Voters in Limerick City and County could be casting their ballots for their first directly-elected mayor in 2021, a year ahead of schedule.

A 35-bed newly built emergency department next to University Hospital Limerick is lying idle as 40 patients were on trolleys in the hospital’s old A&E unit.

Defence minister Alan Shatter has been accused of being prejudiced against the Catholic Church over his refusal to allow the army to provide a guard of honour for a procession during the International Eucharistic Congress in Dublin recently.

A FIANNA FÁIL backbencher said thousands of house sales could be put in train if banks set up special Islamic mortgage products to allow the large number of Muslims living in Ireland to venture into the property market.

Defence Minister Willie O'Dea is today visiting thousands of refugees living in camps on the border between Chad and Darfur.