A senior Government Minister is rejecting claims that Shane Ross's politics are contaminating Fine Gael.

The garda in charge of deciding which stations should reopen has revealed he was asked by the former Garda commissioner for a report shortly before Stepaside in south Dublin was chosen.

A suspicious mind might conclude there were too many coincidences involved in the decision to reopen Stepaside station, writes Special Correspondent Michael Clifford.

A leading member of the cross-party Dáil public accounts committee has warned Government there is nothing in the now published Stepaside garda station re-opening report that changes her view what happened was a “political stroke”.

The publication of the interim report into the reopening of garda stations confirms a "firm recommendation" was made to re-open Stepaside Garda station.

Questions about the Government decision to reopen Stepaside Garda Station in south Dublin have again been raised, amid fresh claims that the move was a political stroke, delivered by Transport Minister Shane Ross for his constituency.

Only around half of the 138 garda stations closed during the recession were considered to be in a position to be reopened in a special report to be presented to the Government.

John Halligan, in detail, set out how he and other members of the group met Leo Varadkar and how at that meeting the then-Taoiseach elect said he would get certain issues "over the line" for the Alliance.

The head of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), Sean Fleming, has claimed the Government "infected the garda process" of deciding what Garda stations should be re-opened.

A defiant Transport Minister Shane Ross has said the decision to reopen Stepaside Garda Station in his constituency was not “stroke politics”.

The acting Garda commissioner yesterday defended the reopening of Stepaside Garda Station, following accusations that it was a political stroke delivered by Transport, Tourism and Sport Minister Shane Ross.

Yesterday’s hearing at the Public Accounts Committee should set off alarm bells for anybody interested in policing, writes Michael Clifford.

Latest: The Acting Garda Commissioner has said the decision to re-open Stepaside Garda Station was not politically motivated.

The HSE and gardaí are at the centre of an escalating stand-off with a Dáil committee after failing to hand over key documents into the Grace foster abuse and Stepaside garda station controversies.

The HSE and gardaí have been ordered to release key reports into the Grace foster abuse scandal and the re-opening of Stepaside garda station by tonight amid claims they are deliberately blocking investigations.

We just knew that the best interests of the operation of the gardaí would conflate with those of Lord Ross, writes Michael Clifford.

Independent Alliance Minister Shane Ross has been criticised after the reopening of Stepaside Garda Station was announced.

A five-year-old girl who suffered stress and psychological abuse when she attended a creche, which figured in an RTÉ exposé about the mistreatment of children, has been awarded €17,500 compensation in the Circuit Civil Court.

Tusla has called for an urgent review of a decision by a District Court Judge to strike out a case relating to alleged breaches of childcare regulations.

A director of one of the three creches featured in an RTÉ Prime Time exposé has challenged reports that parents are planning to sue.

One of the creches under the microscope for alleged physical abuse of children has told parents they will only be able to view footage from newly installed CCTV cameras once their management has examined it.

Gardaí have begun a criminal investigation into the alleged physical abuse of children which featured in Tuesday’s Prime Time documentary on creches.

Minister for Children Frances Fitzgerald has described the mistreatment of children uncovered at three creches for an RTÉ documentary as emotional abuse.

John Fitzgerald (Letters, Mar 4) complained that there was no excuse for hare coursing.

Large crowds turned out yesterday in the home constituency of Justice Minister Alan Shatter to demand a reversal of his controversial plans to close the Garda station in Stepaside, Co Dublin.

Gardaí at Stepaside, Dublin, have renewed their appeal for help in tracing 36-year-old Elaine O'Hara who has been missing for six days.

Ruairi Quinn, the education minister, has rejected the advice of his officials and independent experts to decide who will be patron of two new primary schools.

Friends First Finance Ltd is seeking summary judgment totalling €4.6 million against the widow of deceased property developer Liam Maye over guarantees she gave on loans to the couple’s three daughters for equity fund investments.

GAA legend Mick O’Dwyer has led the tributes to Garda Ciaran Jones who lost his life while alerting motorists to dangerous floods.

THERE are no new Michelins stars being awarded to Irish restaurants this year — but no Irish restaurants lost their stars either.