Inside politics:With the new Seanad elected and the last Cabinet meeting before the summer break out of the way, the State's politicians can finally pause for breath and give the people a break from politics, writes Stephen Collins.
It won't last long, though, because the autumn is already shaping to provide much more political excitement than anybody expected when Fianna Fáil came back to power, with a little help from its ever wider circle of friends.
Taoiseach Bertie Ahern's return to office for the third term in a row has not rendered politics dull and boring, as was widely forecast. Instead, an air of uncertainty prevails as to what will happen next, with speculation about leadership changes and shifting political alliances affecting all sides of the political spectrum.
The Taoiseach himself played no small role in stirring things up by endorsing Brian Cowen as his favourite to become the next leader of Fianna Fáil. By raising the leadership issue Ahern opened the door to speculation about when he will step down. The issue is now a live topic of discussion among Fianna Fáil TDs.
There is some speculation that Ahern may go in two years, after the European and local elections. Some TDs think he might be tempted to take over as European Commissioner when Charlie McCreevy returns, but most feel that such a move is unlikely.
A far more attractive one for Ahern would be to take over as president of the European Council, which would involve chairing meetings of the EU heads of government four or five times a year.
This post doesn't exist at the moment but was envisaged as part of the last EU treaty, pushed through by Ahern during the Irish presidency. The French and Dutch referendum defeats put the treaty on hold but there is a renewed effort to get a modified version agreed with a referendum here next year and the position is then likely to be established. Who better to fill the post than the longest serving prime minister in the EU?
Speculation about Ahern's future has been fuelled by continuing questions concerning his personal finances being explored by the Mahon tribunal. The fact that his evidence and that of his former partner, Celia Larkin, has been postponed until September means that whatever happens will feed into the political debate in the autumn.
While the controversy about his finances clearly did not affect Ahern or Fianna Fáil in the general election, the fact that a range of questions about his personal financial transactions have come back to haunt him is, at the very least, an irritating political distraction.
The worry among some Fianna Fáil TDs is that if the issue continues to dominate political debate it will hamper the Government's ability to focus on the real issues facing the country and will also damage the prospects of his successor.
If Fianna Fáil TDs are worried, the Greens and the PDs have even more cause for concern. It is second nature for Fianna Fáil politicians to rally around their leader, regardless of the issue. The PDs showed over the past year just how difficult it can become for coalition partners when questions that go to the heart of the matter about integrity in public life come to the surface. The two wobbles by the PDs over Ahern's finances made a difficult position for them even worse, while Fianna Fáil survived relatively unscathed.
The Greens will find out what life is like at the rough end of politics if Ahern does not come up with satisfactory answers for the Mahon tribunal. The party has already adopted the line that final answers will be given in the tribunal report, which is probably years away. Whether it can hold to that position if things go pear shaped in the autumn is another matter.
To make things all the more intriguing the Taoiseach has given every appearance of having embraced the climate change agenda so dear to Green hearts. By contrast Cowen has not bothered to pander to Green sensibilities and made sure during the negotiations on the formation of Government that Fianna Fáil gave away little in terms of policy commitments. By all accounts he told the Greens where to get off when they raised the prospect of banning live cattle exports.
So if the going really does get tough the Greens might be faced with the prospect of destabilising a Taoiseach who they believe is in their corner but has issues about his personal finances, in favour of a Minister who has no problems on integrity related issues but who is not particularly sympathetic to their cause. There are echoes of the dilemma faced by the PDs over whether to destabilise Charles Haughey, knowing that his replacement would be Albert Reynolds.
If the tribunal-related issues could pose a problem for the Government parties, they also represent a dilemma for the Opposition. Last October and again during the election campaign Fine Gael and Labour put themselves in the position of being willing to wound but afraid to strike. It would appear by the reaction of both parties to the latest developments at the Mahon tribunal during the week that they are still beset by fear at the consequences of going wholeheartedly after the issue.
Some Opposition TDs believe that it is time to stop prevaricating and either tackle Ahern in a full-blooded fashion or forget about tribunals as a political issue. What Fine Gael and Labour do will obviously depend on what emerges during the tribunal evidence but they have a real decision to make on how they approach the subject.
The massive gain in seats in the election has continued to encourage most Fine Gael TDs, despite the party's failure to achieve power. The Seanad election was a bit disappointing in that the party lost one seat but it was counter-balanced by the influx of 10 new Senators who will be strong contenders for seats in the next election.
The Seanad election finally produced some good news for Pat Rabbitte following a deeply disappointing general election. The increase in the number of seats from four to six, and the fact that all the party's Senators will be serious general election contenders, represents a step in the right direction.
It will liven up the parliamentary party and should make the leader feel a little more secure, even though it is quite clear that there are strong forces who would like to see him out of the way.
The voting pact with Sinn Féin caused some internal agonising but the party's councillors and TDs delivered on the deal and got two Seanad seats out of it.
Sinn Féin captured its first Seanad seat as its part of the bargain and it will be interesting to see whether relations between the two parties now begin to improve as a result of the close relationship during the campaign.
There was something incongruous about Labour moving so quickly from the arms of Fine Gael into an embrace with republicans but in politics nothing remains the same for very long.
It will be no surprise if Fine Gael pursues its own strategy in the 30th Dáil, with the aim of challenging Fianna Fáil's dominance as the biggest party in the State, while Labour and Sinn Féin pull together in a left-wing critique of the Government.