There is a growing sense that the Government is losing the battle against crime, Micheál Martin said.

Fine Gael TD Maria Bailey is coming under fresh pressure over her swing fall case after it emerged she originally wanted the Dean Hotel to pay her €20,000 in compensation — almost three times more than previously stated.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has confirmed the Government will ask the EU to re-appoint ex-Fine Gael minister Phil Hogan as an EU commissioner - despite the backlash over the Mercosur deal.

Independent MEP Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan is set to be re-elected this morning — but a neck-and-neck race lower down the pecking order last night saw Peter Casey come within a few hundred votes of an upset.

Five European election candidates are bracing themselves for a major battle for what looks like just three remaining seats in Midlands North West with the election count expected to drag on into the middle of this week.

Two little vignettes in the life of a gormless hack.

"A lot of schools aren't aware that EU funding for this scheme is in place."

The embattled outgoing chief of the health service said he doubts anyone else will want his €186,000-a-year job.

Former Fine Gael TD Monica Barnes has died at the age of 82.

Leo Varadkar has left open the possibility of accepting the resignation of his Tánaiste, Frances Fitzgerald, to avoid the country going through a bitter Christmas general election.

Ireland is at risk of having to pay compensation to thousands of women forced to travel abroad to receive an abortion unless the law is immediately changed to make the procedure legal and easily accessible.

For the second time in three years, Fine Gael — the law and order party — has lost a Garda commissioner prematurely.

Simon Lewis on the key gamebreakers in the four Champions Cup quarter-finals.

A “brazen” Taoiseach Enda Kenny intends to stay in office until the summer recess following his “successful” trip to Washington DC last week, senior Fine Gael ministers have said.

Labour leadership front-runner Alan Kelly has told new Disability Minister Finian McGrath to resign his cabinet position if he refuses to pay his water charges.

Fine Gael has denied doing a deal with Independent TD Michael Lowry in exchange for his support.

The National Women's Council has called on Acting Taoiseach Enda Kenny to deliver on this pre-election pledge and appoint more female Government Ministers.

The real talks begin next week. What we’ve heard until now about government formation will mean nothing once the two leaders of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil sit down face to face next week for the first time.

Get a taste of some of the interesting and quirky happenings in Europe from our Europe correspondent, Ann Cahill.

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.

Good morning. Here’s everything you need to know before you start your day.

Whenever The Menu finds himself down in his cups, gloomily pondering the future of the planet, it is invariably an encounter with youth that restores his moral equilibrium and faith in humanity.

Good afternoon. Here’s all the news you need to know this lunchtime.

Tánaiste Joan Burton has warned voters not to return Fine Gael to power by itself, saying such a single-party government would be “centre right”, lack balance and benefit “wealth creators” at the expense of ordinary people.

University College Cork and the ESB yesterday said they will take time to review a lengthy Commercial Court judgment arising from the 2009 floods which caused tens of millions of euro in damage in Cork City.

The chief executive of Munster Rugby has criticised the Government for failing to fund the most urgently needed road connection in the country, and says the oversight will damage the regional economy.

The former minister who set up Irish Water has declared that the company overseeing water charges is not a mess and he only did what was required during the bailout.

Phil Hogan’s handling of Irish Water has been strongly criticised by a Labour minister who attacked the former Fine Gael minister for “threatening people” over the charges.

We bring you a brief look at some of the other news from the European Union from the past week in our Brussels Briefing.

One of the world’s leading medical technology companies is expected to announce the creation of hundreds of jobs with a multi-million euro investment in a new global centre of excellence in Co Cork.

Anton Savage and Sheana Keane present new adult literacy series, Get the Numbers Write, on TV3 on Monday.

Would-be Aer Lingus takeover boss Willie Walsh flatly refused to extend guarantees on routes between Dublin, Cork and Shannon to London beyond five years, if his bid for the airline is successful.

The Sinn Féin President Gerry Adams has said if Fine Gael is bringing back Frank Flannery they should demand he appear before the Public Accounts Committee.

A tragic case of a pregnant woman on a life-support machine is set to push the Coalition into further discussing Ireland’s abortion laws.

Political figures from around the country have been remembering the Jackie-Healy Rae, after the Kerryman passed away.

A TD and his mother narrowly avoided becoming victims of Ireland’s ambulance crisis after phone calls for help were met with major delays — a year after his wife’s brother died in circumstances where there had been a delay in the arrival of an ambulance.

Former Fine Gael leader Alan Dukes has said the Government had made a "god-awful" mess of Irish Water.