New laws to allow nightclubs to open until 6am and pubs until 2.30am will lead to more trauma and deaths on Irish roads, the Road Safety Authority (RSA) has warned the Government. The RSA letter draws attention to Ireland’s “significant problem with drink-driving”, with a national survey last year finding one in 10 drivers reported driving after drinking. Last year, the State witnessed the highest number of road deaths in nine years, at 188 fatalities, with a high proportion occurring at weekends, late at night, and early in the morning, Ms O'Donnell wrote. She said the proposed legislation will “jeopardise” the Government’s targets to reduce the number of road deaths by 50% by 2030 and achieve zero deaths and injuries by 2050. “International research indicates that such extensions can increase drink-driving and increase road traffic collisions on rural roads,” she wrote.

Malachy McCourt in his apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in 2023. Photograph: Haruka Sakaguchi/The New York TimesNew York is mourning the loss of one its most gregarious and beloved exemplars of the Irish-American experience with Monday’s announcement of the death of Malachy McCourt. The writer, actor, barkeeper and general bon viveur wrote a celebrated biography, A Monk Swimming. Malachy McCourt was born in Brooklyn in 1931 but returned as a three-year-old to Ireland with his parents, who left New York in the midst of the depression. McCourt was married twice: first to Linda Wachsman and then to Diana Galin, with whom he lived in the same Upper West Side apartment for 59 years.

None of the forward trio were involved on Saturday as the Scots crashed to a damaging 31-29 defeat away to Italy. Squad update 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Ahead of the Ireland match, Glen Young, Hamish Watson and Jamie Bhatti are out of the squad. Their more experienced Warriors second-row colleague Scott Cummings, meanwhile, is adamant that Scotland will have no Rome hangover as they prepare for their championship-concluding match away to Ireland. Scotland suffered a dire defeat in Italy on Saturday (Adam Davy/PA)If Scotland – currently third in the table – lose on Saturday, they will end the tournament with just two wins from five and could feasibly finish fifth if Italy defeat Wales this weekend. “There’s going to be no shortage of motivation after Saturday’s game and the last time we played Ireland so we’re excited for it.

Vodafone to create 120 new jobs in next four yearsMichael BoltonVodafone Ireland have announced the creation of 120 new jobs over the next four years as part of a €35 million investment. This year will see 70 jobs created, in addition to €16 million investment into cybersecurity, networking and cloud technologies. The 70 new jobs created this year include roles across Vodafone’s Business Unit, Digital Operations, Digital Sales, SaaS and IoT Solutions, and are in addition to 40 graduate roles currently being filled in Vodafone Ireland. Sinéad Bryan, Managing Director of Vodafone Business in Ireland, said; “Today’s announcement marks an exciting time for Vodafone Business as we expand our portfolio of ICT solutions and services to Irish businesses to become a leading platform for innovation and growth. Vodafone is proud to have long been the preferred connectivity provider of Irish business.

US and Ireland must dedicate themselves to peace in Gaza, says VaradkarBy Cillian Sherlock, PAThe US and Ireland must dedicate themselves to peace in Gaza, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said during an address in Boston. Mr Varadkar made the comments as part of his first public speech during a week-long visit for St Patrick’s Day celebrations in the US. Mr Varadkar said: “We all know that there are guilty people who perpetrated unspeakable acts of terrorism. Mr Varadkar said it was “unconscionable” that children were dying due to bombing, hunger, thirst and lack of medical care. Mr Varadkar will hold further engagements in Boston on Tuesday before meeting President Biden in Washington later in the week.

Met Éireann issues warning for persistent and heavy rain amid unusually high tidesMet Éireann has issued a status-orange rain warning for Cork and Kerry. The weather agency said there will be heavy and persistent rain in both counties on Wednesday. Elsewhere, rain is set to spread from the west on Tuesday, and become persistent and heavy at times in the southwest and west through the day, Met Éireann said. Coastal flooding is possible due to unusually high tides. Met Éireann said the weather will remain unsettled for the rest of the week with rain or showers across most areas.

Man Utd’s Mason Mount back in training after four months out with calf issueBy Simon Peach, PA Chief Football WriterManchester United midfielder Mason Mount has returned to training after four months on the sidelines. Mount has not played since coming off the bench in United’s 1-0 win against Luton in November, but a return from a calf complaint is finally in sight. The Premier League club confirmed on Tuesday that the England international is back in training, just days after Erik ten Hag offered a promising update on him. “Mason Mount, I think he is in a good spell now and he will return shortly,” the Dutchman said on Friday. “I think after the international break.”Mount’s presence will be a welcome boost to a United side looking to push for Champions League qualification.

By Alex Wickham and Jamie NimmoRupert Murdoch’s News Corp. and the owner of the Daily Mail have held talks about a potential joint takeover of the Telegraph — one of the UK’s most famous newspapers — alongside the UAE-backed investment fund RedBird IMI, people familiar with the matter said. Representatives from the Daily Mail and General Trust — owner of the Daily Mail newspaper controlled by Jonathan Harmsworth — and News Corp.’s News UK unit have held back-channel conversations on how to form such a joint structure, they said. DMGT and News UK declined to comment, as did RedBird IMI, other than to say it isn’t involved in the discussions. Sheikh Mansour, the deputy prime minister of the UAE, owns the majority of Redbird IMI, sparking concerns from ministers in Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s cabinet about foreign state ownership, Bloomberg previously reported. DMGT and News UK have previously proposed a joint venture to combine their printing operations.

New Deposit Return Scheme for plastic drinks bottles and cans comes into effect from FebruaryNearly one million drinks containers were returned last weekend as part of the Deposit Return Scheme, bringing the total to over 5.6 million since it launched. Consumer can return their empty and undamaged plastic bottles or cans to participating shops and supermarkets nationwide, receiving their deposit back when they do so. Glass drinks containers are also not included. Consumers can locate their nearest deposit return point on the Re-turn website. There is a four-month transition period in place where retailers can sell both new drinks containers with the Re-turn logo and older containers that do not feature the logo.

It’s hardly too much of a stretch to say that two thundering, enthralling matches have saved this year’s championship. Although Ireland have been winning with little bother, it’s unsatisfactory stuff overall when no one else is competitive. Nika Amashukeli of Georgia refereed England's win over Ireland at Twickenham by having courteous and succinct communication with the players. Tadhg Furlong of Ireland is tackled by George Martin of England at Twickenham on Saturday. The referee has no option but to act on the information which he gets, so these calls must be spot on.

“ Pigeon House finished in front of Lark In The Mornin at Punchestown in January, and the Saxon Warrior gelding is one to note given that he is Jessica Harrington’s sole Festival runner. Although he is still a maiden having finished second on five occasions, Keith Donoghue’s mount is easily the most experienced in this field with eight hurdle runs and that’s a huge plus in a big-field handicap. Donoghue won’t have eaten much in the past few days to sweat down to 11-2 but his efforts may be rewarded, while Martin Brassil’s Ose Partir commands serious respect despite his unimpressive form figures. Verdict: Pigeon House can cause a major surprise for Harrington.

Sir, – That was a nice letter by Bairbre O’Hogan about the belated recognition of writer Winifred M Letts (March 11th). She was a fine poet too and it’s easy to find her sonnets. It has been a while now since I bought a copy of her poem The Hurley Player. It is framed and on the wall alongside me. I play squash now, instead of hurling, and when I win, or lose, a tournament, I tend to recite that lovely poem.

Experts fear the planned digital euro currency will leave consumers and businesses wide open to being scammed by cybercriminals. Compliance officers are responsible for ensuring all corporate processes and procedures in companies comply with the law. The ECB started preparatory work on the digital currency last November, with the earliest possible launch date recently mooted as 2026. Public Expenditure Minister Paschal Donohoe said recently that agreement on the rollout of a digital euro was still some years away. However, he said it would be critical to ensuring the euro currency remains relevant in the years ahead.

A new menopause drug which could reduce hot flushes for women unable to take hormone replacement therapy (HRT) should be covered under the Drugs Payment Scheme, Cork North West TD Aindrias Moynihan has urged. Veoza was approved by the European Medicines Agency in February and doctors expect it to be available here around April. Menopause expert Dr Deirdre Lundy previously told the Irish Examiner this new drug is “a really powerful weapon” against hot flushes. “Another woman who is undergoing cancer treatment at the moment, and knows that it [menopause] is out ahead, we would have been talking about Veoza,” he said. In response, the Department of Health said the process of evaluating the drug for use in Ireland is already underway.

Telegram has 900 million users and is nearing profitability, according to the owner of the secretive messaging app, as the company moves closer to a potential blockbuster stock market listing. He added that the platform has 900 million monthly active users, up from 500 million at the beginning of 2021. Critics have suggested that the Kremlin may have links to or leverage over Telegram, a claim that Durov dismissed as “inaccurate”. Durov declined to comment on a timeline or a possible venue but said Telegram had “studied several options”. Durov said Telegram planned to improve its moderation processes this year as multiple global elections unfold and “deploy AI-related mechanisms to address potential issues”.