Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams has arrived in the Louth constituency count centre where unofficial tallies of votes showed he was set to comfortably win a seat.

THE president of Sinn Féin Gerry Adams last night said, “Ireland is at a crossroads”.

BRIAN COWEN will name the official date tomorrow, but this general election effectively started on the morning of September 30, 2008.

The unemployment rate jumped slightly to 13.4% at the end of last year, official figures revealed today.

OUR politicians are so self indulgent. It’s always about them. Dithering over the timing of the election date reminds me of similar political paralysis in 2008.

The number of people in employment fell by 3.7% or just under 71,000 people during the year to the end of the third quarter of 2010 - the lowest decline in two years.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams ended his Stormont career today by praising the “remarkable” achievement of power-sharing.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen today paid tribute to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern and former Ceann Comhairle Rory O’Hanlon after they announced they were quitting the Dáil.

LABOUR will seek to undo the imminent cut to the minimum wage if returned to power next year, party finance spokeswoman Joan Burton has said.

Sinn Féin today tabled a motion of no confidence in the Taoiseach.

THE Government’s reluctance to divulge the full detail of the EU-IMF negotiations stems from the desire to protect taxpayers, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has insisted.

THE Government mishandled the bank bailout and should have let Anglo Irish collapse, Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams said yesterday.

The Government mishandled the bank bailout and should have let Anglo Irish collapse, Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams said today.

GERRY ADAMS was never a man to shy away from risks.

Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams will risk his political future and fight for election in the Republic to highlight the battle against its economic crisis, he confirmed today.

Sinn Féin president Gerry Adams will contest the Co Louth seat in Ireland's next General Election, party sources confirmed today.

The European Commission has approved the extension of Ireland's bank guarantee scheme for a further six months.

The Sinn Féin TD for Louth, Arthur Morgan, has announced that he will not be seeking re-election at the next general election.

SINN FÉIN TD Arthur Morgan will not contest the next general election, in what is being seen as a major blow for the party.

Sinn Féin's finance spokesman Arthur Morgan tonight confirmed he would not stand in the next general election.

The European Commission has offered the Government some flexibility over the €15bn four-year spending cuts target, it was claimed today.

The European Commissioner for Economic Affairs says determined and painful decisions will be needed to solve the economic crisis here but Ireland will prevail if it does what is necessary.

Sinn Féin Dáil leader Caoimhghin O Caolain has today EU Economics Commissioner Olli Rehn to go back and tell Europe that Ireland cannot cut its Budget deficit to 3% of GDP by 2014.

THE number of people on the dole has fallen for the second month in a row with unemployment now at 13.6%.

The number of people signing on the dole fell by 12,800 in the month of October, figures released today by the Central Statistics Office show.

The Government tonight announced a €14.4bn black hole in the public purse despite better than expected tax returns.

CUTS in wages for TDs and ministers, capping the pay of civil servants at €100,000, and a wealth tax are among Sinn Féin’s proposals to cut €4.67 billion in next year’s Budget.

Sinn Féin today revealed proposals to cut the budget deficit by over €4.5bn and invest in a €2bn jobs stimulus in 2011, also urging the imposition of salary caps for public servants including Dáil deputies.

POLITICAL parties were being “dishonest” by continuing to claim the national deficit could be reduced to 3% of GDP by 2014, a conference of leading international economists at Croke Park was told yesterday.

THE country faces a severe four-year package of spending cuts and tax hikes “significantly” greater than the €7.5bn already signalled, it was revealed last night.

The Government needs to find higher-than-expected savings amid fears economic recovery will be slower than forecast, Fine Gael warned today.

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan has been accused of neglecting his constitutional obligation to protect the country and instead sheltering a toxic bank.

CLUSTERING of local food producers and a greater emphasis on regional branding could significantly boost agri-food sector job creation, according to a new report.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen insisted today that people must start spending more cash as he dismissed claims that Ireland was heading for a double-dip recession.

THE Government has unveiled its plan to deal with Anglo Irish Bank but still can’t say what the final cost to taxpayers will be.

The Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has said the final cost of bailing out Anglo Irish Bank will not be known until next month.

THE number of people signing on for dole payments continued to rise slightly last month, giving an unemployment rate of almost 14%.

Finance Minister Brian Lenihan this afternoon stood accused of presiding over the most expensive bank bailout in the world as nationalised Anglo Irish Bank reported €8.2bn losses.

The worst fears of 800 finance workers were realised tonight after Bank of Scotland (Ireland) (BoSI) announced it will shut its doors by the end of the year.

Bailed-out Bank of Ireland today announced almost 58,000 homeowners are to be hit with a hike in interest rates for the second time this year.

THE Dáil Public Accounts Committee will meet with Department of Finance officials next week to discuss the revelations in the documentation.

AT least 2,000 people converged on city centre Dublin, demanding cutbacks to disability services be reversed and the state stops treating those using the services as “second class citizens”.

THE Government has lost three TDs in a bitter battle to force a Green Party wildlife bill through the Dáil before the summer break.

Senator Ivor Callely was accused tonight of defying the Taoiseach’s demands for a full written explanation of his controversial expenses claims.