3+ hour, 11+ min ago (259+ words) The bonus is worth 100 per cent of their payment, meaning recipients - 1,471,000 in all - will get a double-payment of their welfare amount. These are worth between "244 per week for payments like the one parent family payment and jobseekers benefit, to "261 for carer's allowance, to "289.30 for the state pension (contributory). "I am very conscious of the pressure families are under particularly in the run up to Christmas," said Minister Calleary. "The Christmas bonus is a vital support, particularly for our senior citizens. "That's why I am pleased to announce the details of the Christmas Bonus Payments today. 1.5 million people will benefit including our pensioners, people with disabilities, carers, and lone parents. "People will receive their bonus payment on the same day that they usually receive their weekly pension or other primary payment." There is no Christmas bonus in respect of child benefit....

3+ hour, 12+ min ago (711+ words) A French student who received "abusive and incessant" demands from his landlord to pay a 17-page-long invoice for "additional charges", including use of the dining table for studying, has been awarded "7,000 in damages. Laurent Stacchetti, who came to Ireland to study at Maynooth University, agreed to rent a room from Gabriela Hennigan and Michael Hennigan for "850 per month in 2023. He believed the house in Clonsilla, Dublin 15, would be shared with other students, though the couple, who were primarily based in Poland, opted to rent out the other rooms on Airbnb after a lack of interest from other students. It was agreed Mr Stacchetti, who lived at the property with the couple's daughter, would not have to pay for certain utilities in exchange for carrying out some Airbnb-related tasks. However, messages and calls from Ms Hennigan requesting him to carry out…...

4+ hour, 11+ min ago (455+ words) Arne Slot played down the significance of his decision to leave Mohamed Salah out of Liverpool's 2-0 victory at West Ham on Sunday. Salah had been selected for every league game for which was available since a 2-2 draw at the London Stadium in April 2024, when J'rgen Klopp was still manager, but Slot was keen to stress that this does not mean that the Egyptian's time at the club is coming to an end. "I get this question a lot," Slot said, referring to occasions when he's omitted Florian Wirtz, Alexander Isak " who scored his first Premier League goal for Liverpool on Sunday " or Hugo Ekitik" and suggesting that one of his vaunted forwards is always going to be left out. "Mo has had an unbelievable career and will have a very good future at this club because he's such a special…...

4+ hour, 47+ min ago (535+ words) The only solution in the decades-long conflict between Israel and the Palestinian people must include a Palestinian state, Pope Leo said on Sunday, reaffirming the Vatican's position. "We all know that at this time Israel still does not accept that solution, but we see it as the only solution," Leo, the first US pope, told journalists on a flight from Turkey to Lebanon during his first in-flight press conference. "We are also friends with Israel and we are seeking to be a mediating voice between the two parties that might help them close in on a solution with justice for everyone," added the pope, speaking in Italian. Leo, who usually prefers using careful, diplomatic language, ramped up criticism earlier this year of Israel's military campaign in Gaza. Israel's prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu has reaffirmed opposition to a Palestinian state after…...

5+ hour, 17+ min ago (487+ words) There are "no plans" to drop the Occupied Territories Bill but the legislation is "not straightforward" and "we have to get this right", Minister for Foreign Affairs Helen McEntee has said. A report in the Irish Mail on Sunday had suggested that the legislation, aimed at banning trade with illegal Israeli settlements, is to be abandoned in light of the ceasefire in Gaza. In recent weeks, the Opposition has put pressure on the Government to progress the Bill and also ensure that trade in services is banned, as was proposed in the original Occupied Territories legislation put forward by Independent Senator Frances Black in 2018. There has been doubt raised recently that the Government's legislation will include a trade ban on services, with Taoiseach Martin telling the D'il he had been told it was "not implementable". Meanwhile, the Government has faced…...

5+ hour, 22+ min ago (478+ words) Courts, "contrary to an extraordinarily popular delusion these days, do not tend to quash things on the basis of "mere technicalities, a High Court judge has said. Mr Justice Richard Humphreys, who manages the court's planning and environment list, was delivering a judgment overturning Dublin City Council's planning approval for a 221-bed student accommodation development on lands at Church Lane, Santry, Dublin 9, after the council conceded the case. The developer, Aideen Whelan, a notice party, said she could not take on defending the case after the concession and the judge's indication that issues concerning public participation under EU law arose that would require clarification by the Court of Justice of the EU. While noting Ms Whelan's concern about losing a potential purchaser for the site, the judge said this was a "self-induced problem due to her having twice breached planning…...

7+ hour, 19+ min ago (593+ words) A Brazilian delivery worker had brain surgery after he was attacked and robbed in Dublin by a large group that included teenagers. Andr" Oliveira (26) was cycling on Royal Canal Way, Phibsboro, when he was assaulted and hit in the head with a piece of wood. "I was attacked by a group. There were about 10 people, some children, some older than me. They surged from nowhere, hitting me. They attacked me with a piece of wood, hitting my head on the right side," he said. Mr Oliveira fell off his bicycle "then they hit me again on my head with the wood". He said was also punched in the face, before the group stole his bike and phone. Some members of the group filmed the incident, which happened at around 6.30pm on November 24. "I was desperate. They were recording, laughing," Mr Oliveira…...

7+ hour, 19+ min ago (472+ words) The death toll mounted to more than 600 from floods and landslides caused by torrential rains across three countries in Southeast Asia, officials said on Sunday. Relief efforts for tens of thousands of displaced people are continuing over the weekend in Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. The three countries faced large-scale devastation after a rare tropical storm formed in the Malacca Strait fuelling heavy rains and wind gusts for a week. There were 435 dead in Indonesia, 170 in Thailand, and three deaths reported in Malaysia. Rescue and relief officials in the southeast Asian countries were still trying to get access to many flood-hit areas on Sunday even as flood waters receded and tens of thousands of people were evacuated across the three countries. More than four million people have been affected " nearly three million in southern Thailand and 1.1 million in western Indonesia, according…...

9+ hour, 12+ min ago (216+ words) Yellow weather warnings for rain have been issued for three counties in Ireland on Sunday, with persistent and heavy rainfall expected. Kerry, Cork and Waterford are covered by the warnings, which highlight localised flooding and difficult travel conditions as potential impacts. The alerts are valid from 2pm on Sunday until 9am on Monday morning. Status yellow marine warnings are also in place for most of the coast due to gale force winds, with a small craft warning in place for the whole island. Outside the affected counties, a wet night is in store for most, with widespread rain turning heavy at times, according to Met "ireann. It will be mild for a period before colder conditions develop behind the rain as it clears towards morning. Lows of 5 to 10 degrees with fresh winds are expected. Monday morning marks the first day of meteorological…...

14+ hour, 48+ min ago (1165+ words) A proposal to dename Herzog Park in Dublin to be voted on by councillors in the capital on Monday is "divisive and wrong" and should be withdrawn, Taoiseach Miche'l Martin has said. His remarks come amid an expectation that Dublin city councillors will approve a change that would see the name of a former president of Israel removed from the public park in Rathgar. Herzog Park was named in 1995 in honour of Belfast-born Chaim Herzog, Israel's president from 1983 to 1993, who spent his early childhood in Dublin when his father was chief rabbi of Ireland. The Taoiseach said on Sunday that proposal to rename Herzog Park "should be withdrawn in its entirety and not proceeded with." Mr Martin added: "The proposal would erase the distinctive and rich contribution to Irish life of the Jewish communities over many decades, including actual participation…...