Landlords could be forced to effectively freeze rents for “three or four years” and be stopped from increasing rates above consumer price index rises under new plans to tackle the housing crisis.

A man claiming to be homeless for eight years interrupted Environment Minister Alan Kelly as he promised to tackle the crisis last night, telling him those in power only cared now because "someone froze to death outside the Dáil".

Coalition tensions ahead of the attempted relaunch of the Government continued to centre on which party would win the prized Jobs portfolio in Cabinet.

The Coalition remains in disarray over the introduction of water charges, with members of both parties at odds over whether details will be agreed by next week.

The Sun will keep its Page 3 pin-ups, its new editor has reiterated – and said that women readers fully supported the feature.

The Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore is to appoint a new junior minister for health in the near future after Roisín Shortall's resignation last night.

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has sought to make a clear distinction between the language his party and Labour are using about the EU/IMF bailout.

The Government has today announced that it is to implement €15bn in cuts and tax hikes over the next four years.

The Government needs to find higher-than-expected savings amid fears economic recovery will be slower than forecast, Fine Gael warned today.

A senior Labour Party figure has said that former Irish Nationwide chief Michael Fingleton's apology is simply not good enough.

THE Government is bracing itself for a torrent of blame as it publishes two reports into the banking crisis, one of which is expected to criticise Brian Cowen’s budgetary policy during the boom.

Ireland needs a new publicly owned bank modelled on a lender that helped rebuild Germany after the Second World War, it was claimed today.

GOVERNMENT revenues are continuing to plummet, with the tax take for January down about €660 million, or almost 18%, on the same month last year.

FINE GAEL and Labour took the gloves off and attacked the Taoiseach just minutes after the result became apparent.

FINANCE Minister Brian Lenihan was called upon last night to “stop hiding behind the lawyers” and bring to account those responsible for the banking crisis.

SENIOR bankers should be hauled before a televised Oireachtas inquiry to explain how they made such “a mess” that they required a State bailout, said the chairman of An Bord Snip.

THE election drubbing suffered by Fianna Fáil and the Greens has caused “mutiny in the ranks” and will erode the Government’s ability to get to grips with the economic crisis, the Dáil has heard.

FINE GAEL’S decision to table a motion of no confidence in the Government means the Dáil debate on the Ryan Report will be deferred for a day.

The dust was settling today after a merciless supplementary Budget that hit taxpayers with €3.25bn in levies, stealth taxes and spending cuts.

The Taoiseach did not seek an apology from RTÉ over its TV news report on nude paintings of him, he confirmed in the Dáil today.

CELTIC Tiger-style living standards will be heavily hit from the start of the year as the Government gets ready to rake in more than €1 billion in new charges.

Celtic Tiger-style living standards will be heavily hit from today as the Government gets ready to rake in more than €1bn in new charges.

CLAIMS by Irish banks that they are sufficiently capitalised are not believed internationally, Finance Minister Brian Lenihan has admitted.

A shelved plan to vaccinate 30,000 young girls against cervical cancer will be re-introduced as soon as funds become available, Health Minister Mary Harney told the Dáil today.

ONE in every 12 workers will be without a job next year as a prolonged recession bites, the Economic and Social Research Institute (ESRI) has forecast.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has once again blamed international factors rather than the Government’s own policies for the economic slump.

A MINISTER branded Edna Kenny a “vulgar puppet” jerked around by others as political summer sniping last night exploded into a full-blown war of words.

Irish people helped burst the Celtic Tiger boom by indulging in bigger houses, cars and holidays, Natural Resources Minister Eamon Ryan today told the Dáil.

The Government’s tax take for the first half of the year was €1.45bn behind schedule, the Department of Finance revealed today.

THE Government will resist moves to give the State’s ethics watchdog the power to appoint inquiry officers to carry out preliminary investigations.

THE Taoiseach’s attack on the Mahon Tribunal was a “self-serving” and “desperate attempt” to divert attention from the serious questions surrounding the money he took, said the opposition yesterday.

The 62nd Labour Party annual conference continues today in Wexford Town.

GOVERNMENT plans to proceed with legislation which would give it the powers to shut down a tribunal have been labelled “sinister” by Fine Gael.

Adverse opinion polls played a role in persuading Gordon Brown not to call a snap general election, one of his most senior Cabinet allies confirmed today.

Mourners lined Bray's streets of today in an emotional tribute after the funeral of the second of two firefighters killed battling a factory blaze.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern’s “jobs for the boys” Senate nominations continued to draw fire last night.

Children should be banned from using sunbeds as soon as possible, Labour deputy leader Liz McManus told the Dáil today.

THE Opposition has launched its traditional attack on the Government’s decision to put the Dáil into recess for the week leading up to St Patrick’s Day.

AFTER pulling pints in the Dáil for almost four decades, Sean Sheils has more than a few entertaining tales to tell.

The Government was today criticised for a lack of information on the forthcoming report into the fatal shooting of John Carthy in Abbeylara, Co Longford more than six years ago.

The situation in accident and emergency wards was labelled a complete shambles by opposition TDs today, as the Irish Nurses’ Organisation (INO) claimed the number of people waiting on trolleys topped 400.

SIX months’ paid maternity leave for mothers is set to spearhead the Government’s drive to regain the initiative on childcare, it emerged last night.

SUSPICION of a secret deal between the Government and Sinn Féin on the return of the Colombia Three persisted last night, despite outright denials from both sides.

THE GOVERNMENT last night denied the return of the Colombia Three was part of any deal with Sinn Féin, after they arrived home within a week of last Thursday’s IRA statement.