The Environmental Protection Agency controversially confirmed on Wednesday that it is proposing to grant two waste licences to allow the construction of incinerators at Ringaskiddy in County Cork and at Carranstown, near Duleek in County Meath. Free article

n the face of mounting left wing pressure, incoming EU Commission President José Barroso has backed down from a showdown with MEPs over the appointment of controversial Justice, Security and Peace nominee Rocco Buttiglione and the rest of the proposed EU Commission, to avoid inevitable defeat. Free article

It's been a busy week for the Irish tax system, which is under the spotlight from the Irish Congress of Trade Unions (ICTU) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), while new finance minister Brian Cowen has been sending mixed messages on his upcoming tax and budget plans. Free article

Despite the lack of tangible progress on a deal to re-establish the institutions of the Good Friday Agreement, Sinn Féin has been the political story of the past two weeks. Free article

In a week in which it has been confirmed that Catholics in the north are still at least two times as likely to be unemployed than their Protestant counterparts, the Six-County Council for Voluntary Action (NICVA) has condemned the British Government's latest proposals to tackle poverty and inequality. Free article

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh on Wednesday called on the Dublin Government to propose the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which allows for preferential trade between the European Union and Israel. Free article