Senior diplomats at the Embassy of Lesotho in Dublin have been accused of constructively dismissing the embassy’s former trade and tourism attaché by trying to pressurise her into signing a document claiming she was incompetent.

The impact of high unemployment rates could blight the futures of families for decades to come, a campaigner warned today.

The Government today funded an initiative to help more women get involved in politics in developing countries.

IRELAND’S relationship with the United States is such that it would be extremely difficult for the Government to take the “extraordinary step” of inspecting US flights through Shannon airport, a former top Irish diplomat said yesterday.