A new network of Local Enterprise Offices, replacing the old County Enterprise Boards, have officially opened for business today.

Almost 5,000 dole claimants have had their weekly rates slashed or cut off after refusing to take up work or training opportunities.

President Michael D Higgins has said it would be wrong to wipe the slate clean over historic conflict which affected relations between Britain and Ireland.

Terms for an inquiry into years of secret taping of phone calls to and from Garda stations are expected to be widened to include the recordings of conversations of prisoners with their lawyers.

Fine Gael ministers have rallied behind Alan Shatter ahead of a vote of no confidence in the justice minister.

Irish and British government ministers will today jointly lay the foundation stone of a new monument in Dublin to commemorate soldiers from all over Ireland who lost their lives in the two world wars.

The transport minister has told a men-only lunch at an Irish society event in the United States that courage is needed to make the future equal for all including gay and straight and male and female.

The long-awaited showdown between the Dáil’s financial watchdog and Frank Flannery edged closer, as the former Rehab chief said he wanted to know the “agenda” of TDs before any appearance.

Ireland was the island of saints and scholars and now it is a nation ridden with criminals.

European Union foreign ministers are holding an emergency meeting in Brussels to consider imposing sanctions on top Ukrainian officials held responsible for the escalating violence in the country.

The Government’s decision to reopen the Irish embassy in the Vatican was hugely influenced by the work of Pope Francis and his commitment to ending world poverty, Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said yesterday.

SOME people don’t react well when they’re not invited to a party. Just before Christmas, the European Commission president, Juan Manuel Barroso, a former communist from Portugal, kicked the people he held responsible for Ireland’s economic problems — the Irish.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter says Ireland's new bankruptcy laws will go some way towards ending "bankruptcy tourism".

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has revealed there were times when he feared the Government would not have enough money to run the country.

A new opinion poll shows that almost half of the electorate support the formation of a new political party.

Around 100 tonnes of emergency supplies from Ireland is arriving today in the Philippines as part of an international relief effort in the devastated country.

Several hundred jobs are to be created across Ireland as a number of companies made investment announcements.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will join British prime minister on a visit to a First World War memorial in Belgium next month.

The level of north/south co-operation in tackling youth unemployment is to be increased.

THE fight between the Government and 18 religious orders over a €500 million point of principle has been laid bare for the first time.

Revenue chiefs face a grilling from cross-party politicians over a controversial move to force some homeowners to cough up their property tax early.

The Government has not been given any information on whether the US National Security Agency has been spying on Ireland, but it has warned that eavesdropping on phones is not acceptable.

The new Irish passport includes verses in Ulster Scots as well as a map of the entire island for the first time.

Doctors have claimed Health Minister James Reilly is “not serious” about his high-profile free child GP care plan after revealing they have yet to be contacted over the issue.

Former Taoiseach Brian Cowen has apologised for his role in Ireland’s economic meltdown, but said he cannot take full responsibility.

Abortion is expected to be back in the spotlight in the coming months, when the Un will hear a case on behalf of women carrying babies with no chance of survival outside the womb.

Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is beginning a four-day political and economic mission to China.

As immigration reform meanders through Washington DC, activist Ciarán Staunton spoke to John Riordan

Labour MEP Nessa Childers has written to Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore confirming her resignation from the party.

This evening the 166 members of the 31st Dáil will vote on the Protection of Life During Pregnancy Bill.

Getting final agreement on the EU’s seven-year €960bn budget took just two hours in the end, after months of negotiations and compromises between all the bloc’s institutions.

Colm Keaveney has quit as chairman and member of the Labour Party.

The Government review into the allocation of resources for children with special needs is "reasonable", Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore said today.

Michelle Obama has arrived in Ireland for a 24-hour visit while the G8 summit takes place.

Michelle Obama has arrived in Ireland for a 24-hour visit while the G8 summit takes place.

Ireland’s proposed new controversial abortion laws will take women and medics out of a legal limbo, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has claimed.

The Cabinet has signed off on legislation to hold a referendum to abolish the Seanad.

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has confirmed state funding will be cut from creches with failing childcare standards.

The Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore is dismissing opposition party calls for an independent inquiry into the improper cancellation of penalty points.

Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has deemed goods from Israeli settlements in the West Bank should be treated as illegal.

The Government will sign off on draft abortion legislation at Cabinet tomorrow, Tanaiste Eamon Gilmore has confirmed.

Ireland’s debt burden could climb to unsustainable levels if economic growth fails to materialise over the next few years and the banks need to be recapitalised, according to the IMF in its latest review of the economy.

The Taoiseach and 19 Ministers will take part in events in 21 countries for St Patrick's Day this year, as part of the "Promote Ireland" programme.

The Taoiseach Enda Kenny and Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore have said they want "most families" in mortgage arrears offered a sustainable solution by next year.