Seriously ill former members of the Air Corps are facing potentially “catastrophic” consequences for their health as a result of the State’s efforts to fight them ‘tooth and nail’ over the release of information that could aid their treatment, the Dáil heard yesterday.

A whistleblower’s warning that documents revealing unacceptable levels of chemical exposure in the Air Corps were deliberately destroyed was sent to the Department of Defence over a year before it looked for the documents — and discovered they are missing.

An Air Corps official has rejected claims that inspection reports at the centre of legal cases against the State were deliberately destroyed, describing the allegations as malicious, writes Joe Leogue.

An Air Corps official has rejected claims that inspection reports at the centre of legal cases against the State were deliberately destroyed, describing the allegations as malicious.

PDForra, the organisation representing enlisted Defence Forces members, says it will assist the Air Corps whistleblower facing dismissal next month.

The Government says the Defence Forces have no intention of investigating how health and safety reports at the centre of an alleged ‘cover up’ within the Air Corps have gone missing.

Cross-party demands have been made for an independent investigation into how the Air Corps has managed staff exposure to harmful chemicals.

Junior Defence Minister Paul Kehoe has met an Air Corps whistleblower and saw copies of inspection reports that have raised concerns about conditions in Casement Aerodrome dating back to the 1990s.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan’s failure to inform the Tánaiste of the Templemore College fiasco for 16 months has been described as a “significant oversight” by a Cabinet minister.

A whistleblower has criticised the Government’s handling of allegations of health and safety management in the Air Corps, claiming that staff exposure to toxic chemicals has caused the deaths and chronic illnesses suffered by members and their families.

Sinn Féin has “strongly objected” to a Fianna Fáil Dáil motion which it claims was only put forward to “gazump” its bid to remove Garda commissioner Noirín O’Sullivan.

Concerns have been raised about the scope of the ongoing review of allegations made by Air Corps whistleblowers. They claimed that staff were unnecessarily exposed to cancer-causing chemicals.

The military has been accused of a “cover-up” in relation to how it dealt with reports of exposure to dangerous substances within the Air Corps.

Sinn Fein’s Aengus Ó Snodaigh was interrupted in the Dáil today by his own fashion choices.

The Government has rejected Sinn Féin plans for an annual public holiday starting next year to mark the 1916 Rising, despite opposition claims coalition advisers backed the move two years ago.

A senior Sinn Féin TD has rejected claims his party is suffering from an internal bullying crisis, after a former Dublin councillor claimed he was forced out of the party just days after a separate scandal in Cork.

GLAMOUR is in short supply when you’ve been in a band for 25 years, says Kila’s Rossa Ó Snodaigh. 

It became known as the little school in the “next parish to America” and there was outrage when a Fianna Fáil government decided to close it 44 years ago.

Sinn Féin Deputy President Mary Lou McDonald has said she will not try to enter the Dáil chamber today.

Sinn Féin's Social Protection spokesperson Aengus Ó Snodaigh claims there has been a long standing campaign against his party's leader and the recent controversy surrounding Maíria Cahill may be part of it.

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has announced that his son Lorcán has been found safe and well.

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snodaigh has issued a public appeal for information on the whereabouts of his teenage son.

Sinn Féin deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh has said he and his wife are looking forward to getting their 18-year-old son “home again soon” once doctors have treated his stab injuries.

The 18-year-old son of a Sinn Féin TD is recovering in hospital after being stabbed during a late-night incident at his home.

The teenage son of Sinn Féin TD Aengus O'Snodaigh is in hospital after being stabbed early this morning.

A major Government job activation scheme has been branded “exploitative” by Sinn Féin.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny heaped more pressure on Rehab CEO Angela Kerins to reveal full details of her salary, saying the “nauseating spectacle” surrounding the finances of Irish charities had to end.

The public was “played for every vote that could be got” by the Labour Party in the run-up to the election, the Dáil heard last night.

Former Fianna Fáil TD Chris Andrews has joined Sinn Féin.

A Sinn Féin TD has admitted he knows of welfare claimants cheating the system but said there must be an amnesty for overpayments — a move that could save the State €55m per year.

The Government has pledged that any “gap” in funding for suicide prevention will be addressed and that the issue of suicide will be prioritised.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton defended cuts to emergency needs payments, revealing that €22m was paid for clothing, religious ceremonies, buggies, and prams in the last two years.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has dismissed claims the Government is using “yellow-pack policing” under an employment work scheme for sensitive garda positions.

The tax take for last year was up 7.7% compared to 2011, Exchequer figures have revealed today.

The backlog of claims for the carer’s allowance has climbed to more than 9,500 despite promises by the Department of Social Protection to tackle the long waiting lists.

A Sinn Féin TD’s constituency office has been damaged in a petrol bomb attack today.

The Government should offer a social welfare “amnesty” so that recipients can report overpayments without fear of penalty, Sinn Féin has said.

Sinn Féin TD Aengus Ó Snódaigh was contacted by Oireachtas authorities in May 2006 about his excessive claims for printer cartridges, but still claimed over €50,000 worth of ink in the following two years.

THE announcement of the EU referendum and the subsequent hari-kari within Fianna Fáil may have drawn attention away from Aengus Ó Snodaigh’s remarkable campaign of state-funded printing, but Sinn Féin’s seemingly relentless electoral rise could be checked by any more similar revelations.

It wasn’t spent cartridges, but the money spent on cartridges that saw Sinn Féin caught in the crossfire.

A top-level probe into how a Sinn Féin TD managed to leave taxpayers with a €50,000 bill for ink cartridges in two years was demanded last night.

Sinn Féin’s über-disciplined, permanently on-message leadership will be more than annoyed that Deputy Aengus Ó Snodaigh’s extravagance has been uncovered.

Lone parents have today staged a protest against cuts to their social welfare benefits.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has ignored threats of a potential mass boycott over the €100 household charge the Government is to impose in the New Year.