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.

THE last vestige of credibility evaporated from the Progressive Democrats from the moment Michael McDowell hoist the petard that the PDs were exiting government — only to subsequently change their minds.

TROUBLES continued to mount for Fianna Fáil last night with confirmation that two of its Dublin TDs have decided not to put themselves forward for the next election.

FIANNA FÁIL TD Seán Ardagh is undergoing “very positive” treatment for illness and hopes to return to work in time for the next Dáil session, a political colleague has said.

A NIGHT of high drama in the Dáil saw the Government scramble to victory but lose three of its supporters over a Green Party animal welfare law.

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.

UP to six Government TDs could be missing for Dáil votes this week because they are stranded abroad due to the travel crisis.

FOUR in five TDs would toe the party line in a Dáil vote even if they fundamentally disagreed with the stance the party was taking, a new survey has found.

National politicians rate tackling issues in their own backyard as being more important than developing new laws, it was revealed today.

NEXT Tuesday the outgoing Ceann Comhairle John O’Donoghue will enter the Dáil, make a statement, step aside and join his colleagues to vote for his successor.

POLITICIANS have set themselves a four-month target to decide if the way we elect people to the Dáil is fit for purpose.

A cross-party group of TDs and senators is to look at reforming elections in Ireland, it was revealed today.

BRIAN COWEN and Bertie Ahern should be summoned before a televised Oireachtas inquiry to explain their role in the banking crisis, Government politicians have said.

A Fianna Fáil candidate could face a jail term or hefty fine as one her posters breached election rules by being erected too close to a Dublin polling station.

CENTRAL Bank governor John Hurley staunchly defended his office’s recent record when grilled by a Dáil Committee yesterday.

FIANNA FÁIL has been accused of attempting to secure a yes vote in any future Lisbon referendum by ensuring Government receives more airtime on the matter than its opposition rivals.

An Oireachtas committee is examining the possibility of changing rules that require broadcasters to give equal air-time to both sides in a referendum campaign.

THE Constitution does not do enough to protect free speech, a cross-party Oireachtas committee has found.

The Irish parliament must agree an all-party motion condemning alleged collusion by British security forces in the North atrocities, it was claimed tonight.

THE long-awaited announcement of the chairs of Oireachtas committees yesterday produced a surprise elevation for Cork North Central TD Bernard Allen.

The Government tonight announced the 17 Coalition TDs who will chair Oireachtas Committees and pick up €1.7m in extra pay over the next five years.

A LEADING Fianna Fáil backbencher last night attacked Taoiseach Bertie Ahern for not giving him a Government job while promoting less loyal TDs.

Labour candidate Eric Byrne has conceded defeat in Dublin South Central.

Labour's Tommy Broughan, Terrence Flannagan of Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil's Michael Woods have been elected on the fourth count in Dublin North-East.

The Labour Party's Liz Mc Manus and Fine Gael duo Billy Timmins and Andrew Doyle have picked up the final three Dáil seats in the Wicklow constituency this morning.

The Labour Party's Liz McManus has held her seat in Wicklow, bringing the party's total representation so far to 17 TDs.

Sinn Féin’s Martin Ferris has been returned in Kerry North to join poll-topper Jimmy Deenihan.

ON THE WAY IN: 10 tipped to win

THE former head of Crumlin Hospital’s emergency department will contest the election opposing the Taoiseach’s preference to centralise paediatric care at the Mater Hospital.

A NEW parliamentary committee dedicated to policing and security may be established in Leinster House in the new year.

A new parliamentary committee dedicated to policing and security may be established in Leinster House in the New Year.

TAOISEACH Bertie Ahern has said it is absolutely essential that the British government examine the report’s findings and fully co-operate with all investigations into the serious issues that have arisen.

A special detective unit in the Republic to investigate unsolved murders during the Troubles was today ruled out by the Justice Department’s top official.

Loyalist bombers who blew up a Dundalk pub in 1975 were treated better than the families of the victims, it was claimed today.

Canadian Mounted Police and officers from the UK’s Norfolk Constabulary will back Michael McDowell’s plans for a garda reserve force later today.

BACKBENCH TDs and senators spent €500,000 last year on foreign travel, including a number of fact-finding trips to exotic long-haul destinations.

Four senior members of Fianna Fáil have appeared at the Planning Tribunal today to give evidence about payments they received from Monarch Properties.

PLANNING tribunal chairman Judge Alan Mahon yesterday criticised a former Fianna Fáil councillor for giving the impression he got no payments from developers.

BRITISH calls for the Taoiseach to visit graves of soldiers who put down the 1916 rebellion have been backed by Fianna Fáil TDs.

A senior garda officer was today appointed to re-examine the investigation into the murder of a Dundalk forestry worker 30 years ago.