THE debate about whether women can ‘have it all’ has been prompted, again, by the surprise resignation of glamorous Tory MP Louise Mensch after two years in parliament.

“I don’t see myself as a victim of the system, or anything like that. I made a choice, because it was a 24/7 job that I wasn’t prepared to sacrifice that element of my family for,” says Olwyn Enright.

FIVE former taoisigh were among the mourners who attended Garret FitzGerald’s funeral — three Fianna Fáil office-holders, Brian Cowen, Bertie Ahern and Albert Reynolds, along with John Bruton and Liam Cosgrave of Fine Gael.

AS the woman opened the bedroom door to let the two young doctors in to see her sick husband, one of them put his arm out to halt the other.

NEARLY half of women voters suffer “gender disenfranchisement” because they lack a female TD representing their Dáil constituency, it was claimed last night.

GENDER has nothing to do with the recent decisions by two senior Labour women to resign from politics, according to party leader, Eamon Gilmore.

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.

Efforts are continuing to boost the number of female representatives in the Dáil.

Labour TD Liz McManus is to quit the Dáil at the next election, she revealed today.

THE fuss about Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright’s announcement of her planned departure from politics has been justified because of how it illustrates the difficulties of time management faced by women who want an active political career, especially those with pre-school and schoolgoing children.

FINE GAEL TD Olwyn Enright has attributed her decision not to contest the next general election solely to family reasons.

Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright has announced she will quit national politics at the next general election.

“I GOT a good belt of that olive branch, didn’t I?” Fergus O’Dowd joked as Enda Kenny unveiled his attempt at post-heave healing.

Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny today predicted a general election within 12 months and a resounding win for the party led by a front bench including five rebel TDs.

Fine Gael TD Olwyn Enright has taken herself out of the running for a front bench position.

Enda Kenny was clinging to the leadership of Fine Gael tonight after most of his defunct front bench rebelled against him.

The only challenger for the Fine Gael leadership today insisted he has the experience and skill to unite the divided party and ultimately lead the country.

Enda Kenny’s supporters and opponents were beginning an intense 24 hours of lobbying today ahead of a confidence vote in the Fine Gael leader.

ENDA Kenny cut short the meeting of the 19-member Fine Gael frontbench in a desperate bid to outmanoeuvre his opponents.

Nine rebel Fine Gael frontbench TDs publicly declared no confidence in embattled leader Enda Kenny today.

ENDA KENNY’S decision to sack Richard Bruton could trigger a wave of resignations or further expulsions from the Fine Gael frontbench today.

ANGER was growing among support groups yesterday at the Government’s planned reform of the One Parent Family Payment that would see it scrapped when the youngest child reaches 13.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen said today that pending cuts to certain social welfare payments were already announced months ago by Minister Mary Hanafin.

SINGLE parents are set to lose vital state support as part of a “cynical” ploy by Government to cut the financial aid for any family whose youngest child is older than 13.

JUST a year after it said social welfare recipients should produce photo ID because it was losing millions in fraudulent claims, the Government is planning to let claimants “sign on” by text.

SENATOR Kieran Phelan, a Laois auctioneer and father of five, died yesterday.

ALMOST 200 people working in one of Offaly’s biggest employers are to lose their jobs by the end of the year.

THE Government is paying in excess of €500 million annually on rent supplement for 94,000 people – despite four years ago devising a money-saving scheme to move them off the emergency payment.

THE Minister for Social Protection yesterday ruled out reviewing the four-year lead-in time for a new retirement age of 66.

ORDINARY employees will be obliged to pay a pension tax and work until they are 68 under a national framework unveiled by the Government.

MORTGAGE holders unable to meet repayments should get a two-year reprieve during which banks and financial institutions are prevented from taking legal action to take over their homes.

MAJOR distress has been caused among some farm spouses who have been informed by the Department of Social and Family Affairs that their contributory state pension is being withdrawn and refunds of payments sought.

MORE lone parents should be allowed access to the Rental Accommodation Scheme, while Fás needs to drop its “stupid” start times for courses, an Oireachtas committee heard yesterday.

FAMILIES with pre-school children will be €100 a month worse off per child when cuts announced in the April and December budgets come into effect this week.

ALMOST half of people who appealed a social welfare payment decision last year were successful, according to the Department of Social and Family Affairs.

MINISTER Mary Hanafin was accused of being more interested in self-congratulation than the thousands of people joining the dole queue after claiming a report revealing a massive rise in social welfare spending showed the Government’s “commitment to caring and supporting its citizens”.

THE Government was accused of “softening people up” for cuts in dole and other social welfare payments by leaking details of finance plans to yesterday’s Sunday newspapers.

Fine Gael today accused the Government of terrifying the public, calling a series of leaks to various Sunday newspapers about cuts to social welfare payments a cynical attempt to test the public mood.

THE Combat Poverty Agency (CPA) has unveiled its final annual report before it is subsumed into a government department, with its chairman admitting there was “uncertainty” over the move.

NOW that the winners’ euphoria is being tempered by a sense of the size of the challenge ahead; now that Fianna Fáil and the Greens have had a few days to come to terms with the depth of the disenchantment expressed by an angry and betrayed electorate, it might be time to consider what the results mean.

A GOVERNMENT funded money advice service has beefed up negotiating powers with the banks so it can better help struggling borrowers reach new repayment terms with their lenders.

ALMOST 12,000 people are receiving state assistance to help pay their monthly mortgage bills.

STAFF in the department of Social and Family Affairs took more than 190,000 days of sick leave over the past three years, an average of 12 days per year for each staff member.

SOCIAL and Family Affairs Minister Mary Hanafin last night outlined plans for savings of e300 million this year and €400m in 2010 with the tightening of certain benefits set to free up funds for the growing number of people on the dole.