An internal Defence Forces document said one of the main reasons for Irish defence spending is maintaining foreign direct investment – and an Irish Examiner article used the document’s language, almost word for word, to argue for expanding the Irish military.

The judge who this week claimed cyclists had “become a nightmare” previously had a judgment quashed by the High Court because he interrupted a barrister more than 2,000 times in the trial.

An Irish company insured a ship so it could deliver 440 tonnes of munitions to Israel last month.

The Department of Defence recruited a British Army colonel – who served in the occupation of the north of Ireland and invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan – to advise a state body tasked with reforming the Irish Defence Forces.

External pressure, “system failures” and “human factors” contributed to the death of a 10-year-old Temple Street patient who underwent repeat surgeries at the hospital – according to a “private and confidential” Children’s Health Ireland (CHI) internal report.