There have been some "proper tulips" among the last 17 Transport Ministers but none of them brought Bus Éireann to the brink of insolvency, an Oireachtas Committee has heard.

A Bill to reduce the 14 year prison sentence for women who have abortions down to a €1 fine is to be brought before the Dáil.

There are concerns TDs and senators responsible for recommending the future of water charges to the Dáil for a vote will not finish their work by the March deadline.

Calls have been made on Michael Lowry to step aside from an Oireachtas committee because of his perceived links to businessman Denis O’Brien.

The trip is an endorsement of ‘racist, horrendous’ agenda, claim TDs.

A series of ministers have condemned US president Donald Trump’s “Muslim travel ban” amid cabinet calls for pre-clearance officials in Ireland to ignore the controversial policy.

Bus Éireann management is to write to unions at the company today in relation to cost-saving measures it is planning which could trigger strikes if earnings are cut without agreement.

Thousands of property owners who keep homes empty for more than two years could face 100% tax hikes in a bid to force them to release houses onto the rental market.

Fine Gael’s director of elections has staunchly defended his party’s 2016 general election bill, saying its ballot box wipeout would have been even worse if it did not spend almost 40% more than any other party.

Between a third and half of people could still face “excessive usage” water charges under reforms recommended to Government.

Laws forcing insurance firms to provide cover to flood-hit homes and businesses could be introduced next year.

The Dáil committee on water charges has hit difficulties after just one meeting, after opposition TDs claimed they were blocked from questioning the author of a Government-commissioned report on the issue.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny is facing mounting pressure to refund Irish Water customers who paid their bills, with growing calls for rebates from within Cabinet, as well as from many of his own TDs.

The family of a six-year-old girl who suffers 20 seizures a day because of a serious health condition has welcomed news that the Government will not block an opposition bill to legalise cannabis use for strictly controlled medical reasons.

The Government has failed to clarify if people who have not paid water charges will be pursued through the courts, tax or social welfare payments systems.

Homeowners and renters face a system of water charges but only after a free allowance is used up, the Irish Examiner understands.

Attempts to agree on the future of funding water services have already divided TDs, after a Dáil row broke out yesterday about a new committee which will examine water charges.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has appeared to back down on summer claims he would rebuke US president-elect Donald Trump for his “racist” remarks after saying he wants Ireland to continue its close relationship with the economic powerhouse.

The Government has avoided a prospective controversy as John Halligan will be out of the country when an opposition water bill, which he signed before entering government, comes before the Dáil.

A Dáil motion backed by all Opposition parties for Ireland to immediately take in up to 200 unaccompanied migrant children from Calais is set to be blocked by the Government because the French site is not an official resettlement camp.

There has been a major surge in support for the Anti-Austerity Alliance/People Before Profit (AAA-PBP) in the latest political opinion poll.

The Government will be urged to immediately take in up to 200 unaccompanied migrant children living in the notorious ‘Jungle’ camp in Calais in a cross-party opposition motion set to be put before the Dáil next week.

The Government will be urged to immediately take in up to 200 unaccompanied migrant children living in the notorious 'Jungle' in Calais in a cross-party opposition motion set to be put before the Dáil next week, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith of the Irish Examiner.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has called for key speaking rights for smaller parties to be cut, despite the move being central to Dáil reforms sought by his party after the general election.

An illegal abortion pill was brought into the Dáil by TD Bríd Smith during a debate on repealing the Eighth Amendment.

Tonight's abortion bill will not be voted on by the Dáil after Government parties agreed to block any ballot in return for fast-tracking plans to act on the Citizen's Assembly's findings next year, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith of the Irish Examiner.

Ministers who vote against the Government in an upcoming bill on repealing the Eighth Amendment should resign, Labour leader Brendan Howlin has said.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny will formally launch the first meeting of the citizens’ assembly today as the independent group’s members begin examining potential changes to abortion laws; fixed-term parliaments; and how Ireland is tackling the climate change crisis.

Members of the Anti-Austerity Alliance-People Before Profit (AAA-PBP) are at odds on increasing Ireland’s corporation tax.

Members of the Anti-Austerity Alliance - People Before Profit (AAA-PBP) are at odds on increasing Ireland's corporation tax, writes Elaine Loughlin, Political Reporter.

Here’s a briefing on some of the stories and issues highlighted on irishexaminer.com today

The Government is “sleepwalking” its way into another crisis over abortion, ministers admitted last night.

THERE they sat, with their black and white repeal T-shirts clearly visible under their jackets.