Irish Water says meter boxes are suitable for use

Irish Water has said Department of Environment guidelines on the grading of boundary boxes for water meters are "non-binding on Irish Water", and the grade C boxes used to house water meters are permitted and proven to be suitable for the task.

On Wednesday, at a sitting of the Joint Oireachtas Sub- committee on Public Petitions, the utility was quizzed on the type of material used in its meter boxes, with queries raised over why the boxes used were Grade C, rather than the Grade B recommended in a 2009 Department of Environment Circular on the recommended safety standards for meter installation.

"What do you call a man who has sex with a woman knowing that she's been raped an hour before? I don't know"

The new Criminal Law (Sexual Offences) Bill was introduced yesterday to the Dáil. Included in the legislation is two new offences which criminalise paying for sexual activity with a sex worker.

In both cases, the person providing the sexual service does not commit an offence.

Sex workers in Ireland say it won’t protect them and are calling for the sex industry to be completely decriminalised.

Love/Hate it, it looks like it's not coming back

A star of Love/Hate says the crime series will not be returning to our screens.

Laurence Kinlan, who played Elmo in the show, says: "I don't even think about Love/Hate now, because when I filmed the last day, I knew that was the end of it".

He told the Irish Daily Mail that the show is not on creator Stuart Carolan's radar anymore.

There has been much speculation about its future and a possible spin-off - but Kinlan says: "I'd like to leave it at that".

Is this disgraced soldier the next subject of the 'Serial' podcast?

The next series of Serial, the popular podcast created by NPR that became a global phenomenon last year, will focus on the case of US soldier who disappeared from his post in Afghanistan in 2009, US magazine Maxim reports.

Sgt Bowe Bergdahl was taken hostage by a pro-Taliban guerrilla group, but was released in exchange for five Guantanamo detainees in May of last year. According to the soldier’s own admissions, he was taken by the insurgent group the Haqqani network after deliberately walking away from his post in order to give light to the several conditions in his unit that he found concerning.

Bergdahl was ultimately charged with deserting his post and with misbehaviour before the enemy, and several of the soldiers who served with him maintain he abandon his outpost for other reasons.

PIC: We've found something that can make Paul O'Connell scream

"When the boogie man goes to sleep, he checks his closet for Paul O'Connell" is a saying that can be heard in certain quarters.

Ireland's captain and his team-mates are building towards Sunday's second pool game of the Rugby World Cup against Romania.

But today, the squad took the opportunity to try out other activities that do not involve a rugby ball...