ENDA KENNY is grasping at straws with his ridiculous assertion that the next election will be a choice between a Fianna Fáil-Sinn Féin government and a Fine Gael-Labour one.

AS the New Year dawns, it is timely to reflect on 2006 which, by any yardstick, was an annus horribilis.

TWO of the most high-profile TDs in the Dáil made surprise announcements last night that they will not be contesting next summer’s General Election.

The Fianna Fail-Progressive Democrats coalition has reportedly topped the poll in a survey of farmers attending the National Ploughing Championships recently.

Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats are on course for a third term in office, according to an opinion poll published this morning.

JUSTICE Minister Michael McDowell was plunged into fresh controversy last night when the opposition reacted furiously to his plans to introduce a huge raft of late amendments to tough criminal justice legislation.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday rejected any suggestion that by saying Fianna Fáil would be willing to consider Labour as a possible coalition option, he lacked confidence the current coalition would be returned to power.

ENDA Kenny has vowed he will immediately sack any minister found responsible for a PPARS-type overspend in any future Fine Gael-led government.

Fine Gael has accused the Government of continuing to fuel inflation and of failing to heed warnings about the matter over the past year or so.

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny and Labour leader Pat Rabbitte will this week hold their first formal meeting to sketch out the shape of their proposed ‘rainbow’ coalition.

The Taoiseach Bertie Ahern is attempting to play down reports of a rift between Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats over proposals to introduce licences for café bars.

THE Government’s bounce back in the opinion polls yesterday caused Mary Harney to suggest Fianna Fáil and the Progressive Democrats will win a third term in power.

MY father is of a generation old enough to have regaled us spoilt city brats with ‘béal bocht’ stories about having to walk to school in bare feet carrying hot potatoes to keep his hands warm.

THE Government has been accused of reneging on an election promise to radically reduce primary class sizes.

GOVERNMENT Ministers were accused last night of splashing out €3.5 million a year on dozens of new spindoctors, advisors and political hacks, while neglecting urgently needed public services.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern was embroiled in a major row over political patronage yesterday, this time over a controversial marina dubbed “Punchestown-on-Sea”.

BRIAN COWEN struck a blow in the FF-PD propaganda war against Tom Parlon yesterday by getting in first to claim credit for new schools coming to 'Parlon Country'.

IRELAND has the highest birth rate but the lowest life expectancy in the EU, according to statistics released yesterday.

Fine Gael has accused the Government of failing to provide adequate resources to implement road safety legislation.

THE beauty about the radical plans for the health service announced this week is, from the Government’s point of view, the fact that they could take anything from three to 10 years to implement.

THE Government was yesterday branded incompetent, hypocritical and dishonest, as the two main opposition parties attacked the FF-PD coalition on the first anniversary of its return to office.

By Pat Brosnan

KOFI ANNAN, the Secretary General of the UN, must have breathed a major sigh of relief when he heard the news from Dublin in the past 24 hours.

A GOVERNMENT decision to appoint a former business leader to a top environmental watchdog post has sparked a fierce political row.

UP to two-thirds of teenagers leaving State care end up sleeping on the streets within two years.

WE must hope Bertie Ahern and his colleagues are enjoying their break because they will have to hit the ground running when they get back to work at the end of this month.

The Cabinet is to meet in Donegal next month.

Tanaiste, Mary Harney, is warning against any presumptions that a new coalition between Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats is a done deal.

Independent North Tipperary deputy Michael Lowry has said that a Fianna Fail - Progressive Democrats coalition is inevitable.

The Labour Party has accused the Government of making selective announcements to boost its own profile ahead of the impending general election.

The Taoiseach, Bertie Ahern, has said he is likely to invite the Progressive Democrats back into coalition if in a position to do so following the upcoming general election.

Sports Minister Jim McDaid has dismissed claims Fianna Fail and the Progressive Democrats are divided over the controversial National Stadium project.