Fine Gael members across the country have been put on alert that a vote for a new leader will happen by the end of this month.

Charities which provide dogs to help people cope with disabilities say there are 1,000 people on their books they can’t help because they don’t get proper funding from the Government.

The humanist ceremony that marked the death of Irish farming giant Paddy O’Keeffe took place in a North Cork mart and, in the words of his friend, Dawn Meats chairman Dan Brown, “that he chose this unconventional setting for his service is true Paddy”.