Storm Bert causes power outages, disrupts travel in UK and Ireland

Tens of thousands of homes, farms and businesses in Ireland suffered power outages due to Storm Bert on Saturday, while some rail lines and roads were closed in Britain due to what forecasters called a "multi-hazard event". Yellow and amber weather warnings for wind, rain, snow and ice were also in place for most of the United Kingdom, according to a Met Office weather forecast.more

Ireland will hold a general election on November 29, Prime Minister Simon Harris has announced, according to AFP. His centre-right Fine Gael (FG) party has a good chance of retaining power for a fourth consecutive term.more

The Irish Data Protection Commission (DPC) announced on Friday that it has launched an investigation into the potentially unlawful use of facial recognition technology by Irish airline Ryanair.more

The Irish government does not intend to use the money it will receive from Apple's back taxes for current spending or to narrow the tax base, but will use it to invest in housing and infrastructure, Finance Minister Jack Chambers said yesterday.more

A former member of the Defence Forces’ elite Army Ranger Wing who was killed while fighting Russian forces in Ukraine had previously lost an eye in an explosion following an attack there.more

The valves opened, the sea gurgled in and slowly, imperceptibly at first, the ship began its journey to the bottom of the Atlantic. The 60-metre MV Shingle debuted in Ireland a decade ago as a smuggling vessel, but then became an unwanted hulk. On Wednesday afternoon it performed its swan song – scuttled off County Mayo to create an artificial reef.more

The Irish Data Protection Commission announced yesterday that it has launched an investigation to determine whether Google complied with European Union privacy laws when developing one of its artificial intelligence models.more

Apple has lost a high-profile, €13bn (£11bn) Irish tax battle with Brussels in a decision that will bolster the European Commission’s efforts to clamp down on favourable “sweetheart” tax deals for multinationals.more

The Republic of Ireland’s population increased by almost 99,000 people last year, the biggest increase since 2008. Most of the growth - 79,300 people - came from net migration with the rest due to 19,400 more births than deaths.more

A 16-year-old accused of repeatedly stabbing a Catholic army chaplain appeared before Galway County Court in the west of Ireland yesterday. According to police, the attacker has a ‘radical Islamist mindset’ and supported the terrorist organisation Islamic State.more

A man has been arrested after a van drove into several gates at Government Buildings in Dublin. Gardai are also investigating an incident of criminal damage at Dublin’s Phoenix Park where the official residence of Ireland’s President, Michael D Higgins, is located.more

Nineteen people were arrested in the Irish capital, Dublin, during protests throughout Monday against the conversion of a former factory into accommodation for migrants seeking asylum.more

The two main parties in the government coalition, Fianna Fail and Fine Gael, won the European Parliament elections in Ireland, winning four of the country's 14 seats each, results announced yesterday morning show.more

In Ireland, European Parliament elections have been held together with local government elections for years, which means that local issues influence the campaign to a greater extent than elsewhere. This year, however, the dominant topic has both a local and pan-European dimension, and it is immigration.more

The Irish government yesterday formally recognized Palestine as a sovereign and independent state and agreed to establish full diplomatic relations with it. Similar decisions were made by the governments of Spain and Norway.more

Since the beginning of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Ireland has been perceived as a weak link in the Western defense system. However, even reports of suspicious Russian activity in the waters around Ireland did not trigger a serious debate in the country about NATO membership.more

Ireland's decision to slash welfare payments for Ukrainian refugees in state accommodation will impact close to one third of the 86,000 people who fled Russia's invasion and remain in Ireland, Finance Minister Michael McGrath said on Wednesday.more

The Irish government's threat to send police officers to the border with Northern Ireland to stop the uncontrolled flow of illegal immigrants is further evidence of Dublin's exacerbating relationship with London. The fact that Ireland eventually backed down does not change this.more

The convoy arrived just after sunrise: a stream of police vehicles, council trucks, mounted cranes and coaches, ready to dismantle a tent city of migrants and refugees in the heart of Dublin that had become too big, too visible, too political.more

The Irish government yesterday backed the passing of an emergency bill to recognise the UK as a safe third country, which would allow illegal immigrants coming from there to be sent back to the UK. This is another development in the escalating dispute between the two countries.more

New security protocols may end the tradition of ordaining aircraft at Dublin Airport, which has continued for 76 years. Every Christmas a Catholic priest is invited there to perform such a ceremony.more

The Irish parliament has approved 37-year-old Simon Harris as the country's new prime minister. The former Minister of Higher Education, Innovation and Science became the youngest head of government in the history of Ireland.more

'Irish reunification is a legitimate aspiration, but it will not be my priority,' declared Simon Harris, who will become the new Prime Minister of the Irish Republic on Tuesday. He also asserted that he wants better relations with the UK than have been the case in recent years.more

Reunifying Ireland would cost the government in Dublin between €8 and €20 billion a year for 20 years, which would require a significant increase in taxes or a large reduction in public spending, the Irish Institute of International and European Affairs (IIEA) said in its report.more

In Ireland, with a population of 5.3 million, 800,000 fewer people now smoke cigarettes than 20 years ago, when the country was the first in the world to introduce a total ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, according to the HSE public health service. The percentage of smokers has fallen from 27 per cent to 18 per cent in that time.more

The contest to become Ireland’s next prime minister is turning into a one-horse race after the higher education minister, Simon Harris, secured the backing of nearly half his parliamentary party before he had even confirmed he was running.more