Monday 20 May 2013
The Department of Finance Secretary General John Moran has revealed that when it comes to taking the pulse of the real economy, he likes to hear from taxi drivers and the people at his local Spar shop, believing their views to be better "leading indicators" than the reams of statistics provided by his officials.
A SLIM majority (53 per cent) finds abortion acceptable in cases of a threat of suicide – down five points in three months, according to the latest Sunday Independent/ Millward Brown opinion poll.
THE CEO of a leading German-based investment fund has warned that his company may sue the State should the IBRC fail to honour its commitment to repay millions of euro owed to its subordinated bondholders.
It was a neighbourhood cafe, bakery and cakeshop named after a U2 song, but after three years in business The Sweetest Thing closed its doors for the last time yesterday.
Irish students who studied in the UK and who have failed to repay more than €4.3m in student loans are to be tracked down by private investigators hired by the British government, the Sunday Independent can reveal.
ALLOWING voting for a local Dail candidate without affecting overall party strengths is among electoral changes being considered by the Constitutional Convention, it was revealed.
CAMPAIGNERS have demanded the reopening of a memorial park to Irish patriots which was closed just a year after tens of thousands of euro in public money was poured into upgrading it.
AT 5pm on Thursday, Dublin's 'king of cafe society' Giorgio Casari was a king without a kingdom when the Unicorn – the restaurant he had run since 1994 – closed abruptly.
Significant anger and concern among Fine Gael backbenchers has emerged over the Government's ongoing attempts to "buy industrial peace at all costs" with trade unions.
One in every seven people on the dole have never worked a single day in their lives, "disturbingly shocking" figures reveal.
FIANNA Fail senator Diarmuid Wilson will be making a complaint to RTE over an "innuendo-laden" item on last Sunday's This Week radio programme dealing with the existence of a tangential "business connection" between him and Lowry tapes whistleblower Kevin Phelan.
THE international owners of the five-star Ritz-Carlton Hotel at Powerscourt, Co Wicklow, obtained a High Court order last week barring the owner of one of its suites from occupying it.
THE Garda and PSNI computerised licence-plate recognition systems are being linked together as part of the massive security exercise surrounding the G8 meeting of world leaders in Fermanagh next month.
Another row over the judiciary's work rate has erupted – but this one is over a judge working too hard.
THE Taoiseach's election strategist, Frank Flannery, has urged Ireland's leading businesspeople to loosen their purse strings when it comes to charitable donations.
A CLERIC who accidentally showed gay porn to parents of schoolchildren in the North has been appointed parish priest of Clogherhead.
Fewer tears were shed than laughter shared as family and friends gathered to remember Vincent Dowling during a service held on Friday in his adopted home in the United States where he was remembered as obsessive, curious, an Irish treasure and a life-changing influence for scores of actors.
FINE Gael back benchers are likely to increase the pressure on the Government to alter the provisions for suicide in the draft abortion legislation after the emergence of key divisions between the masters of the country's two main maternity hospitals.
A NEW approach to catering for pupils with special education needs (SEN) is recommended in a major report – but primary teachers warn it could turn into a bureaucratic nightmare.
BUSINESSES in Co Roscommon are demanding the county council take immediate action to rectify the ongoing water problems that have left 13 people needing treatment and 10,000 more forced to boil their water.
ALMOST 300 rugby novices had their first introduction to the oval ball as Ireland's Grand Slam winning women's team showed what can be achieved by an amateur squad.
CONTROVERSIAL poet Cathal O Searcaigh has pulled out of an event at next week's Dublin Writers Festival.
THE parents of a two-year-old boy who died after falling from an upstairs window of his home will have to consent to the recording of a 999 ambulance call being publicly released.
CONSUMERS view foods marketed as low fat or healthy as a licence to overeat.
Bar councils in Northern Ireland and the Republic to meet in formal .
Genetic links of notorious outlaw is focus of gathering
SIX months on from vindication in court, Walsh finally feels back to himself.
Chinese President Xi Jinping has spoken about his fond memories of his chat with former President Mary McAleese about Gaelic football.
FORMER Taoiseach Brian Cowen will take part in any Oireachtas inquiry into the banking collapse.
Two sisters have told how their childhoods were shattered when they were sexually abused by an uncle who has been jailed for two years.
Talks in Cardiff between community figures and politicians from both sides of the divide in the North and the PSNI have been described as “frank and respectful” but no major breakthrough to ease community tensions ahead of the Twelfth is expected.
What is believed to be a bomb has been removed from a residential area where police escaped injury in a gun attack in west Belfast.
THE pensions industry has been threatened with new legislation to force it to make its charges more transparent.
ALMOST 300 rugby novices had their first introduction to the oval ball as Ireland's Grand Slam winning women's team showed what can be achieved by an amateur squad.
TAOISEACH Enda Kenny had an emotional moment in Croke Park when he was given an All-Ireland programme featuring his late father.
SOME of the thousands of people mis-sold a special insurance by banks will get letters next week telling them if they are to get refunds.
A REPORT into alleged collusion between gardai and a convicted drugs trafficker originally contained sensitive intelligence and the names of informants.
THE next time Aer Lingus chief pilot Frank Lawless comes in for landing at Dublin Airport, he'll be flying directly over a children's paradise that he and other airline staff helped create.
The country's largest teachers' union will re-enter talks on a revised public sector pay deal.
RYANAIR pilots have been warned not to sign a letter to airline regulators expressing concern that the airline's employment practices could jeopardise passenger safety.
Some schools put up barriers to stop parents from enrolling children with special needs, inspectors have claimed.
THE parents of a severely disabled girl who was dispensed an overdose of an anti-epileptic drug may sue the pharmacy and the pharmacist in question.
Cutbacks to special education transport scheme.
Shatter claims Mick Wallace escaped sanction for offense.
GARDAI are now working to establish the identities of everybody who visited a house where an alleged rape by a serving garda took place at the weekend.
WORK to erect a massive security fence to protect eight of the world's most powerful leaders during the G8 summit in Fermanagh was started today.
A MASSIVE shortfall in the garda budget this year will result in 400 members of the force not being paid if it is not sorted out.
SNAIL mail has taken on a whole new meaning after a Christmas card finally dropped through the letterbox four months after it was originally posted eight kilometres away.
THE VHI can end up wrongly paying out more than €1,000 to a public hospital even though a patient is on an emergency department trolley, the insurer's chief executive John O'Dwyer has admitted.
Garda informants could be "killed on the streets" if confidential details about their identities are leaked.
THE parents of a severely disabled girl who was dispensed an overdose of an anti-epileptic drug may sue the pharmacy and the pharmacist in question.
Clare Daly calls for independent enquiry as Wallace and Shatter row rumbles on
Fines could be put in place for cyclists who break the law
War of words intensified
Sensitive discusions taking place over funding issues with British Government
Tributes paid to Garda at memorial mass
The states chief medical officer has told the Oireachtas Health Committee that he doesn't expect the number of women seeking terminations on suicidal grounds to be significant
Four dozen trucks carrying nearly 800 tonnes of hay are on their way to farmers around Munster
The government is being urgerd to change the way children with special needs are accessed in schools
The long wait is over for the All-Ireland Senior Football and Hurling Championships which begin in earnest this weekend, and the Irish Independent has all you want to find about this year’s action in our bumper preview supplement
People with coeliac disease have a higher risk of developing the bone disease osteoporosis
John Rocha, known for his signature muted tones, has brought in a vibrant palette for his debut foray in to eyewear
Lulu unveils a collection of glasses created specifically for stylish women aged 50 plus
‘Should’ve gone to Specsavers’, will be a phrase aimed less often at referees, now that the new Hawkeye points detection technology is going live at Croke Park.
Bright crimson, blush pink and indigo blue are the keynotes in one of the biggest fashion stories of this year. Designer John Rocha has launched his first ever eyewear collection, teaming up with Specsavers.
One of the problems with managing a gluten free diet is making sure that you don’t accidentally pick up gluten.
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