As we embark on day three of the counting of votes in the local and European Parliament elections, the Green Party has been confirmed as the big winners, having recorded their best ever election results, and the election of Ciarán Cuffe as MEP imminent. Meanwhile Sinn Féin have faired less well, having experienced one of their biggest losses this weekend. The Labour Party has said it is "satisfied" with the results of the local elections so far, and it looks like Fianna Fáil will strengthen its position as the largest party of local government with an especially strong performance in Dublin. Fine Gael will only see marginal gains, though it looks like the party will have a much better result in the European elections. For more updates and analysis click here.

Meanwhile, Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said he cannot rule out calling a general election but added it is “not a prospect in the next couple of days or weeks”. Speaking as counts continued in the local and European elections, he said there is “no need for an election” if the Government can continue to get its agenda through the Oireachtas.

In other green news, Ibec is backing the introduction of a rising carbon tax, as well as short-term carbon budgets that would restrict green house gas emissions in particular sectors. Ibec has also called for changes to the planning system to facilitate a transition to a low-carbon economy and wants supports and incentives to be provided by the Government to meet the €40 billion bill.

Almost 800 new special needs assistants are to be allocated to schools from September. The increased allocation reflects the fact that record numbers of children with special or additional needs are in mainstream education, as well as earlier diagnosis of underlying conditions. The announcement means there will be 15,950 special needs assistants in school in the coming year, supporting about 37,500 pupils.

A new study has turned up the heat on those who like to keep the office thermostat set to cool – by finding that women perform significantly better in cognitive tests in warmer conditions than they do when they are too cold. Men perform better in cooler conditions; but their performance is affected to a much lesser degree. The study 'Battle for the thermostat: Gender and the effect of temperature on cognitive performance', published in PLOS One, assessed performance in mathematical, verbal and cognitive reflection tasks under different temperatures.

Our zen today is courtesy of Elton John and the biographical musical, 'Rocketman', that has been made about his life. 

Have a good day folks.