Protesters ended a month-long occupation of Bord Bia headquarters today after it was agreed that chairman Larry Murrin will temporarily step aside while an independent review is conducted. The Irish Farmers' Association organised protests outside the Bord Bia offices, as well as outside Leinster House, while Mr Murrin was questioned by the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee. He said: “I am pleased that my proposal for an independent governance review of the board of Bord Bia has been accepted and that the ongoing protest has been stood down. Bord Bia chair Larry Murrin will remain as chair of Bord Bia but will not chair the meetings during the review period. "Bord Bia are also progressing a new Farmers Forum, which will provide an opportunity for renewed engagement between farmers and Bord Bia.

Bus Éireann was penalised more than €735,000 for poor punctuality within Cork City, according to new figures. Fine 'reflects cost savings'Regarding cancelled services, the department said that the deduction “reflects cost savings made by Bus Éireann in not operating services”. Public transport security forceSeparately, the Department of Transport discussed plans to implement a new public transport security force, maintaining that antisocial behaviour on such routes “remains a serious issue”. It said it hoped to have the planned new transport security force in place from 2027 onwards. It emerged last week that the new security force, which has been mooted for several years, will have the powers to both arrest and pursue suspects.

The Labour Party has published legislation aimed at reopening the planning process for a €100m critical‑care wing at the Rotunda Hospital, after the project was refused permission last month. Labour health spokesperson Marie Sherlock said her bill would force the Government to formally clarify its position on co‑location. Labour health spokesperson Marie Sherlock: 'The critical care wing has been spoken about for more than 20 years.' 'Co-location is still best practice'A Department of Health spokesperson said in a statement that co-location remains international best practice. "This Government is committed to driving improvements across maternity services including continued investment in the Rotunda Hospital," the spokesperson said.

Read More Wales face out-half switch for for Ireland Six Nations clashFate’s fickle hand intervened again — Hansen hasn’t played since. So, it fell to Osborne to step back into the breach and play the part for the first three rounds of this Championship. “It's helpful, definitely, stacking games on games because you get a bit more used to the role, a bit more confidence week on week. Anything that you need to work on from the previous week, you're able to implement that. If you're going up to slap it and then you realise, ‘Oh, I could catch it cleanly,’ it's really harder to change what you're going to do.

Sit-in protest at Bord Bia ends following promise of reviewBy Rebecca Black, Press AssociationA long-running sit-in protest at Bord Bia has ended following a commitment to an independent review. The Bord Bia board agreed to an independent expert-led governance review into its operations during a meeting on Monday. IFA president Francie Gorman said five “heroic” farmers occupied Bord Bia for 28 days. “I am pleased that my proposal for an independent governance review of the board of Bord Bia has been accepted and that the ongoing protest has been stood down,” he said. “It is now time to come together to support the essential work of Bord Bia, which delivers important benefits for farmers and the agri-food sector as a whole.”

A selloff in stocks deepened on Tuesday and the dollar strengthened as investors considered the implications of US and Israeli strikes on Iran on ‌energy prices and the global economy. Asian stocks extended losses into a second day as mounting conflict in the Middle East intensified risk-off sentiment among investors. The Korean benchmark Kospi sank as much as 6.9 per cent, the most since August 2024, as the market reopened after a holiday. Chip heavyweights Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix dragged the gauge lower, dropping nearly 10 per cent each. Still, Korea’s Kospi and Taiwan’s Taiex Index are up 42 per cent and 20 per cent respectively this year, among the best-performing gauges globally.

A man who pleaded guilty to causing unnecessary suffering to seven dogs in his care has been ordered to pay more than €15,000 in fines and costs and disqualified from keeping dogs for 10 years. When she called to O’Neill’s property, she said she found an adult collie, a juvenile collie, four collie pups and an adult terrier being kept in a shed. The shed floor was covered in faeces and all the dogs had matted coats and were encrusted with faeces. There was only one bowl of water in the shed and one of the collie pups was so thirsty that it was drinking effluent. He ordered him to pay €500 fines on six of the offences as well as pay €10,766 in costs for rehabilitating the pups, €2,500 in legal costs, and €1,600 in veterinary witness costs.

Why have the US and Israel attacked Iran? Our Europe Correspondent, Naomi O'Leary, takes us through the latest. Video: Naomi O'Leary

A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Monday after the plane suffered a reported engine failure. The Boeing 787 had to deploy emergency evacuation slides on the runway so passengers could flee the plane. A United Airlines flight made an emergency landing at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) on Monday after the plane suffered a reported engine failureAfter the emergency landing, the LAFD confirmed the plane landed safely. 'LAFD crews have confirmed United flight #2127 has landed safely and is clear of all passengers and crew members following reported engine problems,' the agency said. United Airlines also confirmed the landing, telling the Post: 'United flight 2127 safely returned to Los Angeles to address an issue with one of the engines.

A SENSORY swap-and-play event to support children with additional needs is coming to Cork on March 29. The Toy Library, Ireland’s first digital toy-sharing platform, is hosting it in the Aula Maxima at UCC. This event is being organised in response to parents asking for calm, welcoming play spaces for children with sensory sensitivities and diverse developmental needs. There are sections that include 12 ways with chicken, eight ways with beef, and six ways with pork. The diary is produced by Sligo woman Eileen Forrestal and is designed to be fun and easy to use.

There were two objections to Estuary View’s application, one from Carmel Cantwell on behalf of the Bessborough Mother and Baby Home Support Group (BMBHSG), and the other from Labour Party councillor Peter Horgan. In 2021, the Mother and Baby Homes Commission reported 923 child deaths related to Bessborough, 107 more than were disclosed to the GRO. Of the 816 Bessborough babies whose deaths were disclosed to the State, Zoei was the last. Her brother William was born in Bessborough in 1960 and died weeks later. Mother and Baby Home Bessborough Front PageBMBHSG will hold a vigil at 1pm on Sunday, March 8, at the Bessborough gates.

I had to come get her.”From the Kerry mum’s perspective, her daughter’s school avoidance happened overnight 18 months ago. Sheila Clarke: 'Post-pandemic, we’re seeing alarming rates of absence. In 2024-2025, the service’s educational welfare officers worked with 8,259 individual children around school avoidance. Parent coach Margaret Gilbert: 'With school avoidance, children are coming from a genuinely emotionally distressed place.' “Social media plays a part, something happening outside school spills into their not wanting to go in.”Antoinette has seen “school can’t” play out in her office.

Fiba EuroBasket 2029 pre-qualifiers: Ireland 91 Luxembourg 85Ireland put in a dogged performance to beat Luxembourg 91-85 and pick up their first win of their FIBA EuroBasket 2029 Pre-Qualifiers campaign and first under new head coach Michael Bree. A Fulton layup had Ireland 15-9 up midway through the quarter. Ireland responded emphatically with back-to back three’s from Zona and Leonard, to put them 71-60 ahead two minutes in. A Fulton three and a Quinn layup helped Ireland into a 77-69 lead halfway through the quarter. Fulton was pulling the strings, he picked out Quinn for his layup and Ireland led 84-74 with three and a half minutes remaining.

Photograph: Stephen Collins/CollinsA ban on social media companies using recommender algorithms to suggest content to under-18s is to be proposed in the Dáil by People Before Profit. The private member’s Bill, which is due to be debated in the Dáil this week, opposes any ban on under-16s having access to social media, arguing that many children would find a way around the age ban and still be exposed to extreme material. It argues that changing how social media companies recommend material to young people would be a more effective means of preventing them seeing harmful content. Recommender algorithms profile internet users based on their age, profile and social media use, and then direct them to similar content, some of which can be extreme. “I would say 16- and 17-year-olds are among the most targeted with toxic content by the social media companies,” said People Before Profit TD Paul Murphy.

Wales outhalf Sam Costelow has been ruled out of the Ireland game with an ankle injury. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty ImagesWales outhalf Sam Costelow has been ruled out of Friday’s Six Nations match against Ireland in Dublin. Jarrod Evans is also an option and Wales’ attack coach Matt Sherratt praised the level of competition between his side’s current group of number 10s. “There are people in the squad who don’t feel like they’ve pulled their weight or performed well enough. Outhalf Fin Smith was unable to train on Monday because of illness and secondrow Ollie Chessum sat out the session for loading reasons.