Dáil protest: In October, the number of homeless people had risen to another record high of 16,766, including 5,274 children. Photograph: Dan Dennison/The Irish Times“I don’t know who else to turn to. I am at my wits’ end,” a 23-year-old mother wrote to Minister for Housing James Browne in May. I am begging you.”Her plea for help to the Minister for Housing was included in a random sample of dozens released to The Irish Times under the Freedom of Information Act. [ Will the Government’s latest plan to fix the housing crisis work?

The correct nurse was eventually traced and warmly remembered her former patient, said Ms Mullin. Men are easier to trace because their surname remains unchanged, but many women, on marriage, change their name to that of their husband, noted Ms Mullin. That can often lead to complex and difficult situations and is time consuming, Ms Mullin said. Ms Mullin said the company provides “a very important service”. They should have made a will, they didn’t, but at least our work means it comes back to their Irish family.

Photograph: iStockExpectant mothers face increasing restrictions on accessing private maternity services from next week as new rules that aim to eliminate fee-paying medicine in public hospitals come fully into effect. These consultants have signed up to a new Sláintecare contract introduced by the Government in 2023. IHCA chief executive Jim Daly said that, unlike other medical disciplines, there were no private maternity units in operation across the State where women could access such care. He believed that management in some maternity hospitals would be agreeable to such a stance. According to the HSE, under the Health Act 1970, all patients admitted in public hospitals have statutory rights.

In year one of Donald Trump’s second presidency long-standing US commitments to democracy, global relationships and realignments are being reshaped, and economics and politics turned on their head. They argued that an ageing president would, in his second term, be gentler, less abrasive and less revolutionary. In Gaza, where the October ceasefire was greeted by Trump as one of his main achievements, the death toll continues to rise. The NSS strategy depicts Europe as facing “civilizational erasure” at the hands of immigrants and its leaders. Trump has made 2025 his own, reshaping not only the US, but the global order, undoing a vital post-War consensus based on democratic values, multilateralism and the rule of law.

Photograph: Lorraine Teevan/Tyrone Guthrie CentreI’ve never encountered a chaise longue that I felt compelled to wilt down onto. Then, this past November, I met a chaise longue that changed my mind. I had the pleasure of spending a week in a very grand room in an early 19th century country pile, and there I discovered a piece of furniture that I’m now bereft to have to live without. In his will Tyrone Guthrie, a much-celebrated theatre director, bequeathed Annaghmakerrig to the Irish State for use as a creative retreat. Dinner at the Tyrone Guthrie Centre is a family affair.

It speaks not just to individual brilliance, but to the systems, structures and people behind Irish sport, and a lot of the work being done by organisations such as Sport Ireland, are delivering tangible results. Our findings offer a lens through which to examine where Irish women’s sport stands today – and where it needs to go next. Half of the population now report watching women’s sport on television or online, up from 36 per cent in 2018. Nearly 73 per cent of people believe brands should increase investment in women’s sport, while 69 per cent support greater Government funding. Irish women’s sport is progressing – visibly, measurably and deservedly.

That was URC round four, and a third defeat for Leinster in the opening weeks of their title defence. Saturday’s round eight return fixture represents another litmus test for his squad and there is expectation of a Leinster backlash at Thomond Park. “It's a few sleeps ago now, that game, but we enjoyed that occasion,” McMillan said. “I think every week you need to put in an 80-minute performance to get the desired outcome. All our guys need to focus on the job that we need to do to put ourselves in a position to actually do that.

Just one run from a very solid Richardson over. He has not played Test cricket in four years after repeated shoulder injuries, but is looking to become the next Aussie pace superstar. An update on Neser:Ricky Ponting:'Michael Neser leave the field a couple of overs ago and looks like he might have an issue with his right angle or right foot. He reaches down and has a bit of a play with his ankle or foot. He finished his spell and went straight off the ground.'

Greencore’s share price in London has surged more than 25 per cent in the year to dateFour leading companies have been shortlisted for the Deal of the Year category at The Irish Times Business Awards, which are run in association with Bank of Ireland. That put the payments company within reach of the $95 billion valuation it had before a post-Covid slump in the tech industry. The Irish company has paid $270 million New Zealand dollars (€132 million) to acquire a 65 per cent shareholding in Alliance. The winner of the Deal of the Year award will be chosen by a panel of judges, chaired by Microsoft executive Anne Sheehan. The winner of last year’s deal award was Irish-listed food giant Kerry Group for the divestment of its dairy processing operations to Kerry Co-op members.

Leopardstown, Limerick, and Down Royal keep the racing brigade busy on St Stephen’s Day and in the feature at the Foxrock venue, the Grade One Racing Post Novice Chase, it is difficult to look beyond Romeo Coolio. Gordon Elliott’s horse has begun his chasing career in tremendous fashion, following up a beginners’ chase success with a runaway victory in the Grade One Drinmore Novice Chase at Fairyhouse. This is a step toward doing just that and he can complete his chasing hat-trick. Of course, Willie Mullins’ horse will be considerably more forward this time and is respected despite not making betting appeal. The Racing Post Handicap Chase is fiercely competitive but Where’s My Jet is unexposed over fences and makes each-way appeal.

At the end of the year, you look forward to beginning anew. Resolutions are made, soon to be broken. I promise myself to begin more days with a cycle to work and less ending with a sneaky pint. That lasts about a week in the baking January sun of Australia as I wobble home on the bike looking like a lost extra from Mad Max. Busted promises of the past and soon again in the future.

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Kym Marsh has revealed her daughter Emilie Cunliffe has given birth to her second child on Christmas Day. Emilie, 28, who revealed she gave birth in just 10 minutes, welcomed a baby son named Bobby Saint Mykola with her husband Michael Hoszowskyj. Kym shared a snap of the couple's son Teddy, six, and Michael's daughter Polly, nine, cradling the newborn in their arms. Welcome to the world Bobby Saint Mykola Hoszowskyj!!! After arriving at the hospital at 10:25am our special gift was born at 10:35am on 25/12/25 ✨'Welcome to the world Bobby Saint Mykola Hoszowskyj ❤️ @listentoemilie you are my true hero!

Pregnant Perrie Edwards cradled her baby bump as she posed for gorgeous Christmas snaps in front of her tree. The Little Mix star, 32, said she feels 'content and blessed' after spending a festive day in her pyjamas with her fiancé Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain and son Axel, four. 'And I remember thinking, right, I found out when I was rehearsing for the Little Mix tour, the last Little Mix tour, I was at rehearsals and I thought, oh, I don't feel good. Perrie welcomed her son Axel into the world on August 21, 2021. The Little Mix star and Alex started dating in 2016 and they got engaged in 2022.

The singer has a bit of history with the Gallagher brothers, but he’s not complainingIn 2002, back when bands still had fights in the press, Oasis’ Noel Gallagher dubbed James Walsh of Starsailor “a cock” in an interview. Walsh approached him at the T In The Park festival to ask for an explanation. Liam Gallagher apparently got physically involved and it was all handbags backstage. In 2021, Walsh told the NME: “It was a mad time and the only period in our lives when we were all over the tabloids, and it was a fuss over nothing. I’m not sure how Noel feels about it, but we’ve definitely made up with Liam anyway."