Taoiseach Micheál Martin has robustly defended the extent of his foreign travel during 2025, arguing that international engagement is vital and that going back to an “isolationist position” where Ireland does not attend any meeting is “ridiculous”. Mr Martin has been abroad 20 times since becoming Taoiseach early this year. Mr Starmer has travelled abroad on fewer occasions than the Taoiseach this year. The Taoiseach questioned the premise of such a position and said it was not an objective one. He has travelled to Angola from South Africa where he attended the G20 summit over the course of the weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said there were “signals that President [Donald] Trump’s team is hearing us”. Mr Zelenskiy had earlier said that Ukraine was grateful to the United States and to Mr Trump for all US efforts aimed at helping Kyiv. European leaders have made clear that the Moscow-drafted demands endorsed by Mr Trump are mostly unacceptable. If Mr Zelenskiy signed off on the proposals Kyiv would be forced to give up its freedoms, he said. It belongs to Ukraine.” She said Mr Zelenskiy was a “smart person” and predicted he would not give up Ukrainian land.

Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee who, with other EU trade ministers is meeting US commerce secretary Howard Lutnick on Monday. Ireland will be asking the Trump administration to lift trade tariffs on whiskey, medical devices and certain agricultural products, Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade Helen McEntee has said. Goods on the EU’s wish list include pasta, cheese, wines, whiskey and olive oil. Speaking before the meeting on Monday, Ms McEntee said the Government would be pushing for key Irish industries to benefit from any possible tariff cut. The discussion will take place over lunch, where the two sides will also cover steeper 50 per cent tariffs on steel imports, and their approach to China.

Property developer Sean Mulryan: new AIB facility will allow construction of 2,000, and maybe up to 4,000, homes. Photograph: Eric LukeProperty developer Ballymore says it will build 2,000 new A-rated homes and could build up to 4,000 after it agreed refinancing of more than €130 million with AIB. AIB said the refinancing reflected the “strong relationship” the bank has with Ballymore, and succeeds the provision of facilities to Sean Mulryan’s Ballymore by AIB over the last four years. The refinancing facility will include Home Building Finance Ireland as a new minority partner, providing about 12 per cent of the total syndicate debt. “Our track record with Ballymore is strong and this new facility is our commitment to continue financing new A-graded sustainable homes.

Sir, – I am trying to finish several jobs today on a renovation project and need to call about seven different people. It has become almost impossible to speak to a real human being when dealing with companies or public services. One simple conversation with a real person could prevent minutes turning into hours, and hours into days, just to get a straightforward answer. We are told we have more ways than ever to contact companies, yet every path seems designed to avoid human contact entirely. A society that stops talking to its people risks losing more than efficiency; it risks losing trust, loyalty and common decency.

Several senior officers said Hutch is highly motivated to secure a Dáil seat. Gerry 'The Monk' Hutch arriving at the RDS count centre during the General Election count last year. The 62-year-old Dubliner teased another run for a Dáil seat by taking to social media after Mr Donohoe announced last week he was leaving politics. How did Gerry ‘The Monk’ Hutch lose out in Dublin Central in 2024? He secured bail, enabling him to run in the general election last November, but remains under investigation, along with others, in Spain.

Last week, the Labour government in Britain announced its intention to reform – again – its asylum system based on the Danish restrictive model. Secondly, the Danish and UK (and now Irish) crisis narratives need to be examined. But the UK asylum figures are still a lot less than those in France, Italy, Germany and Spain. [ Asylum seekers should not view Ireland more favourably than UK, says O’CallaghanOpens in new window ]The EU as a bloc hosted just over one million asylum seekers in 2024. Ciara Smyth is professor in the School of Law and Irish Centre for Human Rights at the University of Galway

Demonstrators from the Campaign to Pass the Occupied Territories Bill have pressed consistently for its passage through Dáil Éireann. Photograph:The US state department has criticised the Occupied Territories Bill, describing it as “unhelpful virtue signalling”, marking an escalation in US opposition to the proposed legislation. This intervention marks the first time that the US Government has criticised the Bill directly. The Government has committed to bringing forward the Occupied Territories Bill. However, Tánaiste Simon Harris has previously said he wants to see services included – but only if a legally robust way of doing so can be found.

But the G20 leaders’ meeting in Johannesburg offered a glimpse of a world without Washington’s leadership. A shifting centre of gravityAs Harry McGee reports from Johannesburg Donald Trump’s boycott cast a shadow over the first G20 summit to be held in Africa. But the absence of the United States failed to derail the event or to stop the other participants from affirming a common agenda at odds with Trump’s. The US, which opposes all of these positions, warned the summit against adopting a declaration in its absence. And as the incoming presidency of the G20 the US will be able to ignore those elements of the declaration it dislikes.

Almost all of the items tracked – 95 per cent – left Ireland and 60 per cent ended up outside the EU. Clothes Pods are operated by Textile Recycling Limited, a commercial operator with over 2,000 clothing banks in Ireland. The rest of the reused items successfully tracked ended up across Europe, Africa or the Middle East. [ The future of fashion: ‘Clothes banks are overflowing with crap. Clothing banks are currently not legally obliged to report where they send discarded clothing.

We look each other in the eye and say ‘I’ve got your back, you’ve got mine, let’s go after it together’. We kept fighting, even down to 12 men, we kept making it hard for them to cross our line. I think that will stand for us as a group and as a team. I think that game will stand to all of us and especially those young boys. Photograph: Gary Carr/InphoBut he praised the fight the team showed and believes that character will stand to the team.

Only time will tell how damaging Saturday’s 24-13 defeat to South Africa at a feverish Aviva Stadium will prove to be for this Irish team, and particularly for its scrum. But it could certainly have been much worse, and Andy Farrell maintained his team will take more positives from this astonishing game than seemed conceivable. The Irish head coach had been relatively critical of his side’s performances in losing to New Zealand and beating Japan. [ Ireland-South Africa game should be a watershed moment in rugby’s officiating crisisOpens in new window ]“He’s gutted,” said Farrell. Ireland conceded a penalty try, two yellow cards, six penalties and two more tries with scrum penalty advantages on Saturday.

The Communist Party of Ireland action for the defence of the triple lock: Party had income of €208,767 in 2024. Under new rules governing accounts filed by political parties, more information is given about property and party-controlled businesses than was the case up to now. The 2024 accounts filed with Sipo put a value of €1.4 million on the part of the building owned by the party. Total party income for the year was €221,824, total outlay was €191,540, leaving a surplus of €30,284. Among the flags being sold by the CPI are a party flag, a China flag, the flag of North Korea, the Cuban flag, the Irish flag, the Palestinian flag, the Progress Pride flag, the flag of the USSR and starry plough flags in red or blue.

JCIchigo Ichie Bistro5 Sheares Street, Cork, Co Cork; 021-4279997, ichigoichie.ieOwner and head chef Takashi Miyazaki’s hand-made noodle process at Ichigo Ichie. Star billing goes to the handmade buckwheat noodles, served hot and cold in various dishes. JCIzz Cafe14 George’s Quay, Cork, Co Cork; 021-2290689, izz.ieIzzedeen (Izz) Alkarajeh and Eman Aburabi, co-owners of Izz Café in Cork. ADKing Skewer8 Cathedral Street, Dublin 1; 01-4458207 kingskewer.ieKing Skewer, 8 Cathedral Street, Dublin 1. CHThe Dough BrosCathedral Buildings, 1 Middle Street, Galway, Co Galway; thedoughbros.ieEugene and Ronan Greaney of The Dough BrosOur pizza obsession owes much to brothers Ronan and Eugene Greaney, whose Dough Bros business continues to thrive.

When shopping online during Black Friday, it's worth noting that bogus sites can impersonate well-known stores or brands. Photograph: Andrew Matthews/PACriminals are “primed” to take advantage of the annual surge in online shopping this week. She warned that scammers will use contaminated links hidden within emails, social media and online adverts “which lead unsuspecting shoppers to counterfeit websites”. “Worryingly, our research also highlighted that one in five shoppers admit to not taking basic security precautions when shopping online,” Ms Davenport said. “If you think you have fallen victim to an online shopping scam, contact your bank immediately using the number on the back of your debit or credit card and report the incident to the Gardaí.”