The Echo spoke to primary school students in Cork city. 

The Taoiseach has described Ireland's new national development plan as "unprecedented in scale" and one that will shape Ireland's response to the housing crisis and the challenge of climate change.

The Government remains committed to Sláintecare, a Cabinet minister has insisted.

The Government cannot be "absolutely certain" there will be no power outages this winter, Eamon Ryan has warned.

Micheal Martin has praised Joe Biden's speech to the UN General Assembly and cited him as a key ally on tackling climate change and Covid-19. The Taoiseach, speaking to reporters in New York, called Mr Biden a "committed multilateralist at heart".

Foreign Affairs Minister and Cork South Central TD Simon Coveney has received the backing of the majority of the Dáil. TDs voted confidence in Mr Coveney by 92 votes to 59.

Simon Coveney was “acting in good faith” when he deleted text messages relating to official business, the Taoiseach has claimed.

Labour leader Alan Kelly has said the vote of confidence in Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney is not a priority for his party.

Micheál Martin said Fianna Fáil faces a challenge in reaching the gender quota for candidates in the Dail elections, which will rise to 40% in 2023. Currently, the gender quota is set at 30%.

There will be no challenge to Micheál Martin's leadership when Fianna Fáil meets in Cavan on Thursday, a junior minister has said.

The leader of Sinn Féin has said the Taoiseach must sack Simon Coveney or else the minister could face a no-confidence motion.

A senior Fianna Fáil TD said the controversy surrounding Katherine Zappone was an "omnishambles of Fine Gael's creation". Jim O'Callaghan said it has inflicted a lot of damage, and that it is a story about Fine Gael's failure.

Simon Coveney said he had deleted text messages he exchanged with the Tánaiste from his phone before Freedom of Information requests were submitted by journalists.

"It’s certainly a shadow, but I don’t think it’s overshadowing what is a really important day for the Government, for the country."

Simon Coveney has defended his decision to delete text messages exchanged with other Government ministers on a regular basis because his phone has “been hacked”. The Foreign Affairs Minister said it was “prudent” to clear his phone over hacking fears.

“HOSPITALITY was the beneficiary of a Government faux pas and it shouldn’t have been that way”, said Mike Ryan, the Cork chair of the Restaurant Association of Ireland, after Fáilte Ireland guidelines for organised outdoor events were updated ...

The Minister for Health has said he is “fully committed” to introducing legislation for safe access zones at healthcare facilities that provide abortion services.

THE process of the appointment of former minister Katherine Zappone to a UN special envoy position has been described as a “shambles” by a Cork TD following reports of a private function that was held just days before the job was announced.

Simon Coveney has said he “blames himself” for any mistakes made in the appointment of former minister Katherine Zappone to a new special envoy role.

THE leader of the Sinn Féin party has criticised what she described as a “chaotic” approach to the reopening of indoor hospitality which has left businesses without clarity with just days to go before they can welcome customers back inside.

LATEST: Tánaiste Leo Varadkar said indoor dining will resume on Monday for people who can show evidence of immunity, despite the fact that the country is 'without doubt' experiencing a fourth wave of Covid-19.

THE late Des O’Malley was an inspirational political leader who transformed Irish politics. That is according to former Progressive Democrats party chairman John Minihan, who paid tribute to Mr O’Malley after his death was announced this morning.

A REPORT being published tomorrow will examine the findings of the Commission of Investigation into Mother and Baby Homes.

PETER Burke, the junior minister with responsibility for local government and planning, has committed to working with stakeholders to resolve issues at Spring Lane halting site, for the good of the children living there.

The National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has recommended pausing the reopening of indoor hospitality in Ireland. The recommendation was made during a late night meeting on Monday with the Cabinet Covid Committee.

Cork’s new Lord Mayor tells Amy Nolan he is confident the city can ‘bounce back’ post-Covid.

THE Taoiseach has pledged that the new maternity hospital will not be constrained by any religious ethos. Micheál Martin said the new hospital will be fully owned by the State, and fully controlled by the State.

There have been an additional 283 confirmed cases of Covid-19, the Department of Health has said. There are currently 60 people in hospital with the disease, of whom 23 are in intensive care units.

CORK City Council’s AGM, during which the new Lord Mayor of Cork will be elected, is set to take place in the sports hall of Coláiste Choilm in Ballincollig on Friday evening.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has called for a collective effort from political leaders across Ireland and the UK to tackle new strains of the coronavirus.

Taoiseach Micheál Martin has said Fianna Fail’s initial denial that its members posed as pollsters was “made in error”. Mr Martin said he had never personally commissioned such polls, and that it was “wrong” for political parties to do so.

A Fianna Fáil TD has called for gardaí to investigate reports that Sinn Féin provided its members with fake IDs to pretend they were part of a polling company.

The number of people claiming the Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP) is at its lowest since December, new figures show. Around 285,000 people received the Covid-19 jobless payment this week, a decrease of more than 24,000 on last week.

Nineteen people have been arrested for alleged public order offences following another night of disorder in Dublin city centre.

There have been an additional 416 confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Ireland, the Department of Health has said. As of midnight on Friday, there were 74 people in hospital with the disease, of whom 29 were in intensive care units.

Boris and Bertie have the same Teflon immunity to failings and perceived wrongdoings, so says John Dolan in his weekly column

Cork teen EVA McDONNELL, a member of the Irish Secondary Students Union (ISSU), supports the call to reduce the voting age to 16 in Ireland. Here she tells us why you should too

RELATIONSHIP breakdown and parental job losses are key triggers for transitions into child poverty, new research has found.

THERE are concerns that some tenants in rent pressure zones (RPZs) such as Cork could be facing up to an 8% hike in rents.

Indoor hospitality is set to return in early July under recommendations made by public health officials to Government.

Minister Stephen Donnelly has described initial tests on the decryption key supplied by the health service IT hackers as “positive”.

Government ministers have agreed to implement a 10% stamp duty for bulk purchases of 10 or more properties. The measure is aimed at tackling so-called cuckoo funds buying up housing developments from first-time buyers.

Hundreds of people gathered on the Grand Parade this afternoon in a show of solidarity with the people of Palestine.

Micheál Martin and his British counterpart Boris Johnson discussed post-Brexit trade and the Ballymurphy massacre during a meeting at Chequers, No 10 said.

TRIBUTES have been paid to city councillor Henry Cremin who is stepping down from his role as councillor after 12 years.

Well, Jesus, Mary and Joseph and the wee donkey. Many Corkonians have long felt their native city is the real capital of Ireland and now one of TV's most famous faces has suggested Cork should indeed be a seat of Government.

A CORK woman has raised concerns about the delay in information being given to pregnant women in relation to the vaccine rollout.

LONGSTANDING Sinn Féin representative Henry Cremin has announced that he is stepping down as a Cork city councillor after twelve years.

PEOPLE on both sides of the border are not prepared to foot the bill for a united Ireland, with most in Northern Ireland also fearing it would hit them in the pocket, a poll has revealed.

THERE are “huge opportunities” for Cork to continue to play an active role in developing the political and commercial links between Ireland and the UK, the British Ambassador to Ireland has said.