Good morning colleagues, 

Among today's top stories is news that Peter McVerry’s homeless charity paid almost €1.7 million in fees to a law firm led by the brother of a director in the charity.

Elsewhere, the Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly sought legal advice earlier this year on whether the State had powers to take over the running of children’s hospital services in Dublin and, despite not meeting value-for-money tests, the Government is poised to award a major construction contract to a company jointly controlled by BAM, the main contractor for the National Children’s Hospital.