The numbers of community gardaí have been axed by almost 40% in the last seven years and continue to fall in many divisions.

The HSE has paid over €540m to GP practices and out of hour services in fees and allowances last year, for treating medical card patients and providing services for other State health schemes.

Gardaí in Cork earn the least amount of overtime pay in the entire country.

Dublin’s north inner city is the country’s main crime blackspot, with crime rates several times the national average for a range of offences including assaults, theft and illegal drugs.

Reported juvenile crime continues to fall — but an increasing proportion of offending children are not suitable for a system which diverts minors away from the criminal courts.

Almost 2.3 million prescriptions were written for anxiety and depression drugs in 2012, enough to cover more than half the population.

Senior Labour figures have ruled out expressing support for €1.36bn offer to buy Aer Lingus until after the general election.

More than 87,000 people have lost their medical cards in the past year as the numbers eligible for free healthcare decreased by almost 5%.

Almost 10,000 people received specialist treatment for drug, alcohol and other substance abuse problems in the first three months of the year — including 18 children and teens.

As senior Labour ministers took to the airwaves on Saturday to defend their party’s record and leader, conversations started taking place between its young turks on what to do about Eamon Gilmore.

There are growing calls for the two Garda whistleblowers who raised concerns about the cancelling of penalty points to receive an apology over how they were treated.

Michael Clifford (Opinion, Nov 4) expounds freely (and accurately) on the debilitating legacy that haunts the ‘bould Bertie, long after his deserved demise in a whirlpool of shame.

The Taoiseach said he was "naturally, personally disappointed" by the defeat of the referendum to abolish the Seanad, as attention now turns to the need for political reform.

The No side has remained ahead throughout the afternoon in the referendum to abolish the Seanad - but with a very tight margin.

Up to one in five road traffic offenders, involved in some 170,000 offences, were able to avoid penalties due to ‘significant weaknesses’ in the fixed charge notice system, which the Garda Síochána ‘urgently’ needs to address.

AODHÁN O’Riordáin is a Labour TD for Dublin North central and Brian Collins is a Labour councillor in Co Meath.

Two Garda divisions with the lowest crime levels in the Republic have seen an increase in staffing levels since the start of the year at the same time as the number of gardaí deployed in stations around the country has fallen.

A Cabinet minister has attacked Independent TD Luke ‘Ming’ Flanagan, suggesting his actions in having his penalty points quashed have damaged the reputation of politicians in general.

Independent TD Mick Wallace has been left isolated in the Dáil after his former allies decided not to allow him back into the technical group.

There has been a 63% jump in the number of outstanding warrants in 2011.

Dublin sees some of the most far-reaching changes of the shake-up which will provide re-election headaches for many sitting TDs.

The fiscal treaty was backed by an overwhelming majority despite initial fears in the yes camp that the low turnout could make the result closer than expected.

Only one in four recorded burglaries are solved by gardaí, figures show.

Sinn Féin has called the Household Charge "a fiasco" and will tonight table an Emergency Motion at a meeting of Dublin City Council, calling on the Government to repeal it.

Former Councillor Finbar Hanrahan has resigned from the Fianna Fáil party today.

IRELAND is in danger of creating a “health poverty trap” after it emerged over 200,000 more people have become eligible for medical and GP visit only cards since January 2010.

Doubts continue today regarding Senator David Norris's chances of running for President as some of his supporters consider their positions.

MORE than a dozen fresh allegations of foster care concerns against specific families have been made in a follow-up investigation into “unacceptable” standards in the sector.

A MAN brandishing a broken bottle caused terror in a Dublin suburb when he stabbed a man out walking in the park with his partner and child and later slashed a garda.

A meeting of the country's Independent TDs is underway in Dublin this evening.

DESPITE winning an almost identical first preference share to the Spring Tide of 1992, the Labour Party has made a far more forceful breakthrough this time.

INDEPENDENT TD for Dublin South, Shane Ross, has held out the prospect that Fine Gael could form a Government with the support of “like-minded” independents following the election of the largest ever number of non-party candidates across the country.

FIANNA Fáil has been all but wiped out in Dublin, reduced to just one TD in the city as a swathe of ministers were toppled.

Seán Haughey witnessed the end of his family’s political presence in Dublin going back some 54 years, while the Andrews brothers, Chris and Barry, both lost their seats in their respective constituencies.

The fall of Mary Coughlan signalled not only the demise of a Government but also the end of a Fianna Fáil political dynasty.

Independent Maureen O'Sullivan has been elected Dublin North Central; the late Tony Gregory's constituency.

The fall of Ireland’s former Tánaiste signalled not only the demise of a government but also the end of a Fianna Fáil political dynasty.

Labour's Aodhán O'Riordán has taken the second seat in Dublin North Central.

Fianna Fáil's Sean Haughey has lost his seat in Dublin North Central.

Labour's Aodhan O'Riordan has been elected in Dublin North Central.

Fine Gael's Richard Bruton has been elected on the second count in Dublin North Central.

DUBLIN NORTH CENTRAL - FIRST COUNT