It looks set to be the last Christmas for Enda Kenny and Joan Burton in coalition

Taxes on fags and booze aside, this looks set to be Enda Kenny and Joan Burton’s last Christmas in coalition together and may even be their last Christmas as leaders of their parties

FAGS, booze and a feeling of dread have dominated the last, agitated, Christmas Enda Kenny and Joan Burton are likely to spend together.

The European superstate took the choice out of their hands regarding cigarettes and alcohol, but it was the last significant decision that Mr Kenny will take on his own — the election date — that added to the usual Yuletide strains on the relationship.