Taoiseach confirms Theresa May to visit Dublin on Friday amid continuing Brexit impasse

Theresa May will visit Dublin on Friday, Leo Varadkar has confirmed.

He was speaking after meeting European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker in Brussels.

Both men again stressed that the Brexit backstop is not open for renegotiation.

"Special place in hell" for politicians who pushed for Brexit without a plan - Tusk

Donald Tusk. Picture by: Riccardo Pareggiani/Zuma Press/PA Images

The European Council President has called on the UK Prime Minster to bring a "realistic suggestion" for moving the Brexit process forward when she arrives in Brussels tomorrow.

Donald Tusk said the EU is continuing to plan for the “possible fiasco” of a no-deal Brexit.

He also lashed out at politicians who supported Brexit in the run-up to the 2016 referendum - without knowing what it would involve.

Simon Coveney confirms Ireland's support for Juan Guaidó in Venezuela

The Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said the Irish Government supports Juan Guaidó as interim Venezuelan president.

It comes after a number of EU countries moved to do the same.

Spain, France, Germany, the UK, Austria, Sweden, Denmark and Lithuania have previously announced the move.

Scientists confirm 2018 was fourth warmest year on record

Earth’s long-term warming trend can be seen in this visualization of NASA’s global temperature record. Image: NASA Scientific Visualization Studio/Kathryn Mersmann

NASA has warned that the "impacts of long-term global warming are already being felt" - with last year's global surface temperatures the fourth warmest on record.

The administration said the global temperatures mark a continued warming trend, with last year's temperature 0.8C warmer than the average recorded between 1951 and 1980.

Collectively, the last five years were the warmest on record - with 2015, 2016 and 2017 all warmer than last year.

Harris insists children's hospital still represents good value for money

The Minister for Health has said he continues to believe that the new National Children's Hospital represents good value for money.

Simon Harris said the decision to go ahead with the project despite massive overruns was the best choice for the taxpayer.

He faced more than four hours of questions at an Oireachtas committee this morning on why the projected cost of the new national children's hospital has risen to over €1.7bn.