DO YOU WANT State of the Nation delivered to your inbox every morning at 9.30am? Sign-up to our email alert at the bottom of this story.

Everyone’s talking about…

All-Ireland winning footballer Ger Brennan has joined Fianna Fáil.

Ger Brennan Donall Farmer / INPHO Donall Farmer / INPHO / INPHO

Several papers are reporting that the Dublin player has joined his local cumann on Dublin’s north side.

Some commentators are tipping Brennan to run for election in Dublin Central, saying he has the backing of former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern.

However, the Herald says Brennan has ruled out running in the upcoming general election, instead wanting to focus on local involvement.

“The larger picture is that you never know what the future holds, but certainly in the next few years it’s not my focus,” he said.

Brennan was one of the most prominent sports people to call for a No vote in the recent same-sex marriage referendum.

His involvement in Fianna Fáil will come as a boost as the party looks to get back on track following the shock resignation of Senator Averil Power – who was heavily critical of the party’s approach to the marriage referendum.

Inside Leinster House

The banking inquiry is set to look into the leaking of former civil servant Kevin Cardiff’s statement to several media outlets. The committee is likely to discuss the issue at its private meeting today, with confusion as to how the document became public.

The agenda

• The cabinet is meeting today.
• Communications Minister Alex White will answer questions at 2pm.
• The Environment Committee will discuss the country’ electoral commission at 2.15pm.
• The first Leaders’ Questions of the week will kick off at 3.15pm.
• The banking inquiry committee will hold a private meeting at 3.30pm.
• Senators are set to debate the GP service bill at 4.45pm.
• TDs will debate urban regeneration at 5.54pm, before turning their attention to employment equality at 7.30pm.

What the others are saying

• The Irish Examiner notes that the banking inquiry is set to hear about a 2008 dispute between Brian Cowen and Brian Lenihan over whether or not to include Anglo in the bank guarantee.
• The Irish Times reports that Amnesty International has denied there is any political motivation behind its calls for a more liberal abortion regime here.
• The same paper notes that Fine Gael Senator Paul Coghlan has said a lack of police is hindering the fight against fuel smuggling in the north.

In case you missed it

• Junior health minister Kathleen Lynch rejected concerns that the new free GP care scheme for under sixes will lead to “irresponsible” visits from parents.
• Mystery surrounds the leaking of former civil servant Kevin Cardiff’s statement to the banking inquiry to several media outlets ahead of his appearance before the committee this week.
• Some councillors are unhappy about Dublin’s mayor being a member of Sinn Féin as the country commemorates the 1916 centenary.
• The same party is more ready than anyone else for an election.
• Former Florida governor Jeb Bush announced he is running for President of the United States.
• We took a look back at the attempted heave against Enda Kenny in 2010.

On the Twitter machine

For the day that’s in it…

Originally published: 9am

Read: Move over Renua, there could soon be ANOTHER new party in town

Making a difference

A mix of advertising and supporting contributions helps keep paywalls away from valuable information like this article. Over 5,000 readers like you have already stepped up and support us with a monthly payment or a once-off donation.

For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can make sure we can keep reliable, meaningful news open to everyone regardless of their ability to pay.

Support us Learn More