The Taoiseach has said the proposals to relax self-isolation rules for people who are close contacts of people with Covid are coming about because the success of the vaccination programme.

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson will today have to fight to defend his premiership after it was revealed a "bring your own booze" gathering was held at his official residence during the first coronavirus lockdown.

Property owners are being urged to pay their local Property Tax ahead of today's 5pm deadline and to ensure they have submitted an updated valuation for their property.

Novak Djokovic has admitted to "errors" in his travel papers and in his behaviour after a claimed coronavirus infection as he battles to stay in Australia and fight for a record 21st Grand Slam.

Legislation to provide access for adopted people to records and their birth certificates will be published by the Minister for Children.

The Health Service Executive and the Department of Health have been unable to provide data on the number of patients with Covid-19 in hospital and the number admitted for other reasons who happen to test positive while in hospital.

More than 1,000 students from across the island of Ireland are preparing to exhibit their projects at the 58th BT Young Scientist and Technology Exhibition, which will be officially opened by President Michael D Higgins.

The rate at which the price of used cars is increasing has reached a new high, driven by the supply shortages caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and Brexit.

Salaries are expected to rise between 5-10% this year in certain sectors, according to the latest Irish salary guide by Morgan McKinley.

China is battling coronavirus outbreaks in several cities, testing the country's strict 'zero-Covid' strategy just weeks before Beijing hosts the Winter Olympics.

Minister for Tourism, Culture, Arts and Media Catherine Martin is to seek Government approval to publish the Online Safety and Media Regulation Bill.

Hong Kong will outlaw a host of new national security crimes, the city's leader has said, as she presided over the first session of a new "patriots only" legislature scrubbed of political opposition.

The average take home pay of workers on the minimum wage increased over the years from 2016-2018, according to new research from the Economic and Social Research Institute.

A clinical director at a hospital in the midlands has said that a Government decision to change the isolation rules for asymptomatic Covid close contacts would "make a huge difference" to staffing issues.

WHO experts have warned that repeating booster doses of the original Covid vaccines is not a viable strategy against emerging variants and called for new vaccines that better protect against transmission.

There must be a complete transformation of society in order for Ireland's emissions targets to be reached, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

A man who was arrested yesterday by gardaí investigating the disappearance of a Lithuanian woman over three years ago has been released without charge.

Body cams for gardaí in Ireland have been long promised, but are yet to be delivered. Legislation to allow for their use is currently before the Dáil, explains Barry Cummins.

The Special Criminal Court has agreed to hear an application by the former Defence Forces member Lisa Smith to have the charges against her dismissed.

Government is working on a proposal to have a "double bank holiday" for St Patrick's Day this year and a new bank holiday for St Brigid's Day on 1 February, according to the Tánaiste.