COMMUNICATIONS Minister Denis Naughten has been accused of producing a very poor excuse for his handling of contacts with a key political lobbyist.
A renowned mandarin – no longer active in the national political parish – often summed up certain political rows as “awkward but not fatal”.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has been accused of "tokenism" by announcing a law to criminalise landlords who increase rents by more than the permitted 4pc per year.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said it is time to introduce a new law to protect journalists and their confidential sources.
There was a stark clash in testimony between Pat Rabbitte and his former ministerial driver at the Disclosures Tribunal.
This was going to be a "free offer" - but the recession is over. So we are offering a good rate for those who sign up early.
This was a dramatic case of role reversal. John McGuinness was renowned over the years 2011-2016 as the 'Grand Inquisitor' chairing the taxpayers' watchdog Public Accounts Committee, assertively trying to take it into new areas.
John McGuinness said he expected to talk to the Garda commissioner inside the hotel.
Some of you will already know who Guy Verhofstadt is. Most of the rest of us will know a lot more about him over the coming six months, as he could well become an important figure in deciding Ireland's fate in a post-Brexit world.
Special prayers for all those brutally "disappeared" by the IRA were said at the funeral of a man who led efforts to have their remains recovered and buried by loved ones.
The killing has stopped and, by and large, stayed stopped - that is one undoubted mercy. The various low-key events over recent days, marking 20 years since the Good Friday Agreement was signed, have told us that people across the North will not tolerate a return to the awfulness of murder and mayhem we euphemistically called 'the Troubles'.
So it's exit teachers, enter doctors, and cue an additional heap of financial grief for Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe.
It has the makings of a great election ... but, then again, it might not happen until 2025.
Fianna Fáil will move to force the Government to clamp down on "fake self-employment" with changes to forthcoming legislation.
Starting from today, it's 363 days and counting downwards. Brexit will formally happen at 11pm Irish time on March 29, 2019. However, the real deadline is just over six months away as an EU leaders' summit fixed for Brussels on October 18 and 19 must sign off on the EU-UK divorce deal.
For his entry into politics, he was supposed to be a 'sweeper', hoovering up votes for heavier hitters.
Micheál Martin has made three big changes in the "war zones" where Fianna Fáil is just not landing enough punches on Fine Gael.
The number of homeless children has doubled “on this Government’s watch,” Sinn Féin TD, Pearse Doherty, has told the Dáil.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney has insisted progress must be made by next June clarifying how the UK will guarantee no hard Border in Ireland.
Legend has it that on the eve of a referendum in October 2013 on plans to set up Ireland's newest law court, posters appeared in the leafier Dublin suburbs carrying the slogan: "Vote Yes to the Court of Appeal - and job creation."
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said “families in all their shapes and forms should be celebrated” when Pope Francis visits Ireland next August.
The Government will not insert a proviso requiring a two-thirds Dáil majority for any future change in planned abortion law, the Taoiseach has said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has paid tribute to the former Dáil chairman, Seán Treacy, saying he was best remembered as a man who “put manners on TDs.”
The Russian Ambassador to Ireland has described a decision to expel a diplomat as "totally unwarranted, uncalled for, senseless and regrettable".
A Brexit "silver lining" will deliver 2,500 new jobs for Ireland over the next three to five years, IDA boss Martin Shanahan has claimed.
Attorney General Séamus Woulfe has faced scathing criticisms and been challenged to clarify comments he made about a pending Supreme Court ruling.
Britain will not get any new trade deal with the EU without resolving the Irish Border crux, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has insisted.
The man still known as "the voice of Gaelic games" has urged the Government to recommit to supporting the Gaeltacht areas as the most precious source of the Irish language heritage.
Sinn Fein TD Martin Ferris has given an emotional account of the birth of his first grandchild who survived for just 58 minutes
Divisions in the three main Dáil parties have emerged as the debate on the forthcoming abortion referendum, planned for next May, continues.
Transport Minister Shane Ross “trumpeted” a €100,000 grant to a private fee-paying school in his constituency, Solidarity TD Mick Barry has told the Dáil.
There will be no formal “Withdrawal Agreement” between the EU and UK if the Irish border issue is not resolved, Tánaiste Simon Coveney has told the Dáil.
A scheme to help long-term unemployed people back to work - which has cost €84m to date, with a further €50m planned spend in 2018 - has been heavily criticised and dubbed "a mini FÁS scandal in the making".
Farmer action and links to elected politics reach back to the era of Daniel O'Connell and the gradual introduction of democracy from the mid-19th century onwards.
Vulnerable women and children are at serious risk due to big doubts about the compilation of garda statistics on domestic homicide, the Dáil has been told.
They spent two generations draping the Irish national flag on the coffins of sectarian murderers, unsuccessful bombers who inadvertently ended their own lives, and more successful bombers of the mass-murdering variety.
Sinn Féin leader Mary Lou McDonald has raised Dáil questions about the funding for and motivation behind a special information supplement about the Irish national flag.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has spoken of his horrified reaction at the emerging details of the sex investigation in the south-west of the country.
It is now largely forgotten that Margaret Thatcher - these days mainly recalled as the "iconic mother of Euroscepticism" - was in fact very pro-European right up to the latter years of her career.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has hit out at opposition TDs for comparing the PR campaign for the Government's €116bn spending plan to Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels.
Sinn Féin's Mary Lou McDonald has welcomed the EU Commission's backing for no return to a hard Border after Brexit.
TAOISEACH Leo Varadkar has hit out at opposition politicians for comparing communication of the government's €116bn spending plan to Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels.
ALL schools and colleges in Leinster and Munster are to remain closed on Thursday and Friday, the Department of Education has confirmed.
It seems that Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's 'bullet-proof' Brexit Border guarantee has survived the final Brussels edit - but that moves Theresa May closer to the firing squad.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has hit back at criticisms of a taxpayer-funded publicity campaign for the €116bn National Development Plan (NDP).
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar took the time for a special Dáil announcement about the national response to the expected cold snap.
Few people remember Frank Maguire these days.
Fine Gael will move this week to find a resolution to a damaging row between two of its senators.
Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has urged Sinn Féin to take its six MP seats at the Westminster parliament ahead of expected moves to try to keep the UK in an EU customs union after Brexit.
Giving the 10,500 US citizens living in Ireland a special deal on residency could unlock a remedy for the tens of thousands of Irish illegal immigrants in the US who are trapped in a legal nightmare, a leading campaigner has said.
It was breakfast time, so Leo Varadkar's food metaphors were probably unavoidable.
Leo Varadkar is on a high in the opinion polls. It would appear that he has cut a dash in his approach to Brexit and more generally his youth and vigour are well regarded by the public.
The special EU-UK deal on the future of the Irish border after Brexit is at serious risk, Fianna Fáil has warned.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has offered little comfort to those campaigning for a restoration of funding for pain-managing Versatis patches.
Those 'vultures' appear to be coming for Taoiseach Leo Varadkar after all, as Permanent TSB has signalled it is definitely headed towards selling a major loan book to the dreaded vulture funds.
Permanent TSB is ploughing ahead with a €3.8bn sale of impaired home loans despite a pledge by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar to strengthen protection measures for mortgage holders.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has bowed to Fianna Fáil pressure and pledged protection measures for mortgage holders who could be affected by the sale of the Permanent TSB loan book to a vulture fund.
The news from Brussels is not good and it is beginning to look dangerously like Leo Varadkar and Simon Coveney cried "victory" too early and too loudly.
George Soros, the former refugee turned world currency speculating phenomenon, made more than £1bn betting against the pound on Black Wednesday in 1992.
Just two years ago in Kerry, the dramatic five-to-midnight Dáil nomination of a second member from the "Kilgarvan house that Jackie built" caused consternation.
Unless the London government can engage properly in this crucial phase of Brexit talks, then the return of a “hard border” in Ireland appears inevitable, Labour leader, Brendan Howlin has warned.
Forestry Minister Andrew Doyle has challenged Coillte to undo the "damage" done to the confidence of farmers and other potential tree growers.
Séamus Pattison, one of Europe's longest-serving parliamentarians, has died aged 81.
Leo Varadkar set resolving the abortion question as a key priority when elected Taoiseach on June 14 last.
Leo Varadkar's "split decision" strategy on the abortion issue will be sorely tested in four months ahead of the referendum expected in May.
AN Garda Síochána gave a valuable IT contract to the firm Accenture without proper public procurement procedures and also paid money up front, Independent TD Mick Wallace has told the Dáil.
The Taoiseach should put Transport Minister, Shane Ross, on a bus or a tram to experience the chaos and gridlock which is currently frustrating Dublin citizens.
THE Taoiseach will today seek Cabinet approval for a referendum on the liberalisation of abortion, including termination any time up to 12 weeks.
The Government has been urged to tax so-called 'heated cigarettes', targeted at young people, at the highest rate imposed on tobacco products.
Communications Minister Denis Naughten will this week seek Government approval to appoint a dedicated digital safety officer and try to have the role of that person clearly defined within weeks.
Talk of ending partition paled into insignificance when we came up against the "real Irish question" - just where can you get a drink on Good Friday?
The punters see Leo Varadkar's various gaffes as noise in the market. Or maybe he's making inroads on the basis of being a plain-speaking politician.
Tánaiste Simon Coveney has said there are currently 600 houses listed for sale in Dublin priced below €250,000.
Government moves to fix the pensions anomaly now risk discriminating against men hit by the same problem, the Dáil has been told.
The law of unintended consequences often seems to permanently live in the endless masses of pensions small print.
Thousands of men who are missing out on up to €40 per week in their pension payments will not benefit from the proposed 'fix'.
Transport Minister Shane Ross has remained unrepentant about his efforts to re-open Stepaside Garda station in his own Dáil constituency.
Nearly 2,600 extra acute hospital beds will be needed by 2031- but the number could be as high as 7,000 unless the health service is reformed, a new report has warned.
Unpaid road tolls worth €10m on Dublin’s M50 ring-road have been written off over the last two years, a new report has revealed.
Local political wars were often Fianna Fáil's greatest stock in trade and made elections fizz. But for all the party's history, its loyal members have avoided national rows and tried to make loyalty to the leader an immutable core value.
An overwhelming majority of Fianna Fail TDs are against the U-turn taken by party leader Micheál Martin on abortion.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has been accused of “spinning” and exaggerating the numbers of houses being provided to tackle the housing crisis.
This was a debate pitched in the shadow of events from three decades past.
Health Minister Simon Harris listed the number of women from every county in Ireland who travelled to the UK for an abortion in 2016 as he told of the "sad reality" that we have been exporting the issue.
HEALTH Minister Simon Harris opened a two-day Dáil debate on repealing the Eighth Amendment and has read into the record the number of people from each county who travelled to the UK for an abortion in 2016.
A vaccine that can reduce the risk of suffering flu-related pneumonia has a low uptake among over-65s and people with long-term diseases.
UP to 400 people die each year due to hospital emergency department overcrowding, Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has told the Dáil.
Much now turns on one key question: Do you agree there should be unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy?
When a Limerick city friend of mine was jilted by a rather good-looking young woman from nearby Co Clare there was, let's say, a limited amount of sympathy for him.
Peter Sutherland was recalled as a “loving family man” and someone who did many “hidden acts of philanthropy.”
People from politics, business and the law joined together to pay their final respects to the man known to all as 'Suds'.
Peter Sutherland's family have announced arrangements for his funeral to take place tomorrow and Thursday in Dublin as tributes to the statesman and business leader have continued.
Up to 10,000 pensioners in the CIÉ group of companies are facing a crisis as their pension scheme is underfunded by some €80m.
Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty will come under renewed pressure to bring forward a speedy remedy for pensioners who are on reduced payments because they took time out of the workforce.
Fine Gael has amassed a €1m election "war chest" and is well advanced in candidate selection and other preparations, party chairman Martin Heydon has warned.
Housing Minister Eoghan Murphy has signalled he is ready to change the way property taxes are calculated.
POLITICIANS have united in paying their respects to Peter Sutherland who died after losing a lengthy battle with illness.
IRELAND'S best-known international statesman, Peter Sutherland – credited with leading a successful drive for cheap air fares - has died after a long illness at the age of 71.
There is only one Kevin 'Boxer' Moran. The hours, which often turn to days, he has spent fighting to help people stricken by floods give him a special place for the foreseeable future.
When my late mother's friend described a seasonal gift as "unusual", you knew you were in tricky territory. Taoiseach Leo Varadkar's "split decision" on Cabinet responsibility is so unusual that anything like it harks back more than 40 years.
Many wily politicians of yesteryear made a career of giving it out large off the back of the lorry in Kilahulla Upper - and then doing the exact opposite back in Dublin.
UK Prime Minister Theresa May received “a light round of applause” at last night’s EU summit dinner, according to Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.
Donald Tusk did not bother shoehorning fragments of pop songs into his message. Not this time.
The Taoiseach has sent his strongest warning yet there can be no reneging on the Brexit deal on the Irish Border.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said a hard battle still lay ahead to ensure all Irish interests around Brexit are laid down in a legally binding international treaty.
Brexit tops the agenda as Taoiseach Leo Varadkar attends a two-day EU leaders’ summit in Brussels.
Spending at RTÉ is to be examined by two ministers to see where savings can be made.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he meant no insult to Fianna Fáil in comments about the Brexit border deal.
The Brexit deal has many advantages for Ireland north and south. It is a big win for the Irish negotiating team. But can it be that simple? What are the potential snags?
Right now we're going through a more upbeat period about how Ireland and Irish agribusiness will cope with the awfulness that is Brexit.
Ireland will consider British proposals to reassure the Democratic Unionist Party on a border deal for Brexit – but will not agree changes “to the core” of a draft agreement which emerged on Monday.
It's time to re-think tax cuts for high earners and focus instead on improved services for vulnerable people like carers, Micheál Martin has said.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he believes the British prime minister wants a Brexit deal on the Irish border and is now acting in good faith.
