The Tate escape: How a ‘manosphere’ star accused of rape and trafficking was freed
Days before Donald Trump’s return to the White House in early 2025, Andrew Tate got some good news. Andrew Tate was also accused of rape and of having sex with and beating a 15-year-old. Prosecutors later charged them with forming an organised criminal group and trafficking seven women, and charged Andrew Tate with rape. Andrew Tate speaks to reporters after he, and his brother Tristan Tate, arrived in Florida last February. Andrew Tate was also accused of having sex with a 15-year-old and trying to bribe her to stay quiet.
Source:The Irish Times
December 12, 2025 08:12 UTC
Transgender care waiting list to close due to resource pressures
Speaking on Prime Time on Thursday, Dr Paul Moran said about 2,500 people are on the waiting list. “Unfortunately we’re forced to do this because after six years of trying to get resources and to meet demands, we have come to a dead end,” Dr Moran said. This, he said, has not yet transpired due to the fact that project development with the Health Service Executive (HSE) has broken down “time and time again”. However, Dr Moran told Prime Time’s Miriam O’Callaghan that the NGS remains “optimistic that a solution will be found”. Asked about the impact of the closure of waiting lists on those seeking care, Dr Moran said it would “be upsetting for them” and “cause worry and stress”.
Source:The Irish Times
December 12, 2025 08:10 UTC
Ireland’s biggest law firms: Staffed by women but run by men, with one exception
It is important to note that the gender pay gap figures do not suggest employees being paid more for doing the same work as a colleague of a different gender; that would be illegal. Generally, the proportion of women equity partners across the sector is put at about 37 per cent. From what is revealed in the gender pay gap reports, the rate of change is both slow and uneven. At Mason Hayes & Curran, the report puts the figure for women solicitors at 60 per cent and the proportion of partners at 43 per cent. [ Government gender pay gap portal to fall short of promises made on International Women’s DayOpens in new window ]Similarly, the more general pay gap figures, for all employed staff, suggest a lack of consistent progress.
Source:The Irish Times
December 12, 2025 07:31 UTC
Tense negotiations, trad music sessions: How deal to extend nitrates derogation was done
Jessika Roswall, left, and Martin Heydon, right, visit Pat Durkin and daughter Kayleigh’s dairy farm in Co Kildare. Jessika Roswall, European commissioner for the environment and water quality, had to be convinced Ireland deserved to retain the derogation. The nitrates derogation gives about 7,000 Irish dairy farmers leeway on European Union laws that protect waterways and rivers from agricultural pollution and excess runoff. [ What is the nitrates derogation and how does it impact Irish farmers? ] Discussions between Irish and EU officials became tense as they inched closer to a deal in recent weeks.
Source:The Irish Times
December 12, 2025 06:18 UTC
The Irish Times view on Trump’s security strategy: a wake-up call for Europe
The Trump administration’s National Security Strategy is a handbook of subversion directed against liberal internationalism – and especially against the European Union. This security strategy is brutally direct and succinct about US foreign policy priorities. Hence the security strategy should be taken seriously as a guide to US actions. These themes of white nativist racism are sanctioned as US foreign policy towards Nato allies, reversing 80 years of transatlantic cooperation. Accompanied by explicit commitments to support far-right parties in the largest European states, it is a powerful wake-up call to European leaders to say Trump’s hostility is serious.
Source:The Irish Times
December 12, 2025 01:07 UTC
More than 66% of homeless people in Ireland are in Dublin, report finds
Focus Ireland said its latest report highlighted the scale and persistence of the homelessness crisis in Dublin. Photograph: Nick BradshawDublin accounts for more than two-thirds of all homelessness in Ireland, a new report from Focus Ireland says. Focus Ireland said the report highlights the scale and persistence of the crisis in Dublin, with families and children experiencing the sharpest increases and local authority expenditure reaching unprecedented levels. Adult-only households in emergency accommodation in Dublin increased 61 per cent since 2021 and 306 per cent since 2014. “Behind every percentage increase are children growing up in emergency accommodation, often for extended periods,” he said.
Source:The Irish Times
December 12, 2025 00:43 UTC
Monaghan regional newspaper The Northern Standard to cease operations after 186 years
Front page of The Northern Standard, which covers Monaghan, Cavan, Armagh, Louth and Fermanagh, published after the presidential election in October. Photograph: Enda O'DowdThe closure of The Northern Standard in Co Monaghan will leave a “void” in the community it has served for 186 years, the newspaper’s editor said. Founded by Arthur Wellington Holmes, the first issue of The Northern Standard – a copy of which resides in the National Museum of London – was published on January 10th, 1839. “Peggy White was among the victims and one of my neighbours in the housing estate where I grew up – a beloved woman,” said Mr Hughes. “We were always a broadsheet newspaper and we will end a broadsheet newspaper – and a community newspaper,” Mr Hughes said.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 23:56 UTC
Rory McIlroy nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year
Rory McIlroy has been nominated for BBC Sports Personality of the Year after a career-defining year that saw him win the Masters and complete the career Grand Slam. Hampton’s heroics saw the Chelsea stopper win the Yashin Trophy for the world’s best woman goalkeeper at the Ballon d’Or awards. McIlroy (36) emerged from a dramatic playoff against Justin Rose to win the Masters. Kildunne scored five tries as England won the Women’s Rugby World Cup this summer. The Sports Personality of the Year will be awarded at a ceremony in Salford on December 18th, with viewers able to vote live during the show.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 23:54 UTC
Mother seeks order so she can breastfeed newborn baby taken into care
Photograph: Chris Maddaloni/CollinsA mother has claimed her baby boy is becoming ill because she has been prevented from breastfeeding the newborn after he was taken into care by Tusla, the child and family agency. However, Robert Barron SC, for the woman, said the action taken under the article was solely about the breastfeeding issue. The woman submits that the child was taken from her due to her mental health issues and that she was briefly prescribed, by her GP the drugs Xanax and Quetiapine. Tusla, the woman claims, then sent her a communication saying they could only “advise” on when it was safe to restart breastfeeding, despite the clear tests. Ms Justice Gearty was told additional affidavits and responses were required in the case before it could be heard.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 23:41 UTC
The Irish Times view on nitrates and waterways: procrastinating towards disaster
Ever since the EU Nitrates Directive was introduced in 1991, successive Irish governments have pushed back against it. The directive, intended to curb nitrate pollution, set a limit of 170 kg of organic nitrogen per hectare. The derogation granted in 2006 allowed Irish stocking rates far above the European norm and has been renewed repeatedly ever since. Higher stocking rates are presented as a necessity for the viability of family farms. Continuing to permit elevated stocking rates while Irish waters fail to recover is a policy position at odds with the directive’s purpose and Ireland’s own climate and biodiversity commitments.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 23:01 UTC
Mary Beard to chair Booker Prize jury
And there is a Q&A with Nicola Pierce, author of the award-winning Great Irish Wives: Remarkable Lives from History. This weekend’s Irish Times Eason offer is Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir, just €5.99, a €6 saving. *Celebrated classicist, writer and broadcaster Mary Beard is to chair the judging panel for next year’s Booker Prize. Beard said: “I’m hugely looking forward to being part of the Booker team this year, and to getting down to business with my excellent fellow judges. Their team of booksellers, Trish, Sarah, Susan and Grace, carefully selected their favourite books in each category: picture books, age 6+, age 8+, age 10+, teens, YA (age 15+), Irish language books, gift and information books.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 22:37 UTC
Ireland take bonus point after Pro League draw with England
Ireland produced one of their finer performances in recent years when they took a bonus point from their Pro League game against England on Thursday by winning the penalty shoot-out that followed their 1-1 draw at Abbotstown. Following Wednesday’s 2-1 defeat by Belgium, the result gave Ireland their first points in their debut in the competition which features the elite nations in world hockey. And on 26 minutes Ireland took the lead, Sarah Torrans scoring after Mikayla Power pulled the ball back to her from the baseline. McLoughlin put Ireland ahead again before Murphy made the definitive save in sudden death, denying Hamilton again. Ireland play Belgium again on Saturday before rounding off the first phase of the competition against England on Sunday.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 22:35 UTC
No firm timeline for sale of drug-smuggling ship costing €110,000 per week to detain
The MV Matthew has been berthed in Co Cork since it was seized in September 2023. Photograph: Niall Carson/PA WireIt is not possible to provide a firm timeline for the sale of a large cargo ship seized by the State as part of the country’s largest cocaine haul that is costing €110,000 per week to detain in Cork, the Revenue Commissioners said. Revenue said that detaining a vessel the size of the MV Matthew was “without precedent in this jurisdiction”. “All necessary actions for the safe and secure management of the vessel since its detention have been undertaken by Revenue. It said that between September 2023 and the end of November 2025, berthing costs in Cork were €3.128 million.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 22:32 UTC
Have your say: Are you worried about energy bills this winter?
Have you seen an increase in your energy bills? Illustration: Dean Ruxton/iStockCustomers are facing a winter of energy bills without Government subsidies this year amid ongoing high prices for gas and electricity throughout the colder months. We’d like to hear from you about your experiences with energy bills. Have you had to budget to account for rising bills, change provider or seek to moderate your usage? Do heat and electricity bills account for a significant proportion of your household budget?
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 22:06 UTC
Half of Irish businesses view housing as the biggest barrier to competitiveness
The number of Irish businesses that view housing as the biggest barrier to Ireland’s competitiveness had continued to grow and now accounts for 48 per cent of those surveyed for a new report. This represents sharp growth in the past year as just one third of businesses identified housing as the top priority this time last year. Housing was also highlighted as the most crucial infrastructure priority for businesses, followed by energy infrastructure. Despite the challenges coming down the track, Irish businesses are more optimistic for the next year than in the survey’s previous years. One third of business leaders expect the economy to grow in the next year, with just 14 per cent anticipating a decline.
Source:The Irish Times
December 11, 2025 21:32 UTC