style="text-align: center;"> id="attachment_219416" class="wp-caption aligncenter" style="width: 345px"> class="size-large wp-image-219416" title="Katie Taylor steps off the plane Image: @DublinAirport" src="http://admin.newstalk.ie/wp-content/files/2012/08/Katie-Taylor-Dublin-460x306.jpg" alt="" width="335" height="223" />

class="wp-caption-text">Katie Taylor steps off the plane Image: @DublinAirport

style="text-align: left;">Thousands of people have lined the seafront in Bray Co. Wicklow to welcome Ireland’s gold medalist Katie Taylor home.

The champion boxer is due to arrive back to her hometown shortly – and a street party is in full swing – as supporters wait for her to travel through the town in an open top bus.

There’s been live music performances throughout the afternoon, and a fireworks display is planned on the promenade at 9 o’clock tonight.

These locals in Bray can’t wait to see their the Olympic Gold Medallist in person:

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style="text-align: left;">Meanwhile, preparations are also underway in Mullingar – as Westmeath boxer John Joe Nevin is due to arrive in his home town within the next hour with his silver medal.

He’ll also be driven through the town on an open top bus along with another local showjumper Joseph Murphy.

From Mullingar, Newstalk’s Francesca Comyn reports:

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The Junior Sports Minister says it’s more important for the Government to spend money on sport than on our health service.

Michael Ring made the comments at Dublin Airport this afternoon – as family and friends of Team Ireland gathered to welcome home the 66 Irish athletes from the London Olympic Games.

Minister Ring says he’s going to ask the Government to give him more funding for sport – and he says he’s confident he’ll get it – given the success of our athletes at London 2012:

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/> The Homecare provider Bluebird Care has announced the creation of 510 new jobs across the country.

style="text-align: left;">The company says the jobs have been created thanks to the increase in demand for home care services.

The Medical devices company Cambus Teo, based in Spiddal in Galway, has also announced its creating 35 new positions.

The positions will come on stream over the next six months and will be open to care assistants and support workers nationwide.

The Agency responsible for collecting the controversial household charge has said it will soon be sending a second batch of reminder letters to households which haven’t already paid up.

The news comes after the latest figures show the number of homeowners who have paid the 100 euro tax has now exceeded one million.

That means almost 28,000 households have paid the household charge since the first batch of reminder letters were issued in mid-July.

So far, the amount raised through the controversial levy is just short of 99 million euro.