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Forecasters at Met Éireann were briefed on how climate change was “adding fuel” to storms that hit Irish shores.

A guidance document on how to discuss the impact of global warming said there was high confidence that maximum rainfall rates will rise here.

It said there was still uncertainty over wind speed increases but that storms were likely to become “much more powerful, larger, and more destructive” in a warmer world.

The guidance – updated in March of this year – explained how 2024 was the hottest year on record globally and how Ireland’s temperature has increased by nearly 1.1 degrees Celsius since 1900.

It said: “Climate change is adding fuel to storms due to warmer waters and more moisture in the atmosphere.”

The document added that sea level rise was expected to increase surges during periods of severe weather and increase the risk of coastal flooding.

The guidance said: “Rainfall associated with the 2023/24 storm season was about 20 percent more intense and ten times more likely to occur in today’s warmer climate.”

An earlier bulletin on Storm Éowyn, which caused widespread damage and chaos in January, said records for wind gust and mean wind speeds had been provisionally broken.

However, forecasters were advised to be cautious about making a direct link with climate change for particular events.

A ‘key climate message’ from Storm Éowyn said: “Climate change has increased the frequency and intensity of extreme weather events.

“Unlike temperature and rainfall, it is not as clear how the frequency and intensity of storms impacting Ireland will change into the future.”

The update said what was clear was that there was a greater risk of “compound climate events” with severe weather exacerbated by rising sea levels.

The main guidance also detailed the growing risk of heavy rainfall events.

It said a wet period from October 2023 to March 2024 was made four times more likely and about 15 percent wetter due to climate change.

The document added: “Heavy rainfall associated with Storm Babet in 2023 was made twice as likely and 13 percent more intense due to climate change.”

An increase in the length of the growing season in Ireland was noted at most of the country’s weather stations.

Looking at climate trends going back to 1940, the growing season had lengthened by fourteen days at Belmullet, Co Mayo, and sixteen days at the Phoenix Park in Dublin.

It added: “Sunshine duration has increased by approximately 5 percent when compared to the 1961 to 1990 period.”

Dublin City Council told the Construction Industry Federation (CIF) it was “sheer luck” that nobody was injured when buildings belonging to the federation collapsed onto a public road.

The council said the CIF had shown a “laissez-faire” attitude to managing the property and that it was ironic the “dangerously decaying” building had been hidden behind a banner promoting construction safety.

The correspondence followed the partial collapse of several cottages along Canal Road in Dublin’s city centre in May of this year.

A letter to the CIF said falling bricks from the derelict cottages only narrowly missed a cyclist and a pedestrian who was out walking their dog.

A senior official wrote: “Photographs taken immediately after the collapse show the entire front of the building reduced to rubble, strewn across the footpath and roadway, an entirely preventable situation.”

The letter from Dublin City Council’s assistant chief executive Anthony Flynn said the incident showed a “serious failure in duty of care and property management.”

It also noted that an outstanding debt of €181,650 in derelict site levies should be settled without further delay.

A copy of the correspondence, released under FOI, said: “We trust that the CIF will now treat this matter with the seriousness it demands.”

In response, the director general of the construction group Hubert Fitzpatrick said they fully recognised the gravity of the situation and the “valid concerns” raised.

Mr Fitzpatrick said the CIF also accepted responsibility for the conditions that led to the crumbling of the buildings.

He wrote: “The safety of the public must always be paramount, and we deeply regret the risk posed by the collapse.”

Mr Fitzpatrick said they were “grateful that, fortunately, no one was injured.”

He said the CIF had acted immediately to secure the site and a specialist contractor was hired to make safe the area.

Mr Fitzpatrick wrote: “While the site has been secured and all structures demolished, we acknowledge that the events that preceded this fell below the high standards we expect of our organisation.”

There has been a steep rise in the number of citizens of the United States seeking asylum in Ireland.

Fifty-one people from the U.S. applied for international protection in the first half of this year, more than in 2023 and 2024 combined.

New figures from the Department of Justice show that 104 American citizens have looked for asylum in Ireland since the beginning of 2022.

In 2022, there were thirteen total applications and in 2023, that rose to eighteen.

During the course of last year, there were twenty-two applications for international protection from citizens of the United States.

However, the figures have risen sharply since President Donald Trump won a second term in the White House, even as overall application numbers have dropped.

Between January and March of this year, there were twenty-four asylum claims from U.S. citizens, more than in the entirety of 2024.

From April to June, a further twenty-seven Americans sought international protection, according to data that was released under Freedom of Information laws.

In the same period, there has been a sharp drop in the overall number of applications being made in Ireland.

Ireland’s social media regulator was sent material by the U.S. State Department claiming there was “an aggressive campaign against Western civilisation itself” ahead of a meeting on freedom of expression.

Two representatives of the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor of the United States government met with Coimisiún na Meán in late May to learn about the work of the regulator.

In advance, the U.S. officials forwarded provocative material with one article saying they were heading to Europe to “fight for free speech.”

A second article – written by Samuel Samson, one of the American attendees – was also forwarded in the days before the meeting.

It said that across Europe, governments had weaponised political institutions “against their own citizens and against our shared heritage.”

An email ahead of the meeting said the article, published in a State Department magazine, was about the need for civilisation allies in Europe and “may be of interest.”

In the piece, Mr Samson wrote: “Far from strengthening democratic principles, Europe has devolved into a hotbed of digital censorship, mass migration, restrictions on religious freedom, and numerous other assaults on democratic self-governance.”

The piece claimed that in the United Kingdom, police were “arresting Christians” for silent protests outside abortion clinics.

It said that the European Union’s Digital Services Act was being used “to silence dissident voices through Orwellian content moderation.”

The article added: “Americans are familiar with these tactics. Indeed, a similar strategy of censorship, demonization, and bureaucratic weaponization was utilized against President Trump and his supporters.

“What this reveals is that the global liberal project is not enabling the flourishing of democracy. Rather, it is trampling democracy, and Western heritage along with it, in the name of a decadent governing class afraid of its own people.”

Coimisiún na Meán (CnaM) had originally refused to release the documents saying they could compromise the international relations of the state.

The article from Mr Samson was at first redacted in full and was only disclosed following an appeal under Freedom of Information laws.

In June, CnaM publicly said the U.S. State Department officials had neither sought any changes nor expressed any concerns about their work at the meeting.

However, the internal records make clear the agenda of the two representatives from the United States government.

Two days before the meeting, the U.S. officials forwarded one article which directly referenced Ireland and laws in place to tackle social media misinformation, hate, and illegal content.

A U.S. State Department official was quoted in the piece saying: “It’s obviously being weaponized, for political purposes.”

On the same day, they also asked CnaM to take note of the longer article on the need “for tangible actions by European governments to guarantee protection for political and religious speech, secure borders, and fair elections.”

Only a concise note was kept of the meeting on 30 May by the media regulator with the identities of all who attended withheld on security grounds.

It said the American representatives wanted to “better understand An Coimisiún’s functions and international collaboration.”

A senior official from CnaM gave an overview of their operations and their responsibilities under European Union law at the meeting.

They also detailed work around terrorist content, countering child sex abuse material, and efforts to combat “hate, harassment, and abuse.”

The meeting notes said: “[CnaM official] gave an introduction to An Coimisiún’s work on fundamental rights, including on empowering users who can see if and why their content has been removed or restricted online.

“Some general discussion on freedom of expression and the differences between US law and European and member state law followed.”

Transport Infrastructure Ireland (TII) is looking at a plan to turn a surplus site into a native woodland.

The innovative proposal would see the 36-acre plot donated to Nature Trust for planting with the type of trees and forest that once covered Ireland.

It would then be managed “into perpetuity” by the trust with walking trails developed for use by the public.

The site was part of a 65.5-acre parcel of land that was bought by TII for a national road scheme in County Cork.

Once the €280 million bypass between Macroom and Ballyvourney was complete, the public body no longer had any use for the remainder of the site.

A TII presentation said options open to them included the sale of the land or alternative use, for example, as a solar farm.

However, a new plan was put forward whereby TII and Cork County Council would donate the site to Nature Trust.

The presentation said the site would be developed both as a native woodland and to highlight the historical significance of the area.

According to the records, the site was part of the Coolnacaheragh Battlefield and was the location of the Coolnacaheragh ambush in February 1921.

The TII slideshow said the new forest would be “rich in biodiversity” and help them with their carbon footprint.

“It is estimated that this native woodland will sequester and store an average of seventy-five tonnes of carbon dioxide every year,” said one slide.

TII said “natural carbon woodland credits” would apply and that Nature Trust would provide periodic updates on “biodiversity uplift” and “community engagement.”

The slideshow said the plan would help protect soil and water in the locality and create a new public amenity for the area.

The Department of Foreign Affairs got hit with a hike of more than €46,000 on the annual rent they pay for the Irish Ambassador’s residence in London.

The department said it had little choice but to agree to the sharp increase even though it brought the cost of the property close to €10,000 per week.

The new lease of €508,925 per annum – a rise of 10 percent – was signed off on because no better options were available, according to records released under FOI.

An internal submission said that the Irish Ambassador to the U.K. had been living in the property in leafy Chester Square since September 2019.

In late 2022, the Department of Foreign Affairs said they were interested in extending the lease.

While the landlord was happy for them to stay on, they said they wanted a “substantial increase” in rent of over 11 percent.

Department officials tried, “actively but unsuccessfully,” to negotiate a much smaller increase in rent.

The submission said: “After several months, the landlord indicated that they would not accept any offer below £8,400 (€9,787) per week.”

At the same time, the department had asked a property adviser to see if there were any other suitable properties available in London.

A report said the type of residence needed for the Ambassador was only likely to come on the market half a dozen times each year.

The submission said: “The market had hardened in the wake of Covid, with landlords less inclined to offer inducements or rent reductions to attract tenants.”

The property advisers examined eight properties in the area that had been let over a two-year period.

They said only three of them had been leased for less than £7,000 (€8,156) per week and the majority ranged from £8,000 to £12,000.

Eleven alternative properties were put forward, a number of which were “slightly” cheaper than the existing residence.

The submission said: “It is very challenging to find an equally suitable property at a lower rent based on market evidence.

“A move would probably necessitate additional fire safety and security improvements, at a cost to the exchequer, in addition to the purchase or rental of furniture.”

It said the best-case scenario was that such a move would be “cost neutral” and at worst “less suitable and more expensive.”

The Land Development Agency (LDA) has appealed to the High Court to block release of their risk register to Right to Know.

Last month, the Information Commissioner (OIC) annulled a decision of the LDA to withhold a large portion of the document, primarily on commercial sensitivity grounds.

In a decision, the OIC said they could not see how release of the information would “prejudice the conduct or the outcome of … negotiations.”

It said it was very difficult to see how harm would be caused and ordered the LDA to disclose the document in full.

Risk registers have been the subject of many decisions by the OIC in the past, almost always in favour of the requester.

On 19 August, the LDA appealed the decision to the High Court saying they were a commercial semi-state body set up to take urgent measures to deal with systemic housing shortages in Ireland.

They said they had to compete against and contract with private participants in property development, construction, and rental markets.

The LDA argued the risk register contained trade secrets and release could result in a material financial loss to them.

It is the third time in the space of three years a public body has taken a Right to Know decision to the High Court.

The two previous cases involved the IDA and in both, the records were eventually released.

Both also had a significant cost to the taxpayer with the case involving an IDA client survey costing at least €78,000.

A senior Department of Justice official warned backlogs in dealing with asylum applications were quickly reaching “unmanageable levels.”

In high-level talks, officials said the huge rise in people claiming international protection was becoming more and more difficult to process.

It said long backlogs were leading to higher costs and longer “periods for which there are entitlements to accommodation and other supports.”

The discussions led to a major increase in funding and staffing as officials were told the system was on the verge of buckling.

An email between the Department of Justice and the Department of Public Expenditure last summer said: “Without further investment, backlogs will reach unmanageable levels in less than a year.

“In practice, we are still working to recruit staff and appoint panel members … but as the year progresses, we will need to move beyond these if we are to meet the scale of the processing challenge.”

The Department of Justice had refused to release the documents on extra money and staff to deal with international protection applications.

However, following an appeal under FOI laws, they have now released some records which detail how the system had seen a 385 percent increase in expected applications between 2022 and 2023.

A business case said the number of claims being made was “outrunning processing capacity” leading to enormous caseloads.

It said investment was now required at “every stage” of the international protection process.

The business case said: “Most applicants are entitled to reception conditions, including accommodation, access to healthcare and education, and a contribution to weekly expenses while their cases are being processed.”

Enterprise Ireland wanted to raise the salary for their chief executive position by over €70,000 but were warned there was little chance of it being approved.

The agency told the Department of Enterprise late last year they were looking to recruit their new boss with a pay package worth €300,000 per year.

In a sanction request last December, they said they were looking to “attract the highest possible calibre of candidates” including CEOs from the private sector.

It said the €300,000 package was not at private sector standards but “would send a strong signal to the candidate market for this role.”

The Department of Enterprise responded to say that a robust business case would be needed for raising the salary up from the agreed level of around €230,000 per year.

Two weeks later, Enterprise Ireland submitted a revised document, this time saying they were looking for a salary of €270,000.

The sanction request said: “The CEO role is critical to the growth of the Irish economy while ensuring the effective leadership, direction, governance, client service delivery and internal transformation of the agency.”

The Department of Enterprise cautioned however there was almost no chance of getting an enhanced pay package approved by the Department of Public Expenditure.

A senior official said it was a “substantial increase in pay” that would mean the CEO was paid more than a department secretary general or the boss of the IDA.

An email in January said: “We envision [the Department of Public Expenditure] will have significant concerns with the proposed salary, particularly, as it could have wider public sector pay implications whereby other non-commercial semi state agencies could cite Enterprise Ireland when making future business cases.

“While the rationale outlined in the business case is well founded and has merit, [we think the department] will be reluctant to sanction the post given the high base salary requested.”

A crucial emergency beacon fell from an Air Corps helicopter during an emergency medical mission, sparking a four-day search before it was eventually discovered by a farm worker in a field.

The automatic deployable emergency locator is meant to be used in the event of a crash to help locate a missing aircraft.

However, during the flight last November, technicians discovered the device had vanished following checks at Custume Barracks in Athlone.

While the AW-139 chopper was airborne, a ‘ping’ from the emergency locator was received by the Irish Coast Guard.

They contacted the Air Corps with a location for the beacon, which they said could be accurate up to six metres but was often less precise in practice.

The helicopter was then cleared to return to headquarters at Casement Aerodrome in Baldonnel in Dublin.

A new chopper was tasked with the medical emergency while a full inspection of the affected aircraft took place.

A safety investigation report said: “There was no damage to the aircraft except for the ELT [emergency locator transmitter] loss.”

A search party involving seven personnel went to a location in the Newcastle area of Dublin to recover the beacon.

Over a four-day period, aerial searches for the emergency locator took place while a local farmer was contacted to see if it had fallen on his land.

The Air Corps even used drones to fly over ploughed fields with no success.

As night fell on 3 December, the search was called off although efforts to pinpoint the beacon’s location continued at Casement Aerodrome.

The accident report said such devices were “ordinarily painted bright red or orange” to make them easy to find but that this one was painted black “in keeping with the tactical livery of service aircraft.”

The locator was eventually found by accident by a local farmhand the same evening.