Former Miss Ireland and TV star Pamela Flood and husband Ronan Ryan will not have to pay any of the €1.2m debt they owe against the plush North Dublin home they have lived in rent free for the past nine years.

Yet another Croke Cup final beckons for St Kieran’s College of Kilkenny after they held on to narrowly defeat a game Ardscoil Rís side in this second semi-final in Clonmel.

PBC Cork 39  Bandon GS 10 Munster Schools Senior Cup Musgrave Park

Tralee’s Mercy Mounthawk staged a remarkable comeback to overcome Coláiste Choilm of Ballincollig by 2-16 to 3-10 in their Corn Uí Mhuirí Group D clash in Millstreet.

The long and sometimes rocky road to Hollywood began in simple schoolboy settings for actor Michael Fassbender, 36, nominated for an Oscar tomorrow night for his role in 12 Years a Slave.

Distribution of Leader funds has to remain independent of politics, says Labour TD Ann Phelan.

Genetic advances a political football

Take a leaf out of our book Germany

The main political grouping in the European Parliament has backed the nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors.

THE President of the European Court of Auditors has accepted an apology from Ireland’s member over emails lobbying against Kevin Cardiff.

THE nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors looks certain to be decided by a full sitting of the European Parliament in three weeks’ time.

A DESPERATE scramble to salvage the Government’s bid to plant Kevin Cardiff in a plum EU post saw the release of an explosive email that threw his nomination into fresh controversy.

TÁNAISTE Eamon Gilmore has denied that Labour “hijacked” the outgoing Irish member of the European Court of Auditors, Eoin O’Shea.

THE debacle of Kevin Cardiff’s rejection for the Court of Auditors leaves the Government with a series of options, each one more messy than the other and in danger of re-opening the debate in Europe on the country’s handling of the financial crisis.

A reminder of just how brutal politics can be, says Political Editor, Paul O’Brien

The outgoing Irish representative on the European Court of Auditors wrote an email criticising Kevin Cardiff, his proposed replacement, it has emerged.

KEVIN CARDIFF, the Government’s controversial nomination to the European Court of Auditors, has been described as a very credible appointment by the outgoing Irish auditor, Eoin O’Shea.

AUDITORS discovered there was €5.7 billion missing from the EU’s accounts in what was described as a “significant error” by Ireland’s outgoing member of the court of auditors.

The grilling Kevin Cardiff got over the ‘missing €3.6bn’ was probably unique for a civil servant, but it is not clear yet if this represents a new era of accountability, writes Michael Clifford

THE Government faces growing opposition to its nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors, with Fine Gael’s political grouping in Brussels questioning its choice of candidate.

THE Government’s nomination of Kevin Cardiff to the European Court of Auditors is expected to meet vociferous objections from the European Parliament after the €3.6 billion accounting error at the Department of Finance.

THE secretary general of the Department of Finance is expected to step down — after less than two years in the job.

IT was something of a phoney war in that both sides were keeping a little in reserve for the championship, but Ballyhale Shamrocks picked up their first title of the year when winning the senior hurling league final against James Stephens on Saturday.

SPECULATORS are making very attractive guaranteed incomes of up to €1 million a year from the European Union’s farm fund, often without owning as much as a garden, and without doing a day’s work on the land.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen may be encouraged to raise the issue of the high interest rate Ireland is being forced to pay for the EU/IMF loan at today’s summit in Brussels.

THE closure of Ireland’s last sugar factory in Mallow, Co Cork, with the loss of 240 jobs may not have been necessary, according to a report from the EU Court of Auditors.

EU sugar reform hit Ireland hard and whether we can recover depends on how cheaply we can produce it, writes Europe Correspondent Ann Cahill

HUNDREDS of ex-workers from Greencore’s sugar plant in Mallow can be forgiven for feeling aggrieved by the European Court of Auditors finding that closing the factory in 2006 may not have been necessary.

KILKENNY became the first county in the history of the GAA to win four All-Ireland hurling titles in the one year when their Under-21 side beat Tipperary in a magnificent Bord Gais final at Croke Park yesterday.