Sandra Mahon didn’t set out to make history in her job as a food demonstrator, but she did just that in relation to employment law.

A High Court judge yesterday urged the State to step up measures to end sham marriages by people resisting deportation.

A councillor has called for gardaí to be given internment-style powers to lock up young thugs who are terrorising residents in an estate on Cork’s northside.

Two outspoken community activists whose home has been attacked have called for a multi-agency taskforce to tackle serious anti-social behaviour in their estate.

Limerick native Josephine Feehily is the chairwoman of the newly established Policing Authority.

Department of Social Protection officials came under fire when they told a Dáil committee community welfare officers are helping thousands of distressed tenants by providing rent advances and help with deposits.

There would seem to be money for everything at government level.

There are only 12,000 gardaí available to work on an average day — even with the 290 new recruits in Garda stations, official figures show.

In July, the Irish Examiner reported that 1.3m households had registered with Irish Water.

Recent articles by Shaun Connolly and Alison O’Connor regarding the scrapping of Lone Parents’ Allowance were admirable, points pertaining to this latest attack on vulnerable people by “Cruella” and the Labour Party were well made.

If Minister for Finance Michael Noonan wanted to he could abolish the local property tax at the next Budget.

Middle-ranking gardaí have warned Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald that while the Garda system may survive with “sticking plasters”, the men and women of the force may not.

A father and son testified against each other in an assault case at Cork District Court yesterday where allegations and counter-allegations were made as the judge said she was sorry it had come to this.

A 41-year-old unemployed mother, who referred to a train ticket inspector as a “fat bastard” when he inquired about her allegedly defaced free travel pass, has lost a €50,000 damages claim for defamation in the Circuit Civil Court.

Householders who refuse to pay their water charges will still be able to claim their €100 water conservation grant because of a loophole in the law.

Garda numbers are set to drop as low as 12,600, despite the emergence of 300 trainee garda recruits during the year, police representatives have warned.

Joan Burton called the Coolock pub 'irresponsible' after a picture of their 'Welfare Wednesday' promotional offer was widely shared online.

Dublin pub responds to Joan Burton’s criticism of controversial drinks promotion

The cost of back-to-school payments to families has come in at €5m less than last year after college students were excluded for the first time.

The 1.2 million people in receipt of social welfare payments are set to receive their Christmas bonus in the coming week.

A decision on whether to raise rent supplements to keep pace with rocketing rents will not be made until the new year, despite growing levels of homelessness.

Environment Minister Alan Kelly has said that the Government’s new water charge regime will end public anger against the levy.

The former Revenue boss, Josephine Feehily, will be the new "public face" of transparency, accountability and openness in the Garda Síochána following a period of damaging controversies for the force.

The cost of water charges is likely to be offset by a €100 social welfare payment to every household in Ireland.

The property market may be showing signs of recovery but there is little evidence the Government is taking the implementation of social housing policy seriously, writes Dr Rory Hearne.

Two female private investigators who pretended to be HSE and VEC officials were able to blag personal data from other civil servants to help credit unions find members who had defaulted on their loans.

BRIAN Purcell has taken a bullet for the State twice in his career. Once, when he was near the bottom of the pile, as a young official in the Department of Social Welfare, he refused payment to an applicant for the dole. That claimant was the notorious Dublin gangster, The General. Purcell was kneecapped for his troubles.

Brian Purcell wrote to his staff in the Department of Justice telling them that he was standing aside before that information became public.

A Dublin youth who was allegedly caught "red-handed" armed with a sword in the front yard of Leinster House, has been remanded on continuing bail while gardaí prepare a file for the DPP.

A youth caught “red-handed” armed with a sword in the front yard of Leinster House “had no particular target”, a court has heard.

Pensioners, carers, and people with disabilities could be given financial assistance to pay for household water usage under a compromise being considered between the Coalition parties over the proposed charge.

A senator has railed against “totally unjust” rules which mean self-employed women are unlikely to get maternity benefit if their baby is born after the 16th week of the year.

The Department of Social Welfare is giving those who owe money 14 days to repay money owed.

Serious consideration was given to a controversial scheme to exclude people in arrears with payments of taxes, statutory contributions and other levies from all types of public services including social welfare payments.

Gardaí busted a major cocaine factory as part of a nationwide sting involving 419 planned searches and 89 arrests for a range of crimes.

Two men described as “puppets on a string” for a €1.2m drugs operation have each been given a 10-year suspended sentence today.

Suspected dole cheats face on-the-spot arrest at airports and early morning roadside garda checkpoints after the Department of Social Protection announced plans to enlist around 20 gardaí to help in its Special Investigations Unit.

Jobs are about more than work; jobs are about dignity, incentive, pride. More jobs means better lives.

A mother of five who said she was forced to steal food and clothes for her children has escaped a conviction at the end of a case that saw the HSE and the Department of Social Welfare appearing before a district judge.

Sensitive personal data of celebrities, media personalities and sports stars held on Garda computers have been accessed without good reason by individual gardaí, the Data Protection Commissioner has found.