We take a sideways look at the election.

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.

General election candidate Peter Casey says he will represent Donegal if elected to the 33rd Dáil.

Fianna Faíl says it's in favour of establishing an independent pay commission for the Defence Forces and wants to restore an Army brigade which was disbanded in 2012.

The Defence Forces’ training camp in the Curragh features “bad sanitary conditions” and is "not fit for anybody”, members of an Oireachtas Committee claim.

A chronic shortage of trained pilots has forced the Air Corps to reduce the number of hours it will fly the Emergency Aeromedical Service helicopter, based in Athlone.

The European Commission has officially approved Ireland’s controversial National Broadband Plan (NBP) under EU state aid rules, at a value of €2.6 billion.

Moya Doherty also said that this is a defining time for the public service broadcaster after it was announced that 200 jobs are to be lost and that some of their star presenters will have to take pay cuts

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin had told his leading TDs that "discipline is important" in the wake of the Dáil voting scandal that has rocked the party.

Tánaiste Simon Coveney has defended the sending of a naval vessel to New York next week as part of Ireland's bid to land a seat on the United Nations Security Council.

The number of recruits paying to get out of the Defence Forces before their training has even finished confirms claims that the retention crisis can't be overcome just by major recruitment drives alone.

Defence Minister Paul Kehoe has been criticised as being “asleep at the wheel” after admitting he was not “briefed in advance” over the Navy staff shortages “fiasco”, which led to two vessels being docked.

That is over 700 less than the recommended level and a new record low, according to Fianna Fáil.

Male naval personnel were forced to change on the side of a road and female colleagues in a mini-bus with no curtains before Sunday’s national commemoration events after a room set aside for them was allegedly used for a “VIP reception”.

The joint Oireachtas committee on foreign affairs and defence has been urged to visit Naval Service headquarters to investigate for itself how bad manpower levels are.

The Joint Oireachtas Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence has been urged to visit Naval Service headquarters to investigate for itself how bad manpower levels are.

A €10 million package to increase allowances for members of the Defence Forces does not go far enough to stem the exodus of soldiers leaving the army, according to Fianna Fáil.

A €10m package to increase allowances and top-ups for members of the Defence Forces does not go far enough to stem the exodus of soldiers leaving the army, according to Fianna Fáil.

A former senior chief petty officer in the Naval Service has said he never thought he would see the day when two ships had to be tied-up indefinitely because of manpower shortages.

Just because something is permitted, doesn’t mean it is right, writes Elaine Loughlin

The Dáil has voted to overhaul the National Development Plan to increase climate change measures and address massive overspending.

The Minister of State for Defence has been accused of being “in a bunker of denial” when it comes to the hardships endured by members of the Defence Forces.

The Taoiseach has refused to fast-track any pay restoration for the Defence Forces to address a recruitment and retention crisis.

Despite recent recruitment campaigns, the numbers in the defence forces continue to fall.

The Defence Forces are carrying out an investigation into claims that a number of its personnel were denied their constitutional right to vote in the local or European elections, because they didn't receive postal votes in time.

Proposed increases in allowances for members of the Defence Forces could make the retention and recruitment crisis worse, not better, it has been warned.

Between 1,500 and 2,000 people have turned out for a parade in Cork city to show support for the Defence Forces.

At around 3.40pm yesterday afternoon, a lone gunman appeared to target a man in his 20s who was waiting outside Riversdale Community College on Blanchardstown Road North.

Latest: Gardaí in Blanchardstown have condemned the reckless attack which took place outside a secondary school in the Corduff area.

A local TD has questioned the level of Garda presence in the west Dublin area.

The majority of families who had babies damaged by Thalodimide have never been recognised, writes Terry Prone. 

The Department of Defence is “out of touch with the retention crisis” in the Army, Naval Service and Air Corps, it has been claimed, as a leaked military report shows it is failing to achieve the number, or calibre, of new recruits needed to fill gaps.

Concerns are being raised over the drop in the strength of the country's Defence Forces.

The head of the Garda Inspectorate has said it needs to have the power to conduct unannounced spot checks on Garda stations and “not to have to make an appointment to visit”.

Betting firms could be forced to shut down compulsive gamblers’ accounts by a new independent gambling regulator or face the prospect of significant fines under new Government plans.

Top-ranking gardaí have been asked by an Oireachtas Committee to outline their use of private email accounts to send or receive official garda documentation.

The appointment of young Dublin West TD Jack Chambers was the sum total of change to the Fianna Fáil front bench in the reshuffle announced by Micheál Martin on Thursday, writes Daniel McConnell

In recent months, the smell of newness around the Dáil must have been akin to a shiny car straight out of the garage showroom for Micheál Martin.

You should all be ashamed of yourselves. All 32 of you.