Cut-price drink and whispers of political intrigue proved a heady cocktail for the Dáil bars last year as profits jumped by over 10% from €104,129 to €115,466.

The State requires an enlarged jury panel to deal with the case of former Anglo Irish Bank executive William McAteer and three co-accused, the Dublin Circuit Criminal Court heard this morning.

Irish Life has increased its earnings to €38m in the second quarter of this year.

GIG WISE: All roads lead to Longitude in Marlay Park, Dublin, this weekend, and stage times are available on the festival’s website.

A date in early 2016 has been set for the trial of four former bankers accused of conspiring to mislead Anglo Irish Bank investors in relation to €7.2bn worth of transactions.

MUSIC NEWS: While Arcade Fire line up in Marlay Park, Dublin, on June 29 with the Pixies for support, those who get to see them in London tomorrow will be treated to an undercard headed by Lorde.

It’s a “lifestyle band”

Below-cost selling and the rise of the discounters is hitting family retailers hard, writes Kyran FitzGerald.

MUSIC NEWS:

The boss of Britain’s largest abortion charity said women are legally free to terminate pregnancies if they are unhappy with the sex of their baby.

Some “resentment” is expected among the older generation of Fianna Fáil grassroots members over the party’s efforts to get more women involved.

Allowing abortions in cases where a baby has no chance of survival outside the womb will not be dealt with in the lifetime of this Government.

A top executive at Anglo Irish Bank believed the Central Bank and the Financial Regulator were "egging them on", when it came to the transfer of money between Anglo and Irish Life and Permanent.

European Affairs Minister Lucinda Creighton has proposed far-reaching changes to the abortion legislation in a move that signals she will oppose the bill during a final Dáil vote next week.

Ireland interim coach Les Kiss has handed debuts to Robbie Henshaw and Stuart Olding for the match against the United States Eagles – with three new faces ready to win their first caps off the bench.

A leading barrister has rejected claims from the Taoiseach and Health Minister that proposed legislation to change Ireland’s strict abortion regime does not alter existing laws.

Mary Regan, Political Correspondent

MUSIC NEWS: Anybody holding out for a reunion of the White Stripes shouldn’t hold their breath.

Women embarking on the festive party season in Britain are being invited to stock up on free supplies of the morning-after pill.

THE ISEQ index advanced 16.25 points to 2,604.54 yesterday.

THE human foetus cannot feel pain before the age of 24 weeks so there is no reason to change the current abortion limit, health experts said yesterday.

Nina Carberry and Katie Walsh fought out a stirring finish to the National Hunt Chase at Cheltenham and the pair repeated the dose at Punchestown as the former landed the Kildare Hunt Club Fr Sean Breen Memorial Chase aboard Zest For Life.

A CAMPAIGN highlighting the growing plight of suicide in the taxi industry and the general public is set to be launched over the coming days.

PEOPLE in areas all over Ireland where wildlife has been under deadly pressure for decades and where some species have either disappeared or are under serious threat, are now getting involved in conservation projects.

UP to 500 staff at one of Bank of Ireland’s insurance subsidiaries are to picket the bank’s head office this morning.

LIFE assurer Eagle Star wants the High Court to stop the Equality Tribunal case of an equality officer who claims her income protection policy was 100% loaded because she was overweight.

A 90-YEAR-OLD who says she’s the woman being kissed by a sailor in Times Square in one of World War II’s most famous photographs reunited in town with the Navy on Sunday — days before she is to serve as grand marshal of the city’s Veterans Day parade.

THE announcement by the US Treasury Dept over the weekend that it would be stepping in to bail out US mortgage kingpins Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac proved to be a catalyst as markets around the globe bounced back.

Paris Hilton's parents approve of her latest boyfriend, calling tattooed rocker Benji Madden "polite" and "well mannered".

Life and pensions firm Standard Life returned to favour on the stock market today after revealing a stronger-than-expected jump in annual profits.

THE Irish exchange plunged further into negative territory yesterday while the Far East markets dropped significantly and the US was closed for Martin Luther King Day.

YOUR report headlined ‘Funding secure despite abortion row’ (June 26) was not representative of views I expressed.

THE ISEQ continued its recent revival yesterday with CRH, Ryanair and Elan driving the exchange forwards.

Banking heavyweight Irish Life and Permanent led a rally for financial stocks as the Irish market burst into positive territory today.

AN Irish-Italian deal has been renewed in a €16 million contract, it was announced yesterday.

Strong gains among the financials helped the ISEQ index of shares to a 27.14 rise to 7678.95 today.

A BRITISH woman who will give birth at the age of 63 insisted yesterday “a great deal of thought” had been invested in her baby son.

Evidence that foetuses can feel pain is scientifically unsound and may be putting women considering an abortion at risk, a senior psychologist said in Britain today.

EVIDENCE that foetuses can feel pain is scientifically unsound and may be putting women considering an abortion at risk, a senior psychologist said today.

AROUND 100,000 women concerned about a crisis pregnancy in the past three years have used a State-funded mobile phone text service to get help, it was revealed yesterday.

SALES at Hibernian Life rose by 17% to €146.7 million last year, as its market share increased by 6%.

SHARES in the Irish market fell for the first day in five as profit-taking weighed on the index. The ISEQ dipped 5.96 points to 7060.31.