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Dáil talk
State of the Nation: Why Irish Water bonuses have TDs worried about their seats
Here’s everything you need to know about what’s happening in Irish politics right now…
EACH WEEKDAY MORNING, TheJournal.ie brings you a comprehensive guide to what’s happening in the political world.
Everyone’s talking about…
It’s the story that just won’t die for the government as revelations about bonuses at Irish Water dominate the headlines this morning and are set to lead the political agenda this week.
While the government has been fighting fires on Irish Water and water charges for sometime now, the issue is set to become even more troublesome in the weeks and months ahead as nervous backbenchers worry that the ongoing issues around the new semi-state will threaten their re-election chances.
A view is now taking shape in the public’s mind that the establishment of Irish Water has been botched and there is bonus culture at the company. That’s a view that will be extremely hard to change in the run-up to the next election.
The agenda…
- The Dáil and Seanad are back tomorrow.
- The North’s First Minister Peter Robinson is to meet with Maíria Cahill over her claims that she was raped by a member of the IRA and then interrogated by the organisation as Gerry Adams admitted the IRA ‘failed victims‘ of sexual abuse.
- Foreign Affairs Minister Charlie Flanagan is in Luxembourg for a meeting of his EU counterparts where the Ebola crisis is set to dominate talks.
What the others are saying…
- Nearly all the papers feature the Irish Water bonuses story on their front pages.
- Sinn Féin has a culture of ‘omerta’, Fianna Fail’s Micheál Martin told the annual Wolfe Tone Commemoration in Kildare yesterday, according to the Irish Independent.
- Immigration has been good for Ireland as it has “expanded our gene pool” and resulted in better-looking and taller children, the Irish Times reports Fine Gael TD Olivia Mitchell as saying.
In case you missed it…
- Lucinda Creighton (again) denied claims she’s recruiting members for a new political party.
- We spoke to Michael Fitzmaurice about his first week in the Dáil.
- Micheál Martin had a pop at Enda Kenny over Northern Ireland.
- We interviewed Mary Lou McDonald:
On the Twitter machine…
After a three year hiatus, Taoiseach Enda Kenny has returned to the tweet machine
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