The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs is refusing to say whether or not he will oppose the proposed abolition of his department.

A 'book of solidarity' was opened in Dublin today for the public to record their support for the victims of child abuse.

THE Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, Eamon Ó Cuiv, has announced that €700,000 is to be spent on teaching Irish in foreign universities.

THE future of rural Ireland is not about one-off houses — but about the kind of society and value system we want.

THE European Parliament’s petitions committee recently heard that 43% of Irish water supply is lost in leaky pipes from old infrastructure and that farmers are expected to pay for this, thereby subsidising domestic users who are exempt from charges and industrial users who negotiate reduced water rates.

Mary McAleese today used her first official visit to an Orange Order hall to condemn sectarian attacks on such sites.

Unionists stayed away from a meeting of ministers from the North and Republic of Ireland today in a further escalation of the tensions hitting the Stormont government.

SLIGO ROVERS FC yesterday issued a fresh appeal to save the stricken club, the eircom Premier Division outfit pointing out that it needed to match a weekly financial commitment of €17,000 just to stay afloat.

TDs and Senators clamed almost €6 million in tax-free expenses during the first half of this year.

A WEEKEND will be set aside every year to commemorate the Great Famine and celebrate the contribution millions of Irish immigrants made around the world after fleeing starvation.

Inishbofin island is to get air links for its 200 inhabitants, 20 years after it was first proposed, it was revealed today.

Outgoing Agriculture Minister Mary Couglan landed a major promotion tonight by being appointed Tánaiste and Enterprise, Trade and Employment Minister in Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s new-look Cabinet.

THE Queen of England will visit Ireland during her reign but probably not for a few years, Taoiseach Bertie Ahern has said.

NOT so long ago they would have seen red at the idea but Sinn Féin has shown that when peace is the priority, the future is orange.

GETTING Irish recognised as an official working language of the European Union was quiet a cause celebré, one that energised language activists and their supporters.

THE importance of getting the East/West development balance right was emphasised yesterday at a conference in Bunratty.

THOUGH fans of slapstick may be entertained the rest of us should again ask ourselves what have we done to deserve them.

A FORMAL complaint against the Government and the Department of Community Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has been lodged with the European Commission by Cavan Monaghan Rural Development Co-op.

AN Taoiseach Bertie Ahern yesterday made a dramatic intervention in the crisis in the mid-west region caused by Aer Lingus’s ending of its Shannon to Heathrow service.

HUNDREDS of primary schools in disadvantaged areas will benefit from a €6 million dormant accounts package announced yesterday.

The Irish Government today faced further calls to rejoin the Commonwealth.

A NIGHT-TIME rural bus service is to be introduced on a pilot basis in seven regions of the country within the next few weeks.

A SKIPPER who yesterday lost his job on the former State-run Cape Clear ferry, after 35 years’ service, accused the Government of turning its back on his crew.

A SKIPPER who yesterday lost his job on the former State-run Cape Clear ferry, after 35 years’ service, accused the Government of turning its back on his crew.

An Irish-language newspaper backed by the Irish and British governments was launched today.

TO win the looming general election, the Government is prepared to drive people to drink, literally.

What is happening in Kerry, with the obliteration of the name of Dingle on signposts throughout the county, is not just a waste of public money and time.

THE Government is proposing to pay landowners €12m to €15m a year to allow access for walkers.

The Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs has asked the Board of Udarás na Gaeltachta for a set of recommendations on the development of the Irish Language and Irish-speaking areas.

A REFURBISHED website, www.irishleadernetwork.org (ILN) has been launched by Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs Eamon Ó Cuiv for the Irish LEADER network.

WATERFORD is to receive a major boost with work to begin immediately on a huge revamp of accommodation and services for residents in the city.

THE LEADER rural development programme, the Rural Social Scheme, and Partnership services (known as the Local Development Social Inclusion Programme), will all be delivered by one company in each area from 2007, in a shake-up of community services announced by Éamon Ó Cuív, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs.

AN INCREASE in the number of holidaymakers taking shorter breaks is securing the future of Ireland’s bed and breakfast (B&B) industry, new research reveals.

A ROW has broken out among Dublin councillors over a proposal to name the Dublin Port Tunnel in honour of Charles Haughey.

EAMON Ó CUIV, Minister for Community, Rural and Gaeltacht Affairs, seems to spend so much of his time explaining/defending his asinine decision concerning the naming of Dingle that the Government should rename his post as the Minister for An Daingean (or should that be the Minister for Dingle?)

Professionals who relocate from Dublin to the north west have a better quality of life, less time commuting and suffer less stress, a survey claimed today.

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern’s trip to Dallas and Washington for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations cost €51,000, according to details released to the Oireachtas yesterday.

FOREIGN Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern’s trip to Dallas and Washington for the St Patrick’s Day celebrations cost €51,000, according to details released to the Oireachtas yesterday.

INDEPENDENT living provides the best possible quality of life for people with disabilities, according to a new report.

FIANNA Fáil election high command last night moved to face down a grass roots rebellion in Galway West.

The Law Reform Commission recommended the creation of a new legal structure for charities today.

Disadvantaged communities are expected to be the biggest winners today in the latest round of grants from the dormant accounts fund.

THE Government has spent more than €100,000 on personal digital assistants (PDAs) and another €25,000 on briefcases for senior staff since 2002.

Over €7m will be spent to radically change the future roll-out of a development programme for rural areas across the country, it emerged today.