FG insisting on Jobs portfolio in reshuffle

Labour leader Joan Burton and Taoiseach Enda Kenny will continue discussions today after six hours of talks ended last night without agreement on the allocation of Cabinet posts.

Fine Gael is insisting on holding onto the Jobs portfolio, which party sources say has been the main pillar of its approach to Government to date and where it believes hard-won progress should not be put at risk.

Jobs Minister Richard Bruton defended his steer of the department, saying 18,000 jobs were created through foreign investment in the past three years, “and this is something we intend to build on”.