A convicted thief who hid his criminal record from a motor insurance company has had an €11,000 claim for compensation dismissed after a judge held he committed a “sin of omission”.

Zabrina Collins was ordered by a judge to pay €5,000 damages for a “vitriolic and personalised” attack on the character of a Mayo man who opposes the beliefs and teachings of the Church of Scientology of which she is a leading member.

What do Irish Water, the Health Service Executive, and Nama all have in common? They were all designed by politicians and public servants.

A secondary school class received a first-hand lesson on the dangers of drugs yesterday as they watched two men jailed for transporting €1.5m worth of heroin.