After a long and anxious wait, Mr Harris, along with Fianna Fáil health spokesman Stephen Donnelly and Green Party councillor Steven Matthews, took the final three seats in Wicklow in the 15th count.

He, along with Fianna Fáil health spokesman Stephen Donnelly and Green Party councillor Steven Matthews, took the final three remaining seats in Wicklow in the 15th count late on Monday night.

Count centres across the country have reopened this morning as Day 2 of the count gets underway.

Fianna Fáil's high-profile health spokesman Stephen Donnelly is facing a tight battle to hold onto his seat.

Remarks suggesting that Sinn Féin and his party Fianna Fail are very alike made by Donegal TD Pat “The Cope” Gallagher have been dismissed by Mary Lou McDonald.

A stormy meeting on the controversial Public Services Card this morning saw Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty say her department would take their objection to accusations of illegality levelled at the card “as far as it takes to vindicate our position”.

John Brady is calling on Enterprise Ireland and the Government to do everything in their power to save the jobs at Rondo Foods.

An Oireachtas committee has heard that bogus self-employment is rife across industries in Ireland, representing a “massive” problem.

Transport Minister Shane Ross has denied he received any advice from the Attorney General before deciding to pull the Public Services Card (PSC) as a requirement for getting a driving licence, despite saying the opposite on the Dáil record last year.

The Data Protection Commissioner is set to respond by the end of this week to the Department of Social Protection over its decision to challenge the Commissioner’s rulings on the Public Services Card.

Nearly 20,000 more first-time passports were issued to UK residents at the start of 2019 compared with Irish citizens.

Cyclists are being warned about going over the Sally Gap in Co Wicklow alone after a man had his bike stolen there yesterday.

"There is a certain convenience in collating a person's data like this, but it has to be balanced with a person's privacy," said Willie O'Dea.

The Data Protection Commission found there was NO legal basis for the issuing of PSCs for the purposes of transactions between individuals and state bodies other than the Department of Social Protection.

The Minister for Employment Affairs and Social Protection, Regina Doherty, faced calls for her resignation last night as the fallout from the Data Protection Commissioner’s investigation into the Public Services Card continued.

The Department of Social Protection has launched investigations into 3,300 cases of suspected welfare fraud this year.

Agriculture Minister Michael Creed has urged pleaded with farmers not to desert the Government over the Mercosur trade deal, saying it is “not a done deal” and that Ireland can still make changes to protect the vital farming sector.

Gardaí are continuing to question a man over the death of a Latvian woman in Dublin yesterday morning.

It was the day after the first RTÉ Claire Byrne debate on the abortion referendum, which had turned into a shouting match: The anti-abortion side had hijacked the programme.

Ireland are on the brink of retaining their Ladies’ Home International crown heading into this morning’s showdown with Scotland at Ballybunion.

Peter O’Keeffe can become the first man since Pádraig Harrington to complete a famous double after he saw off Kinsale’s John Murphy to reach the last 16 of the AIG Irish Amateur Close at the European Club.

Unless it’s squeaky tight, and it may be, we’ll know by lunch time on Saturday how Friday’s referendum went.

The Government has rejected Sinn Féin calls for an immediate end to referrals of jobseekers to the JobPath scheme.

Fewer than one in five people who were enrolled on the State’s highly criticised back-to-work scheme, JobPath, secured full-time employment, despite the scheme costing €84m.

Liable relatives who consistently refuse to pay child maintenance could face prison under new proposals from Sinn Féin.

There are fresh calls for a new, statutory child maintenance service, after figures showed that, of all the cases reviewed by the Department of Employment Affairs and Social Protection last year, just 15% resulted in payments being made.

There has been a 20% increase in the number of social welfare fraud reports registered with the Department of Social Protection.

The clear message to a woman who finds herself with an unwanted pregnancy is, “You’re on your own, sister”, writes Victoria White.

A report commissioned by Government and due this week is set to raise serious concerns over the damage caused by recession-era cuts to lone parent families, putting the Coalition under pressure to address the issue in next week’s budget.

A report commissioned by Government and due this week is set to raise serious concerns over the damage caused by recession-era cuts to lone parent families, putting the Coalition under pressure to address the issue in next week’s budget.

A homeless man, named locally as Joe Moorhouse, 41, has been found dead in a tent in Bray, Co Wicklow.

More than half of all primary schools seeking state help to address serious fire safety concerns in the past three years had their requests rejected by the Department of Education.

Ireland are on course to secure a top-eight place at the European Men’s Team Championships today after a solid start at Diamond in Austria.

A group representing the unemployed say they are disappointed the Government is going ahead with plans to name and shame welfare cheats.

John Brady (Rosslare) and Mark Power (Kilkenny), two of the brightest prospects on the golfing scene for many years, are waging a great battle at the top of the leader board after 36 holes of the Irish Boys Open Championship at Castletroy.

Wicklow Uplands Council are advising car owners to be vigilant after seven cars were broken into at a popular beauty spot in the Wicklow Mountains over the weekend, writes William O'Toole.

Only the ‘great and the good’, like Mary Robinson and Jimmy Carter, are considered useful in their later years. Everyone else is made obsolete at an age when they may have another 20 years or more to live, writes Caroline O’Doherty

Figures provided by the Department of an Taoiseach show that the cost to the taxpayer of flying Enda Kenny, his wife Fionnuala, and his staff to the US for St Patrick Day events totalled €33,555.

The ESB is to replace some 27,000 meters across the country over concerns that a fault has led them to overcharge some customers.

A 93-year-old woman chased away a burglar who broke into her home in England, and later gave evidence that led to him being jailed for five years.

It was like winning the lottery twice over for Craig Shearer when he and his Dublin Bus colleagues collected their €23.8m EuroMillions jackpot in Dublin yesterday.