Fianna Fáil group to assess SDLP merger

THE possibility of Fianna Fáil merging with the SDLP will be examined by a new committee, the Taoiseach is expected to announce today.

The group will be charged with assessing the future of the party over the next nine years.

Foreign Affairs Minister Dermot Ahern will chair the committee, which will work on the theme of Fianna Fáil 2016 and investigate ways in which the party can become an all-Ireland, 32-county party.