Fianna Fáil TDs are split on whether a national government to tackle the coronavirus outbreak could work.

The Taoisech Leo Varadkar has informed his Cabinet colleagues that General Election 2020 will take place on Saturday February 8.

Sean Fleming told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that the disenfranchisement of the people could affect the outcome of the election in some constituencies.

The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) has described the proposals by the Courts Service to overhaul the fines system as cheeky.

Almost 11,000 vulnerable children are missing out on meals each day — because schools have refused to join a State-funded scheme.

RTÉ has been accused of offering contracts to long-standing freelance workers that make it unsustainable for them to work in Dublin.

The mounting costs for the €1.7bn children's hospital is set to rise further — by at least €50m — but project chiefs still can't predict what the final bill will be for the new facility.

Only a third of proposed primary care centres have been completed and the rest could take up to 20 years to open at the current rate of completion.

Members of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) have been scathing in their criticism of the Oireachtas printing scandal which will now cost the tax-payer €1.8m.

The purchase and installation a new printer in Leinster House has cost €1.8m, a report reveals.

The €808,000 printer was too big to fit in the room it was meant for.

An Oireachtas Committee has recommended more be done to move people who have had asylum applications granted out of direct provision.

The Dáil’s Public Accounts Committee has expressed “grave concern” after it emerged that just one in 10 people ordered to surrender their driving licence actually did so before the courts.

More than 70,000 drivers disqualified since 2012 who have failed to surrender their licences cannot be pursued by the courts due to a legal loophole, the Irish Examiner can reveal.

The National Transport Authority has rejected accusations of “gross mismanagement” after it emerged it is paying agency staff working for it double what it is paying its own full-time staff.

The Dail's Spending watchdog has blasted the Department of Finance's use of GDPR rules not to publish payments to lawyers acting on its behalf in the €14bn Apple appeal.

The Government has given a "blank cheque" to the children's hospital which risks seeing the project's "monopoly money" spending surge past €2bn, TDs have warned.

The Government now finds itself at odds with commissioner Helen Dixon’s agency for the second time in less than a year.

GDPR should not be used as an obstacle to public information, writes Daniel McConnell.

Social Protection Minister Regina Doherty has been urged to explain why money is being spent on public service card "facial matching software" despite repeated assurances the Government has no plans to use the tool.

PAC chair Sean Fleming ordered the trawl after confirmation that Bord na gCon spent €633,000 on consultants and amid queries about the use of taxpayer money.

Garda Commissioner Drew Harris is to be asked to check with local garda stations for any cases of bullying as well as any evidence of fraudulent sick notes for members of the force.

After confirmation that Bord na gCon spent €227,000 on consultants and amid queries about the use of taxpayer money, PAC chairman Sean Fleming ordered that all agencies and departments be asked for details.

The chairman of the Public Accounts Committee has criticised one of the country’s most senior civil servants for making “zero effort to answer the questions” posed by the committee regarding the Public Services Card.

TDs and senators had to refund almost €10,000 in expenses this year after an audit found they could not provide supporting evidence to justify claiming such allowances.

The Government has been urged to explain exactly how it spent more than €3bn worth of carbon tax income over the past decade amid fears that this year's €6 carbon tax budget hike will fail to be spent on climate matters.

The HSE has been accused of an "unacceptable" misuse of public money after it emerged it has spent more than €1m on children's hospital PR in the past five years - including €248,000 in the first half of 2019 alone.

A surge in injury claims paid by taxpayers is being blamed on State agencies failing to learn from mistakes and tackling the causes of costly cases.

"There is a certain convenience in collating a person's data like this, but it has to be balanced with a person's privacy," said Willie O'Dea.

The HSE made the determinations on 210,600 cases, based on the fact that their applicants had not supplied the requisite information within a reasonable time period.

The Data Protection Commission found there was NO legal basis for the issuing of PSCs for the purposes of transactions between individuals and state bodies other than the Department of Social Protection.

The Dail's Public Accounts Committee (PAC) is demanding answers from NUI Maynooth over the decision to write-off a €750,000 loan to a failed subsidiary company.

The Government has been accused of “hiding”’ sensitive issues from the public after it emerged that the possibility of a border poll will not be included in the National Risk Assessment.

The reassurances on Nama made by the late Brian Lenihan a decade ago were a puff of smoke, writes Political Editor, Daniel McConnell.

A major flaw in the laws prohibiting the resale of properties taken over by NAMA to the developers behind them has emerged.