Former defence minister Willie O’Dea last night sounded a Churchillian battle cry against €10m plans by Irish Cement Ltd to phase out the use of fossil fuels at its factory in Mungret, Co Limerick, in favour of used tyres and solid recovered waste.

Thousands of lone parents could benefit from closing off a loophole which allows estranged partners to avoid paying maintenance payments for their children.

A seriously injured grandmother was “savagely attacked” by a male patient while she was sleeping in her bed at University Hospital Limerick (UHL).

Dissenting Fianna Fáil TDs have been urged to “stay off the public airwaves” if they want to protect the party’s future, a senior frontbencher has claimed.