Last summer 12 Irish students in Berkeley, California were standing on a balcony when it disentegrated beneath their feet. Joe Leogue provides an update on the survivors, their search for justice and hears from students in the area today

Students working in Berkeley, California on a J1 visa say they have encountered difficulties in securing accommodation because they are Irish.

The US district attorney who investigated the Berkeley balcony collapse in which five Irish students and one Irish American woman died has decided against bringing criminal charges.

More than 400 balconies in Berkeley, California are in need of corrective work, according to a report on the city’s buildings that was commissioned following the deaths of six Irish students last June.

A report on the inspection of thousands of buildings in Berkeley is to be published in the next fortnight, following the balcony collapse that claimed the lives of six Irish students in the Californian city last summer.

Preliminary civil legal proceedings following the Berkeley balcony collapse are due to commence in Oakland, California, on Monday.

A survivor of the Berkeley balcony collapse which claimed the lives of six friends in the US has returned to her studies.

The final survivor of the Berkeley balcony collapse is officially on her way home to Ireland, it has been confirmed.

Family members and friends of the seven injured Berkeley balcony collapse victims are taking part in a 72-hour cycle in a bid to raise funds for spiralling health costs.

Aoife Beary, one of the survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse, has made significant improvements in her recovery. She has just been moved to a new facility so she can start her rehabilitation.

Niall Murray and Jack Halpin, two of those injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse, are due to travel home to Ireland next week.

The family of Jack Halpin, one of the survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse, has revealed the extent of the young man’s injuries and said his road to recovery will be “very long and complicated”.

Aoife Beary, one of the survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse, has woken from her coma and is no longer in a critical condition.

Clodagh Cogley, one of the survivors of the Berkeley balcony collapse, has received an outpouring of public support following her inspiring words about the tragedy which killed six students, injured seven, and left her unable to walk.

A balcony that collapsed, killing six students, was only added to the side of an apartment block to make the building look nicer, it emerged in documents released by the city of Berkeley.

Local court reports have shown that the builder of the Berkeley apartments had paid off more than $6m (€5.2m) in law suits because of bad balcony building practices.

The Federal Reserve — the US equivalent of the European Central Bank — has pursued a policy of zero interest rates for a long period as it sought to lift the economy out of the morass left over from the implosion of the US subprime mortgage market eight years ago.

Images of rotting wood left exposed by the deadly collapse of a balcony in Berkeley are “incredibly similar” to pictures used in a multi-million dollar lawsuit against the construction company that built the complex where six students died, it was claimed last night.

The balcony below the one that collapsed, killing six young students, including five Irish, was removed yesterday after being branded an immediate “collapse hazard” by Berkeley city inspectors.

Two of the seven Irish people injured in the Berkeley balcony collapse remained in a serious condition in hospital last night.

Authorities have sealed off all the balconies in the apartment building where six students plunged to their death during a 21st birthday party.

Ploughing championship wins last week for Longford, Donegal, Tipperary North, Galway, and Kerry indicated the rise of interest in competition ploughing across Ireland.