Bord Gáis says it can save €120m in start-up costs if it is given the task of establishing the proposed national Irish Water utility — expected to serve more than 1.5m customers by 2014.

German retirement age should be raised to 70, two of the country’s leading think tanks urged today.

GERMANY’S under-fire national soccer coach Juergen Klinsmann and his team have every chance of clinching World Cup glory on home turf later this year - at least if you believe the statisticians.

The enlargement of the EU on 1 May will boost German GDP growth over 2005 and 2006 by half a percentage point, according to the German economy institute (IW).