politics

Irish Budget 2027
Trepidation among TDs about Patrick O’Donovan's health after his latest scare
In June 2023, Patrick O’Donovan suddenly collapsed in the Dáil. This year the minister has had a number of health scares which has caused worries in the corridors of Leinster House

Fri, 16 Oct, 2026

Public service worker strike
Taoiseach hopes for breakthrough in public sector pay talks ahead of next week’s strike
More than 300,000 public sector workers joined strikes this week, as unions and ministers remain at odds over how pay talks should begin

Fri, 16 Oct, 2026

Industrial strike
Strike will 'absolutely' go ahead next week, say public sector union leaders
Minister Helen McEntee signals an above-inflation pay offer, but union leaders warn urgent progress is needed to avert nationwide pickets

Fri, 16 Oct, 2026

Government Trade Forum
Garda whistleblower disputes Helen McEntee's version of events told to Dáil
The disclosure alleging widespread malpractice in the force featured on a recent Prime Time Investigates programme on RTÉ and had been extensively covered in the Irish Examiner.

Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

Mother and baby homes
Mother and baby home campaigner to run for Seanad
Maeve O'Rourke will run as an Independent against Fine Gael's Ray McAdam for the seat vacated by Seán Kyne after his election to the Dáil

Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

Irish Budget 2027
Chambers says Government hopes to shortly outline framework for public sector pay talks
Jack Chambers says funding is available for a successor agreement and the Government is willing to prioritise pay in negotiations

Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

Public sector strikes: Government wants to reach a pay deal 'well and above' inflation rate
Public sector strikes: Government wants to reach a pay deal 'well and above' inflation rate
Helen McEntee has said workers want to see unions and Government get into formal negotiations on a new pay agreement

Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

Cabinet meeting
Minister Patrick O’Donovan in intensive care following medical emergency in Limerick
The Fine Gael minister was taken to hospital from a meeting of European telecommunications ministers after speaking out against anonymous briefings about his health

Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

Fórsa gives Government ‘hours not days’ to make public sector pay proposal
Fórsa gives Government ‘hours not days’ to make public sector pay proposal
Fórsa chief Kevin Callinan welcomes a more conciliatory approach from Jack Chambers but warns the dispute could become long and difficult

Thu, 15 Oct, 2026

Industrial strike
McDonald accuses Government of ‘game of chicken’ with striking public sector workers
Labour leader Ivana Bacik says Jack Chambers’s comments offer hope of progress, but unions want a firm commitment to pay talks

Wed, 14 Oct, 2026

International Artificial Intelligence Summit 2026, Dublin
Public sector strike: Taoiseach hopes second day of industrial action can be avoided
The Taoiseach said ministers and officials were working to establish a process for a new national pay agreement amid widespread disruption

Wed, 14 Oct, 2026

Industrial strike
Fórsa chief sees ‘pathway to talks’ if Government puts pay at centre of negotiations
Fórsa, the INMO and Siptu say the Government must offer a credible response to pay concerns to avert further industrial action

Wed, 14 Oct, 2026

AI prompt chat bot. Search website to generate data, text or image. Man using computer with artificial intelligence app. Virtual
Oireachtas committee members 'sought to water down report on artificial intelligence'
Oireachtas committee is finalising its third interim report on AI

Wed, 14 Oct, 2026

Department leaked Garda whistleblower's identity two weeks after data breach with another
Department leaked Garda whistleblower's identity two weeks after data breach with another
Aontú has threatened to table a motion of no confidence in Ms McEntee if she does not answer questions in the Dáil about the issue

Wed, 14 Oct, 2026

Public service worker strike
Jack Chambers: Pay can be starting point in union negotiations
On RTÉ's 'Prime Time', the public expenditure minister said pay can 'absolutely' be discussed first with trade unions

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

A pensioner adjusting the temperature control on his combi boiler. Redcar, UK. 26/5/2021. Photograph: Stuart Boulton.
From a cold shower to a cold bed: TD cites couple with no heating as they live on €8 a day
Sinn Féin TD Pearse Doherty told the Dáil he spoke to a couple who ran out of heating oil because they had 'just €8 a day to live on'

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

National Ambulance Service industrial action
Taoiseach makes last-minute plea to public sector unions to 'very simply, come in and talk'
Government accused of treating public sector workers with 'contempt' as 300,000 people prepare to take industrial action

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

Greatest regulators of election posters are Tidy Towns committees, Oireachtas told
Greatest regulators of election posters are Tidy Towns committees, Oireachtas told
'If you confine posters to a certain area, towns perhaps, then the towns might feel victimised'

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

Brexit
Phil Hogan to spend 'significant' sum of own money in bid for top UN role
'I haven't done a tot in relation to the cost, but all I will say is that it's going to be a significant six-figure sum'

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

Cabinet meeting
Minister Patrick O’Donovan taken to hospital after becoming unwell at EU event in Limerick
The Fine Gael TD was hosting an informal EU meeting at the University of Limerick when he required medical assessment and treatment

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

Numbers applying for Irish citizenship soars by 236% ahead of 'massively unfair' rules change
Numbers applying for Irish citizenship soars by 236% ahead of 'massively unfair' rules change
Some 8,765 applications from aspiring Irish citizens were received last month, up from 2,611 in August

Tue, 13 Oct, 2026

Business people working
Government plans to back 1,000 new start-ups with investments up to €100,000 
A separate AI Accelerator will match global leaders such as Google, AWS, Anthropic, and OpenAIwith promising Irish AI firms

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Russia Ukraine War Ireland
Trump's call to replace Volodymyr Zelenskyy as Ukrainian president 'concerning', McEntee says
The US president suggested over the weekend that Mr Zelensky had not done enough to end his country’s war with Russia

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Taoiseach urged to intervene on study visas for Gazan students
Taoiseach urged to intervene on study visas for Gazan students
'Mohammed' has sculpted Micheál Martin’s name in the sand in Gaza in gratitude for his words on Gaza so far

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Nurses rally in Dublin
A nationwide public sector strike begins on Wednesday — here's what you need to know
Unions estimate that there will be between 300,000 and 400,000 public servants on strike on Wednesday as part of a row with the government over pay negotiations amid the cost-of-living crisis

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Helen McEntee Helen McEntee comments
Aontú threatens no-confidence motion in Helen McEntee over Garda whistleblower scandal
Mayo TD Paul Lawless wrote to the Taoiseach on Sunday requesting time be set aside in the Dáil next week for Helen McEntee to answer questions on the most recent Garda whistleblower scandal.

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Reading is Fun!
Move to end shorter days for junior primary classes paused after 'push back'
Officials in the Department of Education contacted the Department of Children asking for "stats or costings" that would bolster the argument in favour of "restricting" the reduced day for junior infant classes.

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Ombudsman slams 'deliberate policy' to prohibit his office from representing prisoners
Ombudsman slams 'deliberate policy' to prohibit his office from representing prisoners
"I believe the othering of these people is not just morally wrong and unjustified, but dangerous," said Ombudsman Ger Deering on the exclusion of prisoners from his remit.

Mon, 12 Oct, 2026

Cabinet meeting
Public sector strike can be avoided, says minister
"The average wage of a public sector worker is far higher than that of a private sector worker,” said higher education minister James Lawless.

Sun, 11 Oct, 2026

Action Plan on Competitiveness and Productivity
'Donald Trump approach to policy': Government criticised as living wage timeline 'annulled'
In a statement on Budget Day, the Department of Enterprise said the removal of the 2029 living wage timeline would help provide “certainty for employers”.

Sun, 11 Oct, 2026

FILE PHOTO Pressure is growing for TDs to return to Leinster House for sittings of the Dail END
Dáil cancels Wednesday sitting amid expected public sector picket at Leinster House
The decision follows unions’ refusal to exempt Oireachtas staff from next week’s industrial action, after Micheál Martin urged a derogation

Sat, 10 Oct, 2026

Cairde Fail president's dinner
Leinster House strike row: Taoiseach faces union backlash over call for staff derogation
Unions have condemned the Taoiseach’s intervention, while Fianna Fáil TDs question whether they could cross a picket line next Wednesday

Sat, 10 Oct, 2026

Belgium Europe Microsoft
Dublin AI summit ‘will not be affected by industrial action’
The International AI Summit in Dublin's RDS will bring together EU heads of state and global business leaders 

Fri, 09 Oct, 2026

Cairde Fail president's dinner
Taoiseach says there should be a derogation for Dáil as Leinster House picket looms
Unions have not extended an existing work-to-rule arrangement to next Wednesday’s strike, raising uncertainty over whether the Dáil can sit

Fri, 09 Oct, 2026

Irish Budget 2027
State spend on refugee and asylum accommodation to decline by €682m next year
Increased funding for Garda recruitment and measures to tackle domestic, sexual, and gender-based violence have also been promised by justice minister Jim O'Callaghan.

Thu, 08 Oct, 2026

Drumcree Orange Order parade
McDonald and Bacik among opposition leaders urging Andy Burnham to intervene in Drumcree
In a bid to end the Garvaghy Road stand-off in Portadown, a joint letter to British prime minister Andy Burnham from Irish opposition leaders states that his government must intervene to end the "profound distress and anxiety" the march has caused.

Thu, 08 Oct, 2026

RTE pay revelations
Bakhurst says he has confidence in minister but does not know if €20m RTÉ funding will be restored
Kevin Bakhurst described talks with Patrick O’Donovan as open and constructive after the Government reduced RTÉ’s expected 2027 funding

Thu, 08 Oct, 2026

Row over Dáil sitting as TDs say they won't attend in support of public sector strike 
Row over Dáil sitting as TDs say they won't attend in support of public sector strike 
Opposition parties say they will not attend Leinster House as unions prepare for a national day of action next Wednesday

Thu, 08 Oct, 2026

Beautiful modern hotel room
Gardaí 'learn lessons' from their overbooking of hotel rooms for 2024 Europa League final in Dublin
A recent report also found that more than 2,700 speeding offences had been cancelled on foot of technical issues with the relevant roadside cameras

Thu, 08 Oct, 2026

RTE funding
€20m funding cut leaves RTÉ shocked and furious 
Media minister Patrick O'Donovan said there was 'very little scope' in his overall funding package

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

No funding to host sporting events beyond Ryder Cup and Euro 2028
No funding to host sporting events beyond Ryder Cup and Euro 2028
Some €22m has been set aside within Budget 2027 for both events

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

EU defence ministers meeting
Minister admits end of Lebanon peacekeeping missions will likely lead to Defence Forces exodus
The UN Interim Force in Lebanon (Unifil) mission will finish by the end of the year following the failure of the United Nations Security Council to renew its mandate

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

Integration of Gaelic games
GAA's delayed integration with ladies associations 'not a gender issue', says Jarlath Burns
The GAA president said he believes Ms McAleese stepped down because the 2027 deadline for integration was going to be missed

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

RTE pay revelations
RTÉ rejects minister’s claim reforms have been slow as €20m funding cut confirmed
Kevin Bakhurst said RTÉ had made commitments based on its multi-annual agreement and warned the funding reduction would affect its strategy

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

State pension will rise to €350 a week by 2030, Taoiseach promises
State pension will rise to €350 a week by 2030, Taoiseach promises
Micheál Martin defended the Coalition’s €10 increase in the State pension in Tuesday’s budget, as the opposition accused him of breaking a promise to raise it by €12 each year

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

Rotunda Hospital row
HSE regions 'cannot do everything every year'
Health minister Jennifer Carroll MacNeill was speaking at a budget briefing on Wednesday morning

Wed, 07 Oct, 2026

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