Some TDs are renting out at least five properties, others are letting holiday homes in sunny tourist destinations or in plush southside Dublin addresses, and dozens more have shares with financial firms at the centre of the decade-long financial crisis.

The Department of Social Protection says it believes fraud is behind the refusal of some welfare recipients to sign up for a public service card.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar’s plan to refund €170m in water charges has been undermined by confusion among ministers as to how and when it will happen.

Latest: Despite being behind in the leadership race, Simon Coveney said today he is not an "some kind of also-ran".

Fine Gael leadership contender Leo Varadkar and his team are ready to immediately launch his election bid if Taoiseach Enda Kenny only signals when he may resign at a party meeting today.

Convicted welfare fraudsters will be named and shamed under Department of Social Protection plans that mirror Revenue’s ‘blacklist’ of tax defaulters.

Half of the Cabinet has yet to put through a single piece of legislation, a year after the Government’s formation. 

Households struggling with mortgage debt are being advised to reach out and get free professional advice, as research shows two-thirds of borrowers are unaware of free support services.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar has warned that the surging cost of houses in Ireland risks forcing more people into arrears.

The entire world can now view the birth, marriage and death certificates of Antarctic explorer Tom Crean as his records along with 12.5m others have been made available online for the first time.

Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar has said it is the responsibility of parents to rear their children rather than taxpayers as he warned against hopes for a reversal of cuts to a back-to-school support payment.

The Government will have an additional €1bn to spend on improving services or reducing taxes in the budget, but it will not be a “giveaway”, Social Protection Minister Leo Varadkar has said.

A government decision to increase rent supplement has been deemed too little, too late and possibly even a gift for landlords to allow them hike rents further.

The planning application has only just been lodged but already Facebook’s plan to build a facility in Co Meath is clocking up plenty of ‘likes’.

The HSE should no longer have responsibility for overseeing medical card means tests, the final version of the Government’s report into the crisis-hit service is set to claim.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has again defended cuts to the dole for under 26s, saying we have to be "more ambitious" for young people.

The country is expecting another crippling Budget as the Government prepares to unveil a fresh raft of tax hikes and spending cuts today.

The nation is braced for a crippling austerity Budget – the seventh endured in just five years.

The Taoiseach has played down reports of a rift with the social protection minister Joan Burton.

The Government must treat special needs pupils with the dignity that they deserve, says Sheila Nunan

Twenty senior and junior ministers will address 17 committees in the European Parliament over the next three days on their role in progressing EU legislation over the next six months.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has been urged to give the carer’s allowance to all 9,000 people on waiting lists as part of an “amnesty” to clear chronic backlogs.

Budget negotiations are set to go down to the wire on Tuesday night as ministers dig their heels in, with major concerns over Health Minister James Reilly’s ability to deliver on €900m of cuts.

The Irish Congress of Trade Unions has called the governments move raise the age of retirement hasty

Tenants in receipt of rent supplement are being told they must negotiate a better deal with their landlords — or find a new place to live.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has been accused of insincerity over his explanations for the cause of Ireland’s crippling economic crisis.

The social welfare budget is to be reduced by €475m next year, a cut of just over 2%.

Social Protection Minister Joan Burton has revealed that more than €4bn of taxpayers' money has been spent on sick-leave pay over the past five years.

SOCIAL Protection Minister Joan Burton believes more than €50 million can be saved by cutting the share of redundancy payments picked up by the state.

SOCIAL Protection Minister Joan Burton says she will do her best to ensure that the burden of resolving the financial crisis does not fall disproportionately on those in the lowest part of the economic spectrum.

SOCIAL Protection Minister Joan Burton has blamed a surge in unemployment numbers on a lengthy delay in processing children’s and footwear allowances.

SOCIAL Protection Minister Eamon O Cuív says the reason for cutting the one parent allowance at 13 is to encourage “these parents into the workforce” (RTÉ News at One, May 30).

SOCIAL Protection Minister Éamon O Cuív has asked the chief executive of Bank of Ireland to hand back a €1.5 million pension top-up he was given last year.