Early Edition

Voters in Dublin and Galway are going to the polls in two byelections on Friday after intense canvassing in the closing days of the campaign and efforts by candidates to ensure their supporters turn up to vote.The Government has exceeded its annual spending target by an average €5.1 billion in each of the last three budgets, new figures from the Irish Fiscal Advisory Council (Ifac) indicate.Meanwhile, spending in the justice and transport areas seem set to be hit by the impact of the new levy being imposed across Government to offset a €640 million overrun in the education sector, an initial breakdown of the new savings being sought suggest.Ask any millennial which novels they remember reading as a child, and odds are they’ll list the fictional famine tale Under the Hawthorn Tree as one of them. In today’s Me Myself and Ireland, its author Marita Conlon McKenna says the inspiration to write it came during a ghostly dream.“I’m such a fan of this city and this country,” actor Paul Rudd tells Tara Brady while speaking about his new movie Power Ballad, which was filmed on location in Dublin.Presented by Aideen Finnegan

Meta is to cut 350 jobs from it’s Irish workforce amid a global round of layoffs affecting around 8000 roles worldwide.RTÉ has faced tough questions at an Oireachtas committee about newly disclosed salaries.More than 40 leading climate scientists are warning Ireland against adopting a controversial new way of measuring greenhouse emissions.Planned changes to the electoral register following revelations that there are more registered voters than residents in some areas.When might the result of the Dublin Central and Galway West byelection results be announced?

200 users of so-called dodgy boxes used to illegally stream live TV have been issued with cease and desist notices.Rents across Ireland have just shot up at the fastest rate ever recorded, rising 4.4% in just three months, according to Daft.ie.More boats in the aid flotilla heading for Gaza have been intercepted by Israeli forces, crew members have said.What do we know about what happened to Yves Sakilas, who died shortly after being restrained by security guards in Dublin last Friday. 

Irish diplomats in Brussels have been warned to be on high alert for lobbying by the tobacco industry.The European Commission has signalled tighter restrictions on exports that could be used by Russia’s military, following concerns raised about materials leaving the EU.Fear of homelessness is increasingly trapping people in sexually abusive situations, according to the Dublin Rape Crisis Centre.The couple who built a house in Co. Meath without planning permission face a legal bid by the council to recover costs for its demolition.An A.I. tool being used in a primary school is helping teachers plan lessons and answer pupil’s questions, but are teacher’s concerns about the technology being addressed? 

There are serious questions about betting activity linked to Friday’s by-election in Dublin Central in which $1 million (€860,000) was placed and then withdrawn with little or no profit.Immigration, the cost of living and housing are among the main issues on voters minds in Dublin Central and Galway West.Taoiseach Micheál Martin has used Fianna Fáil’s centenary Ard Fheis to defend the party’s record and set out its priorities in Government.Tusla has brought in bodyguards to protect staff at a special care unit in north Dublin as staffing shortages reach critical levels.Changes have been made to in-flight catering on Irish deportation flights after pork sausages were served on a charter flight to Pakistan, a predominantly Muslim country.

Sinn Féin’s Janice Boylan leads the race for the Dublin Central by election according to a new Irish Times/ TG4 poll.A UK Labour MP has stepped down paving the way for Andy Burnham to run for parliament and potentially topple Prime Minister Kier Starmer.New rules for childminders are putting pressure on the sector, with some now saying they’re thinking about quitting altogether.There was a record surge in eviction notices at the start of 2026, just before new rental rules came into effect.Donald Trump was at a state banquet in Beijing on Thursday, hosted by Xi Jing Ping.

Ireland’s national debt could approach a quarter of a trillion euro by the 2030s, the head of the National Treasury Management Agency (NTMA) will tell an Oireachtas committee on Thursday.Aggressive driver behaviour, speeding, poor cycling infrastructure, and the increased size of vehicles, is deterring women from getting on their bikes, research by Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) has found.Allies of Britain’s health secretary Wes Streeting were phoning Labour Party MPs last night asking them to back him in an imminent heave against the UK prime minister Keir Starmer.‘I have been left half a property with a sibling. What is the best way to proceed?’ Whether you sell the home and split the proceeds, or one sibling buys the other out – try not to bring solicitors into the equation, writes Joanne Hunt in the first of our new weekly column ‘Ask a Lawyer.’The excellent Rivals, an adaptation of Jilly Cooper’s bonkbuster, in which 1980s rich people enthusiastically bonk (English for having sex), is back on Disney+ this week. So Patrick thought he’d take this opportunity to write a short history of sexy telly.Presented by Aideen Finnegan

A spotlight is being shone on the condition of council housing after plans to regenerate one of Dublin’s most neglected flat complexes were halted. Janice Maguire shares a bed with three of her youngest sons. Two sleep at the bottom, and one at the top next to her.Keir Starmer’s future as the British prime minister is looking increasingly untenable following a string of cabinet resignations yesterday.Michael McDowell says he wants a fair minded discussion on one-off rural housing. But his views will likely have the Irish Times letters page hopping for the next few days.Several US and Canadian ice hockey stars have emerged as investors in the proposed €250 million ice hockey arena for Dublin.You’ve heard of the Wild Atlantic Way – now check out a proposal for the Literary Way. Arts Over Borders is an organisation hoping to do for Irish literature what the coastal route has done for tourism.Presented by Aideen Finnegan