THE MAJORITY OF Irish people prefer free speech as they believe limitations on it is overprotecting citizens from potential offence, a poll has found. Debates over what freedom of speech is exactly have been becoming more frequent with the rise of an extreme right-wing movement that has brought on the Brexit referendum result and the election of Donald Trump as US president.

A 16-YEAR-OLD boy who is suspected of being part of a gang who are behind a spate of high-end bicycle and car thefts in south Dublin had his leg broken in a suspected vigilante attack. Gardai are aware of the incident but are unable to carry out a proper investigation into the attack on the south Dublin teenager because he has not made a complaint to gardai.

In the run-up to Election 2016, Taoiseach Enda Kenny accused Donald Trump of racism on the floor of the Irish parliament. He now says he doesn’t regret it, despite being one of the first global leaders to speak with the President-elect following his victory.

Dublin has a rich history of hand painted signs decorating the city. Although it is not as common today, the craft still continues.

Revenge pornography and cyber stalking are set to become illegal offences, after Cabinet approved the drafting of a Non-Fatal Offences (Amendment) Bill to address loopholes in current legislation. It follows a report from the Law Reform Commission in September, which dealt with harmful communications and digital safety. The commission determined there were potential gaps in criminal legislation with regard to "so-called revenge pornography and the publication of voyeuristic material without consent".

An "unprecedented" 7,000 people are now homeless in Ireland, with one family losing their home every day last month and a shocking 2,549 children now living in emergency accommodation, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith and Joyce Fegan. The Department of Housing confirmed the situation yesterday amid opposition party claims Government is trying to "bury bad news" during the New Year's Eve celebrations.

A transatlantic flight diverted to the Republic of Ireland after crew requested a landing so that passengers could use an airport's toilets. The New York to Paris flight landed at Shannon Airport after 07:30 local time. It has been reported that the 172 passengers had an "urgent need" to use the toilet after the facilities on board became unusable. The crew asked for engineers to be on standby to service the aircraft's toilets when it landed.

Thousands of apartments in blocks up to 50m or 16 storeys tall will be permitted on the former Irish Glass Bottle site, under plans for the development of a new urban quarter on Dublin’s Poolbeg peninsula. The draft Poolbeg Special Development Zone (SDZ) scheme – which will allow the fast-track planning for up to 3,000 homes on the former industrial lands – will be available for public consultation next month.

With the globalisation and deregulation of trade, governments are increasingly susceptible to the influence of powerful commercial interests. Organisations such as the OECD, the World Bank and the EU mediate this influence and thereby exercise in direct control over national higher education systems. Over the past 20 years, several OECD, EU and World Bank reports proclaim the universities to be the intellectual engine of a global economy rather than a global society.

The Dáil has passed a bill to make cannabis available in Ireland for medicinal use, after the Government said it would not oppose the legislation. Put forward by People Before Profit TD Gino Kenny, the bill seeks to legalise and regulate cannabis products, which are used for medical purposes. Speaking after the bill was passed, Mr Kenny praised Minister for Health Simon Harris for his position in not opposing the bill, while thanking all of those who supported the legislation.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny was in the Vatican today where he invited Pope Francis to come to Ireland. The last Pontiff to travel to Ireland was Pope John Paul II in 1979. However it appears that lengthy gap will now be bridged with Pope Francis likely to travel here in 2018.

Ireland is full of deserted schools. I've photographed 150 of them.

The 9,000-year-old tool shows that Mesolithic people had sophisticated burial rituals and even cremated their dead. By Jason Daley.

On the eve of what would have been Jeff Buckley's 50th birthday, Steve Cummins delves into Jeff's untold Irish connections and explores how his unique talent was shaped by his Irish friendships and an Irish coffee house in New York called Sin-É (2016)

Rail bosses are developing a scaled-down version of the Dart Underground expansion project in an attempt to secure Government approval to allow construction work to begin in just over three years' time. Shorter tunnels, which would require passengers to change trains, are among the options being considered, as the company attempts to reduce the massive €4.5bn bill. The expansion of the Dart originally included an 8.6km tunnel from Inchicore to East Wall with stations at Inchicore, Heuston, Christchurch, St Stephen's Green, Pearse Street and Spencer Dock.

US Secretary of State John Kerry has said Brexit must not impact the push for peace in Northern Ireland. Mr Kerry was speaking during his visit to Ireland to receive the Tipperary International Peace Award for 2015. Previous winners include Nobel peace prize winners Nelson Mandela and Malala Yousafzai, UN general secretary Ban Ki-moon, former president Mary McAleese and her husband Martin, and Bob Geldof. Mr Kerry was also here to meet Minister for Foreign Affairs Charlie Flanagan. The pair held bilateral discussions ahead of the ceremony.

Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae has claimed in the Dáil that the hole in the ozone layer was caused by nuclear testing in the Pacific Ocean 50 years ago. He said "untruths have been bandied about" about climate change for years as he addressed today's debate on the ratification of the Paris Climate Change Agreement, an agreement that he is "very worried about".

The Director General of the European particle physics centre, CERN, has said Ireland could become an associate member of the organisation by around 2018. Dr Fabiola Gianotti was speaking following a meeting in Dublin with the Minister for Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation around progressing options for Ireland's membership of the body.

Nearly a quarter of all children in Northern Ireland are living in poverty, shock statistics have revealed. There are 25 wards in Northern Ireland where at least half of children are living in low income families, up from 19 in 2013. The highest rate is in the Limavady area where two-thirds of children are living in poverty.

They've been banned in a number of countries, and now it looks like microbeads are set for the chopping block in Ireland – if the Dáil agrees to pass a new bill tabled by the Green Party. The tiny plastic beads, present in many cosmetic products, are not biodegradable and can affect marine life.