Socialist TD Joe Higgins will not contest the next general election.

AT LEAST it was fitting in Holy Week that we asked the question: Will Labour walk on water?

Labour's Pat Nulty has topped the poll in the first count of the Dublin West by-election.

With 51% of votes counted in the Donegal South West by-election, Sinn Féin's Pearse Doherty has garnered 39.5% of the vote.

DID you happen to see the Heineken Cup final (albeit on Sky)? There was a defining moment in the second half.

THERE are currently three vacancies in the Dáil brought about by resignations. Pat ‘The Cope’ Gallagher stood down in 2009 after his election to the European Parliament. Earlier this year George Lee of Fine Gael resigned his South Dublin seat in a tizzy and Martin Cullen stepped down from his Waterford seat due to health reasons.

Journalist-turned-politician George Lee is expected to scoop a massive victory for Fine Gael in the Dublin South by-election.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has insisted he will continue in office even if the public delivers a damning verdict on his leadership in next week’s elections.

FIANNA FÁIL and Fine Gael have dismissed Labour leader Eamon Gilmore’s call for a televised debate before next month’s elections.

FIANNA Fáil faces a bloodbath in the triple set of elections on June 5 after a poll showed Fine Gael with an unprecedented 17-point lead over Taoiseach Brian Cowen’s party.

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny dismissed as speculation media reports that former PD leader Michael McDowell is poised to rejoin Fine Gael in a bid to win back a Dáil seat.

Labour Senator Ivana Bacik has been confirmed as the party's candidate for the upcoming Dublin Central by-election.

British prime minister Gordon Brown today brushed off speculation that he could be forced out of his job before the end of the year.

Kicking Gordon Brown out of Number 10 would not save the British Government from electoral meltdown – even though his popularity is at an all-time low, according to a poll tonight.

A son of a former Sinn Féin election candidate who shot at three uniformed gardaí has been jailed for five years.

THE Government was accused yesterday of abandoning a commitment to cut school class sizes according to international standards.

Fianna Fáil is reportedly planning to select a new candidate for the forthcoming Meath by-election in the coming days.