Taoiseach Micheál Martin turning the sod on the Railyard Apartments, a new social and affordable housing development at Albert Quay in the Docklands area of Cork city. Photograph: Darragh KaneTaoiseach Micheál Martin acknowledged that more progress needs to be made on housing delivery if Ireland is to reach its goal of delivering more than 50,000 accommodation units over a sustained period of time. Mr Martin said the Government delivered more than 30,000 units last year but more needed to be done to cater for continued population growth. When you add that to the over 200 units at the Railyard project, you are looking at very, very significant housing. Cork City Council have been very forward looking in driving on housing developments in the city,” he said.

Rubina Aminian is one of the few people killed in the recent demonstrations in Iran to be identified. Photograph: XA 23-year-old student was shot in the head “from close range” during the anti-government protests in Iran, a human rights group has said. Ms Aminian was killed on Thursday after joining a protest after leaving the college, according to the Norway-based Iran Human Rights group. “Sources close to Rubina’s family, citing eyewitnesses, told Iran Human Rights that the young Kurdish woman from Marivan was shot from close range from behind, with the bullet striking her head,” the group said in a statement. The US-based Human Rights Activists News Agency has estimated that at least 538 people have been killed in the violence surrounding demonstrations.

Armed police keep watch outside West Kowloon Court in Hong Kong ahead of sentencing arguments for former media tycoon Jimmy Lai. Photograph: Peter Parks/AFP via Getty ImagesLawyers for former media owner Jimmy Lai have asked a Hong Kong court to grant him a lighter sentence on account of his age and poor health. “A prison sentence would bring him much closer to the end of his life,” he said. I think he can no longer be called Fatty Lai”, Mr Pang said. The law sets strict sentencing bands which are mandatory, but the court also applies common law sentencing principles.

CountryOld Monastery, Ramsgrange, Co Wexford€550,000 Kehoe & AssociatesThis five-bay period home, a former monastery, offers the space and peace of country living while being a short ferry ride from Waterford city. Extending to 337sq m (3,627sq ft) with five bedrooms and period details, the property occupies 1.78 acres of private, landscaped grounds. Plus: Spacious country home with easy access to Waterford citySpacious country home with easy access to Waterford city Minus: Energy upgrades will be necessary as home has E2 Ber111 Ardlea Road, Artane, Dublin 5Town111 Ardlea Road, Artane, Dublin 5€540,000, Noel Kelly AuctioneersThis three-bedroom semidetached home comes to the market ready to move into. It is about a 20-minute drive or a 30-minute bus ride to Dublin city centre and a 5-minute drive from Beaumont Hospital. As well as a driveway to the front, it has a spacious back garden with a stone patio and a lawn.

The Department of Finance’s recent Future Forty report warns the most significant financial exposure over the next 40 years will arise from the most extreme outcomes of climate change and the transition to a low-carbon economy. Eoin O'Neill: 'Climate change is not abstract, it is here, shaping our weather, threatening water quality, accelerating the introduction of invasive species, damaging homes and property.' Adaptive planning is essential, anticipating that if offshore wind does not materialise on time or at the required scale, alternative pathways must be clear. This is a real concern given Ireland currently has no operational offshore wind farms and the acknowledged challenges delivering critical infrastructure. Climate change is not abstract, it is here, shaping our weather, threatening water quality, accelerating the introduction of invasive species, damaging homes and property.

This journey created 'Brand Ireland' as a country where anyone can belong, regardless of background, creed, or identity. For the business community and society at large, this social cohesion was a reliable background condition that allowed markets to function and enterprises to thrive. The growing undercurrent of hostility is no longer a fringe issue; it is a threat to our national wellbeing. True social cohesion is the glue that holds different people together in pursuit of a common good. Protecting our humanity is not a distraction from economic policy; it is the heart of it.

‘My sibling got the family home for free – now they expect us to split the bill for Mum and Dad ’s nursing home care’ 06:30

LUNCHTIME at school was the worst, says 20-year-old Sheila*, recalling being excluded by friends when she was in fifth year at a West of Ireland co-ed school. You can feel excluded, and that may not be the other person’s intention. “Keeping calm, we give our children safety to feel their emotions, and strength to face hard things.”Anchoring: Help your child feel calm in themselves. Are there activities they could enjoy, where they wouldn’t be fully reliant on school friends? Remind them, ‘You don’t have to be liked by everyone to belong somewhere’.”Encourage them to find a mantra — a little sentence that helps them feel safe.

The 9th Marquis of Waterford is objecting to a solar farm because he says it will interfere with sporting rights he has over the land on which it is being built. The ninth Marquis of Waterford is objecting to a solar farm because he says it would interfere with sporting rights he has over the land on which it is being built. Henry De La Poer Beresford claims in High Court proceedings that he has certain “profits à prendre” (right to take resources) sporting rights over the land at Bishopstown, Carrick-on-Suir, Co Waterford. Mr Maguire said Mr De La Poer Beresford had objected to planning permission. The gun club said it held a lease over Mr De La Poer Beresford’s sporting rights on the land.

Men and women receive the same amountTennis stars who fail to qualify for the 2026 Australian Open main draw will naturally be shattered – but the upside is they'll receive $40,500 in prizemoney. Crucially, whoever wins three qualifying matches then enters the main draw. Losers in the first round of the main draw collect $150,000, with the men's and women's singles champions both paid $4.15 million. 'From boosting qualifying prizemoney by 55 per cent since 2023 to enhancing player benefits, we are ensuring professional tennis is sustainable for all competitors. According to Ticketmaster, reserved seats in Rod Laver Arena for the Australian Open men's final on Sunday, February 1 start from $1449 per person.

A view of the airfield at Shannon Airport. More than 2.3 million passengers travelled through State-owned Shannon Airport last year, which was the highest number in 16 years and up 9 per cent on 2024. The Shannon Airport Group said the increase came during a year of “major investment” and new routes. Shannon Airport will operate 40 routes in 2026 to destinations across Europe, the US and UK. [ Shannon Airport and air traffic control operators object to Clare wind farmOpens in new window ]Passenger growth in 2025 was assisted by new routes and expanded services, the company said.

Photograph: Ivor Prickett/The New York TimesGreenland’s prime minister Jens-Frederik Nielsen has said his country’s membership of the kingdom of Denmark and Nato remain a “fundamental and firm line”, ahead of talks on Wednesday in Washington. Mr Trump’s renewed interest has alarmed Greenlanders and Danes alike, given a forced takeover would trigger a military conflict between two Nato members. US president Donald Trump and Denmark's prime minister Mette Frederiksen. Photographs: Andrew Cabalero-Reynolds and Odd Andersen/AFP/Getty ImagesOn Sunday, Danish prime minister Mette Frederiksen conceded her country faces a “decisive moment” to resolve a “conflict over Greenland”. Belgian defence minister Theo Francken said Nato members should “collaborate, work together and show strength and unity” to address US security concerns.

Fingal County Council has comprehensively rejected plans by Desmond and Ulick McEvaddy’s DA Terminal 3 Ltd for a new cargo development for their lands on the western campus of Dublin Airport. Photograph: Barrow CoakleyFingal County Council has rejected plans by Desmond and Ulick McEvaddy’s DA Terminal 3 Ltd for a new cargo development for their lands on the western campus of Dublin Airport. Longer-term development proposals for the overall site include the development of Terminal 3 for the airport. However, the council has refused planning permission to the cargo scheme on five grounds including that the scheme may prejudice the development of a third terminal (T3) for Dublin Airport. The council refused planning permission after a submission from operator DAA raised a number of concerns over the proposal.

Illustration: GettyQuestionMy son is growing more anxious about the fact that he only has two weeks to select his CAO courses choices in time for the February 1st deadline. AnswerFirstly, the February 1st initial deadline for CAO course choices is, in many ways, an administrative carryover from a bygone era when students posted off their CAO course choices. More than 90 per cent of Leaving Cert applicants make changes to their course choices in May/June each year. So, your son has nothing to fear in terms of the February 1st course choice “deadline”. And remember, there is no need to fret: he has months to go before he must select his final CAO course options.

Both Greenland and Denmark have said that Greenland is not for sale but Trump has not ruled out taking it by force. But he was emphatic about Denmark being supported by its European allies over the strategic future of Greenland. Greenland is under the control of Denmark and we are fellow member states of the EU." Top diplomats from Denmark and Greenland will meet US Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Washington DC on Wednesday, TV2 reports. Trump's comments, coming in the wake of a US raid in Venezuela, have heightened concerns about his administration's military ambitions.