final will succeed.

A new theatrical production marking the 400th anniversary of the Flight of the Earls will be staged this week.

FILM fans are hoping to curry favour with India’s movie bosses in a bid to bring the Bollywood Oscars to Ireland.

Cork building and civil engineering firm PJ Hegarty has won a multi-million euro contract to build new headquarters for the Department of Arts, Sport and Tourism in Killarney.

EAMON Coughlan and Keith Wood are amongst the high profile board members of the new Irish Institute of Sport under the executive chairmanship of Sean Kelly.

MANY new countryside walkways will be in place next year, predicts Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Minister Éamon Ó Cuív.

KILLARNEY Town Council manager Tom Curran has expressed “grave reservations” about the council supporting a proposal for a theatre cum arts centre for the town.

AN innovative fundraising initiative was launched yesterday in Carrick-on-Shannon by supporters of Leitrim GAA and the Leitrim GAA Board to raise €1.5 million to complete the redevelopment of Páirc Seán MacDiarmada.

NOT content with being the tourism and Gaelic football capital, Kerry could also boast about being top of the charts nationally in relation to arts funding.

UNDER-SPENDING by Government departments totalled almost €1 billion last year, the country’s chief financial watchdog has found.

A NEW national awards scheme honouring those who volunteer their time in sustaining and developing sport in Ireland got off the ground yesterday when Minister for Arts, Sport and Tourism John O’Donoghue launched the official nomination form and guidelines for the ‘National Awards to Volunteers in Irish Sport’.

FIVE new public swimming pools are set to open in the next six months as the Government splashes out on facilities in 38 towns and neighbourhoods across the country.

Dozens of artworks in the hands of a former state-owned hotel chain belong to the people of Ireland, Arts Minister John O’Donoghue insisted tonight.

CENTENARY celebrations to mark the birth of Irish writer Samuel Beckett were launched yesterday by Arts Minister John O’Donoghue in Dublin Castle - kicking off a month long series of events commemorating the writer’s life and work.

The Irish Sports Council today has unveiled a €6.17m package of investment into 18 different sports.

THE National Gallery yesterday unveiled a major new €1.9 million acquisition — a painting which returns to the country after spending nearly 100 years in private collections in the United States.

THE sale of a 130-space car park as a site for decentralised Government offices in Killarney is adding to traffic congestion outside schools in the town, it was claimed yesterday.

ONE of the success stories of Cork's reign as European Capital of Culture (CoC), the city's Crawford Art Gallery, has every intention of carrying the momentum on into 2006.

The Government gave more money to horse racing last year than to any other sport.

SPORTS Minister John O’Donoghue yesterday announced €20m in funding for the redevelopment of Lansdowne Road and said the Government had also approved discussions on moving FAI headquarters from Merrion Square to Abbotstown.

The new Abbey Theatre will be built in Dublin’s docklands as part of a revamp of several of the country’s leading cultural institutions, the Government confirmed today.

A STEERING group should be established to co-ordinate preparations for the 2012 Olympics and prevent the damaging rows between sporting bodies that affected the Irish performances at previous Games, a report will state today.