FIANNA FÁIL members should not ignore the houses of “blueshirts” or “provos” when canvassing for votes, Junior Minister Brendan Smith told delegates.

A PINT of porter cost one shilling and four pence around the time Bansha Show was founded in south Tipperary 50 years ago.

BACKBENCH TDs and senators spent €500,000 last year on foreign travel, including a number of fact-finding trips to exotic long-haul destinations.

TDs and Senators reportedly claimed more than €10m in tax-free expenses in 2005, allowing some to double their income for the year.

VETERAN Fianna Fáil TD Noel Davern last night announced he was standing down to make way for “new blood” in the Dáil.

Noel Davern has announced he is stepping down from politics at the next election.

THE former home of Charles Bianconi, the Italian mayor of Clonmel who effectively put 19th century Ireland on wheels by establishing the country’s first transport system, is to become a 29-bedroom hotel.

MAJOR expansion plans leading to the creation of an additional 1,000 jobs at Guidant Corporation’s Tipperary plant will not be affected by the $25.4 billion takeover of the worldwide company last week, the company said yesterday.

Political Editor Harry McGee wonders how much of the €1.25 million spent by TDs and senators on foreign travel in the two years to August 2004 was a necessary expense.

NON-GOVERNMENT foreign travel by TDs and senators has cost the taxpayer at least €1.25 million since June 2002, figures compiled by the Oireachtas have revealed.

THE printing of barcodes on Oireachtas envelopes is being considered to prevent an abuse of privilege similar to the Lorcan Allen affair.

THE abuse of some of the 4.75 million postage-paid Oireachtas envelopes issued to TDs and senators every year is set to be probed by a parliamentary watchdog.

The State's ethics watchdog has postponed an investigation into former Fianna Fáil TD Michael Collins, who had a bogus non-resident account.

IRELAND is one of the bad boys of Europe. Again.

A prominent figure in the campaign against the ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants today accepted he would have to stub out his cigarettes from January 1.

Two junior ministers have reportedly joined growing opposition within Fianna Fáil to Health Minister Micheál Martin’s plans to introduce an all-out ban on smoking in workplaces from next January.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern yesterday appeared to rule out fully any compromise over the Government’s proposed workplace smoking ban.

IT looks like there’ll be no smoke and no fire at Fianna Fáil’s pow-wow in Sligo tomorrow as the party’s chief anti-smoking ban braves will be on distant plains.

MARTIN CULLEN has denied his criticisms of plans to ban smoking in pubs were designed to undermine Health Minister Micheal Martin.

OF the many controversies engulfing the Coalition, the proposed ban on smoking was always going to be one of the most explosive.

The Government came under attack today after a senior minister broke ranks to criticise the country’s forthcoming ban on smoking in pubs and restaurants.

HEALTH MINISTER Mícheál Martin is facing increasing opposition from TDs within his own party over plans to ban smoking in pubs.

A ban on smoking in Irish pubs and restaurants due to be brought in from January is unrealistic and should be reviewed, a former government minister claimed today.

THE three largest unions in the country yesterday endorsed moves to ban smoking in the workplace.

Ireland's three largest trade unions - SIPTU, IMPACT and Mandate - have written to all TDs seeking support for Health Minister Micheál Martin's proposed ban on smoking in the workplace.

UP to 25 members of the Fianna Fáil parliamentary party are to will are to oppose Health Minister Micheál Martin’s blanket ban on smoking in pubs from next year.

By Noel Whelan

THE Government is facing a massive revolt among its own backbenches over plans to re-introduce college fees and ban smoking in pubs.

MORE than 40 of the country’s top hacks have swapped their pens for bikes for the rest of this week in a pre-Christmas rally to raise funds for needy appeals.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern is expected to give most of the top Oireachtas committee chairs to disgruntled backbenchers who were passed over for ministerial and junior ministerial posts.

The Junior Minister for Agriculture Noel Davern is expected to step up efforts today to resolve the row over beet prices between farmers and Irish Sugar.

The Government has intervened in the crisis at the Irish Sugar plants.

There is good news for Irish agriculture today with the news that Turkey has re-opened its markets to Irish beef.

The Swiss government has eased a ban on meat imports from Ireland.

Agriculture authorities in the Republic urged extra vigilance against foot-and-mouth today after a confirmation of a second outbreak of the disease across the border in the north.

Gardai were today attempting to trace the origin of a herd of unidentified cattle found roaming in Co Tipperary.

Irish Agriculture Department officials were today investigating suspicions that fraud was involved in the movement of a consignment of 248 lambs believed to have come from a farm in Northern Ireland which is at the centre of a foot-and-mouth scare.

A factory has been closed and a farm sealed off near Nenagh in Co. Tipperary as a precautionary measure.

Junior Agriculture Minister Noel Davern has confirmed that sheep imported from the UK since the beginning of the month will be slaughtered.

A minor Cabinet reshuffle has been announced by the Government following a Cabinet meeting this afternoon at which the Taoiseach accepted the resignation of Ned O'Keefe as Minister of State at the Department of Agriculture.