Seán Ó Fearghaíl, the newly-elected Ceann Comhairle of the 33rd Dáil, took five attempts before finally taking his seat in Dáil Éireann in the aftermath of the 2002 general election.

Fianna Fáil has said that it remains the only credible alternative to Fine Gael as a governing party despite last night’s bombshell poll which showed Sinn Féin is now the most popular party in the country.

Fianna Fáil will spend an additional €100 million per year and freeze higher education fees at their current levels should it be elected, while reducing primary teacher-student ratios to 20:1, the party said.

He wants tougher restrictions on released prisoners.

The Government has been accused of backing down “in the face of racist arson attacks” by shelving plans for a direct provision centre in Rooskey in Leitrim.

Plans have been dropped to move 80 asylum seekers into a disused hotel in Rooskey, Co Leitrim.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has insisted tomorrow’s budget is “not an election budget” despite a flurry of leaks confirming it will focus on key voter groups Fine Gael needs to stay in power.

A Government decision on how to boost funding for third level is unlikely for at least another year as an economic analysis of options put forward two years ago will not now begin until 2019.

Psychologists are to advise the best way to support teenagers at a Co Cork school where female students’ names were put on a ‘rape list’ in the boys’ toilets.

Education Minister Richard Bruton is under fire for creating a year-long delay in resolving the third-level funding crisis.

The Government will need to restore pay equality for teachers, pay retired teachers more to come back to school or employ panels of teachers to bridge gaps in substitution cover, TDs and senators have heard.

Just five of the 54 TDs opposing unrestricted access to abortion up to the 12th week of pregnancy, regardless of future changes, have an alternative to the potential new law if the referendum is passed.

The opposition of most schools bodies to a proposed Ombudsman for Education suggests a fear of accountability, a Fine Gael TD has claimed.

Fianna Fáil will not be appointing a deputy leader as Micheál Martin believes there is “no urgent requirement” to do so.

A bank inquiry-style Oireachtas investigation is needed to “get to the bottom” of why 18 religious orders have failed to pay hundreds of millions of euro to abuse victims who were meant to benefit from a multi-billion State redress scheme.

A decision on which funding model to recommend for third-level education is unlikely to issue, from an all-party committee of TDs and senators, until late summer at the earliest.

Concerns have been raised at the number of people from conflict zones, including Syria and Iraq, being refused family reunification visas or entry into Ireland.

The ombudsman has launched an investigation into possible “evidence of maladministration” of the Magdalene redress scheme by the Department of Justice and Equality.

Italy’s refusal to allow gardaí assess migrants on Italian soil before they are transferred here is stalling the Government’s commitment to take in 2,662 migrants by year’s end, according to the Department of Justice.

An illegal abortion pill was brought into the Dáil by TD Bríd Smith during a debate on repealing the Eighth Amendment.

Education Minister Richard Bruton wants the Oireachtas Education Committee to urgently consider the question of how to find the €600m extra a year needed to fund third-level colleges.

TDs and Senators will not begin considering where the €1bn needed to secure the future of the third-level education system should come from until next month at the earliest.

Pressure is growing on the Government to increase third-level funding next year as business leaders, students, and universities have all urged Education Minister Richard Bruton to begin reversing almost a decade of cuts.

The introduction of a student fees loan scheme looks increasingly possible as Fianna Fáil has indicated its willingness to consider the option.

Fianna Fáil TDs who backed a Dáil bill for terminations in cases of fatal foetal abnormalities say it was the “right thing to do” and that a “stick should not be held over” troubled parents.

John McGuinness has been nominated as chairman of the Finance Committee after being passed over for a position on Fianna Fáil’s front bench. The Kilkenny TD who was not selected as a party spokesman by leader Micheál Martin is now set to chair one of the most high-profile Oireachtas Committees.

New junior minister Sean Canney is among a dozen former county and city councillors who will receive golden handshake payments from the local authorities after securing Dáil seats in February.

Fianna Fáil has decisively rejected an offer of a coalition government with Fine Gael and Independents but discussed abstaining from the next vote for Taoiseach to allow Enda Kenny to win the vote.

A record number of women will form part of the new Dáil as gender quotas put more females on the ballot papers.