The Government is breathing a sigh of relief this weekend after a lacklustre start to the new Dail term by the Opposition. Expectations that Fine Gael and Labour would draw blood and score at least a few political points after the long summer recess were unfulfilled. Far from a roar, the Opposition came back with a whimper.

"We are no nearer a general election now than we were last week. In fact we are probably farther away," said a Government source. "Maybe they are trying to lull us into a false sense of security, but there was little sign of danger this week."

The Opposition can count themselves fortunate that the new £25 million office accommodation for TDs and senators was not finished when they returned for business. Had the swanky new building been ship-shape by last Tuesday, one wonders what they would have raised in the Dail.

There was puzzlement in Government circles that the Opposition grasped this issue after a summer which saw Fianna Fail and the PDs beset by a range of problems, mainly the proposed appointment of Hugh O'Flaherty to the European Investment Bank and rising inflation.

"There were so many issues they could have come at us with apart from O'Flaherty and inflation. There was a young man murdered outside the Burlington Hotel, bringing crime back on the agenda. What about the housing and transport crisis? Or even the marine disaster off our coast in the last week?" said a source.

"Instead, they opted for an issue that affected only themselves. Instead of raising the problem of accommodation in Leinster House, they would have been better served raising the accommodation crisis that exists all over the country."

The Opposition started their week of "attack" on Monday on the issue of John O'Donoghue's speeding ministerial car. Despite the obvious embarrassment for Mr O'Donoghue, that row fizzled out as the week went on. His reminder that he was not the first minister to be stopped for speeding noticeably softened the Opposition's cough.

The Opposition's poor run continued on RTE Radio 1's Morning Ireland programme on Tuesday when the Fine Gael Chief Whip, Charlie Flanagan, went head to head about the new Dail session with the Government Chief Whip, Seamus Brennan.

While Brennan was on the defensive over the O'Donoghue speeding row, it was nothing in comparison to the grilling that Flanagan received from presenter Richard Crowley. When asked what Fine Gael would do to curb inflation and deal with other outstanding issues, Flanagan had no answers.

Battle was renewed on the airwaves at lunchtime on Tuesday when the man who had the worst week of anyone on the Government side, the Minister of State responsible for the Office of Public Works, Martin Cullen, and the Labour Whip Emmet Stagg, locked horns over the condition of the new building, Leinster House 2000.

Labour were most vocal in the Dail on Tuesday and Wednesday over the condition of the facility, claiming it was seriously hampered in its efforts to take on the Government because of the lack of phone, fax and Internet facilities.

But Labour's focus on its own internal accommodation crisis did not please everyone in its ranks. One member of the Labour Parliamentary Party told the Irish Times the party had gone overboard on the issue. "No one outside of these four walls gives a toss about our accommodation. We whinged on too long about it. There were real issues we should have been highlighting instead," the source said.

Followers of the O'Flaherty affair would also have been disappointed by this week's Dail proceedings. Fine Gael had originally planned to use private members' time to call for a full inquiry into the Sheedy case. There was surprise (and relief in Government quarters) when the party opted instead to kick off its campaign on inflation.

"By no means are we forgetting Sheedy. For tactical reasons we decided to hold off on that issue for a few weeks. The longer we leave Sheedy dangling the more interest there will be in it," said a senior Fine Gael source.

"There is a lot of unease from within the Government over Sheedy. It is going to be very hard, for example, for the Tanaiste to vote against our motion. We are working on a formula and we will be pursuing this matter with vigour."

Fine Gael staunchly defended its decision to go with inflation in this week's private members' debate. The party accused the media of ignoring the inflation debate in favour of the O'Donoghue speeding row and TDs' accommodation chaos. But wasn't it Alan Shatter who went on radio on Monday morning on ministerial speeding? And wasn't it the party leader, Mr Bruton, who opened the order of business on Tuesday on the accommodation row?

The Fine Gael Parliamentary Party chairman, Phil Hogan, made light of the low-key start and told The Irish Times the Government would be foolish to think it was going to get away lightly. "Fine Gael is now in election mode. We will be applying pressure on a range of issues from inflation, health, childcare, housing and transport this term."

The Labour Party said it was seriously hampered in its ability to function because of the chaos in the new building. "The facts are that we didn't have the facilities that the Government had. In effect we had one hand tied behind our backs," said a spokesman.

The party has 20 private members' bills on the order paper, and will have two private members' slots this term. "We will be using that time to good effect. We have not decided yet whether we will use private members to move bills or to raise an issue of the day," he said.

"We are now with our full facilities and are ready for the weeks ahead. This has not been a good week for the Government, remember. They had to deal with the row over office accommodation, and the John O'Donoghue controversy did them no good either."

The party will also be publishing major policy documents this term. And it will be supporting Fine Gael on its Sheedy motion.

The Opposition will be hoping that the tribunals will give them ammunition to attack the Government in the coming weeks. And they are aware that despite the fact there has never been as much money around, this will be a very difficult budget for the Government. It will have to balance giving away money with curbing inflation.

Fine Gael's Michael Noonan did show a spark on Thursday morning during the order of business when he raised the issue of social welfare increments. There was almost a hint of an Opposition beginning to bare some teeth. But just a hint.

By the end of this week, odds on a pre-Christmas election have lengthened. An election is not something Fine Gael or Labour is expecting this term. Round 1 to the Government. We will see what round 2 will bring.