The Catholic Archbishop of Dublin has called for a mature respectful debate on abortion and says the government should not tell anyone that they're not allowed to speak.

Diarmuid Martin was responding to comments made by Labour Minister Pat Rabbitte who said he didn't want the church hierarchy dictating to legislators.

Dr Martin has also revealed that he's received personal threats over his views on abortion.

Dick Spring's defending a payment of almost €1,000 per meeting he attends in Allied Irish Bank.

The former Tánaiste who's a public interest director at AIB also gets a massive state pension of more than €121,000 a year.

Mr Spring's told the Oireachtas Finance Committee he gets the going rate for the job he does.

2 men have appeared in court today in connection with the murder of a Northern Irish prison officer.

In Lisburn, Co. Tyrone a 36 year old was charged with obtaining a car believed to have been used in the attack on David Black on a motorway near Lurgan in Co Armagh in November.

In a separate appearance in Dublin, a 44 year old was charged with with-holding information about the shooting.

Both have been remanded in custody.

The sale of the National Lottery will be completed by the end of next year.

The Government has approved the National Lottery Bill and it will be introduced into the Dail in early 2013.

A competition for sale of the licence is expected to be launched in the Spring and the winner selected in the Autumn.

The new lottery licence will begin following a transitional period in 2014.

If you've ever wondered why Rudolph's nose is red, Dutch scientists have found the reason.

A research team from Erasmus University in Rotterdam has published their research in the British Medical Journal.

The report's author physiologist Can Ince says reindeer have a rich network of blood vessels in their noses which helps to keep their brains cool.