NewsBank (Irish Times: Web Edition Articles (Dublin, Ireland))

No one could have predicted the current Middle East landscape 12 months ago.

Hizbullah rockets hit Israel's third-largest city of Haifa, police said early on Monday, and Israeli media reported 10 injured in the country's north on the first anniversary of the Gaza war, which has spread in the Middle East.

Sir, – It is difficult not to question the thinking behind the €9 million allocated for mobile-phone pouches in Budget 2025.

"Asking prices" are rising at their fastest rate in two years in the property market, and one in seven homes is selling for 20 per cent above those figures, according to the latest quarterly house price report from MyHome.ie. It says asking prices are now 7.5 per cent up on the same time last year, writes Laura Slattery.

The other week an economist at the University of Chicago named Chris Blattman posted 10 pieces of advice on X about how to email a professor or another senior member of the professional classes.

Minister for Social Protection Heather Humphreys says she will "shortly" begin the search for investment firms to manage assets under auto-enrolment (AE) after she this week signs a commencement order that will see the long-delayed mandatory workplace pension scheme begin operations at the end of September next year.

This summer, I had a writing residency in Denmark. Residencies can be odd; the premise sounds luxurious – nothing to do except write your book – but for exactly that reason, they can be uncomfortable. You're there for a job of work. There are no more excuses: face the page and write. I was finishing a novel, which is easier than starting one, and I'd been aching to go back to it through a busy...

Sinn Féin is under renewed pressure to clarify when senior figures learned that party officials had provided references for a former employee who was then under police investigation and was later convicted of child sex offences.

Today VHI and the Irish Youth Foundation announced details of the nine projects awarded grants through the VHI Health and Wellbeing Fund.

Mr Smith, this is not a hotel and, as you'll understand, I don't take reservations. It's probably why you encountered "some difficulties with the booking process" at my email address. Of course you were "unable to complete the payment and confirm the reservation".

The European Union is stuck in a paradox. Virtually everyone agrees that most of former European Central Bank president Mario Draghi's recommendations for raising productivity growth are good ones. Yet hardly anyone expects that member states will muster the agreement to pool the sovereignty and resources needed to realise them.

The international windows are sent to torment us now, a tedious week of fabricated hope and empty outcomes. For Heimir Hallgrímsson he must walk a swaying rope bridge between diplomacy and credibility. What can he say in public that will make anybody feel better? How many more times can the half-truths be stretched like pizza dough and drizzled with toppings?

Democracy has evolved over the last 300 years to give more people representation in decision-making. Excluded populations — including women, Catholics, ethnic minorities, and individuals without property — have gained political rights. There is an ongoing campaign to lower the voting age to 16. Many activists on climate justice believe we should go one step further, arguing that representation...

While all anyone in media and politics wants to talk about is the general election date, this conversation is happening in a bubble. As ever, public engagement starts when a campaign begins. Until then, the mood could be summarised as turned off until it's ticked off.

Renting a room in a house full of strangers is not exactly what Leonie expected when she came to Dublin to work as postdoctoral researcher at UCD.

As Benecol Brand Ambassador of the Fill Your Heart campaign, Dáithí Ó Sé will take part in Croí's Night Run on October 11th on Salthill Prom, Galway. fillyourheart.ie

Sir, – The University of Limerick study revealing that EV drivers are statistically more likely to be involved in an accident and that EV-pedestrian casualty rates are 2.76 times higher than those involving petrol and diesel vehicles should come as no surprise (News, September 30th). How many of us have been startled when walking in a car park by the sudden and unannounced presence of an EV...

Sir,– Despite concerns that his conviction was unsafe, the governor of Missouri allowed the execution of Marcellus Williams to proceed ("The Irish Times view on the continued use of the death penalty: a barbaric practice", Editorial, October 2nd).

It began with a white linen shirt based on an old vintage top with pleated sleeves. For Jennifer Slattery, well established as a textile designer of whimsical, printed linen napkins and tablecloths, it was her first foray into womenswear. It jumpstarted a fashion collection that now encompasses skirts, dresses, trousers and blouses in various weights of Irish linen along with limited edition...

Alex Gogarty works in media sales and performs stand-up comedy on occasion, and he has always wanted to be famous. He wanted a certain type of fame, the kind where people vaguely recognised him on the street but afterwards second-guessed themselves. Despite his best efforts, however, his musical-theatre career failed to take off.

The Office of Public Works (OPW) paid more than €300,000 in legal fees to a private charity in an arbitration case on the proposed building of a national children's science museum in Dublin.

Question

Sir, – Your editorial "The Irish Times view on the Austrian election: more evidence of the rise of the far-right" (October 1st) describes "the remorseless march of the nationalist, anti-immigrant right continues across Europe".

Insolvencies among retail businesses jumped in the third quarter as business advisory giant PwC warned of a fresh spike in both retail and hospitality insolvencies in early 2025 amid ongoing stresses in the two sectors.

Sir, – As a long-time reader of The Irish Times, I find it perplexing that your digital platform's accessibility falls short of the inclusivity standards you champion in your editorials.

Former US president Donald Trump has gruesome rhetorical staples he likes to deploy at his political rallies, including – homicidal sharks, bird-killing windmills and Hannibal Lecter. Amid the litany, one less morbid aside tends to escape notice.

Government housing targets are well below what is needed to close the gap between supply and demand, the head of the State's biggest estate agents has said.

Foclóir: Cáineadh – condemnation; leithdháileadh – allocation; machnamh – consider; sprioc earcaíochta – recruitment target; bunaíocht – establishment; saineolaithe – experts; creat- framework; eochairchaint – keynote speech; cothabháil – upkeep.

Sir, – We are writing to express our serious concern about the legality of the Planning and Development Bill 2023, which has been rushed through the Houses of the Oireachtas and is about to be passed into law.

Sir, – I read with interest Regina Doherty's letter regarding Ireland's current standing in the European Union and her concerns about Ireland's diminishing influence (September 24th). While she makes some valid points about the need for strategic re-evaluation, I believe we also need to address a deeper issue – the accessibility and fairness of representation in EU politics.