Government confirms 1,606 people have been 're-categorised' out of official homeless figures

The Department of Housing has confirmed that 1,606 people were removed from its official homeless figures following three ‘re-categorisations’ this year.

According to the latest figures released today, there were 9,527 people accessing emergency accommodation in Ireland in August - a drop of 364 on the previous month.

In a statement however, the Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy confirmed that hundreds of people were removed from this month's figures after a number of "categorisation errors" were uncovered.

A total of 741 people were removed from the official count this month - including 490 children.

Kavanaugh claims allegations "part of a calculated political hit"

Donald Trump’s nominee to the US Supreme Court has claimed that allegations of sexual assault against him are “part of a calculated political hit.”

Brett Kavanaugh has been testifying to the US Senate this evening after his accuser, Dr Christine Blasey Ford, gave a harrowing account of the alleged incident to the gathered politicians.

The high-stakes hearing is a major test of whether Donald Trump's nominee can be confirmed for a life-long appointment to the country's highest court.

His appointment was initially expected to be approved as a matter of course, however three women have come forward with allegations of sexual misconduct against him in recent weeks.

Funding suspended for Scouting Ireland until board steps down

All state funding to Scouting Ireland has been suspended until the board of directors resigns.

Minister Katherine Zappone made the decision after the board voted to re-instate chief scout Christy McCann as the chair of an upcoming emergency meeting.

Mr McCann has been reinstated ahead of the organisation's upcoming extraordinary general meeting on governance reforms.

Earlier this year, the organisation had its funding restored temporarily after it committed to implementing the recommendations of an independent review.

Garda Commissioner admits lessons must be learned from housing protest controversy

The Garda Commissioner has accepted that there were issues regarding the way an eviction and housing protest were policed earlier this month.

Pictures of gardaí wearing face masks in front of a house on North Frederick Street in Dublin while masked men evicted activists occupying the building prompted widespread concern.

Commissioner Drew Harris said the officers were put in a difficult position – but valid points had been raised about the member’s appearance and the way the situation was policed.

He insisted Gardaí were only there to ensure there was no breach of the peace, but admitted lessons can learned from what happened.

Exams commission to meet tomorrow after High Court decision on Leaving Cert appeal

The State Examinations Commission is meeting tomorrow after a Leaving Cert student won a High Court case over its appeals process.

19-year-old Rebecca Carter from Wexford took the action after she found that if her marks had been added correctly she would have received the necessary points for her preferred course.

She argued that an easily rectifiable "totting error" in her business paper meant she was awarded a lower grade than she was entitled to.

She suggested that the system was unfair as registration for her chosen course in UCD closes on September 30th.