Thirty-nine opposition TDs have backed a Dáil motion to immediately scrap water charges and hold a referendum to prevent water services from privatisation, pressurising Fianna Fáil to refuse any deal that ignores their pre-election promises.

Crunch talks between Fianna Fáil and Fine Gael have now begun after the Dáil failed to elect a taoiseach for a second time.

Sinn Féin and left-wing TDs have lashed out at larger parties for failing to form a government, saying health, housing and homelessness crises affecting the most vulnerable people in society are being ignored because of the “charade”.

Taoiseach Enda Kenny has expressed full confidence in coalition partner Tanaiste Joan Burton, as the Labour leader faced Opposition claims of “cronyism” in appointing former trade union leader David Begg to a state board.

The Government will launch an investigation into the growing use of “zero hour” contracts by companies.

A prominent member of the Dáil Technical Group has criticised Ceann Comhairle Sean Barrett, saying he had switched position three times on the issue of speaking rights in the Dáil.

The medical card fiasco will not impact on plans to introduce free GP care for all children under six, the Government pledged yesterday.

Independents have to put egos aside and come together,writes Special Correspondent Michael Clifford.

A patient recovering from a brain haemorrhage who had to spend hours on a hospital trolley in a vending machine corridor has called on the Taoiseach and minister for health to visit the overcrowded emergency department.

Almost 5,000 dole claimants have had their weekly rates slashed or cut off after refusing to take up work or training opportunities.

The country’s 1.6m households will know how much they can expect to pay in water charges before next May’s local elections, the Taoiseach has told the Dáil.

If the Government moves to electronic payments as part of its eCommerce strategy, it could close large swathes of the country’s post offices, according to a new report.

Fears that a €500m-pylon network will cause health problems have been dismissed by Taoiseach Enda Kenny.

Thousands of people in mortgage misery are living in fear of bailed-out banks, a minister has admitted.

Plans to cut the

The Government said a new network of pylons must comply with health and safety standards amid concerns over “monster” structures which are set to be erected in the middle of communities.

Non-terminal cancer patients are no longer guaranteed a medical card because their condition is not considered serious enough.

St Vincent de Paul (SVP) has had to treble its financial aid to families struggling to pay household fuel bills, a conference on fuel poverty has been told.

More than 200 jobs are to go at a healthcare manufacturing plant in Tipperary thanks to an “adjustment” in operations to put a focus on “innovative” medical devices.

Seamus Healy has pulled out of the United Left Alliance in the Dáil, saying that he was frustrated by how the group handled revelations about Mick Wallace's tax affairs.

Mick Wallace has been forced to break ranks with a group of independents over his tax affairs.

The Labour Party has insisted “security concerns” led to the cancellation of a centenary commemoration which was due to be held in the town where the party was founded.

The number of registrations for the household charge has jumped by 25% in the past week.

The Government has defended the controversial household charge despite the High Court paving the way for a challenge to the tax.

A Fianna Fáil councillor has won the right to legally challenge the €100 household charge because it has not been published in Irish.

Nine TDs joined forces with campaigners against the new household tax today.

Demonstrations outside government departments and the bank formally known as Anglo Irish took place yesterday to mark the controversial handover of €1.25 billion to unsecured bondholders.

FINANCE Minister Michael Noonan has been urged to reform the political allowances system after it emerged 14 Independent TDs will each receive an extra €41,000 this year on top of their salaries, and won’t have to pay tax on the money or explain how it was spent.

Nine rebel TDs have pledged to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the public in a mass boycott against the household charge - even if they end up in court.

The total number of TDs who have called on the public not to pay the household charge is now at nine.

A NUMBER of TDs have vowed not to pay the €100 household charge and will today urge the public to follow suit and resist the controversial tax.

AFTER 26 years of basing their lives around Kickham Barracks in Clonmel, the Lyons family and many others face an uncertain few years following Tuesday’s government decision to close the long-standing institution.

Irish human rights activists detained by Israeli authorities as they tried to break the naval blockade on Gaza will arrive home over the next two days.

Five TDs have accused Tánaiste Eamon Gilmore of double standards regarding the detention of 14 Irish activists in Israel as they tried to bring aid to Gaza.

CAMPAIGNERS fighting for the future of army barracks in Clonmel, Mullingar and Cavan may join together in a bid to prevent the Government from implementing any closures.

David Norris's bid for a presidential nomination was dealt a blow last night, when two Oireachtas members said they will not be giving him their support.

TWO protests against austerity measures will greet the Government upon the resumption of the Dáil today.

OPPONENTS of the closure of a 55-bed acute psychiatric unit hope to lobby Taoiseach Enda Kenny when he visits the constituency next week.

THE HSE has been accused of “bullying and silencing” a senior consultant who spoke out against the imminent closure of a 49-bed acute psychiatric unit.

THE decision by Michael Noonan, Minister for Finance, to allow pension companies pass on the 0.6% jobs tax to their customers, whether contributors or beneficiaries, was a direct contradiction of the views he had expressed in the Dáil debate and a capitulation to Industry pressure.

Twenty-two TDs gathered at the gates of Leinster House in Dublin today to call on the Government to overturn consents granted by former Minister Pat Carey to Shell E&P Ireland on the day of the recent General Election.

A NEW group of independent TDs said they are willing to hand over their individual €40,000 allowances if the mainstream parties also sacrifice some state funding.