Transport Minister Shane Ross has denied he received any advice from the Attorney General before deciding to pull the Public Services Card (PSC) as a requirement for getting a driving licence, despite saying the opposite on the Dáil record last year.

The Attorney General’s office has reassured the Stardust relatives that their request for fresh inquests into the deaths of their loved ones is getting close attention.

Families of the Stardust victims have said they are disappointed and frustrated that they have not yet received a decision on their request for fresh inquests to be held into the deaths of their loved ones.

It will be two years before the Government knows for sure if Ireland will have a vote on ratification of a final Mercosur agreement.

Helen Martin has been appointed as CEO of the Charities Regulator, having been carrying out the functions on an acting basis since last October.

The HSE has raised concerns about the impact of the recent High Court ruling on the state of the CervicalCheck scheme, Health Minister Simon Harris will say tomorrow.

Safe zones for people accessing abortion services at GP offices or hospitals are expected to be agreed by the Government next month.

The Office of the Attorney General yesterday backed Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald’s decision to take no action when she was told of the Garda legal team’s alleged strategy to discredit Maurice McCabe in May 2015.

Testing week for Varadkar also sees him forced to correct the record of the Dáil amid ‘confusion’

The Road Safety Authority has said it will take steps to cut waiting times for driving tests in light of a proposed Government crackdown on learner drivers getting behind the wheel unaccompanied.

The horse and greyhound racing industries have banned the long-standing practice of allowing under-age on-track gambling.

The ever-evolving regulatory environment could be making society too complex for its own good, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

Five inquiries into allegations of garda misconduct have yet to be established by Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald, seven months after she promised to do so.

The Fennelly Commission report into the mass recording of telephone calls in Garda stations for decades has found the practice was not lawful, but no criminal cases were significantly affected by the practice.

A controversial alcohol bill has stalled yet again after a number of legal issues were uncovered.

Payments by the State to barristers in the civil courts last year soared by 22% to €12m, figures show.

FIFA was plunged into crisis on Wednesday morning after Swiss authorities made early-morning arrests of six football officials and opened separate criminal proceedings over the awarding of the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The union which co-ordinated the Dunnes Stores strike has welcomed news that collective bargaining legislation could be enacted within months.

A legal mistake by the Government could result in up to 78,000 drivers having 200,000 penalty points quashed, Opposition TDs have said.

The Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe is expected to brief the Cabinet on a loophole which could quash penalty points issued to thousands of motorists.

Former justice minister Alan Shatter has mounted a High Court challenge to quash certain findings of the Guerin Report concerning his handling of complaints by Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe.

By any estimation, a demanding seven months ahead for Mr Justice Nial Fennelly.

The end is in sight in a 20-year search for land suitable for a public graveyard in Killarney, Co Kerry.

The State Claims Agency (SCA) is expected to examine dozens of school sex abuse claims that were withdrawn following a stark 2009 government warning that it would pursue its costs if the alleged victims lost their cases.

The “clocking” of cars is set to become a specific criminal offence under measures announced by Transport Minister Leo Varadkar last night.

A transgender dentist is to launch a fresh legal challenge for a new birth certificate recognising her as female.

Debate over the budget was reignited as Eamon Gilmore defended a minister’s comments that employers should further help plug a €1.5bn hole in the social insurance fund.

Borrowers will be given “credit scores” under plans for a new debt database which Finance Minister Michael Noonan hopes will be in place by the end of the year.

Irish cybercrime law is inadequate and outdated and this may favour two young Irish students alleged to be at the centre of a global hacking ring if the US seeks to extradite them, a law expert has said.

Retrospective information and tracing rights are to be offered in the upcoming Adoption Bill, in a significant U-turn by Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald.

Telecoms billionaire Denis O'Brien has launched a personal attack against the top judge who found a Government Minister gave him a leg up on to the stage of the global super rich.

LONG-AWAITED legislation and the recommendations of a 2005 report which investigated ways of reducing legal costs may finally be put into practice under the Government’s four-year rescue plan for the economy.

THE Taoiseach was forced to insist he has “nothing to hide” in his dealings with the banks following accusations from the Labour Party that he had “tailor-made” laws to suit top bankers.

A FRUSTRATED Denis O’Brien upped his attack on the Moriarty Tribunal by declaring that hundreds of thousands of documents had been concealed from legal teams and insisted that lawyers for the inquiry needed to be sanctioned.

THE Dáil spending watchdog committee is to quiz state lawyers about reducing legal costs as well as examine attempts to cut bills for tribunals.

BILLIONAIRE businessman Denis O’Brien has attacked the Moriarty Tribunal accusing it of deliberately suppressing vital information.

FORMER minister Michael Lowry last night renewed his fierce attack on the official probe into corruption allegations surrounding the sale of mobile phone licences last night.

External solicitors have cost the taxpayer almost €10 million in the past two years — ironically in part to help recoup unpaid taxes.

Deposed prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra will be arrested if he returns home from a self-imposed exile, even if his victorious allies form a government, Thailand said today.

THE report of the expert group to examine and make recommendations on the legal issues of land access for recreational use is an important contribution to the debate.

Taoiseach Bertie Ahern tonight paid tribute to the government’s top legal adviser, praising his behind the scenes role in the peace process.

IARNRÓD Éireann admitted last night it will not meet its target to have the Cork-Midleton railway line reopened by next July, and says it is now more likely to be late October 2008.

THE Irish Dental Association is threatening to completely withdraw free treatment from one million medical card holders because, it claims, the government has refused to fully reimburse the dentists for the treatments they carry out.