Fianna Fáil should focus on newer, younger, and more women candidates in the next general election, according to party senator Averil Power.

Former Minister for the Marine Frank Fahey has settled a defamation action against the publishers of the Irish Daily Mail for a six figure sum.

The figures show that while numerous former ministers enjoy huge pensions, some are volunteering money back to the State because of the condition of the public finances.

Éamon Ó Cuív’s decision to stay in Fianna Fáil “for all its faults” was hardly surprising given his family lineage and lifelong involvement with the party founded by his grandfather.

TWO constituencies were still undergoing recounts last night, with a third beginning this morning, as the wait goes on to see the full make-up of the next Dáil.

Labour's Derek Nolan is leading the poll after the first count in the Galway West constituency.

Micheál Martin is insisting that three Fianna Fáil candidates will be on the party ticket in Galway West.

MICHEÁL MARTIN remains the front-runner to be the next Fianna Fáil leader, with the number of TDs publicly declaring they will support him in tomorrow’s vote now in excess of 20.

MICHEÁL MARTIN was first out of the blocks after the Fianna Fáil leadership became vacant — announcing his candidacy for the position and then watching as a steady stream of TDs declared support for him.

EMILY O’REILLY is a woman out of control. Out of the Government’s control that is – which is why they seem determined to undermine her.

NEXT Sunday, a large family from the isolated Donegal peninsula of St John’s Point will gather for Mass to pray for the souls of Francis Byrne and his son Jimmy.

THE Ombudsman has said the move by Fianna Fáil members on the Oireachtas Agriculture Committee to favour party allegiance over the plight of a Donegal family has done damage to the citizens of the country.

DESPITE the best efforts of the Ombudsman Emily O’Reilly, Fianna Fáil deputies yesterday drew a line under what has been a controversial and divisive issue.

A PUBLIC inquiry into the controversial Lost at Sea Scheme has been stalled to allow the warring factions in the Department of Agriculture and the Ombudsman’s office time to reconsider the stand-off.

A Co Kerry family who spoke at Leinster House this week on road safety say they are disappointed by the way they and other bereaved families were treated.

A NIGHT of high drama in the Dáil saw the Government scramble to victory but lose three of its supporters over a Green Party animal welfare law.

I USED to be an inveterate funeral goer – several per week. I hadn’t been to one for the past two years until the unexpected death of newspaper man and former schoolmate, Alan Ruddock.

THE Ombudsman has disputed evidence given by former minister and Fianna Fáil backbench TD Frank Fahey to an Oireachtas committee in the latest development in a stand-off between the Government and the watchdog’s office.

FORMER Marine Minister Frank Fahey insisted he was “never dishonest” and has no regrets over his handling of a scheme to compensate fishermen for lost vessels which the opposition said was “rigged” to suit his constituents.

A Senior Government Minister has said last night's voting mistake in the Dáil is simply "unacceptable".

The Government has defeated a move by the Opposition to try and hold the Donegal by-election - but only with the casting vote of the Ceann Comhairle - after two Fianna Fáil backbenchers voted the wrong way.

BERTIE AHERN has relinquished his €83,000 ministerial pension but a number of Fianna Fáil politicians are holding out as Taoiseach Brian Cowen refuses to place any pressure on them.

Former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is to give up his €83,000 ministerial pension, it was revealed tonight.

Fianna Fáil's Frank Fahey has become the latest Oireachtas member to forego the double pension payment.

FORMER junior minister Frank Fahey has been accused of assaulting a member of the Oireachtas agriculture committee to protect his reputation.

A FAMILY thrown into the middle of a political battle has welcomed signs the Government may back down and pay them compensation for rejecting their original claim under the Lost at Sea scheme.

IT is to be hoped that Environment Minister John Gormley’s intervention into the controversy surrounding the Lost At Sea scheme will prevent the simmering issue becoming a scandal.

THE Government could be forced to reconsider its rejection of the Ombudsman’s report on the Lost at Sea scheme after the Green Party leader, John Gormley, said it needs to be discussed further by the Cabinet.

FORMER taoiseach Bertie Ahern earned an estimated €145,000 from speaking engagements last year, travelling to New York, Honduras, Nigeria and Madrid where he delivered lectures for fees of €29,000.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has rejected the Ombudsman’s call to have the Lost at Sea report reopened.

WE have repeatedly suggested that an investigative authority with real powers and ambition be established to probe matters of public concern.

LAST Monday the Fianna Fáil TD Frank Fahey joined the small band of interviewees who have offered me a bet live on radio to emphasise his certainty of the point he was making.

FIANNA FÁIL’S Frank Fahey has strenuously denied opposition claims his Lost at Sea scheme to help fishermen buy new trawlers was “tailor-made” to suit a handful of constituents in Galway West.

ONE of the country’s largest insurance and mortgage industry representatives has warned consumers that a low European Central Bank (ECB) interest rate will provide no barrier to Irish-based lenders increasing their own rates.

THE recent budget brought into sharp relief the priorities of the Government and some of those independents who back them like Deputy Noel Grealish here in Galway West.

A FORMER Government minister has said there is no need for the Bishop of Galway to resign in the wake of the Murphy Report.

Galway West Fianna Fáil TD Frank Fahey has said there is no reason for the Bishop of Galway Martin Drennan to resign.

Lectures at University College Cork will be postponed from Monday for a week.

PERMANENT TSB has no immediate plans to increase its variable interest rates for mortgage customers — following its controversial 0.5% hike in July — but has not totally ruled out any such moves.

IT WAS the first act in the West Side Story for a NAMA generation – two rival gangs consolidating in urban decay.

EDUCATION Minister Batt O’Keeffe will today turn the NAMA row personal by claiming Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny has a “hapless grasp” of economic issues and is an embarrassment to his own party.

If you stay around long enough in the one position in politics, you will accumulate a lot of enemies. Harney has not lacked for courage or shirked conflict. Like all warriors, eventually the scars of battle take their toll. Too many health commentators, professionals and leaders want rid of her

BANK workers who claim they were spat at by customers when news broke of a rise in interest rates by Permanent TSB have appealed to mortgage holders not to take their blame out on them.