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.

The Taoiseach does not believe President Michael D Higgins went too far in comments he made around the Defence Forces.

Strong disagreements within the Independent Alliance have surfaced over their opposition to the proposed axing of the 9% Vat rate for hotels.

Replacing the ‘women in the home’ provision in the Constitution with a broad reference to all carers could lead to a spate of compensation claims against the State, an Oireachtas committee has heard.

Business leaders and unions today present their wishlist to the Government for Budget 2019.

He was besieged by voters looking for Rolling Stones tickets, offering free haircuts, and taking selfies, but Taoiseach Leo Varadkar had only the Eighth Amendment on his mind on his first high-profile referendum canvass yesterday.

All eyes will be on Fine Gael’s special parliamentary party meeting this afternoon where TDs and senators will discuss their views on plans to repeal the Eighth Amendment and allow unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Senior gardaí estimate it would cost almost €7m over a period of 28 years to examine all Garda phone calls recording breath tests.

Three people have been arrested after a garda and a civilian were shot during a planned search of a house in Dublin.

Oireachtas members have severely criticised the acting chief of the Department of Justice for insisting the department had “fully complied” with initial discovery orders issued by the Charleton Tribunal.

The email accounts of former minister for justice Frances Fitzgerald and her political advisers were not examined in the recent trawl for documents relevant to the Charleton Tribunal.

The Dáil has passed legislation to end water charges and to provide for refunds, but many households will not be repaid before Christmas, as promised.

Senior gardai have denied they knew of the widescale falsification of alcohol breath test data, contradicting claims by rank-and-file gardaí that management applied pressure to inflate figures.

Fine Gael TDs are attempting to appease Waterford’s John Deasy after the experienced Fine Gael TD was overlooked for promotion by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar.

TDs have voted to send Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan’s answers on the phantom breath tests and traffic convictions scandals to the Medical Bureau of Road Safety amid concerns she is giving false information to the Dáil.

Simon Coveney is set to defy the water committee’s recommendations to scrap charges and instead attempt to railroad through his own legislation, which he claims will comply with EU laws.

Anti-water charge campaigners are claiming victory in the final report of the water committee to be voted on tomorrow.

Cormac O’Keeffe says the Garda commissioner is still standing after a very eventful week

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan said the phantom breath test scandal could have been caused by gardaí not thinking it was “important” to accurately record the data.

Homeowners will face no specific charge for excessive use of water or see existing properties metered as part of a deal finally agreed to end the deadlock over funding of water services.

Housing Minister Simon Coveney has opened an early lead on his main rival Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar in the race to succeed Enda Kenny as Fine Gael leader and Taoiseach.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been left isolated from the vast majority of his party, after several leadership contenders and backbench TDs refused to support his Sinn Féin coalition call.

The cost to the State of funding Irish Water as its ‘sole customer’ would amount to some €1.2bn this year, a committee examining the future of water services heard.

Attempts to build millions of euro worth of business deals between Ireland and Egypt could be blocked unless the Ibrahim Halawa case is "satisfactorily" resolved, writes Fiachra Ó Cionnaith of the Irish Examiner.

The Government has been accused of pulling a “highly disrespectful bureaucratic stroke” by blocking a Fianna Fáil bill on judicial appointments at the last minute.

Attempts to agree on the future of funding water services have already divided TDs, after a Dáil row broke out yesterday about a new committee which will examine water charges.

It was a bizarre day which divided members of the Dáil as the €13bn Apple tax ruling was pored over.

The five TDs in Dublin South West are calling for the release of Ibrahim Halawa.

Enda Kenny has been asked by Fine Gael ministers to begin talks with Fianna Fáil on any government options after he returns from his St Patrick’s Day visit to the US.

Socialist MEP Paul Murphy has insisted his arrest will not stop anti-water charge and property tax protesters stepping-up their campaigns.

HIGH-PROFILE election casualties Cork South Central’s Deirdre Clune, Kerry South’s Tom Sheahan and Wexford’s Michael D’Arcy are among those nominated by Fine Gael for the upcoming Seanad election.