1. Homeless children given beds in adult hostels

Homeless children are being accommodated on blow-up beds in adult hostels as the number of families in emergency accommodation has passed 1,000 for the first time. The latest Department of the Environment data shows there were 1,037 homeless families with 2,121 child dependants in the State in April. This represents a 90 per cent rise in homeless children, and a 105 per cent increase in the number of families, since April 2015. Charities working with those affected described the figures as shocking.  Landlords should face penalties if they leave homes empty, rather than being offered "carrots" encouraging them to rent them out, said a leading homeless agency. The Government will have to "commandeer" hotel rooms if children are to be prevented from sleeping rough,  the lead charity working with homeless families has warned.

2. Islamophobia 'on rise in State'

Islamophobia in Ireland has significantly increased over the past year while incidences of racism towards ethnic minorities continue to rise across the State, NGOs and anti-racism monitoring groups have warned. The latest statistics from the Immigrant Council of Ireland reveal that reports of Islamophobia rose by 35 per cent in 2015 after the council began reaching out to Ireland's Muslim community for more information on racist abuse. "People from Muslim communities had already been contacting us about racism, but they weren't identifying religion as the reason. It was more skin colour or being an immigrant," said Teresa Buczkowska from the Immigrant Council of Ireland. "Then last year something changed. People began contacting us with incidences based on the fact they were Muslims and religion started playing a bigger role in harassment and abuse." Case study:  'I actually get scared on the bus, so I always sit at the front

3. A wild education of which Patrick Pearse would be proud

Scrambling up rocks, shooting weirs or foraging for Mesolithic hazel shells might seem unlikely priorities for a poet and insurrectionist. But Patrick Pearse was one of the first champions of outdoor learning. Had he lived, and pursued his calling as an educationalist, who knows what school system we might have now, says Dr Anton Trant of Trinity College Dublin.  Trant, founder of the university's curriculum development unit, has long believed that Pearse ranks with Pestalozzi, Froebel and Montessori in carrying the torch lit by the 18th-century French philosopher Jean Jacques Rousseau. Pearse's 1912 polemic, The Murder Machine, might be best remembered for his condemnation of "state-controlled institutions" producing "hirelings" for the workforce, but he also posed a question as valid now as back then: what was the value of an educational system inherited from Britain, which "grinds night and day" and is "devoid of understand, of sympathy, of imagination" .

Opinion:  We need to put much more thought into what we really expect from our graduates

Jolly good fellows and scholars announced at Trinity College Dublin:  This year, 50 new scholars, 14 new fellows, 10 new professorial fellows and two honorary fellows were announced in the annual TCD tradition

Decision time for CAO applicants: You have just over a month to make sure you choose the best course and the right college for you. Here's how to go about it

4. Salt intake limits ‘may be too low’

Most of us don't need to worry about consuming too much salt and official guidelines for consumption are set too low, according to the Irish author of a study published in the Lancet. The study, which challenges official dietary advice on salt intake, suggests most people are consuming the right amount of salt. In contrast, it warns against the dangers of low-salt diets and says they may increase the risk of heart disease and death. The research questions the appropriateness of current guidelines that recommend low salt intake in the entire population, according to co-author Prof Martin O'Donnell of NUI Galway.  Even people without a sweet tooth in their head can end up consuming a lot of added sugar by eating everyday processed foods, including breakfast cereals, bread, soups and pasta sauce. Just how much sugar is in these foods is often hidden in the small print, so it can be hard for consumers to make informed decisions.

10 foods: what their labels say, and what they should say

5. Suicide four times more likely in men

Men in the Republic of Ireland remain four times more likely to die by suicide than women, even though the male suicide rate has declined recently. Publishing its suicide statistics report for 2016, the Samaritans suicide-prevention charity said the female suicide rate for the Republic increased by 14.7 per cent in the year 2013-2014, while the rate for men fell by 6.4 per cent. It urged the new Government to take steps to reduce suicide. Estimates from the Central Statistics Office suggest that 459 people took their lives in the State in 2014, 368 men and 91 women. Samaritans noted there was an increase in the overall suicide rate between the early 1980s and late 1990s, but it had been declining since then. "After a period of fluctuation, the Republic of Ireland suicide rate has been decreasing since 2011. The overall suicide rate in the Republic of Ireland is at its lowest since 1993 and, between 2013 and 2014, there was a decrease of 3.3 per cent in the overall rate per 100,000."

Misc:

Maeve Brennan story: The Day We Got Our Own Back:  In 1922, when she was five, unfriendly men with revolvers raided the Brennan family home in Ranelagh, Dublin, in search of Maeve's father, who was on the run

Kingsmill massacre survivor tells inquest of colleagues' last moments:  Man describes being under his workmates' bodies after 1976 Armagh minibus attack

Transport Authority rows back on Liffey quays car ban:  Business pressure enables motorists to stay on Bachelor's Walk and George's Quay

Two Dublin drivers clamped 54 times each over four years:  Parking appeals officer says clamp fee should be doubled to €160 for 'persistent offenders'

Irish woman jailed over plan to raise children in Syria under Isis: A Northern Irish mother who wanted bring up her children under the Islamic State in Syria has been jailed by a London court for two and a half years.