A man who carried out a violent and unprovoked attack on a random stranger has avoided jail today.

The Minister for Health James Reilly says threats to burn him and his family out of their home have gone much further than they should have.

A homeless addict has been sentenced to three years after he had sex with a school girl having met her for the first time that day while she was wearing her uniform.

Investigations are continuing this morning into the double murder of a mother and daughter in Kerry.

The US first family had a grand day out in Dublin and Wicklow.

Justice Minister Alan Shatter said today that the practice of slopping out at Mountjoy Prison in Dublin will be phased out by the end of the year.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has said that there will be no hike in income tax in the next Budget.

A court has heard how a muddy footprint in the kitchen of the Justice Minister's home helped catch his burglar.