The National Youth Council of Ireland has said it is "disappointed" with the amount of extra training places announced in today's Budget by Finance Minister Brian Lenihan.

Up 58,000 jobseekers aged 18-25 may emigrate in the next 12 months, according to the National Youth Council of Ireland (NCYI).

Today’s announcement by the Minister for Finance, Brian Lenihan to increase mortgage interest relief for first-time buyers has been welcomed by the National Youth Council of Ireland.

Traffic congestion on the nation's roads is causing the Irish economy hundreds of millions of euro each year.

Four people have been arrested in a series of operations by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) over the last two weeks. Over 150,000 illegally imported cigarettes, and drugs with a street value of over £1m (€1.4m) have been seized.

The Budget 2008 has yielded disappointing results in housing, health and income supports for children and young people according to the National Youth Council of Ireland (NYCI).

THE ISPCC last night called for the speedy arrest of a man charged with sex offences who jumped bail while enjoying the benefits of anonymity.

The business and employers group IBEC has said that proposed laws which aim to regulate the use of chemicals in Europe, are a prime example of good intentions producing an utterly impractical solution.

TRAVELLER training centres are the worst thing that ever happened to the Travelling community, it was claimed yesterday.

The Small Firms Association has warned employers to draw up procedures to adhere to equality legislation.

SMALL businesses in Ireland lose on average €172 million per annum through absenteeism, a report by the Small Firms Association shows.

Small business lost 3.8 million work days through absenteeism in 2003 at a cost of €172m.

THE European food industry has came out largely in support of mid-term reforms, particularly moves to open up the CAP to market forces.

The Government is being asked to increase the number of work permits granted to immigrant workers.

US authorities have broken what they called the biggest identity theft case in American history, charging three men with emptying the bank accounts of thousands of victims.

The passport of a suspected hijacker has been discovered near the ruins of the World Trade Centre.