The first eight candidates to run for Renua Ireland in the upcoming general election have been confirmed.

Rape victim Mairia Cahill has urged Sinn Féin to clarify whether four people linked to the party were prepared to defend her attacker if the charges went to trial, after the issue was flagged in an independent review of the case.

Mairia Cahill, who was raped by a senior provisional IRA member, has criticised Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams after he claimed the case did not involve a “cover-up” by his party because she knew the attacker outside of the organisation.

Selecting the right candidates for the general election is a big problem, writes Gary Murphy

Fianna Fáil may not be far enough ahead on first preference votes to see off a transfer-based challenge from other parties in the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election.

The first tallies from the Carlow-Kilkenny by-election are starting to roll in.

Counting is well underway in the by-election in Carlow-Kilkenny.

Moves by Nama to press legal action against a widow whose husband took his own life have been roundly condemned by TDs.

The government has officially called the by-elections to fill two empty seats in the Dáil.

Fine Gael's John Paul Phelan has confirmed that he will not be a candidate in the European elections.

Ministers have defended planned upgrades to hospitals in their constituencies which have been fast tracked by colleague James Reilly, the health minister.

The Constituency Commission has recommended cutting the number of TDs in Leinster House by eight - from 166 to 158.

Voter turnout for the EU Fiscal Treaty referendum is slow in the north-west of the country.

MENTAL Health Services Minister Kathleen Lynch is to visit “in the coming weeks” a psychiatric unit earmarked for closure by the HSE, amid mounting opposition from doctors.

ENVIRONMENT Minister Phil Hogan has insisted he had no hand, act or part in the awarding of the second mobile phone licence.

IT was, in the words of the Greens’ Ciarán Cuffe in 2007, akin to “a deal with the devil”.

Fianna Fáil's John McGuinness and Anne Phelan of Labour have been elected in Carlow-Kilkenny after the 12th count.

No candidate has been elected in Carlow-Kilkenny after the latest count.

The Greens have claimed their dramatic collapse into political oblivion is the price to pay for a "deal with the devil".

Senior figures in the Fine Gael party have claimed they could be on course for single-party government.

Party leaders today urged people to make their votes count in the most eagerly-anticipated election in decades.

THE HSE “alienated” a group of consultant psychiatrists by publicly announcing the closure of an acute psychiatric unit without warning the consultants of the decision.

TAOISEACH Brian Cowen clung on to power against the wishes of many of his Fianna Fáil colleagues who he told if they want him gone they can come and get him.

FINE GAEL leader Enda Kenny has pledged to put “back-to-back governments” together and “sort out the rot” in the country.

Constituency profiles offer some fascinating insights into who elects who and why, finds Political Correspondent Conor Ryan.

Fine Gael are celebrating after Phil Hogan took a seat in Carlow-Kilkenny. He is less than 100 hundred votes above the quota after the seventh count.

The Green Party is predicting that it will enjoy a breakthrough with rural voters at the upcoming General Election.

Campaigning continues today ahead of the impending general election, with the various political parties battling for media attention on the main policy issues.

The Green Party is on course to gain a seat in the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency in the forthcoming general election.

The Fianna Fáil election trail heads to the Carlow-Kilkenny constituency this morning in a final bid to win the hearts and minds of the electorate.

A temporary High Court injunction to stop the general election from going ahead in Carlow-Kilkenny is being sought by prospective independent candidate Dr Patrick Jones.