In The News

Last year, nearly 5,000 cars were stolen across Ireland – making it the worst year for car thefts in more than a decade. Opportunists and joyriders have always stolen cars but what is new, according to Conor Lally, is the gangs now operating across the country. They typically steal high-value cars, bring them to remote chop shops, break up the cars and export the parts. Lally explains how are they...

Dublin’s housing market has reached the point where a three-bed semi-detached house in Coolock priced at €475,000 is deemed ‘affordable.’ The long awaited development of state-owned land off Oscar Traynor Road was supposed to yield public housing and affordable purchase homes between €204k and €306k. But now that the first sixteen homes are coming on stream, the actual price is up to €170k higher...

Revelations that members of UK prime minister Rishi Sunak's inner circle correctly bet on the timing of the general election have damaged the Tory party as it tries to shore up support ahead of an expected Labour victory. To add to Sunak's woes, Nigel Farage's Reform UK party is polling well. London correspondent Mark Paul on whether Sunak can avoid an historic wipeout next week - and whether Fara...

Another protest is planned today in Limerick over the suspended sentence handed down to a serving soldier who was convicted of assault last week. Two years ago, 22 year-old Cathal Crotty beat his victim, Natasha O'Brien, until she was unconscious and later bragged about it on social media. The 24 year-old woman was set upon in the unprovoked attack after she asked him to stop shouting homophobic s...

The war of words between Aer Lingus and the pilots union Ialpa ratcheted up at the weekend with the airline accusing Ialpa of “blackmail” and the union responding with claims of “greed” and refusing to rule out an all-out strike. On Sunday both sides said they were ready for talks while blaming the other side for being the stumbling block to meaningful negotiations happening. At the heart of this...

This week the Dáil will vote on the EU migration and asylum pact. Why is Ireland opting in to the EU-wide system of migration control? And how will it operate? And why is it proving controversial – not just in Ireland but in states across Europe? Irish Times social affairs correspondent Kitty Holland explains. Presented by Bernice Harrison. Produced by Suzanne Brennan. Hosted on Acast. See acast.c...

“Slow ticketing”, VIP packages and platinum pricing - there's a new lexicon involved in buying concert tickets. But all of them involve forking out much more for certain concerts since live entertainment resumed after the pandemic. Anyone who managed to snag tickets for Taylor Swift at the Aviva next Friday will probably have spent about €200. Why are concert tickets so expensive now, how much res...

The global heroin supply is under threat. But observers of international narcotic trends warn that drugs addicts will replace heroin with - synthetic opioids including Fentanyl and nitazenes - are even worse. Crime Editor Conor Lally explains why these drugs may soon be making headlines in Ireland. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

The Green Party leader, Eamon Ryan, is stepping down after 13 years at the helm. However, the Transport Minister is staying on as a member of the Cabinet, as the government enters its final phase in power. He says it will be up to the next leader of the party to decide if he remains in that role. The Greens lost their European seats and half their councillors in the local and European elections ea...

Last April, Jonathan Creswell’s trial for the rape and murder of 21-year-old Katie Simpson opened in Derry’s Crown Court.      But as we heard in yesterday’s episode , it only sat for one day.  In today's episode, part 2, journalist Tanya Fowles explains how the prosecution's opening statements painted a terrifying picture of what really happened to Katie Simpson at the ha...

In August 2020, in a small housing estate in Derry, 21-year-old Katie Simpson was found in a critical condition. According to the man who discovered her, her brother-in-law Jonathan Creswell, the young woman had attempted suicide. Six days later, Katie died in hospital from her injuries. The community was shocked that this outgoing and talented showjumper had taken her own life. But all was not as...

When the UK banned ownership of XL Bully dogs – with certain exemptions – on February 1st, In The News explored whether Ireland should also consider a similar ban, particularly in the wake of the disfiguring of a nine year old boy in Co. Wexford. But authorities were slow to act, until this week which saw the funeral of 23-year-old Nicole Morey in Limerick. She died having been attacked at her hal...

As the fast fashion behemoth, Shein, prepares to float on the London Stock Exchange, there's renewed focus on the company's sustainability credentials and conditions for garment workers. Undercover footage from last year's Channel 4 documentary 'Untold: Inside the Shein machine' exposed breaches of Chinese labour laws and Shein's own code of conduct. The company insists it is "investing tens of mi...

It's all over bar the shouting in the local elections while in the European elections, counting is continuing in centres around the country. Sinn Féin has been left licking its wounds after a poor showing while Independents are the big winners in local government. Members of the far-right have made a foothold in mainstream politics for the first time and there appear to be more floating voters tha...

Israeli forces rescued four hostages captured by Hamas and held since October in a raid in Gaza on Saturday that Palestinian officials said resulted in the death of more than 200 people, one of the single bloodiest Israeli assaults of the eight-month-old war . The Israeli military claimed that less than 100 people died during the operation - still a significant death toll. Meanwhile, on Sunday, Is...

What happened on day two of the local and European election count? Yesterday evening on The Irish Times Inside Politics podcast, host Hugh Linehan talked to Jack Horgan-Jones and Harry McGee about the latest news from count centres, and also to Taoiseach Simon Harris about his reaction to better than expected results for Fine Gael and its coalition partners. Will Harris now be tempted to call an e...

Today and tomorrow voters will find out who will fill council seats up and down the country and who Ireland will send to Europe to represent its interests. In most constituencies the ballot papers facing voters were longer than ever – with candidates from new parties with far-right policy platforms, as well as many independents who broadly share the same views, seeking election. Forceful anti-immi...

Sophie Power has just done something extraordinary – she ran 563km from Malin Head to Mizen Head in record time. It took her a record-breaking three days, 12 hours and eight minutes and she beat the existing record by an astonishing three hours. And it’s not even her most gruelling run – not by long way. The 41 year-old mother to Donnacha, Cormac and Saoirse is an ultra runner and the morning afte...

With a landslide victory for Keir Starmer’s Labour Party predicted, the UK general election looks to be all over bar the shouting. But then this week the shoutiest voice in British politics, Nigel Farage, announced he is to run for Reform UK. Mark Paul explains why that’s more bad news for the Tories – and a jolt of excitement in what has been a dull run up to the July 4th election. Also on Tuesda...

Have you ever shared a photo of your child wearing her Halloween costume on Instagram? Or, perhaps you’ve uploaded a video of your nephew dancing to TikTok. We live in a world where sharing images of our lives, and in turn the lives of our children, has become completely normalised. But there are serious safety risks and privacy concerns around this type of content. Deepfakes using a child's image...

On Friday 7th June, the country will go to the polls to decide who should represent us at a local and European level. Voters will elect 14 MEPs to the European Parliament and 949 councillors to 31 local authorities.   While it’s easier to feel the tangible changes that are made by city and county councillors, it’s perhaps harder to get a handle on what exactly our MEPs do for us.  &...

This week, father and daughter Tom and Molly Martens will be released from prison after serving just over six months for killing Jason Corbett in 2015. The pair were sentenced last November, following their guilty plea of involuntary manslaughter.   Following the sentencing hearing last year, documentary maker and journalist Brian Carroll spoke to In the News, about the Marten’s case and...

A plan to reintroduce National Service in Britain has been roundly criticised by former military personnel and opposition parties alike. But serving your country militarily is an accepted part of life in many countries like Finland, Sweden and Israel. Security analyst, Declan Power, explains how people in Scandinavia are predisposed to the idea because it's woven into their life in the same way Ga...

Earlier this month, Google launched AI Overviews – software which uses artificial intelligence to answer people’s questions quickly, skipping the step of scrolling through links. The new search system has made headlines for generating hilariously incorrect answers, a glitch Google says it is taking swift action to remedy. But this bumpy start will quickly be ironed out, says Irish Times writer Hug...

In the past week, two incidences of severe air turbulence have made international headlines. More than 100 people were injured and one man died last week when a Singapore Airlines plane flying from London to Singapore hit an unexpected air pocket, forcing the plane to make an emergency landing in Bangkok. Five days later, on Sunday, six passengers and six crew members were injured following turbul...