There aren’t many constituencies facing as much of a shake-up as Cork North-Central.

It is all eyes on Fianna Fáil in Cork North-Central where the party is scrambling to continue its presence in the wake of Billy Kelleher’s departure to Europe.

Former minister and Labour TD Kathleen Lynch is quitting politics and will not contest the Cork North Central by-election or general election, saying Labour must pass on the torch to survive.

There are calls for a new taskforce to be set up to address the complex issues linked to a ‘super’ Traveller halting site on Cork’s northside.

The leadership issue has been put on the back burner before the general election but unless there is a positive result, the knives will be out for Brendan Howlin, writes Political Correspondent

Pope Francis will arrive in Dublin at 10.30am tomorrow.

Being handed a diagnosis of lethal cancer together with the promise that it will radically shorten your life rarely provokes — in the person hearing the deadly prognosis — the desire to be funny.

Thousands of children are on waiting lists for key psychological appointments, with more than 1,700 children already delayed by more than a year.

Former minister of state for disabilities Kathleen Lynch is to put her name forward to run in the Cork North Central constituency in the coming weeks and said she has the full backing of Labour headquarters.

The Government, seeking redress for the Magdalene women, found a religious community unwilling to contribute, writes Conall Ó Fátharta.

2016 has been a year to remember and not for all the right reasons. Political editor Daniel McConnell looks back on some key events.

A long-delayed state inquiry into the ‘Grace’ foster abuse scandal is set to begin within weeks after an independent report into the controversy was finally published last night.

I don’t think there’s a single article that has ever been written about a male politician in the same vein, writes Alison O’Connor.

The barrister charged with compiling a report into allegations of sexual abuse against a disabled woman, ‘Grace’, in a Waterford foster home expressed “serious concerns” about the HSE’s co-operation with his report.

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

The result of the marriage referendum has had an enormous impact on the sense of security in the LGBT community, former Government Minister, Kathleen Lynch, claimed yesterday as she attended the 11th Cork LGBT Pride parade on the Grand Parade, Cork.

Six months after plans were announced to set up a State inquiry into the ‘Grace’ abuse scandal, the case still faces delays, writes Political Reporter Fiachra Ó Cionnaith

A long-awaited independent report to decide on whether a state commission of inquiry is needed due to the alleged cover-up of serious foster care abuse in the South-East is expected to be given to Government before the weekend.

Former health minister Leo Varadkar knew of widescale foster care abuses in the south east more than a year and a half ago, but did not make the issue public because of strict whistle-blower laws.

The Social Protection Minister has said that a document handed to him in his previous portfolio outlining issues with care services for the intellectually disabled was "most certainly followed up on".

The HSE is being asked to guarantee that a ward closure in a community hospital in north Cork will be temporary and not permanent, as some county councillors fear.

The gardaí and revenue commissioners need to fully investigate the ongoing scandal at suicide prevention charity Console, Health Minister Simon Harris has said.

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

The former minister for mental health, Kathleen Lynch, was aware that embattled charity Console was being audited by the HSE but said her main concern was that its counselling was not in question.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been called upon to intervene directly to explain the “shocking” delay to a commission of investigation into the sexual abuse at a foster home in Waterford.

The Labour Party has unveiled its new look front bench with several former ministers covering multiple portfolios.

Four ousted Fine Gael TDs —including ex minister James Reilly — are battling to become the party’s next Seanad leader, despite a number previously calling for the upper house to be scrapped.

Decades of sexual abuse of a woman with severe intellectual disabilities who lived in foster care is alleged to have been covered up. An independent review is set to conclude in the coming days, paving the way for a State investigation.

NEARLY every suicide leaves a legacy of heartbreak. That destructive state of mind is often sharpened by incomprehension, guilt, regret, and no little anger. Each and every suicide is also a reminder that to be human is to be vulnerable.

Health Minister Leo Varadkar has been accused of raiding this year’s mental health budget to fund other services after admitting in the Dáil that funds for new psychiatric nurses will now be spent elsewhere.

OVER the years, a squadron of able and committed politicians fled the health ministry without being able to record substantive, game-changing success or reform.

The Department of Health is said to be considering moving funding ring-fenced for mental health services to more politically sensitive areas.

A former Paralympian from Cork yesterday cut the ribbon on a new facility for people with physical disabilities in the city and surrounding areas.

The two parties in pole position to form the next government have re-committed to establishing a state investigation into graphic abuse of a woman with severe intellectual disabilities after two months of inaction on the issue.