Saturday/Sunday
An obstetrician faces an inquiry following reports that in the past three years he carried out an abnormally high number of hysterectomies on young mothers, in some cases removing their ovaries, The Irish Times reported.
The report said the health board in which the consultant works is to request him to take paid "administrative leave" pending the inquiry by the Institute of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists in Ireland.
The Labour Party and Democratic Left voted at separate delegate conferences in Dublin to merge the two parties. The former endorsed it overwhelmingly by a show of hands, and the latter in a secret ballot by 171 votes to 21.
Northern Ireland's First Minister, Mr David Trimble, said the decommissioning of paramilitary weapons would have to be carried out in front of television cameras so that ordinary people could believe it had taken place.
Monday
Nine women may have had unnecessary hysterectomy operations performed on them by the obstetrician at the centre of an inquiry, The Irish Times reported.
The UK Unionist Party assembly bloc divided over accusations by its leader, Mr Robert Mc Cartney, that his colleagues were politically immature and counterclaims that Mr McCartney had "impugned" their integrity.
Tuesday
A taxation appeal commissioner reduced a tax assessment of £2 million on Mr Charles Haughey to zero, it was disclosed. The assessment was made against the former Taoiseach after the McCracken tribunal reported last year that he received £1.3 million from the businessman Mr Ben Dunne between 1987 and 1991.
The basis of Mr Haughey's argument against the assessment was not clear, but it was understood to have been inadequate proof. Mr Justice McCracken had acknowledged that there were some missing links in the international money trail from Mr Dunne to Mr Haughey, but he was "satisfied beyond all reasonable doubt" that the £1.3 million had gone from Mr Dunne to the former Taoiseach.
The Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland began an investigation of a consultant following an external inquiry into a number of his cases, including two in which patients had died. The RCSI inquiry into this surgeon is separate from that into the obstetrician who had carried out a large number of hysterectomies. This man was named on RTE as being a consultant at Our Lady of Lourdes Hospital in Drogheda.
A report submitted to the Government by prison governors said the Prison Officers' Association had "absolute control" over the running of the prison system, with governors unable to introduce disciplinary measures, restrict overtime or deal with excessive absenteeism.
The consultants' report on Tal laght Hospital commissioned by the Minister for Health said the hospital was in "a financial crisis of the most serious kind". After six months in operation, it was "already significantly in arrears in paying its creditors".
Wednesday
The US and Britain launched widespread air strikes on Iraq, as a new crisis flared over UN arms in spections. A Government spokesman said: "We regret that it was not possible for the work of the UN inspectorate to be completed and we're disappointed that a peaceful resolution could not be reached." The Green Party TD Mr John Gormley said the bombing of Iraq was a "cynical attempt" by President Clinton to divert attention from the impending impeachment decision against him.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, confirmed that Mr Ronan Kelly, the appeal commissioner who dismissed the £2 million tax assessment against Mr Haughey, was his brother-in-law. Informed sources said the assessment was delivered orally in a short judgment.
The Progressive Democrats called for the reasons for Mr Kelly's decision to be made public. The Revenue Commissioners said they would appeal the decision to the Circuit Court.
Thursday
In a significant breakthrough in the implementation of the Belfast Agreement, six new North-South administrative bodies and an increase from six to 10 ministries in Northern Ireland were agreed after 18 hours of negotiations between the Northern parties. The six North-South bodies will cover inland waterways, aquaculture, food safety, the Irish and Ulster-Scots languages, EU funding programmes, and trade and business development.
As US and British air attacks on Iraq continued, the Taoiseach expressed disappointment that the action was "deemed necessary." The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Andrews, said the use of force should be "kept to a minimum" to avoid further suffering for the Iraqi people and potentially destabilising consequences in the Middle East. The Democratic Left leader, Mr Proinsias De Rossa, accused the Taoiseach of using "weasel words", saying that in reality he supported the action.
The appeal commissioner Mr Ronan Kelly is believed to have dismissed the £2 million gift-tax assessment against Mr Haughey because the Revenue Commissioners did not adequately identify who gave the gift, it was disclosed. The Revenue, in making its case, had relied solely on the McCracken tribunal report.
During that tribunal, Mr Haughey made statements in which he accepted that Mr Ben Dunne had given him the money. However, technically it came from companies owned by various shareholders, including Mr Dunne.