Justice Minister Charlie Flanagan has referred questions by Labour TD Alan Kelly to a judge over whether his phone might be bugged, saying he has concerns about the matters raised.

Tánaiste Frances Fitzgerald is under fresh pressure to explain why she only learned of the strategy to undermine Garda whistleblower Maurice McCabe a year after his cross-examination at a state commission in 2015.

Update 7pm: Sinn Féin says the HSE's stated aim of bringing down scoliosis surgery wait times to four months is unlikely to be met by the end of the year.