"Americans are welcome in Waterville", locals insist

The Restaurants Association of Ireland claims some businesses are losing up to €3,500 per day as a result of water restrictions in Dublin.

Irish Farmers' Association president John Bryan said Danske Bank's plan to withdraw retail banking services puts an onus on the Government to exercise more control over the remaining banks.

Small businesses are key to economic recovery, the Small Firms Association claims.

The helpline set up at Beaumont Hospital to deal with the issue of potential CJD infection from surgical instruments has said that 13 hundred people contacted the service yesterday.

Chairman of the British Olympic Association Sebastian Coe has said that it's up to Rory McIlroy to decide what county he declares for at the next Olympics.

A €1m emergency aid package to help farmers deal with the escalating fodder crisis has received a mixed reaction.

Campaigners have welcomed Uefa’s decision to bring in a minimum 10-match ban for players found guilty of racism, saying the standard sanction will avoid the inconsistencies seen in the John Terry and Luis Suarez cases.

The Director of the Small Firms Association, Avine McNally, said that while today’s inflation figures show a monthly decrease of 0.5%, the inflation rate year-on-year clearly shows a rise of 1.2% in January.

The majority of small firms are unwilling to penalise people who are late paying them for fear of losing business in the current economic climate.

Small businesses in Ireland will generate 20,000 jobs in 2013 with the right environment, the chairman of the Small Firms’ Association, AJ Noonan predicts.

The Government should not "rob Peter to pay Paul" in dealing with the recent spike in killings nationwide, a spokesman for gardaí has said today.

There has been an angry reaction to a report on Irish banks' lending record published today.

Farm incomes rose almost a third last year, an income spike likely to be short-lived with falling commodity prices, Teagasc has warned.

IRELAND’S reputation as a rip-off destination has been reinforced after it was revealed that food, drink, hotel and restaurant prices are among the EU’s highest.

Football’s law-makers have approved the continuation of experiments on goal-line technology for another year, Football Association general secretary Alex Horne has confirmed.

The Chairman of the Small Firms Association, Dr Aidan O'Boyle has said that "today’s Budget should generate greater certainty among small businesses".

All-Ireland champions Wexford lead the way in this year's Camogie All Stars team with eight players named in the side. Beaten finalists Galway take five positions, while Kilkenny and Cork share one a piece.

MORTGAGE interest payments, air fares and petrol prices all soared in the last year as prices nudged up 0.5%.

The Director of the Small Firms Association, Avine McNally, has said: "The July inflation figures show that Ireland is not experiencing a broadly based price deflation as the key fall in costs are occurring in a narrow range of goods".

IRELAND is showing no sign of shedding its Rip-Off Republic tag as figures reveal the cost of filling a shopping basket is almost 30% higher than the EU average.

International Association of Athletics Federations president Lamine Diack today confirmed there will be a resolution to the gender row surrounding Caster Semenya by the end of June.

Pilots at Aer Lingus have voted by an 81% majority to accept a €35m cost-cutting plan at the airline.

The President of the Irish Farmers Association says he is going to take a direct approach is his new role.

THE strength of the GAA at grassroots level is what will ‘drive’ it forward into the future and enable it to become even stronger, said Association President Christy Cooney last evening.

THE cold and rain failed to deter about 12,000 people from voicing their anger over education cutbacks outside Leinster House last night.

The Assistant Director of the Small Firms Association, Avine McNally, has said that the SFA is increasingly concerned at the rise in value of the euro against sterling.

THE President of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, Dominic O’Rourke, said he had concerns in advance of Kenneth Egan’s light heavyweight contest on Wednesday night when he heard people around him expressing regrets that Croatia had just one boxer remaining in the world championships.

The Irish Senior Boxing squad completed their final training session at the National Stadium in Dublin this evening ahead of the 2007 European Union Senior Boxing Championships which begin at the National Stadium tomorrow.

Thousands of people will be sampling the fruits of five-years of hard saving as the final SSIA accounts mature this week.

KEEP on the sunny side of life. While the summer weather may appear to be waning, the sunshine will be making a comeback on Saturday.

THE leadership crisis that has plagued the Government’s health reform programme ended last night with the decision by Professor Brendan Drumm to head up the Health Service Executive (HSE).

A footballer was given a 30-year ban for headbutting the referee during at an amateur soccer match.

The Irish Exporters Association (IEA) have warned in their pre-Budget 2005 submission against the loss of competitive advantage in export markets.

The Director of the Small Firms Association, Pat Delaney has warned that the redundancy and live register figures released today are masking a continual erosion of jobs in the exposed sectors of the economy.

The Chairman of the Small Firms Association is calling on the Government to abolish plans to make driving a company truck or van as benefit-in-kind.

The President of the Irish Hospital Consultants Association has called on the Government to provide hospitals with staff, beds and equipment.

Retailers have been accused of failing to pass a cut in manufacturing prices onto consumers.

The strength of the euro is exposing the lack of competitiveness of Irish businesses.

The President of the Irish Farmers Association, John Dillon has rallied farmers who have staged a surprise protest outside a meat plant in Co Louth.

There are fears that the carcasses of buried BSE-ridden cattle could infect groundwater systems.