WHILE not prepared to predict the number of seats Labour will get at the next election, former party leader Ruairi Quinn yesterday indicated they will go well beyond the 33 seats won by the party in the 1992 snap election.

The Labour leader Eamon Gilmore has said he is surprised at Mary Upton's decision to leave politics at the next General Election.

THE Labour Party was hit with another political blow last night as a second high-profile female TD in just a number of weeks announced she would not be seeking re-election.

Labour's Mary Upton is quitting politics.

Another Labour Party TD looks set to call time on politics as Dublin South Central Deputy Mary Upton is expected to make a formal announcement this evening.

RUGBY bosses have done a U-turn on the allocation of tickets for the autumn series of internationals following a massive public backlash.

The Labour Party wants PE to be a Leaving Cert subject.

THE Irish Rugby Football Union is facing an unprecedented barrage of criticism over ticket prices for the coming rugby season, including complaints from past and present international players.

New life was breathed into Waterford Crystal today as small-scale production was brought back to its birthplace.

SO-CALLED “zombie” hotels should be turned over for community use as part of a major effort to rescue Irish tourism from the recession, Labour insisted last night.

WHILE the rest of the Labour Party clearly knew it was meeting in Galway, new recruit Jerry Cowley seemed to believe he had pitched-up in Sycophant City.

International online gambling sites will be forced to pay tax on Irish bets, under Opposition proposals revealed today.

THE Government says it has no intention of introducing a “supertax” on bankers’ bonuses similar to that adopted by Britain.

SINGLE mother Alison McKim was disappointed that just five TDs turned up at her door to see how she copes with her blind teenage son who has cerebral palsy, epilepsy and asthma.

The Carers’ Association invited ministers, Dáil deputies and senators on the new “Care Bus” to visit the home of family carer Alison McKim, a single mother who provides full-time care for her son Zack in Terenure. Seventeen-year-old Zack has cerebral palsy, epilepsy, asthma and is blind.

THE FAI and IRFU were yesterday forced to defend their agreement with Aviva that ties them to an exclusive playing deal at the redeveloped Lansdowne Road for 10 years and rules out the prospect of any games at Croke Park.

THE Government is providing €900,000 to the HSE to cut chronic treatment waiting lists for heroin addicts in many parts of the country.

IRISH holidaymakers are cutting back on overseas visits as the recession hits with the number of trips abroad down by 13% since the start of the year.

Sports Minister Martin Cullen will meet GPA chiefs to discuss inter-county player grants but insists he does not have the €3.5m required for the scheme.

SPORTS Minister Martin Cullen will meet GPA chiefs to discuss inter-county player grants but insists he does not have the €3.5 million required for the scheme.

DIAGEO IRELAND, owners of several international brands including Guinness, has announced it will shed 107 jobs or 5% of its 2,000 Irish workforce as part of a cost-cutting exercise.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has been accused of presiding over a “policy of lunacy” as the state’s largest hospital for sick children resorted to closing wards to save money.

A proposed new law radically reducing the time the public must wait to view potentially sensitive Government records was published today.

Culture Night is to become a nationwide event next year, the Dáil heard today.

THE Claret Jug coveted by golfers the world over made a return journey to Dublin last night as Open champion Pádraig Harrington came home to a hero’s welcome.

CHILDREN as young as six and seven have been used as runners by drug gangs in a part of Dublin, an Oireachtas committee was told yesterday.

Ruairí Quinn TD and Senator Pearse Doherty will deliver public addresses calling for urgent enactment of the Student Support Bill when they speak in support of students at a demonstration outside the Dáil this morning.

THERE are about 3,000 people claiming non-resident tax status in Ireland.

A SEPARATE division is being established in the Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food to tackle diseases such as bluetongue and foot and mouth.

LABOUR leader Eamon Gilmore handed his immediate predecessors two of the biggest portfolios when unveiling his new front bench yesterday.

ANIMAL welfare personnel yesterday warned of continued attacks by dangerous dogs until adequate resources are put into tackling the control of such breeds.

A leading member of the Labour party is ruling out any coalition with Fianna Fail.

Labour candidate Eric Byrne has conceded defeat in Dublin South Central.

Labour's Mary Upton has won the third seat in Dublin South Central.

Labour's Tommy Broughan, Terrence Flannagan of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's Michael Woods have been elected on the fourth count in Dublin North-East.

The Labour Party's Liz Mc Manus and Fine Gael duo Billy Timmins and Andrew Doyle have picked up the final three Dáil seats in the Wicklow constituency this morning.

The Labour Party's Liz McManus has held her seat in Wicklow, bringing the party's total representation so far to 17 TDs.

Tackling the poor diet of children across Ireland must be made a national priority, it will be claimed today.

THE former head of Crumlin Hospital’s emergency department will contest the election opposing the Taoiseach’s preference to centralise paediatric care at the Mater Hospital.

THE main deficits in the supply of Irish-produced organic food are in fruit and vegetables and in cereals, according to Agriculture and Food Minister Mary Coughlan.

A Labour Party TD has called for more beds for hospitals and care facilities.

Officials from the departments of Health and Agriculture will today brief TDs and Senators on the UK avian flu outbreak.

A clampdown on dog control laws was urged tonight after a young girl was mauled by a pit bull terrier while playing with her friends.

AS a visual metaphor for the rainbow alternative, the image of a bloated man in a blue shirt, draped in a tattered red cape and swaggering aimlessly in circles wasn’t, perhaps, the wisest.