SIPO has opened an inquiry into undeclared donations received by taoiseach Leo Varadkar after it emerged he misled the commission during a 2019 probe.

Ex-taoiseach Enda Kenny, ex-jobs minister Richard Bruton and ex-tánaiste Eamon Gilmore took credit for almost 100 bogus jobs, which were to supposedly be delivered by a controversial, discontinued IDA scheme, in one 2013 announcement.

The IDA tried to block the release of the number of jobs created by a much-touted government scheme and tried to argue that publishing the figures would hurt the state.

Housing minister Darragh O’Brien won’t explain why his ministerial mileage claim for August 2022 isn’t supported by his official diary.

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.