WITH an above average marriage rate, a greater likelihood than the rest of us to own their homes outright and families less likely to have a single mother at the head, the population of Cork South West would appear to favour the traditional — and politics is no different.

A PATTER of little feet is expected at a General Election candidate’s door imminently, but it won’t be his canvassing party.

THE Labour Party MEP for Ireland South Alan Kelly wants to leave Brussels less than two years after he was elected and win a Dáil seat in Tipperary north instead.

WHO said it couldn’t get worse? It seems the antics of the inebriated Fine Gael TD PJ Sheehan in the confines of the Dáil car park last September were not embarrassment enough for Fine Gael.

THE Government made no effort to seek a pairing arrangement with the opposition before deciding to use the jet to allow a junior minister attend a Dáil vote, Fine Gael said last night.

WITH the rumblings of Garglegate in Galway still continuing, we had the story of PJ Sheehan threatening the young garda outside Leinster House when she prevented him from driving his car because he had too much to drink.

PERHAPS it’s the cynic in me, but when I see the shoehorning of some celebrity’s offspring into a well-paid semi-state job, the whiff of nepotism fills my nostrils.

I SUPPOSE we could take the view that PJ Sheehan TD, that great advocate of rural drink driving, at least practises what he preaches, albeit this time in the city.

THE drunken, abusive behaviour of Fine Gael deputy PJ Sheehan towards a member of the Garda Siochána while in the driving seat of a car exiting Leinster House car park begs the question – was he subject to a breathalyser test by the gardaí at the scene?

ADVANCED age or previous good character cannot be given as legitimate excuses for PJ Sheehan’s boneheaded drunken behaviour in the grounds of Dáil Eireann in early July, as revealed only last weekend.

I WAS disgusted but not surprised at the insult by PJ Sheehan, the Cork South West Fine Gael TD, to a member of the gardaí at Leinster House.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen has endured an uncomfortable week. His discomfort may be exacerbated by wondering if different standards are applied to different politicians in the light of the PJ Sheehan affair.

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has said a drunken drive involving one of his deputies, which has now sparked a Garda probe, should not have happened.

I AM one of those notorious twitterers who are so despised by those who would like to control the flow of information and opinion on this island. On Sunday when the PJ Sheehan story broke I was surprised how little attention it was getting in the mainstream media.

The Fine Gael leader Enda Kenny is rejecting claims he could have acted earlier to address an incident at Leinster House involving one of the party's TDs.

The Garda Commissioner is seeking a report into an incident involving a Fine Gael TD at Leinster House to decide whether further action is required.

PJ Sheehan has resigned this evening as Fine Gael's Deputy Spokesperson on Agriculture with Special Responsibility for Forestry.

A Fine Gael TD has issued a statement offering his apologies for his actions outside Leinster House earlier this year, when he allegedly attempted to drive his car while drunk.

A FINE GAEL TD has publicly apologised to the garda he threatened when she stopped him driving out of the gates of Leinster House while drunk.

BY any standard, the alleged behaviour of Cork South West Deputy PJ Sheehan, who reportedly threatened to damage the career of a garda who prevented him driving his car from the Dáil because he was “extremely intoxicated”, is unacceptable of an elected representative.

IF you were to go off searching for gold, you’d hardly expect to find it lurking in between the sunlotion, plasters and bathsets at your nearest pharmacy.

OUSTED Fine Gael finance spokesman, Richard Bruton, will need a silent majority to sing for him in unison if he is to topple his friend, Enda Kenny, as party leader.

SEVENTEEN TDs have each claimed more than €5,000 in expenses per month since the introduction of a new allowance system.

The Oireachtas has for the first time published the expenses of TD's and Senators online.

Constituency profiles offer some fascinating insights into who elects who and why, finds Political Correspondent Conor Ryan.

THE country that was famously described as being suitable only for ‘briars, bullocks and bachelors’ is now the secret hideaway of the rich and famous.

SUDDENLY, from everywhere, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Blueshirts swarmed across the plinth in front of Leinster House.

CRACKS are showing in the Fianna Fáil veneer as the fight for the final seat in Cork South West intensifies.

THE Government has been accused of shelving a report which, it was claimed yesterday, recommends the downgrading of Bantry General Hospital.

FIANNA Fáil’s election guru PJ Mara travelled to Cork South West last night to reassure disgruntled local members about election strategy in the constituency.

A POTENTIAL Fianna Fáil Dáil candidate in Cork South West yesterday threw down the gauntlet to the party’s HQ, accusing it of procrastination and secrecy.

THE highest-paid councillor in the Republic last night insisted the people of Cork got value for money for his €82,000 earnings.

A CONTROVERSIAL motion seeking the provision of a designated Travellers’ halting site in Bantry was yesterday withdrawn at a meeting of the Western Committee of Cork County Council.

APART from grand occasions, like a price increase, it’s an awesome sight to witness a gathering of a couple of hundred publicans spontaneously rise to their feet to give a standing ovation.

A CASH-STRICKEN independent tourism organisation in West Cork has warned it cannot continue to operate on a “hand-to-mouth basis”.

THE new generation of Sinn Féin candidates, riding the crest of the party’s growing wave of support, would do well to remember the days when their percentage vote could be measured on one hand.

HOLDING on to the family seat seems to be a long-held value in Irish politics. But a report (‘Sheehan family member to contest next election’, Irish Examiner, April 25) has to beat all.

WE’RE not corrupt — that was the strong message Cork politicians sent to the Flood Tribunal yesterday.