Minister for the Office of Public Works Martin Manseragh will visit areas in Galway and Mayo today to see how the communities are coping in the aftermath of the floods.

The Olympic torch arrived in Britain tonight in readiness for it to be paraded through the streets of London tomorrow.

Locals argue their heritage is at stake over housing developments on the horizon, writes John Murphy.

Minister for the Gaeltacht and Rural affairs, Eamon Ó Cúiv, says he hopes his department can be the first to be decentralised under plans announced by Charlie McCreevy on Budget Day.

SOME years ago I found myself in RTÉ’s hospitality suite just after the recording of Questions and Answers. The Government minister who had appeared on the show arrived in, sat down, lit a cigarette and joined in an animated conversation. Some moments later a Dublin West TD — a prominent figure in the opposition who was also a guest on the show — arrived in. He appeared to give a double-take when he got the whiff of smoke, looked uncomfortable and left early.

Tributes have been coming in following the death of the former Fianna Fail Minister for the Gaeltacht, Denis Gallagher, who died last night at the age of 88.