IRE - The Irish Times

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1. Olympic champion Rhys McClenaghan awarded MBE in new year honours list

   Pommel horse specialist won Ireland’s first gymnastics gold medal

2. Man claimed €12,000 in pandemic payments while in State illegally

   Case of Raphael Bame, who pleaded guilty to fraudulent claims, highlights holes in system, judge says

3. Almost 400 deer culled at Killarney National Park

   Local councillor raises issue of deer on roads and areas well outside the park’s boundaries

4. Ireland must encourage larger families and higher migration as birth rates fall, report warns

   NESC tells Oireachtas that declining births and an ageing population threaten workforce sustainability and public finances

5. ‘Cockroaches, cold cells, wet walls, broken toilets’ among Mountjoy inmates’ complaints

   Overcrowding highlighted as main issue in annual Mountjoy Prison Visiting Committee report

6. Driving tester’s ‘energy’ making learner feel ‘uncomfortable’ among complaints to RSA

   RSA received 2,024 complaints last year over the driving test service

7. Two highly venomous snakes found by landlord after tenant left country

   There is a surprising lack of regulation on exotic pets in Ireland, says reptile expert

8. Temperatures to drop as low as -3C in coming days with very cold weather expected

   Met Éireann says some ‘wintry precipitation’ possible in the first week of 2026

9. Injured paraglider rescued from roof of Co Fermanagh hotel

   Man ended up on the second floor roof of Lough Erne Golf Resort following crash

10. ‘I love working here’: Disabled Mr Price employee Samantha Duggan would be ‘lost’ without job

    At the discount retailer, 18% of employees have disabilities