Humphreys and Connolly face off as withdrawn candidate’s name remains on ballot Irish voters head to the polls today to elect a new president, choosing between Fine Gael’s Heather Humphreys and independent candidate Catherine Connolly in a race shaped by late-stage controversy. Polling stations open at 7am and close at 10pm across the country as … Read more
German multinational to wind down Irish facility by 2028 while expanding Cork operations Pharmaceutical giant Merck has announced plans to close its manufacturing facility in Arklow, County Wicklow, by the end of 2028, putting up to 100 jobs at risk. The German multinational confirmed it is considering shutting down the plant’s active pharmaceutical ingredient (API) … Read more
New instant transfer service includes fraud protection as EU regulation takes effect Irish banks and credit unions are launching instant payment services across the eurozone, enabling money transfers anywhere in Europe within 10 seconds, available around the clock. The SEPA Instant Payments system, along with Verification of Payee (VOP) fraud protection, becomes available in Ireland … Read more
H5N1 virus confirmed in 11 geese as authorities work to contain spread Fota Wildlife Park in Cork will stay closed to visitors for several more days after confirming an outbreak of H5N1 avian influenza among its bird population. The highly contagious bird flu, believed to have spread from wild birds in the Cork Harbour area, … Read more
Migrant Nurses Ireland calls for government crackdown on visa scams charging thousands for non-existent positions Fraudulent recruitment agencies are exploiting foreign nurses seeking employment in Ireland by charging excessive fees for jobs that don’t exist, according to Migrant Nurses Ireland (MNI), which has issued an urgent warning about the widespread practice. The advocacy group reports … Read more
New data reveals emissions targets breached nine months early as renewable energy stagnates Ireland’s transport sector has already exhausted its entire carbon budget for 2025, breaching its emissions allocation in September and now consuming credits meant for future years, according to new data from the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland. The SEAI’s provisional figures reveal … Read more
Northern Virginia data center failure cascades worldwide, affecting millions A widespread outage at Amazon Web Services (AWS) disrupted internet access for millions of users globally today, taking down major websites and applications including Fortnite, Snapchat, and Amazon’s own platforms. The incident began this morning in AWS’s US-EAST-1 region in Northern Virginia, one of the company’s … Read more
Irish households will see electricity bills decrease from December 1 following a reduction in the Public Service Obligation (PSO) levy, bringing relief to consumers facing high energy costs. The Commission for the Regulation of Utilities (CRU) has announced the PSO for household customers will be reduced to €1.46 per month, down from the current €2.01. … Read more
Food prices in Ireland have reached their highest level in two years, with inflation currently at 6.5%, according to the latest figures from Worldpanel by Numerator. This marks the first time food inflation has increased this significantly since December 2023. The price surge is attributed to several factors including the start of the new academic … Read more
Ireland’s government recorded a record surplus of €22.6 billion in 2024, equivalent to 4% of the country’s GDP. This represents a three-fold increase from the €7.2 billion surplus recorded in 2023. Total government revenue last year reached €148 billion, representing an increase of €24.8 billion compared to 2023. The substantial surplus reflects strong economic performance … Read more
Dublin City Council is planning to convert abandoned buildings into affordable cost rental homes for essential workers, Dublin Mayor Ray McAdam has announced. The initiative aims to address housing shortages while tackling the problem of vacant buildings in the city centre. McAdam revealed he wants to broaden the definition of essential workers to include supermarket … Read more
More than 11,000 people have applied to join An Garda Síochána this year, reflecting strong public interest in law enforcement careers. The recruitment campaign has seen increased diversity among applicants, according to the Gardaí. Nearly a quarter of applicants (23%) are from backgrounds other than “white Irish,” a significant shift from previous years. The most … Read more
An Irish Lottery player has won a jackpot of €7,129,505 in today’s draw after matching the correct numbers in the main Lotto game. The winning ticket was sold in Enniscrone, a seaside town in County Sligo. The lucky numbers drawn were 6, 13, 14, 27, 35 and 44, with bonus number 47. The player won … Read more
Liso Devassi, a 48-year-old resident of Drogheda, has been found dead in Kerala while on holiday. He was the son of Angamaly Thachil Devassi and had returned to Kerala two weeks prior. Liso’s family filed a missing person complaint with police on Wednesday after he disappeared. His body was later discovered at Uliannur Kadavil in … Read more
Ireland’s information and communication technology sector will need to create nearly 90,000 new jobs by 2030, but the country faces a significant challenge in meeting the resulting skills demand, according to a report by Scale Ireland, an association of Irish tech startups and scaling companies. The study projects that the ICT sector may require 89,590 … Read more