Minister with Responsibility for Defence Paul Kehoe is being targeted by former members of the Defence Forces who are trying to encourage voters in the forthcoming General Election not to vote for him.

It was, McDonald declared, “game on for reunification”, insisting that there has to be a referendum on Irish unity within five years.

Fine Gael’s approach to the 2020 election campaign has been dismissed as “project fear” by the party’s lead opponents, who have described it as “the sign of a party becoming increasingly desperate”.

A small number of bellwether constituencies could be highly significant in the battle for top spot between Fiann Fáil and Fine Gael, says Political Correspondent Juno McEnroe.

“I want to also improve mental health services for Wexford, this county needs a University and we absolutely need to improve the supply of housing through the current planning network”.

Former Fine Gael by-election Verona Murphy is to announce on Tuesday whether she will run as an Independent candidate in Wexford in the upcoming General Election.

While the Irish economy maintained an upward trajectory in 2019, it has been a trickier year for SMEs.

If laws cannot be introduced to cap injury awards, the Government will hold a referendum to bring about the change, the minister in charge of insurance reform has warned.

Junior finance minister Michael D’Arcy believes a “compo culture” is prevalent in Ireland and has admitted that insurance firms are making up for “lost money” from previous years.

Fine Gael has agreed to drop Wexford candidate Verona Murphy for the general election with fears she could damage the party if allowed run.

The Government is willing to consider an emergency fund to prevent creches from closing because of a withdrawal of insurance cover.

Verona Murphy performed well in the by-election, with no mass voter boycott of her after controversial migrant remarks, says political correspondent Elaine Loughlin.

Chief Justice Frank Clarke has rebuffed comments by Fine Gael minister Michael D’Arcy about the role of judges in high personal- injury payouts.

Demolition has begun at the suburban shopping centre car park in Cork which was gutted by fire almost three months ago.

Mr D'Arcy has ignored calls to apologise to gardaí for the controversial comments.

The junior minister said the attack on Kevin Lunney should have been dealt with "sooner and better at that level" by senior gardaí.

“We did have sustained attacks against us, there were a number of incidents that were allowed go unchecked – the incitement to hatred at a public meeting, the posters defaming us and face to face threats.”

Independent Alliance ministers meet today to agree on pre-budget demands including a new levy on insurance companies, pension rises, and more funds for disability services.

There is “no single policy or legislative initiative” that the Government can take to make insurance providers cover Irish leisure, tourism and adventure operators, according to the minister for state with responsibility for financial services and insurance.

Not since the days of Big Tom and the Mainliners Showband tours has the country been traversed as extensively and in rapid-speed.

The Government could be forced to scrap a series of financial promises and turn October’s budget into a no-deal Brexit defence plan amid fears the crisis could have a “huge” impact on the economy, two ministers have warned.

Junior finance minister Michael D’Arcy has insisted the €500,000 annual banking pay cap should be retained, despite increasing pressure from institutions to relax the rules.

Bankers’ €500,000 pay capOne of the least attractive characteristics of today’s Ireland is the widespread sense of entitlement. Give-us-a-reason-to-come-home nurses and beef farmers protesting over a yet unfinalised deal that will have huge benefits to the majority of Irish people are just two recent examples.

The pay cap of €500,00 for the top bosses at AIB and Permanent TSB, in which the Government owns large stakes, is likely to be retained but other incentives for more junior executives are on the cards.

Junior Finance Minister Michael D'Arcy has insisted the €500,000 annual banking pay cap should be retained, despite increasing pressure from institutions to relax the rules.

The Alliance for Insurance Reform is calling on the judiciary to speedily implement new legislation which would reset the guidelines around the level of personal injury awards.

Four months on, Isme — the association representing small- and medium-size companies — is the latest trade body to wonder if the ministry’s understanding of the word “progress” is different to that which exists beyond its walls.

Minister of State at the Department of Finance with special responsibility for Financial Services and Insurance, Michael D’Arcy has defended the Minister for Justice’s decision to shelve plans for a dedicated Garda Insurance Fraud Unit.

It is due to the Carne Group almost doubling its current workforce.

Nama is 10 years old. Brian Lenihan’s brainchild to fix our collapsed banking

For far too many people, the phrase “bank customer care” has become an oxymoron mocking the unequal relationship between financial institutions and everyday customers.

Insurance companies have been accused of making hundreds of millions of euro while putting small businesses at risk of closure.

Personal injury payouts could be capped under proposed new legislation which, it is hoped, will help reduce the cost of cover for businesses, motorists and farmers.

The Government must create a €2bn Brexit stabilisation fund, strengthen the rights of workers at risk of a Brexit “race to the bottom” and impose a border poll deadline if the EU and UK fail to strike a deal by the end of next month.

In recent days, two examples of how hard it can be for consumers to reach satisfactory conclusions with insurers or banks when things go wrong have come to light.

There is hardly a Christmas pantomime that demands a suspension of belief in the way that some imaginative litigants seeking compensation for injuries through the courts do.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar was the notable absentee from the well-attended launch of the first biography of him.

As Nama looks to the end of its original projected lifespan and its legacy will be examined, it must start being honest with itself and the public about the basic facts of its existence, writes Daniel McConnell

The Government will formally agree the start to the budget process this week as pressure mounts to bring forward talks on extending the confidence and supply deal with Fianna Fáil.

An extension of the confidence and supply deal between Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil needs to be negotiated before October’s budget and in the interests of maintaining stability for the country.

Despite recent research from the CSO indicating that the cost of motor insurance has dropped by 12.8% in the past year, many motorists are seeing premiums rise at the time of renewal, according to AA Ireland.

The Department of Finance has insisted “steady progress” is being made in implementing recommendations made in the Cost of Insurance Working Group (CIWG) report, following criticism that no “meaningful change” has occurred.

All eyes will be on Fine Gael’s special parliamentary party meeting this afternoon where TDs and senators will discuss their views on plans to repeal the Eighth Amendment and allow unrestricted access to abortion up to 12 weeks of pregnancy.

Fine Gael ministers and TDs are demanding an early general election and have said Tuesday, December 19, is the most likely polling day.