Student nurses on work placements across the country should be paid for helping to fight the coronavirus outbreak, according to a Fianna Fáil TD in Kerry.

TDs have clashed on who should be the next Taoiseach as the Dáil debates candidates for the role and amid the ongoing standoff in the government formation talks.

If ever there was an illustration of the power of the Healy-Raes in Kerry, it wasn’t just the convincing — and some might say inevitable — vote they received.

Confirming his status as Kerry’s biggest vote-getter, tallies put him at topping the poll with 16,695 votes.

Michael Healy-Rae is set to top the poll in Kerry according to the final unofficial tally for the five-seat constituency.

The Sinn Féin surge looks set to claim a major scalp in Kerry in the form of Independent TD Danny Healy-Rae, according to the latest TG4/Ipsos MRBI poll.

The Fianna Fáil leader has told students at Presentation Secondary School Tralee that he would be willing to reduce the voting age to 16.

For almost 30 years, in terms of Kerry politics, we have spoken of the Spring dynasty, and it is a real reflection of the low ebb in which Labour finds itself when it cannot even stand a candidate in the Kingdom.

Some 27 claims have been taken against the council in Kerry relating to trips and falls in the revamped Tralee Town Square and environs.

Meanwhile the Healy-Raes now see a gap and may well go for the chance of a third seat, it is strongly rumoured.

The Kerry local elections have thrown up mixed messages for the main parties.

The extraordinary performance of the Healy-Rae siblings was the story of the weekend at the count centre in Killarney, where Johnny headed up Kenmare and Maura won Killarney minutes later.

Kerry County Council has honoured the work of Fionnbar and Elma Walsh and the Donal Walsh Livelife Foundation with a civic reception.

Kerry County Council voted by majority to bring in a dress code for local politicians — and to push for this to be extended to the Dáil.

Almost half of the cases of Lyme disease reported in 2016 were in the South-West, figures from the HSE reveal, amid calls for signs to be put up to warn walkers and campers about the risks of contracting it.