Irish Rail and unions will meet at the Workplace Relations Commission today in an attempt to settle a pay dispute that threatens to bring the rail network to a halt through strikes over the October bank holiday weekend.

Irish Rail staff have hit back at claims that increments paid mean they cannot claim to have had no pay increase for the last decade.

Irish Rail says its hopes all sides will re-engage in further talks to avoid potential strike action at the company.

Unions and management at Irish Rail are locked in talks this afternoon.

Today is the last chance for Irish Rail to put a pay deal on the table before unions ballot for industrial action, according to Siptu.

SIPTU members in Irish Rail and those employed as school bus drivers by Bus Éireann have voted in favour of taking industrial action.

The country’s bus and rail services are both on the brink of collapse after Iarnród Éireann revealed it remains “one mis-step away from insolvency”.

Strikes are looming on the country’s rail lines after talks on pay and conditions between management and driver unions broke down at the Workplace Relations Commission.

The responsibility for the deaths of five babies in Portlaoise hospital may never be known, according to the head of the HSE.

Irish Rail staff are to be balloted for industrial action up to strike, over the alleged refusal of the company to discuss pay issues at the Workplace Relations Commission.

Rail passengers have been warned to expect a “summer of discontent” after the row between Irish Rail and its unions over pay escalated.

The trade union had been due to attend talk tomorrow aimed at averting industrial action.

SIPTU has agreed to attend conciliation talks at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on Monday.

Strikes by train drivers could threaten the future of the country’s loss-making rail system, transport chiefs have warned.

Unions at Irish Rail have warned of possible industrial action by train drivers in the autumn amid anger over extra responsibilities they say are being heaped on them without any reward.

Data protection bosses have issued strong warnings to credit unions, the ESB and members of the Garda Síochána following the prosecution of a private investigator for breaching data laws.

After two days of travel gridlock across the country — with many people having to add a number of hours to their normal commuting times — train services will get back to normal today, albeit only for the next fortnight.

Irish Rail bosses are facing threats of a second 48-hour strike unless they open a new round of talks with trade unions over pay cuts.

Ireland’s railways have ground to a halt today after workers followed through with strike action to shut the network.

With no sign of a last-minute intervention, 48 hours of strikes on the country’s railways affecting up to 160,000 passengers will begin tomorrow morning.

Proposed industrial action on the country’s rail network will damage the economy, stunt recent freight growth and cause exporters to question the viability of rail, according to the head of the Irish Exporters Association.

One of the unions involved in five days of industrial action at Irish Rail is calling on the Transport Minister Paschal Donohoe to intervene in the dispute.

Irish Rail passengers are facing severe disruption to services in the coming weeks after the company said it was implementing a cost-savings plan without the agreement of two of its largest unions.

Iarnród Éireann has confirmed it will implement pay proposals next month.

Irish Rail has confirmed that it will implement pay cuts later this month, despite objections from unions.

Siptu, the largest driver union at Irish Rail, has rejected an amended Labour Court recommendation on cost savings at the company and said it will no longer negotiate with management if pay reductions remain on the table.

Members of Siptu, the largest drivers’ union in Irish Rail, have voted in favour of industrial action in the event the company pushes through cost savings without agreement — but they are not prepared to go on strike at this stage.

Iarnród Éireann’s plan to cut €4.7m from its staff pay bill has been dealt a severe blow after one of the driver unions, Siptu, rejected a Labour Court recommendation on the plan and warned of strikes if the cuts are implemented.

A bid to create a native woodland in Clonakilty springs into action this weekend when 2,000 trees will be planted by up to 100 volunteers on grounds near Gullane Lake, donated by Cork County Council.

Former crime boss John Gilligan is expected to recover after he escaped with his life despite being shot some four times at close range.

Investigating Gardaí in Dublin are renewing their appeal for information following the fatal shooting of Paul Cullen last year.

The DART chaos could be over by today, according to SIPTU. The union said it is making every effort to end the row between drivers and Irish Rail.

Noel Meade has described Nina Carberry as a “valuable cog in the wheel” after appointing Ireland’s leading female jockey as his racing assistant.

The Dublin Bus strike is a skirmish in a long war.

A new appeal to the public has been launched over the murder of Paul Cullen in Dublin in March.

The victim of Sunday night’s gangland shooting was murdered in front of his father and brother in a Dublin pub over what is believed to be a row over a drug debt.

Customers in a pub fled for safety as a gunman opened fire on a convicted criminal, gardaí said.

Gardaí have launched a murder investigation following the fatal shooting of a father of one in a pub in Dublin yesterday evening.

A post mortem will take place later on the body of a man in his mid 20s who was shot dead in a pub in Dublin last night.

The man shot dead in a Dublin bar last night was a seasoned criminal who was convicted of a vicious assault on a female garda six years ago.

Airline pilots have warned that EU’s aviation safety body is placing the safety of passengers at risk due to proposals to change existing flying time limits for pilots.