Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of washing his hands of home repossessions as anti-eviction campaigners vow to stop a family being thrown out of their home.

Irish pro David McCann remains firmly in control of things at the Tour of the Philippines, retaining the yellow jersey in the race when he finished safely in the main bunch.

SMART Telecom has been granted a new lease of life by being acquired from examinership by fellow Dublin-based telecommunications provider, Digiweb.

Digiweb is to acquire the entire customer service base and assets of Smart Telecom in a move that will create Ireland's largest independently-owned telecommunications firm, the companies announced this afternoon.

Communications firm Smart Telecom today announced that it has entered into an examinership process.

THE BBC hopes to finish a documentary on the life of Stuart Mangan — the inspirational young man left paralysed by a rugby accident — who will be buried tomorrow.

HIGH Court proceedings over a repossession order on former Smart Telecom chief executive Oisín Fanning’s luxury home were adjourned indefinitely yesterday after a judge was told it should not trouble the court again.

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning yesterday lost a bid to stop a bank taking possession of his luxury home because of an alleged failure to keep up payments on an €8 million loan.

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning is opposing a bid by a bank to take possession of his home because of an alleged failure to keep up payments on an €8 million loan, the High Court heard yesterday.

A NUMBER of legal actions involving former Smart Telecom chief executive Oisín Fanning arising from the October 2006 buyout of Smart by Smart YuRoE Broadband — a company controlled by businessman Brendan Murtagh — have come before the Commercial Court.

FORMER Smart Telecom boss Oisin Fanning is not a credible person to challenge the October 2006 buyout of the company by businessman Brendan Murtagh, the High Court was told yesterday, as Mr Fanning himself both voted for and benefited from the deal.

FORMER Smart Telecom chief executive Oisin Fanning has claimed at the High Court that businessman Brendan Murtagh threatened in October 2006 to put the company into liquidation unless all the directors not loyal to Mr Murtagh resigned and signed irrevocable proxies supporting his takeover of the company.

Smart Telecom has acquired the assets of media company Envi Communications.

AN Irish property company has snapped up a building in Hamburg for €60 million.

EIRCOM workers yesterday served strike notice on the company, meaning thousands of homes and businesses could be without communications by as early as next Friday.

CONSUMERS are wary of switching phone companies to get cheaper calls after Smart Telecom last year pulled the plug on 40,000 subscribers.

COMREG has told the High Court it will be seeking legal costs at the highest level against Smart Telecom following Smart’s unsuccessful court bid to overturn ComReg’s refusal to grant it the lucrative 3G mobile phone licence.

THOUSANDS of customers who enjoyed cheap phone calls with Smart Telecom have until tomorrow to find a new telephone company — or their service will be cut off.

It has been a dramatic day for Smart Telecom after the High Court has turned down its claim for a 3G mobile phone licence and the company was then bought by one of its shareholders for €1.

Smart Telecom shareholders are due to vote today on a proposed takeover by businessman Brendan Murtagh.

THE prospective new owner of Smart Telecom has ruled out a return for the company to the home phone business and said that the troubled telecommunications firm will be back on the growth path by the middle of next year.

TODAY: Bank holiday in Ireland.

EIRCOM is apparently confident of winning a significant number of the 40,000 or so former Smart Telecom fixed-line customers when the ‘deadline’ for them to decide on which telecommunications service provider they want to sign up to for the long-term passes tomorrow and Eircom’s interim re-connection service ends.

Last week’s Smart Telecom crisis, in which 55,000 customers were disconnected without notice, has damaged the regulatory system for telecommunications, an Oireachtas committee heard today.

The Communications Regulator is due to appear before a Dáil commitee today to answer questions about the Smart Telecom debacle.

ALL-IRELAND ladies football champions Cork are owed a substantial five-figure sum by their main sponsors, Smart Telecom.

Smart Telecom customers are to get their phone service switched back on in the coming days as part of a deal agreed during talks last night.

Around 45,000 telephone users disconnected over a dispute between rival telecoms companies are to have their service restored, it emerged tonight.

ComReg have announced that Smart's telephone services will be restored within three days after intensive discussions with eircom.

Smart Telecom and eircom have failed to resolve their dispute over unpaid bills during talks overseen by the Communications Regulator this morning.

More than 40,000 Smart Telecom customers have had their services cut off as part of a dispute between the company and eircom.

Irish firm Smart Telecom is to cut its staff by 250 following a review of its business, it was confirmed today.

Smart Telecom has announced that it's to focus its business on the corporate and residential broadband sector.

THE hearing of Smart Telecom’s bid to overturn the decision of the Commission for Communications Regulation not to grant it the lucrative multi-million euro 3G mobile phone licence ended in the High Court yesterday.

THE High Court has fixed July 6 for the hearing of Smart Telecom’s claim that it is entitled to be awarded the lucrative 3G mobile phone licence.

THE High Court has continued an interim injunction granted earlier this week to Smart Mobile Ltd restraining the Communications Regulator from awarding the 3G licence to any other company.

THE High Court has granted an interim injunction to Smart Telecom restraining the Communications Regulator from awarding the 3G licence to another firm.

Communications regulator ComReg has withdrawn the offer of the country's fourth 3G licence, awarded last November to Smart Telecom.

SMART Telecom, the country’s second largest provider of corporate and residential telecommunications, has been signed up by IBM Global Services as one of its Irish business partners.

Smart Telecom is to boost its Irish sales team to win over new customers from rival telephone and internet firms.

FERMANAGH entrepreneur Sean Quinn yesterday jumped on Smart Telecom’s mobile bandwagon as he joined forces with Kingspan director Brendan Murtagh to provide €56 million to fund the company’s plans for a new 3G network.

EIRCOM suffered a double dose of bad news yesterday as it lost out in the race for the country’s final third generation (3G) mobile phone licence and potential buyer Swisscom fuelled doubts over its proposed takeover.