By DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland has contained and effectively suppressed the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the population at large but not in nursing homes where its spread remains a concern, the country’s chief medical officer said on Thursday.The assessment raised hopes that stay-at-home restrictions can be gradually eased from May 5. Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said earlier on Thursday that he hoped to set out a roadmap on how they could be eased before the May 5 expiry.Ireland reported 724 new cases to bring its total to 13,271 with 486 deaths, but officials said the...…By DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland has contained and effectively suppressed the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak in the population at large but not in nursing homes where its spread remains a concern, the country’s chief medical officer said on Thursday.The assessment raised hopes that stay-at-home restrictions can be gradually eased from May 5. Acting Prime Minister Leo Varadkar said earlier on Thursday that he hoped to set out a roadmap on how they could be eased before the May 5 expiry.Ireland reported 724 new cases to bring its total to 13,271 with 486 deaths, but officials said the...WW…

By DUBLIN (Reuters) - The leaders of Ireland’s rival Fianna Fail and Fine Gael parties will meet on Tuesday to sign off on a broad agreement struck by their negotiating teams aimed at attracting enough additional support to form a new government.Slideshow The centre-right parties, who have alternated in power throughout the nation’s history but have never formed a coalition together, need the support of at least one smaller party or eight independent lawmakers to reach a majority.Their two negotiating teams finalised a joint paper setting out broad policy goals on Monday. Fianna Fail leader...…By DUBLIN (Reuters) - The leaders of Ireland’s rival Fianna Fail and Fine Gael parties will meet on Tuesday to sign off on a broad agreement struck by their negotiating teams aimed at attracting enough additional support to form a new government.Slideshow The centre-right parties, who have alternated in power throughout the nation’s history but have never formed a coalition together, need the support of at least one smaller party or eight independent lawmakers to reach a majority.Their two negotiating teams finalised a joint paper setting out broad policy goals on Monday. Fianna Fail leader...WW…

Javascript is required for this site to display correctly."Fragile" isn't a word you'd associate with the normally boisterous Michael O'Leary, but these are still uncertain times and this is how the boss of Ryanair perceives Europe this summer.Matthew ParsonsRyanair said on Monday it was impossible to give a detailed forecast beyond hoping to return to “reasonable profitability” this year amid and the Ukraine war, after posting a smaller annual loss.The largest European airline by passenger numbers posted a $369.06 million loss for the pandemic-scarred 12 months to March 31 and said it...…Javascript is required for this site to display correctly."Fragile" isn't a word you'd associate with the normally boisterous Michael O'Leary, but these are still uncertain times and this is how the boss of Ryanair perceives Europe this summer.Matthew ParsonsRyanair said on Monday it was impossible to give a detailed forecast beyond hoping to return to “reasonable profitability” this year amid and the Ukraine war, after posting a smaller annual loss.The largest European airline by passenger numbers posted a $369.06 million loss for the pandemic-scarred 12 months to March 31 and said it...WW…

By , DUBLIN/TUAM, Ireland (Reuters) - Thousands of infants died in Irish homes for unmarried mothers and their offspring mostly run by the Catholic Church from the 1920s to the 1990s, an inquiry found on Tuesday, an “appalling” mortality rate that reflected brutal living conditions.The report, which covered 18 so-called Mother and Baby Homes where over decades young pregnant women were hidden from society, is the latest in a series of government-commissioned papers that have laid bare some of the Catholic Church’s worst abuses.Around 9,000 children died in all, Tuesday’s report found - a...…By , DUBLIN/TUAM, Ireland (Reuters) - Thousands of infants died in Irish homes for unmarried mothers and their offspring mostly run by the Catholic Church from the 1920s to the 1990s, an inquiry found on Tuesday, an “appalling” mortality rate that reflected brutal living conditions.The report, which covered 18 so-called Mother and Baby Homes where over decades young pregnant women were hidden from society, is the latest in a series of government-commissioned papers that have laid bare some of the Catholic Church’s worst abuses.Around 9,000 children died in all, Tuesday’s report found - a...WW…

By , LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Talk of a chaotic British split from the European Union grew on Tuesday with just three weeks left to break a deadlock in trade deal negotiations, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning that the two sides may have to accept “no deal”.The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a meeting of the bloc’s ministers that he believed a no-deal scenario at the end of the year was now more likely than an agreement on trade ties, an EU official and two diplomats told Reuters.Deepening the gloom, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said that unless there was a...…By , LONDON/DUBLIN (Reuters) - Talk of a chaotic British split from the European Union grew on Tuesday with just three weeks left to break a deadlock in trade deal negotiations, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson warning that the two sides may have to accept “no deal”.The EU’s chief negotiator, Michel Barnier, told a meeting of the bloc’s ministers that he believed a no-deal scenario at the end of the year was now more likely than an agreement on trade ties, an EU official and two diplomats told Reuters.Deepening the gloom, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said that unless there was a...WW…

Crunch time for Apple in fight against $21b EU tax orderWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementApple's clash with EU competition regulators comes to a head tonight as Europe's second-highest court rules on whether it has to pay €13 billion ($21 billion) in Irish back taxes, a key part of the EU's crackdown against sweetheart tax deals.In its order four years ago, the European Commission said Apple...…Crunch time for Apple in fight against $21b EU tax orderWe’re sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. We’re working to restore it. Please try again later.DismisscloseAdvertisementBy Log in, or to save articles for later.Normal text sizeLarger text sizeVery large text sizeAdvertisementApple's clash with EU competition regulators comes to a head tonight as Europe's second-highest court rules on whether it has to pay €13 billion ($21 billion) in Irish back taxes, a key part of the EU's crackdown against sweetheart tax deals.In its order four years ago, the European Commission said Apple...WW…

By DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland’s parliament picked veteran opposition leader Micheál Martin as prime minister on Saturday to head the first coalition uniting the two parties that have battled each other for power since a civil war nearly a century ago.Slideshow He pledged to rescue Ireland from the “the fastest-moving recession ever to hit”, brought on by the coronavirus crisis.Martin’s Fianna Fail party was forced to join forces with its foes Fine Gael, after a surprise election surge for leftist Irish nationalists Sinn Fein left neither of the traditional centrist parties with enough...…By DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland’s parliament picked veteran opposition leader Micheál Martin as prime minister on Saturday to head the first coalition uniting the two parties that have battled each other for power since a civil war nearly a century ago.Slideshow He pledged to rescue Ireland from the “the fastest-moving recession ever to hit”, brought on by the coronavirus crisis.Martin’s Fianna Fail party was forced to join forces with its foes Fine Gael, after a surprise election surge for leftist Irish nationalists Sinn Fein left neither of the traditional centrist parties with enough...WW…

By , DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland’s two dominant centre-right parties and the smaller Green Party agreed on Friday to form a new coalition government that will focus on climate action and end four months of political stalemate.Slideshow Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin is set to be elected prime minister on Saturday, replacing Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar, in a deal that for the first time unites the two rival parties that have dominated Irish politics since independence a century ago.Varadkar is then due to return to the prime minister’s office halfway through the five-year term under a novel...…By , DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ireland’s two dominant centre-right parties and the smaller Green Party agreed on Friday to form a new coalition government that will focus on climate action and end four months of political stalemate.Slideshow Fianna Fail leader Micheál Martin is set to be elected prime minister on Saturday, replacing Fine Gael’s Leo Varadkar, in a deal that for the first time unites the two rival parties that have dominated Irish politics since independence a century ago.Varadkar is then due to return to the prime minister’s office halfway through the five-year term under a novel...WW…

By , DUBLIN (Reuters) - The people of Ireland are set to liberalize some of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws by a landslide, two exit polls from a referendum showed on Friday, as voters demanded change in what two decades ago was one of Europe’s most socially conservative countries.An Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI exit poll suggested that voters in the once deeply Catholic nation had backed change by 68 percent to 32 percent. An RTE/Behaviour & Attitudes survey put the margin at 69 percent to 31 percent.If confirmed, the outcome will be the latest milestone on a path of change for a...…By , DUBLIN (Reuters) - The people of Ireland are set to liberalize some of the world’s most restrictive abortion laws by a landslide, two exit polls from a referendum showed on Friday, as voters demanded change in what two decades ago was one of Europe’s most socially conservative countries.An Irish Times/Ipsos MRBI exit poll suggested that voters in the once deeply Catholic nation had backed change by 68 percent to 32 percent. An RTE/Behaviour & Attitudes survey put the margin at 69 percent to 31 percent.If confirmed, the outcome will be the latest milestone on a path of change for a...WW…