Controversial ex-Fine Gael adviser Frank Flannery, who was forced to cut his ties with the party over the Rehab charity scandal, has said Taoiseach Enda Kenny is “possibly” considering asking him to return.

A Fine Gael backbencher and member of an influential internal party group has insisted Frank Flannery should not return until the Rehab controversy is addressed.

A Fine Gael backbencher says he does not want to see Frank Flannery return to the party.

The former minister who oversaw the setting up of Irish Water has called for the boss of the under-fire company to resign.

The State is losing more than €20m a year due to an 80-year-old restriction on the opening hours of betting shops, retail chiefs warn.

The Troika has told Government backbenchers it is optimistic about Ireland’s post-bailout future.

A loosening of the party whip system and allowing individual TDs to vote with their conscience on laws would be bad for stability and therefore bad for investment, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.

A loosening of the party whip system and allowing individual TDs to vote with their conscience on laws would be bad for stability and therefore bad for investment, the Taoiseach told the Dáil.

Farmers should open up their land for recreational use to compensate for the “transfer of wealth from urban to rural areas”, a Dublin TD has claimed.

Government plans to tax maternity benefit have been branded the “nastiest” part of the budget and effectively a “tax on childbirth”.

Members of the opposition have said that it is not too late for the Government to reverse the cuts made to child benefit and the carers' respite grant in the budget.

Minister for Public Expenditure and Reform Brendan Howlin has today called on the eight Fine Gael TDs who criticised the performance of the Croke Park deal in

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Public servants could see their pay and allowances cut when the Croke Park agreement ends and its successor is negotiated, Fine Gael’s Europe Minister Lucinda Creighton has said.

Eight Fine Gael TDs who controversially called for a review of Croke Park deal allowances and incremenets in yesterday’s Irish Examiner have been heavily criticised by Government.

Labour rebels claim to have support in the parliamentary party for their calls for a wealth tax in the budget.

The Troika are due to return to Dublin this week for their latest review of progress on our reform programme.

Eight Fine Gael TDs have challenged the Government’s stance on Croke Park, saying the system of pay rises and allowances for high-earning public servants must be re-examined.

More than 1,000 allowances paid to public sector staff will be examined by the Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) after the Government abandoned plans to abolish them for existing workers.

Labour’s Brendan Howlin, the public expenditure minister, is set to be invited to speak at Fine Gael’s next parliamentary party meeting after an outburst last night by TDs over the failure to cut workers allowances.

A Fine Gael minister has backed proposals by the Church to lobby politicians over abortion, further widening the gulf between the coalition parties on the contentious issue.

It isn’t a lack of competition that is causing banks not to lend to small businesses but a lack of funds, the chairperson of the Competition Authority believes.

Part-time workers could see an easing of rules allowing them to supplement their income with welfare payments under proposals from an Oireachtas committee.

THE Irish Red Cross has admitted its vice-chairman was one of two signatories at the centre of a controversy surrounding an undisclosed bank account containing €160,000 in donations.

Eight students from NUI Maynooth have occupied the constituency office of Fine Gael TD Anthony Lawlor to highlight their fear that student maintenance grants may be cut in next week's Budget.

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).

There are 70 seats filled so far.

Independent Catherine Murphy and Fine Gael's Anthony Lawlor have been elected on the last count in Kildare North.

According to final tallies in Kildare North, no candidate will be deemed elected on the first count.

A father of three who hid almost €470,000 worth of heroin in a wardrobe in his home has been sentenced to eight years in prison by Judge Katherine Delahunt at Dublin Circuit Criminal Court.