Fianna Fáil has said Government fears that its new mortgage arrears bill is not constitutional are “ill-founded” and a convenient excuse to block the legislation.

Delays in handing over patients to emergency departments are holding up ambulances, with turnaround times in Cork of particular concern.

Health Minister Simon Harris will travel to Cork on Thursday to hear firsthand from hospital consultants why women face inordinate delays accessing treatment for a range of gynaecological conditions, including potential cancers.

Significant investment is needed in public transport and infrastructure in Dublin and Cork city centres if they are to keep up with increasing development and passenger numbers, according to the cities’ chambers of commerce.

It was a simple and dignified ceremony, straight-forward and to the point with little or no fuss, one he himself would have been proud of.

Children are waiting over a year to be assessed for disability needs in Cork — nearly four times over the legal time limit allowed.

A senior Fianna Fáil figure has effectively ruled out a refund for people who have paid their water bills despite the fact charges now look set to be suspended for the foreseeable future, writes Juno McEnroe of the Irish Examiner.

Fine Gael has rejected Fianna Fáil demands to defer all water charges until every house in the country is metered as the move would effectively hand Micheál Martin’s party victory in ongoing talks on Irish Water.

Housing, childcare and justice will be top priorities for new Cork TD Donnchadh Ó Laoghaire. The 27-year-old from Togher joined Sinn Féin at the age of 18.

Dozens of previously high-profile politicians are waking up to the reality today that they are no longer TDs after a second successive general election saw a seismic shift in the Dáil landscape.

The majority of TDs cost the taxpayer more than half a million euro each in pay and expenses in under four years, while TDs who are also ministers have received, on average, €631,000.

A split has emerged in Labour over the proposal to merge Cork city and county councils, with a TD accusing Environment Minister Alan Kelly of rushing to accept the findings.

Former taoisigh Bertie Ahern and Brian Cowen, along with senior officials from the Department of Finance during the Celtic Tiger era, will be grilled by the Oireachtas banking inquiry in July.

Senior Fianna Fáil members have rejected a suggestion by Simon Coveney, the agriculture minister, that they could go into coalition with Fine Gael after the next general election.

A prominent Fine Gael TD said he would not welcome Fianna Fáil back into Government "in any shape or form".

Expenses to TDs have cost €24.4m since the last General Election.

Transport minister Paschal Donohoe has confirmed that the Jack Lynch Tunnel in Cork will not be tolled in the lifetime of the present Government.

Cork’s city officials are planning to conduct a full review of their concert licensing regime following the Garth Brooks debacle.

A Fine Gael backbencher has hit out at Justice Minister Alan Shatter over his handling of the Garda whistleblower controversy, saying the Government should acknowledge that they “did the State some service”.

Hoax calls to Cork city fire brigade could have cost the city more than €4m over the last five years.

The final Dáil vote saw 31 TDs oppose the X case legislation as numbers were swelled by left-wing deputies protesting that the new law was not liberal enough.

The new lord mayor of Cork ignored a large vocal protest last night and vowed to review city centre parking policy and advance plans for a new food emporium for the city.

The Lord Mayor of Cork has been diagnosed with cancer.

A public appetite for a warts-and-all banking inquiry is growing.

The country’s gone to the dogs, and a group of Fine Gael TDs are planning to follow the pack.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin has called on Alan Shatter to “come clean” on restructuring plans for the Defence Forces.

THE number of TDs in the next Dáil will be chopped from 166 to 158 as part of a fundamental overhaul of constituencies.

Cork may have voted yes, but half of the city — including vast swathes of traditional working-class areas — sent a clear message to the Government and voted no.

The fiscal treaty was backed by an overwhelming majority despite initial fears in the yes camp that the low turnout could make the result closer than expected.

TDs and senators claimed more than €600,000 in expenses in December, the latest figures show.

Some 30 workers are continuing their sit-in today at a Co Cork company from which they have been made redundant.

THE State is subsidising supermarkets in selling cheap alcohol by refunding them VAT on drink sold at a loss, it emerged at an Oireachtas Committee yesterday.

UNIVERSITY College Cork (UCC) is “hopeful” a way can soon be found to dispose of 2.5 tonnes of uranium stored on campus.

PENAL reform campaigners have hailed Government prison plans as marking a “new departure” in justice policy.

THE Bishop of Cork and Ross has launched a scathing attack on an exhibition, due to open in UCC today, for portraying the Virgin Mary in an“offensive” way.

SHORTLY after dawn last Saturday, the fate of fistfuls of flutters and fancies dangled as if the gates were just snapping open at the Curragh.

THE average age of Cork’s Dáil representation has dropped by eight years since the last general election in a reflection of the changed face of politics after last Friday’s ballot.

With all bar four of the 43 constituencies in the General Election finished counting, the country’s political scene has undergone a sea change.

Former Minister for Tourism Mary Hanafin has failed to retain her seat in Dun Laoghaire. Richard Boyd Barrett won the seat, bringing the haul of seats for Independents and others to 17.

The election of Fine Gael's Mary Mitchell O'Connor in Dun Laoghaire brings to 141 the total number of seats filled so far (from a total of 166).