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Everyone’s talking about…

Taoiseach Enda Kenny surveys the site of the National Sports Campus. PA Archive / Press Association Images PA Archive / Press Association Images / Press Association Images

The government will this afternoon lift the lid on its capital plan for investment in infrastructure over the next six years.

The plan is reported to be worth €27 billion and will detail how much is available for the construction of some of the most widely publicised planned building projects.

It’s expected to include cash for big ticket items like the National Children’s Hospital, the rail link from Dublin City to its airport and maybe even a revised metro plan for Dublin.

With the current nationwide focus on the housing crisis and its associated rental and homelessnesses problems, there’ll also be lots of talk about what the government plans to to invest in social housing.

Speaking to reporters on the way into Government Buildings today, Taoiseach Enda Kenny said that the plan is not designed to cover every capital building project.

How loose will they make those pre-election purse strings?

PA Wire / PA Images PA Wire / PA Images / PA Images

Across the water, it’s a big day for Jeremy Corbyn. The new Labour leader put in a good showing (albeit a fortnight later than planned) on the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday, but things haven’t gone so well for him at his party conference in Brighton.

He had the carpet pulled from under him on his proposed debate on the Trident nuclear deterrent. Even from Labour unions who had until the weekend been more supportive of him than most in his party.

Today is his day to shine though as he make his first conference speech as leader of the party.

The agenda 

• Jobs Minister Richard Bruton is facing committee questions who are assessing the mid-year Estimates for Public Services at 1.30pm.
• A fortnight out from his fifth budget, Michael Noonan takes financial questions from his peers at 2pm.
• Taoiseach Enda Kenny will follow on in the chamber in Leaders Questions from 3.15pm. 
• Topical Issues is slated to begin just after 5pm and continue for almost an hour.
• A motion on referring the sale of Aer Lingus to an Oireachtas Committee will take place at about 6pm.
• Just after that, there’ll be debate on the government’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill 2015.
• Sinn Féin are introducing a private members motion declaring that there’s an emergency social housing crisis and calling on more homelessness funding at 7pm.
• The Seanad is also due to debate the Ireland 2016 Schools Programme, introduced as part of commemoration celebrations.

Inside Leinster House 

While it may not have had the drama of the Battle of Blackrock Part II or even the intrigue of Dara Murphy Cork North Central, there was also some news south of the River Lee.

Fine Gael and Fianna Fáil both managed their vote smartly in Cork South Central in 2011 to take each to two seats on Micheál Martin’s home turf.

Fine Gael will be hoping to repeat the trick again in upcoming general election and last night they officially re-selected their two sitting TDs.

It’s a ticket that looks even stronger than it was last time out.

What the others are saying 

• The controversial closure of 139 rural garda stations is saving the State just €500,000 a year according to the Irish Examiner. 
• Health Minister Leo Varadkar has warned that senior health officials could be sacked if the trolley crisis is not fixed reports The Irish Times.
• The government is considering plans to fine landlords up to €15,000 if they refuse to accept rent allowance according to the Irish Daily Mail.

In case you missed it… 

• After a tight vote in Dun Laoghaire-Rathdown, Cormac Devlin was selected as Fianna Fáil ahead of former minister Mary Hanafin. But’s not necessarily all over for Hanafin just yet.
• Tánaiste Joan Burton said that junior minister Dara Murphy must go further than his apology for getting on-duty gardaí to drive him from Cork to Dublin Airport.
• Young Fine Gael would not apologise for a tweet sent to a Sinn Féin councillor about killing a child. 
• A Claire Byrne Live poll found that the vast majority of people don’t believe Micheál Martin when he says he won’t go into coalition with Fine Gael or Sinn Féin.
• Independent TD Ming Flanagan is seeking compensation from a Fine Gael TD over an interview in the Irish Times earlier this year.
• Fine Gael TD Fergus O’Dowd faces a challenge to hold onto his Dáil seat from his own brother who will be running for Renua.
• Tom Clonan, the Irish Times security analyst and disability campaigner, is running for the Seanad.
• David Cameron says he is “too busy running the country” to take legal action over pig claims made by a former close colleague.

Good day for… 

Junior minister Dara Murphy was in need of some good news and he was given the backing of his Cork North Central colleagues to run again for the Dáil.

Bad day for… 

Kate Feeney. Eighteen-months after being given the nod by the Fianna Fáil party ahead of Mary Hanafin for the local elections, Feeney dropped to third in her constituency pecking order.

On the Twitter machine… 

Gerry Adams is in New York and last night got to hear The Roots and Tony Bennett. He also caught up with an old friend, even if they didn’t really know where to look.

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