The Government wants to introduce a mandatory cap on bin charges and has sought legal advice to clarify if it has to power to do so.

The head of a large waste collection company has rubbished government claims that pay-by-weight bin charges are required, and has warned the new pricing regime will threaten the viability of the industry and could force small operators out of business.

Some gardaí have purchased their own body-worn video recorders, because they want evidence in case they are wrongfully accused.

A major row erupted yesterday at the Garda Representative Association conference when members of its central executive were accused of being “out of touch” with the members they represent.

The majority of frontline garda detective units are receiving no tactical training in how to deal with terrorist attacks and are not equipped with the firepower to counter them.

New gardaí who’ve just gone onto the streets have “been recruited into poverty” with a basic pay of €23,171 per year and unlike their older colleagues don’t get the annual €4,000 rent allowance.

The largest garda representative organisation is facing a vital ballot on rosters, and the election of new leaders, which will determine if it is to become more militant.

One garda last year more than doubled his pay when he earned over €62,000 in overtime alone, out of a €56m overtime payout for members of the force.

As retired friends walked to their car after their regular afternoon game of pitch and putt, they were mown down by a speeding car which was being pursued by gardaí following a burglary, a court heard.

The Government is being urged to build homes for gardaí and other essential workers who cannot afford soaring rents.

A Garda suffered serious leg injuries after he was trapped between a car driven by suspected burglars and a patrol car.

Gardaí have suffered so much from pay cuts some are sleeping in cars because they cannot afford to drive home, the annual conference for rank-and-file members has heard.

Gardaí want to be issued with tasers to subdue religious extremists because the likelihood is ordinary units will have to deal with them first before armed backup arrives.

Gardaí are to demand that the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission reveals what personal data it retains on individual members of the force.

The strength of the Garda force could drop below 12,000 before any new recruits are trained up, putting the force well below the minimum threshold former Garda Commissioner Martin Callinan said was vital to maintain existing policing services.

The largest police staff body said the Garda Inspectorate’s damning report on crime investigation had "lifted the lid" on why morale was so low in the force.

Individual gardaí have been sub-jected to direct and online threats, including attempts to establish their home addresses, in the wake of the policing of recent anti-water charge protests.

Two hundred promised Garda recruits will start training as early as December in a bid to reverse a continuing reduction in Garda numbers.

One of the men knocked down by an out-of-control car was so covered in blood and dust the local parish priest couldn’t even recognise his friend.

A Garda Ombudsman "fact-finding investigation" has failed to uncover the mole who leaked details from a top-secret report to The Sunday Times

A couple have been found guilty of unlawful killing by neglect of a woman suffering from multiple sclerosis in Co Wexford six years ago.

Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney (and his daughter Beth) were on hand to congratulate Pat and Derek Frawley, from Croagh, Rathkeale, Co Limerick, and their cow handler Stephen McLoughlin, when they won the prestigious Maverick Golden Vale Cup, presented by Kerry Agri Business at Charleville Agricultural Show last weekend.

The remaining parts of the Mr Binman group were bought from the receiver yesterday by Quality Recycling in a move that it is hoped will secure over 100 jobs.

THE son of Evelyn Joel said he had seldom spoken to his mother in the months leading to her death.

FINDING new methods of reducing the high costs of bottled water in hotels and restaurants gave Dermot O’Brien a new business he readily admits is increasing every month since he started.

TOP prize money drew livestock exhibitors from all corners of the country to the Bantry Agricultural Show in west Cork last Sunday.

ONE of the top awards in the cattle section at Cappamore Show in Co Limerick was kept in the county.

LET’S be blunt. Yesterday’s All-Ireland club final was a very disappointing affair with few positives for fans of the game of football.

MORE than 170 children from three Limerick primary schools teamed up with the Irish Chamber Orchestra at the Holy Family parish church in Southill as a unique music programme in the city hit all the right notes.

THE Championship wasn’t confined to Killarney yesterday.

INDEPENDENT NEWS & MEDIA chairman Dr Brian Hillery has been appointed a director of the Central Bank and Financial Services Authority along with former NCB Stock-brokers chief economist, Dermot O’Brien.

WHILE growth in Ireland’s manufacturing industries remained largely static last month, increases in production, new business orders and employment numbers were reported by companies.

A TEENAGER who was showing off to his friends in a souped-up, boy racer-type car almost crashed into a Garda patrol car, a court heard.

GLOBAL stock markets turned tail again yesterday losing much of Tuesday’s gains as the euphoria triggered by the 0.5% cut in US interest rates failed to sustain investor confidence in the world’s stock markets.

AUGUST was the 51st consecutive month in which companies in the services sector saw growth in business activity, according to the latest NCB purchasing managers’ index for the sector.

IT is easy to forget that within the first decade of this Millennium, the US has been hit with two major crises that cast long shadows and raised serious doubts about that economy’s ability to survive.