Abortion bill passes all stages in the Seanad
Abortions will be legal in Ireland from January 1st next year.
A bill which paves the way for abortion in Ireland has passed all stages in the Seanad.
It gives effect to the result of the abortion referendum in May, when Irish people voted overwhelmingly to legalise abortion.
Varadkar warns backstop "not on the table" as EU leaders meet in Brussels
The Taoiseach has warned that the Irish border backstop is "not on the table" as efforts to achieve a Brexit breakthrough continue in Brussels.
Leo Varadkar met with UK Prime Minister Theresa May this morning as both leaders arrived in Brussels for the EU Council Summit.
Mrs May intends to use the meeting to try and secure "legal and political assurances" on the backstop from her European counterparts.
Dublin fire that killed mother and three children began with tea light candle, inquest hears
A fire that killed three young children and a pregnant woman began with a tea light candle, an inquest has heard.
Annmarie O'Brien (27) who was eight months pregnant, her daughter Paris (2), her niece Holly O'Brien (22 months) and nephew Jordan McGinn (4) died in the fire at a domestic violence support facility in Clondalkin in Dublin on March 8th last year.
Verdicts of accidental death were returned at Dublin Coroner's Court.
President's office to return nearly €240,000 in unspent allowance
The Office of the President is returning nearly €240,000 in allowance fees that were not spent during Michael D Higgins' term.
Áras An Uachtaráin this afternoon published its first ever overview of the work and expenditure of the Office of the President for a presidential term.
The review includes detailed information regarding the '1938 Allowance' - an annual allowance paid by the Exchequer to support the President in the independent performance of his or her duties.
New measures to end over-charging for premium phone numbers
The Communications Regulator, ComReg, has said surcharges for premium numbers are being scrapped.
From the end of 2019, those calling a Non-Geographic Number (NGN) of '1800', '1850', '1890', '0818' and '076' will pay no more than the cost of calling a landline number.
These are used by many Irish organisations to provide services to the public, such as helplines and banking.
