Environment Minister Richard Bruton is considering laws to tackle engine idling.

Deputies Brid Smith, Richard Boyd Barrett, Gino Kenny and Paul Murphy claim a Bill seeking to link exploration licences with meeting carbon reduction targets has been “strangled” by the Ceann Comhairle.

Legal threats from coal firms have stopped the Government from introducing a nationwide ban on smoky coal which environmental activists and opposition parties are demanding.

The Department of Culture is considering the purchase of artwork from RTÉ when the pieces come up for public auction in London next month.

Leinster House has scrapped plans for a public "open day" this weekend over fears staff could be put "at risk" from Extinction Rebellion protestors.

The Government has been urged to explain exactly how it spent more than €3bn worth of carbon tax income over the past decade amid fears that this year's €6 carbon tax budget hike will fail to be spent on climate matters.

The Government has been criticised for “dragging its heels” on the establishment of a digital safety commissioner.

Anglers in the north-east say they are 'terrified' that a mysterious virus could wipe out salmonid stocks across the country.

Joe Dermody looks at a selection of cyber security companies which IDA Ireland has helped establish in Ireland.

Many councillors said they now felt a naming and shaming policy was the only way they were going to stamp out the problem which is blighting many towns and villages in the county.

The Government will publish draft laws in the coming months which it claims will end the “era of self-regulation” in the social media industry.

The Government’s multi-billion euro broadband plan is at risk of being derailed after an Oireachtas committee called for a three-month freeze of the project to force a re-examination of its €3bn cost and the entire tendering process.

Dr Dympna Kavanagh, chief dental officer, Department of Health (University College Cork graduate)

The Government is refusing to say if it will accept calls to reform its multi-billion euro broadband plan which could force the project to stay in public ownership and subject it to another in-depth review.

The Finance Minister has ruled out proving extra funding for homeowners who have now been denied grants under a cancelled deep retro-fit scheme.

The Advertising Standards Authority of Ireland (ASAI) is to review the use of the word ‘unlimited’ when it comes to advertising mobile phone and broadband data plans which have so-called ‘fair use policies’.

We must change the way we use land and produce food if we are to save the planet, a UN climate report warns.

Gas Networks Ireland has for the first time injected farm-produced biomethane into its national network at a site in Co Kildare and has just applied for planning permission for a second injection point in North Cork.

People using phones or laptops to watch TV are set to be hit with new charges as part of a clampdown on those who avoid the TV licence fee.

The European Commission has detected “significant weaknesses” in how Ireland controls fish catches within EU waters, highlighting issues around weighing and an “ineffective sanctioning system for offences”.

Social media content moderators need to be afforded supports similar to those provided to frontline workers due to the stresses associated with the job, according to a privacy expert.

A cross-party report on whether to support or reject the Government's controversial broadband plans will not be published until August 20 because of differing views on its findings.

Politicians from all parties in Galway West have expressed opposition to a gold and silver mining bid in protected Connemara habitats.

The Government will sign a €3bn contract for the supply of rural broadband later this year after categorically ruling out an offer of a cheaper option for high-speed connections.

So that’s nearly Wednesday wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

The Department of Communications has said the proposal by Eir to roll out the National Broadband Plan for less than a €1bn is not feasible.

Just over 500 staff out of more than 20,000 working in Government departments can speak Irish.

Ireland has been found to have breached its international obligations over to access to information on the environment.

Ireland has been found to be in breach of its international obligations in relation to access to information on the environment.

The Department of Communications has insisted it has no role in deciding which of An Post’s four mail centres is to be closed, following the passing of a Dáil motion calling on the Government to instruct the company to keep its centre in Cork.

The Chinese telecoms giant battling claims it poses a security risk has said it has not been contacted by the Irish agency conducting a security review of proposed 5G systems.

Accepting Eir’s offer to deliver the National Broadband Plan at a cut price would be illegal, top officials in the Department of Communications have claimed.

A Dáil committee has heard that it is “proving to be very complex and unclear” as to who is responsible for providing the €3m required to repair a threatened historic weir in Cork.

The National Broadband Plan's tendering process was not fit for purpose, according to Fianna Fáil.

Controversies surrounding Chinese telecoms company Huawei are not impacting on the company’s business, the firm’s country director for Ireland has said.

Facebook and Google have told the Government they do not want any new online regulator intervening in complaints about content on their platforms before their own internal review systems have been exhausted.

The National Broadband Plan has been thrown into fresh confusion after Taoiseach Leo Varadkar said the Government will consider Eir’s claim it could deliver it for less than €1bn.

The Taoiseach has indicated that the Government could restart the National Broadband Plan (NBP) tender process after Eir claimed they could deliver the high speed network for one third of the current price.

Yesterday’s statement to the Oireachtas communications committee from Eir chief executive Carolan Lennon that her company could complete the National Broadband Plan for less than €1bn, a third of the figure the State has agreed to

A crater that opened up on the site of an old mine in Co Monaghan was detected 10 days before a decision was taken to close the adjacent road on safety grounds.

The former state telephone company, Eir, will today claim it could have delivered the Government's National Broadband Plan (NBP) for under €1bn, one-third of its estimated final cost.

The Government’s much-awaited second national cyber security strategy is due to be published in the coming weeks.