The decision was taken at the last meeting of Cabinet before the summer break.

Secretary of the Tidy Towns group in Carrickmacross, Gerry Hand says they could not have made the pilot project such a "success" without the support of local people and Monaghan County Council.

Cavan seen a 20 per cent increase in rent the first quarter of 2022 alone.

'Farmers are absolutely willing to engage but there is no money on the table'

Some 124,000 families will benefit from the payment with applications to remain open until September.

The next budget will be worth €6.7 billion and include one-off measures to tackle the hike in bills fuelled by inflation.

'High numbers of people are leaving college with high expectations that can't be met'

'Ordinary, decent communities are being left to suffer as a result of the government’s mishandling of this issue'