Housing, homelessness, and healthcare have justifiably dominated the election so far.

The Government needs to set up a public register for households to track the new owners of their mortgage loans when they are sold onto vulture funds, a leading legal expert on mortgage arrears has said.

Finding that the hotel discriminated against all three because they are Travellers under the Equal Status Act, Mr Dolan stated that the evidence presented by the hotel “lacks a level of credibility”.

The use of strict confidentiality clauses in the settlement of proceedings against the State has been criticised by the independent legal aid body, Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac).

An intellectually disabled man whose legal marriage remains prohibited by court order due to a charity's concerns about his capacity to marry has said he wants to be with his intended bride, the High Court has heard.

The applications were originally refused on the grounds that the children did not have the specific diagnosis of an Autism Spectrum Disorder or a severe or profound general learning disability.

It comes as new Central Bank figures show that long-term arrears “are entrenched” as ever, with 27,979 mortgage accounts in arrears for over two years at the end of March -- an unexpected increase since the start of the year, said the senior policy analyst at the Free Legal Advice Centres, or Flac.

Protections for mortgage holders will dramatically diminish if the sales of non-performing loans to so-called "vulture funds" continues, campaigners have claimed.

A leading mortgage debt advocate at the Free Legal Advice Centres, Flac, has called for a new focus on the link between the housing crisis and the sale of distressed landlord loans to vulture funds.

David Byrne, Denis McCullough, Vivian Lavan and Ian Candy are not, collectively, household names in Ireland, but they should be.

A leading adviser on household debt has called on the Central Bank to do more research on the fate of tenants after banks have sold off landlords’ property loans to vulture funds.

The Central Bank has expressed its growing exasperation with Irish banks, and has hinted at imposing individual fines and claw backing pay of top Irish bank chiefs if they fail to come into line following their handling of the €1bn tracker mortgage overcharging scandal.

A political spat over consumer protection when mortgage loans are sold by the main Irish banks to vulture funds is in danger of distracting from the real scandal that banks in Ireland are unwilling to write down long-term distressed mortgage debt to reflect the market value of homes.

Fianna Fáil are to table amending legislation in the next two weeks to extend protections to home borrowers whose loans will be bought by vulture funds, a move that could likely snarl plans by Government-owned Permanent TSB for a huge €4bn disposal of distressed loans.

The reduction in mortgage arrears is “painfully slow”, almost 10 years after the financial crash, the Free Legal Advice Centres (Flac) has warned.

The Government’s “failure” to provide sufficient funding to abolish civil legal aid fees for victims of domestic violence, has been criticised.

The number of people facing long-term arrears on their mortgages remains “surprisingly” high despite strong economic growth, a leading housing debt expert has said.

The number of people facing long-term arrears on their mortgages remains “surprisingly” high despite strong economic growth, a leading housing debt expert has said.

The Citizens Information Board believes a ruling that three tenants suffered discrimination by being refused access to the housing assistance payment (HAP) will deter other landlords from seeking to shy away from the scheme.

The Free Legal Advice Centres have welcomed a review of the legal aid fee for domestic violence victims.

Victims of domestic violence should not have to pay legal fees, as it is preventing those in desperate situations from seeking help.

The State has been ordered to pay the legal costs of a severely visually impaired man after he won a High Court declaration concerning the State's duty to vindicate his right to vote privately and without assistance in referendums and elections.

The Irish Lobby for Immigration Reform in the US is urging the country’s 50,000 undocumented Irish not to panic about President Trump’s clampdown on immigration — as it will only impact undocumented immigrants with serious criminal records.

First-time buyers are to get up to €10,000 in a tax rebate as part of Government plans to reheat the property market.

Banks will face extensive scrutiny of their mortgage loan books and have to justify more clearly the way they deal with distressed borrowers in arrears in the Programme of Government struck between Fine Gael and the Independent Alliance.

The five main banks have been accused of insulting Irish groups which help people in debt by funding a similar British charity to start work here.

Lawyers will be obliged to advise their clients to consider mediation to resolve legal disputes, under new legislation outlined by Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald yesterday.

A UN committee has called on Ireland to take “all necessary steps” to revise its abortion laws to bring them into line with international human rights standards.

Ireland has much work to do to shore up its delivery of human rights, according to the Chief Commissioner of the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission, speaking before a top level United Nations committee.

The Government has been urged to take “radical” steps to stem the flow of house repossessions, as thousands of families face up to the threat of losing their homes.

A new report will tell the UN that the Irish state is failing in its duties on "everyday" rights.

Ireland’s transgender community will be given official recognition under a law to be put into force next year.

The rising level of long-term mortgage arrears was labelled a "time bomb" yesterday, while new figures from the Central Bank also signalled an increase in the rate of possible house repossessions.

As people finally begin applying to the Insolvency Service of Ireland for support in dealing with their mountain of debt, fears have been expressed that the applicants will face fees of up to €3,000 to simply have their application processed.

A provision of the new personal insolvency arrangements, due to come into effect at the beginning of next week, will effectively allow banks 20 years to claw back mortgage debts written off under certain circumstances.

Nearly 30,000 struggling householders are battling to cope with more than two years of crippling mortgage debt, official figures have revealed.