Every Friday, we bring you the top five Government news stories of the week. Catch up on what you might have missed here. Click on the headlines to read the full story.
310 Major School Building Projects announced by Minister O’Sullivan
Taoiseach Enda Kenny joined Education Minister Jan O'Sullivan this week to announce a new programme of capital investment in schools. Running from 2016 to 2021 this investment will provide funding for 310 major school projects, resulting in an additional 62,000 permanent school places.
Unemployment rate moves below 9% for the first time since 2008
Jobs Minister Richard Bruton and Business and Employment Minister Ged Nash welcomed the latest official employment figures from the Central Statistics Office, showing that 135,800 extra jobs have been created since the start of 2012. The unemployment is now 8.9%, the lowest rate since the end of 2008, and down from a high of 15.1% in February 2012.
Action Plan for Jobs progress reports published
Progress reports on the Action Plan for Jobs 2015 were launched by the Taoiseach, Tanaiste Joan Burton and Jobs Minister Richard Bruton. The reports show that 159 out of 192 actions scheduled for implementation in Q2 and Q3 2015 were delivered.
Taoiseach welcomes conclusion of Northern Ireland talks
This week the Taoiseach welcomed the successful conclusion of the talks process in Northern Ireland which addresses the key issue of Welfare Reform and financial sustainability within Northern Ireland and makes important progress on dealing with the legacy of the past. The Agreement contains important measures to tackle cross border organised crime, including a new Task Force led by officials from the PSNI, An Garda Siochana, and revenue officers from both jurisdictions.
Taoiseach opens Global Irish Economic Forum
On Friday the Taoiseach delivered the opening address at the Global Irish Economic Forum. The Forum, organised by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, will bring together more than 300 leading Irish and Irish connected figures from across the globe to play their part in building on Ireland’s recovery. This year's is focusing on a number of Government priorities including fostering entrepreneurship, targeting sectors with strong job-creation potential and growing Irish exports in a diverse range of markets.
Have a look at more photos from this week over on our Flickr
You can follow us on Twitter, subscribe to us on Youtube, like us on Facebook, and follow us on Instagram to keep up to date with news, photos and video features.