Responding to comments made by the Minister on RTÉ Radio's Morning Ireland calling for both sides to resolve the issue in either the Labour Court or the Workplace Relations Commission, Mr Bell said that the Labour Court was not appropriate.

Minister for Social Protection Regina Doherty has defended the Minister for Health and the Government for their actions in relation to revealing details of the escalating cost of the national children’s hospital.

Anxious householders and businesses in a Cork satellite town will have to wait until the year-end before finding out if Minister for Finance and Public Expenditure, Paschal Donohoe, will approve an €8.5m spend on a flood prevention scheme.