The Government has again been called on to commit to solutions that allow people to safely and legally escape persecution - after another group of migrants was found trying to enter Ireland in a cargo ship.

The Green Party expects to secure a sizeable chunk of the vote in the upcoming poll, says Elaine Loughlin.

Six seats next general election could see the Greens in government again, even if some party members are still bruised by their previous experience of coalition.

Fianna Fáil's Billy Kelleher has thanked the people of Cork North Central and said it was nice to leave the Dáil "on your own terms”.

Miracles can happen. A week ago, we were told that it would take 28

The Green Party’s Grace O’Sullivan has secured the fourth seat in Ireland South, with Fine Gael MEP Deirdre Clune taking the fifth, so-called Brexit seat.

Ireland South will be without any representation in Europe for almost two months as a marathon €1m recount gets under way.

Fianna Fáil’s Billy Kelleher has vowed to act as a strong voice on Brexit after becoming the second elected MEP in the Ireland South constituency.

A dogfight to the last is expected in Ireland South with three seats yet to be filled.

Another day of drama is expected in the Ireland South count today, as Seán Kelly became the first MEP elected in the constituency.

Cork North-Central TD Billy Kelleher has admitted he is in a “good position” after polling in second place in the first count in Ireland South, but says it is “far too early” to be certain of securing a seat.

The country has been placed on red alert for an early general election this year, with Taoiseach Leo Varadkar insisting he “can’t rule it out”.

The Green Party’s European candidate in Ireland South has hit out at other political parties for attempting to ‘bluff’ their way through environmental issues during the local and European campaign.

A round-up of the counts in Munster.

Green leader Eamon Ryan has called for a series of rainbow alliances with other parties following his party’s historic election wins.

The likely MEP elections Green gallop and a predicted left-leaning parties transfer trend could kick-start a debate about a long-overdue Irish "progressives" political bloc, writes political correspondent Fiachra Ó Cionnaith.

European election candidates had spent almost €60,000 combined on Facebook advertising up to last Sunday, figures made available by the social media giant have revealed.

Michael Clifford joins Grace O’Sullivan, the Green Party candidate for Ireland South in the upcoming European elections, as she takes to the campaign trail on Shannonside.

A major row has erupted within Fine Gael after junior minister Andrew Doyle was ordered not to attend a hustings event next week, after previously being told he could go.

From May 23-26, Irish voters will be thinking about the environment, immigration, spending imbalances, and an EU army, says Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe.

The latest figures to confirm they will seek an MEP seat were Independents Mick Wallace and Clare Daly, who will run in Ireland South and Dublin.

An inquest has heard how four members of a family died while attempting to do a u-turn on a busy national road.

Only households that excessively waste water or fail to repair leaks will be subject to water charges, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said.

Green Party leader Eamon Ryan has a radical vision for public transport, energy and housing, a vision he insists is doable and sustainable, writes Juno McEnroe, Political Correspondent.

You are cleaning your teeth with plastic. You can literally feel it on your tongue, writes Alison O’Connor.

Water charges are going to be reintroduced by the “back door” along with mandatory metering, according to Right2Water TDs who oppose recommendations on the future funding of services.

Ireland is not subject to the spectre of massive fines or penalties for scrapping water charges thanks to the freedom available to member states to set their own rules over the EU’s water laws, according to Fianna Fáil.

Kerry TD Danny Healy-Rae again challenged scientists yesterday and blamed climate change on erupting volcanoes and comets.

The pre-eminent force in women’s basketball, Glanmire, provides four players to Ireland’s 12-person squad for the European Championships for Small Countries in Gibraltar next month.

Fine Gael has been dealt a further blow after high- profile candidates failed to get elected to the Seanad.

Collegiate freshman at Quinnipiac University, Edel Thornton is one of five overseas inclusions in Mark Scannell’s provisional Senior Women’s squad for Ireland’s re-entry into international tournament play after a six-year hiatus.

Fianna Fáil reclaimed its seat in the Dáil for the Waterford constituency on Saturday, with first-time candidate Mary Butler emphatically passing the quota on the first count.

Fine Gael won two of the four seats in Waterford last time as voters took their ire out on the exiting Fianna Fail government.

Despite the bitter rivalry between the Kelly, Clune, and Harris teams during the campaign, the battle plan succeeded in the end and the party nailed two seats in the South.

After a juggernaut of a count that lasted three days, Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly and Deirdre Clune joined Brian Crowley and Sinn Féin’s Liadh Ní Riada as Ireland South MEPs.

It was all about the ballots early in the morning as weary count staff wrestled their way through just over 657,000, 16.5in ballot papers in the Ireland South count centre yesterday.

Ireland South voting sensation Brian Crowley all but made a bid for the presidency as he recorded a fifth poll-topping European election, with his team likening him to the much- loved US president, Franklin Roosevelt.

Brian Crowley will once again top the poll in the Ireland South European elections with Sinn Féin newcomer Liadh Ní Riada and Fine Gael’s Seán Kelly on course to take the second and third seat.

An early flurry of electoral successes in Dublin prompted talk of green shoots for the Green Party but the countrywide count cautioned that careful cultivation would be required.

The woes of a bruised coalition Government and fears of another property bubble may just throw the Green Party a lifeline and help get party leader Eamon Ryan elected to Europe.

The Labour Party has pitched itself against Fianna Fáil in the battle for the last of three seats in Dublin, where Emer Costello remains its only hope of avoiding a wipeout in next Friday’s European elections.