Ex-Independent News and Media group-editor-in-chief Stephen Rae last month sent a legal letter to the Oireachtas after, it was claimed in a committee hearing, that he engages in SLAPPs – strategic lawsuits against public participation.

Fianna Fáil minister of state Niall Collins claimed he drove more than 2,000 kilometres for ministerial work in August 2020 – with the country five months into the Covid-19 pandemic and the Dáil on its summer break.

Fianna Fáil junior minister Thomas Byrne has insisted one of his mileage claims is correct – despite his diary only accounting for a fraction of what he claimed.

An international working group, in a report that highlights the importance of western technology to Vladimir Putin’s military, has identified Irish parts in Russian weapons used in the invasion of Ukraine.

Having claimed to have driven more than 8,000 kilometres in three months when the Dáil wasn’t sitting, Fianna Fáil junior minister Seán Fleming has denied submitting inaccurate ministerial driving expenses claims.