Double child benefit
Some 638,000 families will receive a double child benefit payment of €280 this week.
The measure means that €280 will be paid in respect of 1.2 million children across the State, instead of the usual €140 payment.
The move was announced as part of the budget to help households pay for the soaring cost of living.
The payment will start arriving in accounts from Monday.
Man found dead in 'unexplained circumstances' in Co Monaghan
Gardaí are investigating after a man was found dead in "unexplained circumstances" near Carrickmacross, Co Monaghan.
Officers made the discovery on land surrounding a premises on the Kingscourt Road at Lossets at about 8am on Tuesday, following a call from a member of the public.
The scene is currently preserved and a technical examination will take place, gardaí said.
The office of the State Pathologist has been notified, and the results of the postmortem will determine the course of the investigation.
EY to create 900 new jobs across Irish offices
EY has announced plans to create 900 new jobs across its seven offices in the Republic and the North.
The news comes as the company reported a 26 per cent increase in revenues to the end of June, up from €425 million during the previous financial year.
The firm, which has offices in Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Limerick, Galway and Waterford, said 550 of the positions will be experienced hires, while the remaining 350 will be graduate roles.
The new posts will bring EY's total Irish head count to 5,100.
Bishop apologises after priest denounces homosexuality and transgenderism in sermon
The Bishop of Kerry Dr Ray Browne has apologised over a controversial homily delivered to parishioners in Listowel on Sunday, saying the views expressed by the priest were not representative of Christianity.
In a statement posted on the diocesan website on Tuesday morning, Bishop Browne said he is aware of "the deep upset and hurt" caused by the contents of the homilies in question delivered over the weekend.
Fr Seán Sheehy, a retired priest deputising for parish priest Fr Declan O'Connor, delivered the sermon on Sunday, claiming sexual sin is rampant in society.
He told the congregation at St Mary’s Church that sex between two men or two women is a sin and described transgenderism as lunatic and promiscuous behaviour.
He added that repentance would save people from Satan and his wiles and ways, and also condemned promiscuity and the distribution of condoms to girls by the HSE.
Father of Nicola Furlong dreads imminent release of her killer
The father of murdered 21-year-old Wexford student Nicola Furlong said he is anxious and upset at the imminent release of his daughter’s killer in Japan.
In an interview on the Opinion Line on Cork's 96FM, Andrew Furlong said violent death of his daughter in 2012 in a hotel room in Tokyo had changed the lives of their family forever.
"Is it (the pain) any different today than 10 years ago? Not a bit of difference. It is as raw today as it was 10 years ago when a knock came to my door at 7.50am in the morning.
"I happened to see two people with high vis jackets standing outside, and I said to myself 'what is this?' I opened the door and invited them in thinking it was an unpaid fine or something. That is how much I wasn't expecting what was coming.
"The garda said: 'Are you the father of Nicola Rose Furlong?' And I said: 'Oh Christ don't tell me she has been in an accident', and he said: 'No it is worse than that she is dead.'
"That was the start of it. I screamed shouted and said 'it couldn't be there must be some mistake.' I was hoping somebody else was dead, and it wasn't Nicola. The pain was only starting. We only knew she had died. We didn't know why she was dead."
Mr Furlong said it took them a few days to establish exactly what had happened to their beloved daughter.
