The largest broadband intervention yet by the State could run into legal difficulty and face significant delays. The Government’s National Broadband Plan which intends to deliver high-speed broadband to 750,000 homes and businesses by 2020 is expected to cost up to €500m to implement.

Gas from a former dump is generating enough electricity to power up to 500 homes.

Enterprise Ireland says it could meet its target for the percentage of women-led start-up businesses a year early, however, it said that the country needs more women starting their own tech companies.

Shell Ireland yesterday declared that on-site work is complete for gas to flow from the Corrib gas field.

The Government is unable to guarantee the operation of the Whitegate oil refinery once an obligation to operate it expires in a year, according to a department spokesperson.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has defended the appointment of a pro-fracking company to lead a research study into the practice in Ireland.

The Comptroller and Auditor General has confirmed his office is examining aspects of the development of the State’s postcode project.

The Ombudsman has said it is precluded from investigating a complaint by the body representing the freight industry over the country’s new postcode.

The chief executive of Ireland’s largest independent parcel delivery company has declared his support for the controversial new postcode system due to be introduced next year.

A group representing the freight and delivery industry has threatened to refer its concerns surrounding Eircode to the ombudsman unless the Government agrees to submit the new €27m postcode system to independent scrutiny to confirm it is proficient fit for purpose.

An Irish medic and gunshot wounds expert, who headed up the trauma unit which inspired the hit US TV medical drama ER, is to be honoured by his university.

The controversial new postcode system will not be introduced until "satisfactory solutions" are put in place to address "serious concerns", the Data Protection Commissioner has confirmed.

The introduction of Ireland’s new postcode service will be as problematic as Irish Water, some of the country’s biggest transport delivery firms confirmed.

In the Irish Examiner, October 13, you quote Alex White Communications Minister: “a sequential postcode structure is not feasible or necessary”.

The future development of West Cork’s economy will come under the spotlight at a special meeting later this week.

Inland Fisheries Ireland, a statutory body under the aegis of the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, published a report this week that challenges the advisability of Bord Iascaigh Mhara’s plans for Europe’s largest salmon farms at two sites off Galway.

The country's second youngest TD, Simon Harris, has been appointed as Junior Finance Minister, the position formerly held by Brian Hayes, in the Government's reshuffle.

The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources paid €212,873 to consultancy firm Wood Mackenzie to examine the "fitness for purpose" of Ireland’s oil and gas fiscal system.

The Government has indicated that the top rate of tax (52%) is to be reduced from October's Budget onwards, with the saving aimed at benefiting low- and middle-income earners.

The first meeting of the new Cabinet is taking place at Aras an Uachtarain.

Sky’s rights to broadcast GAA championship games may come under the microscope, following the launch by the Communications Minister of a public consultation on what should be free to air because of its cultural or societal importance.

Ten secondary schools in Kerry are to receive high-speed broadband access.

Only a tenth of the proceeds from the sale of Bord Gáis will be invested in projects in Ireland with no clarity as to how the remaining €900m will be spent.

Anyone with concerns about proposed large-scale wind farms is being asked to contact the Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources.

The Government is to consider community by community which areas should be offered state-sponsored high-speed broadband.

The green light has been given for a major seismic survey off Ireland’s Atlantic coast to assess the true potential for oil and gas resources.

The green light has been given for a major seismic survey off Ireland’s Atlantic coast to assess the true potential for oil and gas resources.

Ireland’s web security is under threat from the latest generation of tech-savvy criminals, writes Rita de Brun

The Government is set to announce details of a major research contract to assess Ireland’s true oil and gas potential in the coming weeks, with industry rumours suggesting Italian giant Eni could be signed up as project partner.

The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is engaging with Philips 66 following its announcement that it may sell the country’s only oil refinery at Whitegate in East Cork.

The Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources is preparing for a courtroom showdown with a chemical engineer in the new year over the Government’s renewable energy plans.

An action group has warned a British energy firm the fracking of a natural gas field in Clare will not proceed — “not now, not ever”.

A study has confirmed a natural gas field in west Clare of up to 3.86 trillion cubic feet of shale gas.

Providence Resources has been awarded a foreshore licence for its Dalkey Island prospect — a move which gives the company the green light to drill off the Dublin coast early next year.

IN the days when youngsters spent seemingly endless time fishing for brown trout, they would sometimes catch an eel, of which there was a plentiful supply in our lakes and rivers.

THE Irish biofuels industry died on Jan 1, 2011 when a government tax relief scheme designed to foster the sector was replaced with one which has completely failed to do so. As a result, almost all of the country’s bioethanol, biodiesel, and oil-crushing plants were switched off.

New evidence has revealed underground electricity cables running through a seaside town could increase the risk of childhood leukaemia, campaigners claimed today.

A new €14m research lab will help make Ireland a global leader in marine renewable energy research, the energy minister was told yesterday.

A Canadian energy company has said it has made a gas discovery in the West of Ireland capable of meeting the country’s energy needs for the next 40 years.

Shell has told locals living close to the site of the planned onshore pipeline that work on the next phase of the project will begin in the coming weeks.

Energy Minister Pat Rabbitte has maintained that the Government remains committed to a partial sale of the ESB as part of a larger programme to dispose of state assets as required under the terms of the bailout.