A CONSULTANT obstetrician and gynaecologist is facing a Medical Council fitness to practise inquiry over the care he gave to a young woman who died from cancer two years ago.

BENEATH the radar of tumultuous politics, Dr James Reilly ascended the greasy pole. Elected at his initial attempt in Dublin North, his rise through the ranks has been utterly remarkable.

WILLIE O’DEA has become the latest senior Fianna Fáil figure to criticise the exodus of ministers from the party, saying the situation resembled “the flight out of Egypt”.

POLLS come and go, and often tend to show divergent results.

Transport Minister Noel Dempsey tonight denied he feared a backlash from angry voters in the general election as he became the second Fianna Fáil heavyweight not to contest the poll.

Minister for Transport Noel Dempsey has today become the latest Fianna Fáil Minister to announce that he is not to stand in the upcoming General Election.

AND so it comes to pass. For months the almost permanent political surveys have determined that Fianna Fáil will take an absolute routing if an election is held.

Taoiseach Brian Cowen today paid tribute to Justice Minister Dermot Ahern and former Ceann Comhairle Rory O’Hanlon after they announced they were quitting the Dáil.

I USED to be an inveterate funeral goer – several per week. I hadn’t been to one for the past two years until the unexpected death of newspaper man and former schoolmate, Alan Ruddock.

Tyrone 6-24 Cavan 1-14

BERTIE AHERN has relinquished his €83,000 ministerial pension but a number of Fianna Fáil politicians are holding out as Taoiseach Brian Cowen refuses to place any pressure on them.

FORMER Cork TD Barry Cogan has said the downturn in the economy scuppered any chance five retired politicians had of qualifying for its lucrative pension scheme.

FIVE former politicians experiencing “considerable hardship” have had pleas to allow them claim lucrative pension entitlements rejected by the Department of Finance.

OPPOSITION TDs are to demand answers from Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue on why he trebled the number of staff in his office which costs the taxpayer almost half a million euro a year.

Fianna Fáil has no plans to fully organise as a party in the North, Taoiseach Brian Cowen signalled today.

ALBERT Reynolds has accused Bertie Ahern of shafting him in the 1997 presidential race.

WHEN Brian Cowen became Taoiseach just 15 months ago there was, for a time at least, a sense of optimism that the new brush might sweep clean. There was a feeling that the staleness of the discredited, stultifying Ahern leadership might be replaced with something vigorous and uplifting.

Eggs were hurled at the home of a Fianna Fáil TD in a late-night attack, the party claimed today.

ROUND-the-clock emergency care will cease at Monaghan General Hospital (MGH) on July 22 and patients with an acute illness or in need of acute surgery will have to travel elsewhere.

The closure of key services including accident and emergency wards at Monaghan General Hospital will undoubtedly threaten lives, it was warned today.

Fianna Fáil has established a unit of the party in south Armagh, it was announced today.

DO YOU have this business idea that you think just might work? Do you fantasise about turning your dream into reality and earning millions if only you had the cash and know-how to get your idea off the ground?

THE movement was often poor, much of the passing sloppy too, but Fermoy and Newmarket can still take a bow for an Evening Echo Cork Co U-21 FC semi-final performance in Mallow on Saturday that was full of passion and commitment, with a draw probably the right result in the end.

FOR Michael D Higgins, it was a book of prose, for Willie O’Dea it was African mines, for Jackie Healy Rae a room to meet with his people in Killarney, and for Bertie Ahern a few free tickets to the dogs.

People with information on the IRA-linked murder of a Co Armagh trucker must come forward, the Dáil heard today.

POLICE in Thailand are investigating the death of a young Irish woman whose body was found washed up on a beach in one of the country’s holiday resorts.

AT THE last World Cup, Portugal and the Netherlands met at the knock-out stages of the competition.

THE first thing the new Dáil will do when it convenes on Thursday is not elect a Taoiseach, but a Ceann Comhairle.

Newly-elected TD Mary O’Rourke today celebrated her 70th birthday.

AS SELF-HELP guides go, this Thursday’s new series on RTÉ is pretty much out on its own.

Rowdy exchanges marred business in the Dáil today as Tánaiste Michael McDowell and Opposition leaders traded political insults.

YESTERDAY was possibly Bertie Ahern’s last Leaders’ Questions before the General Election with Pat Rabbitte, in a clear case of wishful thinking, even suggesting possibly his last Leaders’ Questions ever.

ONE-in-four TDs fail to turn up for Dáil votes, despite the fact it is one of their primary functions.

The Minister for Justice Michael McDowell today came under pressure in the Dáil after the latest fatal shooting – the third attack of its kind in just over a week.

PLANS to downgrade Monaghan General Hospital have caused a major split among local Fianna Fáil politicians as the controversial hospital reform plans are set to become major issues in the run-up to the general election.

THE Irish summer is over but a cross-party group of politicians have been given the opportunity to enjoy some sunshine for a few more days at least — in Morocco.

TDs and senators fear a Dáil barman, who is retiring after 38 years of service, will write a tell-all book on his experiences.

The independent Government-appointed body that probed electronic voting may have breached its terms of references by sending its report to the Minister for the Environment four days before the Ceann Comhairle received it, it was claimed tonight.

The Taoiseach must sack Minister of State Frank Fahey over allegations of dodging tax, it was claimed tonight.

The Taoiseach today called on the Greens to put up or shut up about allegations on the business practices of Minister of State Frank Fahey.

The Taoiseach should apologise to Socialist TD Joe Higgins over personal remarks he made about him in the Dáil yesterday, it was claimed today.

CHARLES J Haughey was small in stature but massive in achievements, his removal service at Donnycarney Church heard yesterday.

Everybody has the responsibility to fight the threat of lethal modern terrorism, Australian Prime Minister John Howard tonight told the Dáil.