Only six of the 16 officers responsible for the use of Irish in Government departments can speak the language themselves, the outgoing Irish language commissioner has said.

There are calls for an independent investigation into the €108m spent on the Poolbeg Incinerator in Dublin.

The Government’s Fiscal Advisory Council has slapped down Labour’s suggestion of tax cuts for families and warned there is no scope for such relief until at least 2016.

The president of the Irish Association of Suicidology has called on banks to train staff how to deal with struggling mortgage-holders and warned that more people are taking their lives because of debt.

Public hearings into the long awaited banking inquiry may not begin until 2015, according to Oireachtas sources examining the potential investigation.

Minister for the Environment Phil Hogan has said he will not depart from any of the recommendations made by the Constituency Commission, including those on new constituency names.

The Constituency Commission has recommended cutting the number of TDs in Leinster House by eight - from 166 to 158.

Labour's parliamentary party held a four-hour meeting in Dublin last night to discuss a range of issues.

Labour’s Kevin Humphries has been elected to Dublin South East.

The Irish Aviation Authority has released some details regarding the plane which crashed at Cork Airport this morning.

In the latest update from the Irish Aviation Authority, Irish airports are to remain open until at least 1am tomorrow morning, following on from some disruption yesterday.

Construction on a 600,000-tonne incinerator is beginning today in Dublin despite widespread disapproval from residents and councillors.

The Labour Party has accused the Health Service Executive of ageism in its treatment of a 70-year-old Dublin-based GP.

A Labour Party councillor has accused the local authorities in Dublin of blatantly breaching regulations on the dumping of sludge.

SOUTH WHARF Plc is attempting to buy 25 acres of State land for a fraction of its price under a legal loophole.

Proposals to sell Liberty Hall in Dublin have been sharply criticised by the Labour Party.

AIR accident investigators say it is too early to tell if the wheels of a Fokker plane exploded on landing, causing it to veer off the runway and partially ditch in the sea.