Electric car owners could be asked to pay to charge up their vehicles in public places under plans being considered by the Government.

Bob Geldof has urged Sinn Féin to "grow up" after claiming members made insulting comments about his decision to return the Freedom of the City of Dublin.

An overhaul of Cork City Council’s website is underway, after a Green Party member’s review found that almost half of emails sent to displayed addresses went unanswered and more than half of its links were broken.

A previously unknown trial of lactose and baby formula was carried out using infants in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home by Glaxo Laboratories in the mid-1970s.

Seven people have been dismissed and more than 60 disciplinary investigations initiated against HSE staff since 2015, according to figures obtained under Freedom of Information legislation.

The files of vaccine trial victims in Bessborough Mother and Baby Home were altered in 2002 — just weeks after the Commission to Inquire into Child Abuse sought discovery of records from the order running the home.

The barrister charged with compiling a report into allegations of sexual abuse against a disabled woman, ‘Grace’, in a Waterford foster home expressed “serious concerns” about the HSE’s co-operation with his report.

The garda ombudsman (GSOC) raised questions about the independence of the Guerin inquiry, and separately tried to get the probe to extend its timeframe to complete its work.

USA: When it comes to holiday decorations, Kathy and Mark Hyatt go to extremes.

The outgoing governor of the Central Bank, Patrick Honohan, has warned Finance Minister Michael Noonan that it is imperative to avoid a return to the type of pro-cyclical fiscal policies observed in the past.

Homelessness charities war the crisis “is only getting worse” as figures reveal a 76% spike in the number of homeless families since the start of the year.

There were more than 200 significant or critical incidents involving young people in the Oberstown youth detention facility in a period of less than three years, according to figures released by the Department of Children.

The Revenue Commissioners has divulged just minimal details of five people who each own more than 500 houses.

Alan Shatter told Taoiseach Enda Kenny in a confidential letter after he resigned as justice minister that he was "stymied" by Department of Justice officials at looking into whistleblower allegations against gardaí.

A leading antiques expert who appeared on television alongside Jimmy Savile was a convicted child abuser and a member of a notorious paedophile campaign group, the BBC has reported.

This year is set to go down as a distinctly non-vintage year for the Department of Foreign Affairs’ efforts to clear its stock of high-end wine from its cellars at Iveagh House.

Tobacco producing nations are expected to challenge Ireland’s move to outlaw branded tobacco packaging, the new junior jobs minister has been warned by his department.

Ivor Callely's sentencing for claiming over €4,000 fake mobile phone expenses has been adjourned until Monday morning.

Expensive court battles fought over Freedom of Information appeals should instead be decided by tribunals, the new information commissioner has said.

An Italian journalist and a Belgian national who were kidnapped in Syria in April have been freed.

Fianna Fáil leader Michéal Martin has today called on the Health Minister to resign, accusing the Government of telling "a pack of lies" regarding the location of primary care centres.

Pressure was piled on Enda Kenny last night to release files in his department about the night of the bank guarantee after he originally claimed that none existed.

The Irish Greyhound Board has been warned that its growing debt levels are not guaranteed by taxpayers and it would have to sell tracks if it cannot meet repayments.

A vulnerable teen was assaulted by a man outside a HSE facility in the South and it later emerged there had been “inappropriate behaviour” between her and the man, according to inspection reports released under Freedom of Information.

The Dutch caretaker government and several opposition parties said today that they have done in a matter of days what the Cabinet failed to do in seven weeks: craft a provisional 2013 austerity budget.

Ruby Walsh gets his challenge to be named top festival jockey at Cheltenham for a fifth successive time underway today on board Prospect Wells in the William Hill Supreme Novices’ Hurdle.

CELEBRITY gardener Diarmuid Gavin feared for his reputation in the run-up to last May’s Chelsea Flower Show, it emerged yesterday.

CELEBRITY gardener Diarmuid Gavin has claimed that Cork City Council asked his firm to withhold documents after a Freedom of Information (FOI) request about his €2.3 million taxpayer-funded Irish Sky Garden.

Jessica Harrington is weighing up options for Steps To Freedom after his impressive Grade Three victory at Punchestown last week.

THE HSE has refused to release the names of six more retired senior officials given lucrative outsourced contracts after they received severance packages and pensions to leave the system.

THE BOUNDARIES of free speech in Europe have widened after a Dutch court acquitted politician Geert Wilders of inciting hatred against Muslims when he compared Islam with Nazism and called for a ban on the Koran.

FIANNA FÁIL leader Micheál Martin accused the Taoiseach of being embroiled in a “cover-up” regarding advice given to the Government ahead of its pension levy raid.

MORE than 160 people set to work with vulnerable patients in hospitals, nursing homes and other facilities were blocked from taking up posts after garda checks.

ONLY twenty four greyhounds remain in the Sporting Press Irish Oaks, but the competition remains wide open following an intriguing second round on Saturday.

BOARD members of the Irish National Stud and chairwoman Chryss O’Reilly are in a battle to retain their prestigious positions.

THERE are less full-time social workers employed by the HSE now than there were during 2009 – despite a pledge by the Government to employ 270 additional staff to bolster child protection in the wake of the Ryan Report.

Dozens of people were injured when a powerful car bomb exploded early today in northern Spain outside a barracks housing police officers and their families.

A GOVERNMENT plan to provide mortgages to people who have been rejected by the banks has cost €280,000 to administer – but as yet no loans have been drawn down under the scheme.

THE Health Service Executive is denying that the country’s cancer tsar, Tom Keane, encountered serious problems in trying to kick-start the country’s reformed cancer programme and that the HSE tried to limit its success.

BERTIE AHERN will get a payoff amounting to about €68,000 after resigning as taoiseach earlier this year.

OPPOSITION parties are planning to challenge the health authorities’ decision to withhold details on the number of patient cases under review because of concerns about the work of a Finnish pathologist.