Discussions are ongoing about Portlaoise Prison's future and the potential closure of its IRA wing, now known as E-Wing, as the threat from inmates is considered small.

Gareth Sheridan failed to secure a nomination from Carlow County Council to contest the presidential election.

Local councillors in the Co Louth town will hold an emergency meeting on Thursday to discuss Government plans to convert the 113-bed D Hotel.

Local representatives have been speaking out against immigration and Government policy in areas such as Roscrea, Co Tipperary, where there were protests over plans to house asylum seekers in a former hotel

Seamus Walsh attended a protest at the hotel on Friday and gave an interview to RTÉ, in which he insisted that local people were "afraid of what they will encounter from now on with every sort of stranger in the area."