Sixteen days on from the General Election, the road to government formation remains rocky and decidedly unclear.

TDs have clashed on who should be the next Taoiseach as the Dáil debates candidates for the role and amid the ongoing standoff in the government formation talks.

His announcement marks the second high-profile retirement of a sitting TD from the intensely competitive constituency after the decision of Independent Minister Finian McGrath to stand down.

The mounting costs for the €1.7bn children's hospital is set to rise further — by at least €50m — but project chiefs still can't predict what the final bill will be for the new facility.

The chairman of the board overseeing the construction of the national children's hospital has admitted that the final costs for its build are unknown.

The Government has given a "blank cheque" to the children's hospital which risks seeing the project's "monopoly money" spending surge past €2bn, TDs have warned.

Demoted Fianna Fáil TDs Timmy Dooley and Niall Collins look set to remain stripped of their frontbench jobs after scathing criticism of their parts in the Dáil voting scandal.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is to be asked to check with local garda stations for any cases of bullying as well as any evidence of fraudulent sick notes for members of the force.

The Oireachtas Justice Committee heard claims that the industry is currently a “wild west”, where multinational corporations are earning “billions” of euro without any of the legal regulation governing traditional industries.

Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has blamed "grossly misleading" information about asylum seeker numbers for the decision to scrap plans for a direct provision centre in Oughterard after a weeks long racism row stand-off.

Publican Rory Clancy, spokesman for a demonstration supported by over 2,000 people at the weekend, said the community was once again asking the department to “come and speak to us here in Oughterard”.

The HSE has been accused of an "unacceptable" misuse of public money after it emerged it has spent more than €1m on children's hospital PR in the past five years - including €248,000 in the first half of 2019 alone.

Independent TD Catherine Connolly has told of her concern at the inaccurate figures being presented as facts at a public meeting in Oughterard on Wednesday night.

Politicians from all parties in Galway West have expressed opposition to a gold and silver mining bid in protected Connemara habitats.

TDs and senators have been told they are wrong to feel there will be a "chilling effect" on their work in committees as a result of the Angela Kerins Supreme Court ruling.

Despite the surging costs, secretary general of Oireachtas services Peter Finnegan said the price tag represents "outstanding" value for the taxpayer.

Opposition parties have accused the HSE and Department of Health of deliberately delaying publishing its capital spending plan for this year for seven months because the children’s hospital crisis means that no money is available.

The director general of the HSE said he “accepts” that they do not have a big enough budget to meet the demand for home support services.

The Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is demanding answers from NUI Maynooth over the decision to write-off a €750,000 loan to a failed subsidiary company.

Dáil public accounts committee chair and Fianna Fáil TD Sean Fleming made the claim at the latest meeting of the group this morning, saying the delay has put public money and prisoner health at risk.

The Dáil's public accounts committee has agreed to take the step after discussions between it, Cork Institute of Technology, the University of Limerick and Waterford Institute of Technology.

The report will be based on the results of a scoping exercise announced in May last year following the discovery by Tusla of 126 cases in which births were illegally registered between 1946 and 1969 in the records of St Patrick’s Guild.

Connemara’s first Green Party councillor Alastair McKinstry believes the Government should abandon the €600m ring road project for Galway in favour of upgrading public transport.

It comes as a number of prominent independent politicians introduced a motion in the Dáil calling for an immediate inquiry and for immediate redress to be offered to survivors of Mother and Baby Homes.

The developers of the National Children’s Hospital have submitted claims for additional costs worth some €12m since February.

A number of prominent politicians have called on the Government to establish an immediate State inquiry into forced and illegal adoption.