A spat over public service pay broke out between the two main parties in the middle of the election campaign when Fine Gael pledged average annual pay increases of 2.5% in the four years following 2020, while accusing Fianna Fáil of planning a pay freeze.

No party has included plans to allow more civil servants to engage in political activity in its 2020 election manifesto. And, when prompted by Fórsa, only Labour and the Social Democrats said they would support the measure if in Government.

Fórsa official Sean Carabini says that, when a new government is formed, the union intends to press it to properly fund the National Archive service and review the legislation governing the maintenance and publication of State records.

The National Women’s Council of Ireland (NWCI) recently launched its feminist manifesto for Ireland as part of an effort to make women’s equality a key feature the election. Party leaders were invited to answer four questions, and there were some interesting results.

As the general election campaign entered its second week, most political parties were caught off-guard by the emergence of the pension age as an election issue. Currently the age at which workers can claim the state pension is 66. It’s due to rise to 67 in 2021, and to 68 in 2028.