Only a generation ago, Fine Gael were able to take three of the four seats in the Cork East constituency. Now they're barely able to hold onto one.

The last three seats in Cork East were decided on Count 8 when Sean Sherlock (Lab) reached the quota and FG junior minister David Stanton and FF's new kid on the block, James O'Connor, were elected without reaching the magic figure.

Pat Buckley, from Midleton, topped the poll with an impressive 12,587 first preferences, which got him elected on the first count as the quota was 10,909.

Pat Buckley was elected on the first count in Cork East.

The prospects for FG junior minister David Stanton have improved and many believe that he will now win the second seat being well ahead of his running partner Pa O'Driscoll.

The late Noel Whelan, a skilful political commentator and Dáil number cruncher, once remarked that the analysis of election counts inevitably moves quickly, often glossing over the importance of early seat wins — irrespective of how dramatic they can be for parties.

The Government has announced the establishment of a special group to examine the supports afforded to asylum seekers, including direct provision, which will be chaired by a former secretary general of the European Commission.

The ceremonies take place at the Gleneagle Hotel Convention Centre which is now the venue for the foreseeable future for the conferring ceremonies.

Bingo players protested outside the Dáil this week saying legislation being considered by the government would put the halls at risk.

Mary Williams from Tallaght joined other bingo players outside Leinster House to protest against proposed gambling legislation.

Today, a delegation to the UN, including Equality Minister David Stanton, will be scrutinised about the country’s policy and record in combating discrimination. It will be found wanting, says Salome Mbugua.

Round-the-clock protests were held recently against a proposal to house up to 130 asylum-seekers in Ballinamore this month.

The Tánaiste has defended Verona Murphy and said that he would not call for her deselection.

A new refugee resettlement scheme which has seen Irish communities open their arms to welcome those fleeing war and persecution is to be rolled out nationwide.

A group has been established to welcome asylum-seekers to the town and they are holding a meeting in Ballinamore tonight.

He said he and Minister of State David Stanton have been consulting to consider a process which would allow the Government “to beef up” hate speech legislation.

Minister of State for Equality, Immigration and Integration, David Stanton has called on the protesters at the Achill Head Hotel to “stand down”.

Representatives of Ballinamore Community Group claimed the Minister of State at Department of Justice and Equality David Stanton agreed to pause plans to accommodate asylum seekers in the town.

Plans for a direct provision centre in Co Leitrim have been "paused", according to campaigners.

No five-year-old child should be eating his or her dinner from a piece of cardboard on the street the Tánaiste has told the Dáil.

The final cost this year of providing direct provision accommodation for asylum seekers will be up to €60m over budget – almost double the original allocation set for 2019.

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.

The Department of Justice has said it is "disappointing" that a bidder has withdrawn from the tender process to provide a Direct Provision centre in Oughterard, Co Galway.

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 developer seeking a contract to provide a centre for asylum seekers in Oughterard, Co Galway, has denied making “intimidating” comments to a delegation of residents last week.

The announcement came after Eoghan Murphy, Minister for Housing, Planning and Local Government, finally agreed that his department would co-fund the redesign of the weir in Fermoy.

Gardaí say a man fell to the ground after “colliding with a vehicle” near the site of the Connemara Gateway Hotel.

A masterplan has been unveiled for a multi-million euro redevelopment of the former Irish Fertiliser Industries (IFI) site at Marino Point in Cork harbour, which will include a mix of industries and a new cruise ship berth.

THE multibillion-euro betting, gaming, and gambling industries in Ireland are regulated by arcane laws, principally the 1956 Gaming and Lotteries Act and the Betting Act of 1931.

The Government’s much-awaited second national cyber security strategy is due to be published in the coming weeks.

An urgent review has been demanded into how deaths in Direct Provision are handled after a transgender woman was buried without anyone she knew present.

The new national cybersecurity body that will be led out of Cork has been launched with a warning that cybercrime is expected to be worth almost €5 trillion in two years.

An independent regulator, with 100 staff, to clamp down on gambling will be in place by the end of next year.

Local Garda bosses say threats from dissidents to murder people who talk to the police must be met “head-on” and warned that the paramilitaries must not be allowed “take control”.

Speaking against the background of violent criminal feuds in Drogheda, Co Louth, and Corduff and Finglas in west Dublin, the country’s superintendents said the drugs trade had “permeated” towns and villages nationwide.

A new law to name and shame companies with a poor record of equal pay for female staff has been introduced by the Government, five years after being asked to do so by the European Commission.