This is a time when those in the farming community need to support each other

Permits for drink driving in rural areas should be agreed to ease rural isolation and keep pubs open, according to Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae, who used his leaders questions in the Dáil to complain about strict drink-driving rules yesterday.

Children as young as 13 are getting caught up in the cocaine boom sweeping the country, an addiction counsellor has warned.

Garda bosses say the “unprecedented” number of gangland convictions in the courts in the last fortnight highlights the “unrelenting” approach of State agencies to tackling organised crime.

A revamp of senior garda ranks is expected tomorrow with Commissioner Drew Harris to announce appointments and a management reshuffle.

Two gardaí have been honoured by Spanish police for their work in fighting gangland crime.

Two members of An Garda Síochána have been honoured by Spanish police for their work relating to investigations associated with organised crime.

Elderly people are being warned not to answer their door to someone they do not recognise.

Garda figures appear to indicate a sharp rise in the quantity of cocaine being trafficked into the country, replicating trends across Europe.

Eir has defended its roll-out of high-speed rural broadband despite fewer than one in five homes and premises covered by the service actually connecting up to it.

Dublin has benefited most from upturn, says report from Pobal Towns with 1,000 to 5,000 population have been worst affected

Gardaí have intervened in more than 30 potential murders since the Regency Hotel attack late last summer.

Fighting rural migration and worrying levels of unemployment in towns and villages around the country must be a priority, newly promoted Rural Affairs Minister Michael Ring has been told.

A family terrorised in their home by a violent gang who savagely beat the father and threatened to kill the children during a late-night burglary are “free for the first time” since the ordeal after learning that their attackers will remain behind bars.

Irish Rural Link has said services in local communities are being diminished at a time when the Government has launched a number of initiatives aimed at rejuvenating those same towns and villages.

The Government has been forced to defend plans to rejuvenate rural towns and villages after the opposition claimed the promised €60m cash injection will amount to just €100,000 per community.

Bus Éireann and trade unions were on a collision course last night after workers criticised immediate cost-cutting measures introduced by the state-owned company, which includes a ban on unrostered overtime and an embargo on recruitment.

Get a taste of some of the interesting and quirky happenings in Europe from our Europe correspondent, Ann Cahill.

The Fine Gael-Labour coalition and Fianna Fáil have begun an open war for rural votes in the next general election, after launching separate policy documents promising a series of long-delayed measures within hours of each other.

The Irish Farmers’ Association gave the thumbs up to budget measures aimed at encouraging land leasing, but opposition parties and lobby groups claim the Government had failed rural communities.

The ESB is to enter the broadband market, with the network being used to roll out high-speed internet to 500,000 homes across rural Ireland.

One in three charities has seen its budget slashed by up to 25% in the past three years — with a growing percentage having to cut services to keep their doors open.

Young people in rural areas have given up on Ireland, with nine out of 10 considering emigration, according to Irish Rural Link’s CEO Seamus Boland.

The Government is drawing up plans to scrap the rural transport network and replace it with a scheme under the control of county councils.

It is open season for criminals in rural Ireland because they know they will not be caught, the head of Irish Rural Link has said.

THE exchequer is celebrating an €845m windfall from last week’s 4G auction, but lobbyists say rural dwellers expecting a good broadband connection should leave the champagne on ice.

As the screw turns, rural households are first in line to be pushed below — or further below — the poverty line.

Reporting and investigation of sexual crimes could be hampered by the closure of rural Garda stations, a TD warned yesterday.

THE Government would have you believe that broadband coverage in the country is almost complete, through a deal with mobile phone operators which, they claim, addressed the issue in the National Broadband Scheme (NBS).

For two years, Seamus Boland of Irish Rural Link was like a broken record.

WITH about 250,000 households needing to take action before next October if they want to keep a TV signal, several rural organisations are getting involved in providing information and knowledge to assist with the switchover.

COMMUNITY groups have launched an awareness programme to ensure thousands of TV viewers don’t lose access to their favourite programmes as a result of the scheduled switchover to digital TV in October.

RESIDENTS of ghost estates are living in fear of accidents among the debris of unfinished homes while a fund set up for urgent repair and safety works goes largely untapped.

THE IFA and the disadvantaged areas community group Irish Rural Link are at loggerheads over how best to distribute European funds to support community development in rural Ireland.

WE believe that Ireland needs a democratic and effective second chamber.

FINE GAEL has warned that badly-managed and poorly-regulated competition in the postal services could see private sector companies “cherry-picking” parts of the service, leaving An Post as a loss-making entity.