National Maternity Hospital land
Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly has said that the Government has received legal advice that there is no guarantee a compulsory purchase order (CPO) of the land earmarked for the new National Maternity Hospital site would be successful.
Mary Brosnan, the director of midwifery and nursing in the NMH, told reporters that she wished to reassure the public that she had never seen services limited by religious influence during her career.
It comes as a strong divide has emerged between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael, with Fianna Fáil members supporting Minister Donnelly in pushing ahead with the proposed hospital, saying patients and staff have waited long enough for adequate facilities.
However, those at a private meeting of the Fine Gael parliamentary party raised serious concerns around a lack of clarity over the proposed governance and ownership of the hospital.
Covid-19 deaths underreported
Almost three times as many people have died as a result of Covid-19 than previously reported, according to a new World Health Organisation (WHO) report.
The most comprehensive look at the true global toll of the pandemic so far found there were 14.9 million excess deaths associated with Covid-19 by the end of 2021, the UN body said.
The official count of deaths directly attributable to Covid-19 and reported to WHO in that period, from January 2020 to the end of December 2021, is slightly more than 5.4 million.
The WHO's excess mortality figures reflect people who died of the virus, as well as those who died as an indirect result of the outbreak, including people who could not access healthcare for other conditions when systems were overwhelmed during huge waves of infection.
Santina Cawley murder trial
A two-year-old girl who was found with critical injuries in an apartment three years ago and died a few hours later in hospital had sustained 49 external and four internal injuries, a murder trial in Cork has heard.
Karen Harrington of Lakelands Crescent in Mahon, Cork is on trial at the Central Criminal Court sitting in the city charged with the murder of Santina Cawley at 26 Elderwood Park in Boreenmanna Road on July 5th, 2019.
Ms Harrington was in a relationship with Michael Cawley, the father of the deceased, at the time of the alleged offence.
Crime scene manager, Det Garda Stephen Dennehy, of the Scenes of Crime Unit, today told the jury of seven men and four women of the extent of the injuries sustained by the toddler.
Unemployment rate drops
Ireland’s unemployment rate dropped to 4.8 per cent in April, down from a revised rate of 5.1 per cent the month before.
Monthly figures from the Central Statistics Office (CSO) show the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed was 129,500 in April 2022, compared to 135,800 in March.
The unemployment rate for April 2022 is down almost three percentage points from a rate of 7.5 per cent in April 2021 amid Covid-19 restrictions.
There has been an annual decrease of 56,800 in the seasonally adjusted number of people unemployed since the same time last year.
Ballots cast in Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland’s political leaders have cast their ballots in the Assembly election.
The process is taking place amid speculation of a potentially seismic result, with Sinn Féin hoping to emerge as the largest party for the first time.
Northern Ireland currently has no functioning Executive, and the population is gripped by a cost-of-living crisis while disagreements persist over the region's post-Brexit protocol.
The Northern Ireland Protocol, the possibility of a border poll, the cost-of-living crisis and the future of the Stormont powersharing Executive were among the key issues during the election campaign - here's a breakdown.
Man charged over Kilkenny stabbing
A man has appeared before Carlow District Court in relation to a fatal stabbing in Kilkenny.
29-year-old Andrew Cash has been remanded in custody on a charge of murdering his brother-in-law.
40-year-old John Cash died after he was stabbed on Hebron Road in Kilkenny earlier this week.
