The European Commission has imposed hefty fines totaling €700 million on tech giants Apple and Meta for breaching the EU’s Digital Markets Act (DMA), marking the first penalties issued under the new legislation aimed at ensuring fairer digital marketplaces. Apple received the larger penalty of €500 million for failing to allow alternative app stores on … Read more
Members of the Association of Secondary Teachers Ireland (ASTI) have voted to ballot for industrial action if their concerns about proposed Leaving Certificate reforms are not adequately addressed by the Department of Education. The decision was made at the union’s annual convention in Killarney yesterday, with the Teachers Union of Ireland (TUI) expected to consider … Read more
An internal audit of the Office of Public Works’ (OPW) Percent for Art scheme has uncovered significant administrative failings, including €2 million left unused in a suspense account and inconsistent project management practices. The audit, conducted in May 2023, provided only “limited” assurance on the scheme’s operation, identifying twelve adverse findings about its management. The … Read more
The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has determined that TikTok Technology acted lawfully when it denied a full-time remote working request from an employee who had suffered serious injuries in a car accident. Zaurbek Musaev, an operations specialist earning €3,556 monthly, claimed the company failed to properly handle his March 2024 request to work from home. … Read more
A new survey has revealed growing concern among teachers about the lack of adequate training and clear guidelines on the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in education. The research, based on responses from over 1,000 members of the Teachers’ Union of Ireland (TUI), showed that 85 per cent believe AI threatens fairness in assessments. Meanwhile, … Read more
More than 114 people were arrested over the Easter weekend for driving under the influence of alcohol or drugs, according to An Garda Síochána. In the first 48 hours of the Easter Roads Policing Operation—on Thursday and Friday—41 drivers were arrested for driving under the influence of an intoxicant. On Saturday, another 24 arrests were … Read more
Cork City residents submitted the highest number of complaints to Uisce Éireann claiming their tap water had made them ill, according to new figures revealing nearly 1,000 such complaints nationwide over the past two years. Of the 973 total complaints received by the national water utility regarding water-related illnesses, 105 came from Cork City residents … Read more
Ireland’s national electricity grid operator EirGrid issued formal system alerts on two separate occasions last year when power supply margins reached concerning levels, according to newly released information. In addition to these full alerts, which were previously known as “amber alerts,” the grid operator issued five further warnings throughout 2023 indicating that electricity supply was … Read more
Education Minister Helen McEntee has unveiled plans to offer permanent contracts to all newly qualified teachers starting in September 2025, once they have completed their induction year and secured a teaching position for the following academic year. The initiative, announced as teachers’ union congresses begin their annual meetings, aims to address what unions have described … Read more
Minister of State Neale Richmond has affirmed that Ireland will not follow other nations in cutting international aid budgets and is instead pushing for increased funding, despite global economic challenges. Speaking during an official visit to Sierra Leone and Liberia, where he toured Irish Aid projects, Richmond highlighted the strategic importance of maintaining and potentially … Read more
The future of a planned €1.5 billion data centre campus in Ennis is being threatened by what its developer describes as “bureaucratic inertia” in securing necessary grid connections, despite having cleared significant planning hurdles. Art Data Centres Ltd CEO Tom McNamara has expressed “serious frustration” at what he called “continued delays by EirGrid” in issuing … Read more
The Department of Education has announced plans to introduce a new National Therapy Service in Irish schools, with implementation beginning in the 2025/26 academic year, initially focusing on special education schools. The program will first introduce Speech and Language Therapy and Occupational Therapy services within special education settings, with plans to eventually expand to include … Read more
Irish homeowners applying for energy efficiency upgrades through the Warmer Homes Scheme may face longer waiting periods due to surging application numbers, according to Environment Minister Darragh O’Brien. While waiting times for the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) program had significantly decreased between 2022 and 2024, Minister O’Brien warned that recent developments could reverse … Read more
Independent Irish bookshops report minimal immediate effects one month after Amazon’s dedicated Irish website launch, though concerns persist about potential long-term consequences for the local retail landscape. When Amazon.ie launched in March, promising over 200 million products with euro pricing and one-day delivery, the retail giant’s arrival was welcomed by Taoiseach Micheál Martin as “good … Read more
Online accommodation platforms including Airbnb and Booking.com could face substantial financial penalties amounting to millions of euro under Ireland’s new short-term letting regulations set to take effect in May 2026. The measures, outlined in the newly published General Scheme of the Short Term Letting and Tourism Bill, establish a mandatory registration system for all short-term … Read more