Roscommon Town has been named the ‘Best Kept Large Town’ in Ireland in an all-island competition. The Minister for Rural and Community Development, Heather Humphreys today congratulated the winners of the all-island, Best Kept Town Competition. Ireland’s Best Kept Town is an all-island competition, in which some of the best villages and towns participating in the SuperValu TidyTowns competition, compete against their counterparts in Northern Ireland’s Best Kept competition. Randalstown, County Antrim was named overall winner of Ireland’s Best Kept Town competition, 2024. In other award categories Malin, County Donegal won the Best Kept Village category while Roscommon Town won the Best Kept Large Town category.

Ms Hackett was appointed to Cabinet from the Seanad by Green Party leader Eamon Ryan when the Coalition was formed in 2020. A senior Green Party source said: “Several of the parliamentary party members have been coming together to support a non-Dublin leader and will back publicly”. Media Minister Catherine Martin will not seek the leadership of the Green Party and is to resign as deputy leader. Speaking about her decision not to seek the leadership, Ms Martin said her focus is on her ministerial portfolio and her constituency. The Green Party is preparing for a three-week leadership contest with at least two members of the parliamentary party preparing bids.

More than 2.1 million applications to vote have been submitted since the election was called, Government figures show. All voters intending to cast a ballot in the General Election on July 4 will not only need to be registered but also show a form of photo identification at the polling station. Applications to vote by post in the General Election need to be submitted by 5pm on June 19 for people in England, Scotland and Wales. Want to vote in the general election taking place on 4 July? ❗ Register now 🔽 https://t.co/f3iZY0E8Kn — Electoral Commission (@ElectoralCommUK) June 17, 2024Mr Sunak said it was important to register to vote in the General Election because Britain’s future was at stake.

Green Party leader and Minister for Transport Eamon Ryan announced that he will be stepping down as party leader and will not run in the next election.

Weather Alert...EXTENDED PERIOD OF HOT AND HUMID CONDITIONS EXPECTED... An extended period of hot and humid conditions continues across all of Central Indiana through next weekend. Daily high temperatures around or above 90 degrees with heat index values approaching 100 degrees may be hazardous for sensitive and vulnerable populations. Take extra precautions if spending time outside during peak heating of the day.

Hotels lobby also concerned about impact of industrial action on domestic tourismPILOTS have served notice of an indefinite work-to-rule at Aer Lingus this evening. ​A strike by Aer Lingus pilots is likely to cost the airline between €20m and €25m a day, the company has warned. Their union is legally required to give Aer Lingus a minimum of seven days’ notice, meaning their action could begin next week. That would cost Aer Lingus between €40m to €45m a year. Captain Tighe said the pay claim was “to ensure that pilots’ pay has the same purchasing power as it did in 2019”.

New research on the world’s cheapest and most expensive cities for parking has shown that Dublin scored in joint-ninth place for the highest fines and charges alongside Toronto. In contrast, New Delhi came in second for the cheapest after Kuala Lumpur. The research, from rental platform, DiscoverCars.com, is based on the average cost of hourly parking and the average parking infraction fine. Dublin and Toronto totaling 127 points each. The Irish capital city’s score was due to an average hourly parking rate of €3.71 and a parking violation, costing €120.12.

Of course, employers don’t need to be mandated to provide better support for employees experiencing domestic violence. The Irish government has produced guidance for employers; suggestions that UK employers could easily adopt. These include ensuring uncomplicated, confidential access to support at work, and training employees to handle situations involving domestic abuse confidently and empathetically. Domestic abuse can often include financial control, so it’s important to think about how leave is reported. Employers could also offer membership of an income protection scheme that will cover employees’ salaries for a longer period if they are unable to work due to domestic violence.

By Michelle Goldberg / The New York TimesThis week I finally got to see “The Apprentice,” an absorbing, disturbing movie about the relationship between red-baiting mob lawyer Roy Cohn and a young Donald Trump. Just as impressive is Sebastian Stan, who makes Trump legible as a human being rather than the grotesque hyperobject we all know today. It’s not a sympathetic portrayal, exactly; this is, after all, a movie that depicts Trump raping his first wife, Ivana. In a second Trump term, the Department of Justice is expected to be far more aggressive in persecuting Trump’s perceived enemies. “If you do not immediately cease all publication and marketing of the movie, President Trump will pursue every appropriate legal means to hold you accountable for this gross violation of President Trump and the American people’s rights,” Trump’s lawyer wrote.

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Fifty-year high of 40,000 domestic abuse cases against women and children in 2023James CoxWomen's Aid is reporting the highest number of domestic abuse cases in its 50-year history, with over 40,000 disclosures in 2023. The Women’s Aid Annual Report for 2023 shows a shocking 40,048 disclosures of abuse against women and children. Disclosures of abuse to Women's Aid last year included emotional abuse, physical violence, sexual abuse, and economic control. Many of these combine to constitute coercive control, which is now a criminal offence in Ireland. There was an alarming increase in both physical violence (up 74 per cent) and economic abuse (up 87 per cent).

Deportation flights could begin 'by end of year'James CoxDeportation flights from Ireland could begin "by the end of the year" according to the Department of Justice. The Government confirmed it has started a tendering process for chartered flights to ease pressure on immigration services. "Providing access to charter flights will be a useful additional operational and enforcement resource for An Garda Síochána when the use of commercial carriers is not appropriate. Subject to the successful completion of the tender process and other relevant arrangements, I intend to see charter flights operational by the end of the year.”A total of 860 deportation orders have been signed this year. The Department of Justice said these included "forced return, voluntary return etc".

Legislation to allow for Irish citizenship to be revoked will be brought before the Dáil this week. Minister for Justice Helen McEntee will tell Cabinet that the process would only be applied in “very limited circumstances”. This would be when someone who was given citizenship in the State is later deemed to pose a threat or discovered to have attained their status through fraudulent means. The EU pact will allow for fingerprinting and photographing of new migrants coming into the country, and the bolstering of border security. There would also be quicker processing at designated centres for asylum seekers who arrive into Ireland with no identification papers or from countries designated as safe.

The Met Office said temperatures could reach as high as 24C in south-east England and 20C in Scotland by Friday. Oli Claydon, spokesman for the Met Office, said: “As we progress through June, obviously the temperatures are going to generally increase on average anyway, but it will feel more summer-like, especially in the sunshine. More changeable weather will bring rain at times throughout Friday, with temperatures still “recovering” in the south to around average and still higher but more “subdued” further north. Highs of 24C could be seen in south-east England on Monday, Thursday and Friday with low twenties possible on the other days. Across the north temperatures will reach the high teens throughout the week with peaks in isolated areas, with Edinburgh expected to see 20C on Friday.

Curam was established in 2015 with an initial commitment of Government investment of €64.8 million through Science Foundation Ireland. This puts its economic value at €756 million and a more than 10-fold return on Government funding, according to the university. Investment in Curam has also supported a total of 2,547 jobs in the Irish economy. Welcoming the report, Minister for Further and Higher Education Patrick O’Donovan said: “I congratulate Curam for its significant impact on the Irish economy and society. “This report demonstrates the importance of the Government’s policy of continuing to invest in research and innovation and supporting excellence and scale through the world-leading SFI Research Centre Network, in areas of strategic national importance.