Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe has said that extending a tax relief scheme for sports people to GAA players “would raise a number of issues and challenges”.

Donal Conway has been re-elected as President of the Football Association of Ireland at its AGM in Co. Meath.

The Dáil's public accounts committee has agreed to take the step after discussions between it, Cork Institute of Technology, the University of Limerick and Waterford Institute of Technology.

Finance Minister Paschal Donohoe professes to be very proud of his rainy day fund and it is surely good that our Government has a sinking fund from which resources can be drawn should the national roof fall in, or fiscal dry rot develop.

The developers of the National Children’s Hospital have submitted claims for additional costs worth some €12m since February.

The senior civil servant on the board of the National Children's Hospital has told the Dáil's Public Accounts Committee that he did nothing wrong by not telling cabinet ministers about the cost overruns associated with the project.

The Public Accounts Committee is seeking "immediate clarity" in any possible conflict of interest over professional services firm PwC which not only advised health chiefs on the children's hospital but also completed a review of the project.

An internal Public Accounts Committee row over questions to justice chiefs about alleged theft by prison staff in jails is to be referred to a Dáil dispute body.

Claims that prison officers are stealing materials to sell on the internet and using other prison items to renovate their homes are being sent to the Garda Commissioner by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has labelled the Government’s mishandling of the children’s hospital costs crisis as a “debacle” amid fears it is causing the coalition’s public support to crumble.

The impact on tens of thousands of patients of escalating unrest in the health service continues today with members of the public asked not to use out of hours GP services as hundreds of family doctors gather in Dublin for a protest.

The question must be asked of Fianna Fáil how, after 61 years in charge of the health service, they did not leave us a single-tier public health care, writes Victoria White

The question must be asked of Fianna Fáil how, after 61 years in charge of the health service, they did not leave us a single-tier public health care, writes Victoria White

The cost of Michael D Higgins’ presidential term is set to be examined by an Oireachtas committee next week despite fears that the investigation will damage the integrity of the presidential election.

Fianna Fáil leader Micheál Martin is to have individual meetings with TDs and senators who campaigned against repealing the Eighth Amendment in a bid to gain their support to legislate for abortion.

Brendan Howlin, who was public expenditure minister when Tony O’Brien was appointed head of the HSE, has defended his departure package.

A Government department has been accused of “the most appalling waste of public funds” after it was criticised for ploughing more than €8m into an arts cinema paying rent of just €1 a year for the next 25 years.

TDs are demanding that a detailed cost review of the Limerick Tunnel transport development is immediately published after officials admit the full cost may exceed €200m.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar could be hauled before a powerful Dáil committee to answer questions over the Strategic Communications Unit (SCU) controversy as soon as next week under plans to be finalised this morning.

The multi-millionaire businessman, Larry Goodman, attempted to squeeze further concessions out of the Charles Haughey-led government in 1987, despite having already secured one of the largest ever state grants for a private company.

Bertie Ahern sought to reverse a decision of the previous government to sell the former CIE group of hotels. This was within months of his taking office in his first ministerial appointment.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s controversial ‘welfare cheats cheat us all’ campaign was a mistake, the new head of the Department of Social Protection has said.

As Justice Minister Frances Fitzgerald yesterday confronted the strengthening possibility that she might become the second justice minister to lose a cabinet seat over one of the scandals that have so altered the perception of An Garda Síochána, another episode in our culture war played out in a Leinster House committee room when senior gardaí were guests of the Public Accounts Committee.

Cork Institute of Technology is being asked for a full explanation of how its ex-president Brendan Murphy personally signed off on more than half the €13,000 costs of two functions to mark his own retirement.

At least 15 HSE-funded charities are continuing to flout strict pay level rules imposed for 320 individuals after the Central Remedial Clinic and Rehab financial scandals.

Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan, her deputy commissioners, and her director of finance should “have to go” in light of the imminent findings from a cross-party investigation into the garda college.

Fresh controversy has enveloped Garda Commissioner Nóirín O’Sullivan after she was criticised by the State’s financial watchdog for failing to mention possible financial irregularities at Templemore Garda College in a formal accounting notification to him.

The chair of the Policing Authority, Josephine Feehily, has said she is “disappointed and alarmed” with the widespread failures in practices within An Garda Siochana.

The €23m the Department of Education plans to pay for the Harold’s Cross greyhound stadium in Dublin could be well over twice its market value, a TD and auctioneer claims.

The multi-million euro sale of the iconic Harold’s Cross greyhound racing stadium took place this week without any tendering process and without any attempt to seek bids on the open market.

The head of the State body overseeing compensation payments to religious abuse victims has admitted its initial approach to victims was “appalling”, despite his own CEO defending claims some people are “so damaged” they will never be happy with the help that is given.

Dozens of people, many of them children, have initiated legal proceedings against the State and GlaxoSmithKline after developing narcolepsy following the swine flu vaccine.

Former tánaiste Ray MacSharry has described the horror of being caught up in the terror attack in the French city of Nice and of seeing dead bodies among the chaotic scenes along the seafront, write Juno McEnroe.

Disgraced former chief executive of suicide prevention charity Console Paul Kelly threatened to sue the HSE if any details about the financial scandal emerged just 24 hours before RTÉ’s high-profile exposé on the organisation.

Former tánaiste Ray MacSharry has described the horror of being caught up in the terror attack in the French city of Nice and of seeing dead bodies among the chaotic scenes along the seafront.

Live cattle exports to new markets such as Turkey are “so important” because “we need to plan for the rest of the year to ensure that we do not have beef price problems later in the year on foot of an increasing herd”, said outgoing Agriculture Minister Simon Coveney last week.

Ten Fianna Fáil TDs have broken ranks to declare a grand coalition with Fine Gael or the backing of a Fine Gael-led minority government cannot be ruled out.

Fine Gael has given its strongest signal to date that a coalition with Fianna Fáil is possible.

Fine Gael has given its strongest signal to date that a Coalition with Fianna Fáil is possible.

The bank inquiry whistle-blower who claimed the investigation is beset with “conflicts of interest” and “corruption” is considering legal action after a report into the allegations said there are absolutely “no facts” to back them up.

When does a show trial become a no-show trial? When precious little new shows up to justify the effort involved.