Saturday/Sunday
The gardai staged their second "blue flu" exercise by calling in sick on Saturday, leaving many stations which normally have 15 or more officers on duty with only two or three, supported by trainees.
On Sunday, the Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, intervened with an offer to consult the national social partners, ICTU and IBEC, with a view to including the Garda directly in future public pay talks. The Institute of Chartered Accountants indicated it would oppose an attempt to halt the investigation into possible breaches of professional conduct by some of its members named in the McCracken tribunal. Oliver Freaney, auditors to firms owned by Dunnes Stores and to the former Fine Gael Minister, Mr Michael Lowry, has sought an injunction on the matter.
A spokesman for the Catholic Hierarchy said the rebel priest, Father Pat Buckley, had excommunicated himself by being consecrated a bishop. A self-styled Tridentine bishop, Dr Michael Cox, said he had consecrated Father Buckley at a ceremony in the latter's County Antrim home on May 19th.
Monday
The Taoiseach said there was room to negotiate a "fairly substantial increase" in garda pay so long as this remained within the public pay sector parameters.
The High Court appointed two inspectors, on the application of the Tanaiste, Ms Harney, to investigate the affairs of a National Irish Bank subsidiary relating to insurance policies with three companies outside the State. The NIB had resisted the application on the grounds there were already several investigations under way into the bank's affairs. The broadcaster and political scientist, Dr Brian Farrell, was appointed chairman of the newly-appointed Arts Council.
Tuesday
"Unbelievable" export figures for the first three months should lead to the economy growing by at least 12.5 per cent this year, said the chief economist at ABN Amro, Dr Dan McLaughlin. Exports from January to March were 29 per cent higher than in the same period of 1997, with imports up 28 per cent, according to CSO figures. Record sales of the anti-impotence drug, Viagra, manufactured by Pfizer in Co Cork, contributed to the export growth.
The IRA's commanding officer in the Maze prison, Padraic Wilson, said "voluntary decommissioning would be a natural development of the peace process". However, he did not see "any likelihood" of IRA weapons being surrendered to the British security forces.
The Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid, said new cases had come to light of child sex abuse in swimming in a report which was expected to be published the following day.
Wednesday
The Murphy Report into child sex abuse in Irish swimming was published. It contained a litany of abuse committed mainly by two former national coaches, George Gibney and Derry O'Rourke, and criticised the lack of supervision of the two men by their swimming club committees. Two allegations of abuse were made about coaches other than Gibney and O'Rourke.
The report recommended the widescale reorganisation of swimming at every level; children's welfare and protection to be a stated objective of every club; and counselling and therapy for victims.
An Irish Times/MRBI opinion poll showed that parties backing the Belfast Agreement had the support of 79 per cent of the Northern Ireland electorate. However, support for the Ulster Unionist Party had dropped by six points to 27 per cent compared with the previous poll two weeks ago, and the anti-agreement Democratic Unionist Party had risen by three points to 16 per cent.
Industrial action by the gardai was suspended following a decision by the Garda Representative Association to resume negotiations on a Government pay offer. At its upper limit the offer will mean a 13.5 per cent increase for long-serving officers.
The GRA had been demanding a 15 per cent, no strings attached, increase.
The Tanaiste, Ms Harney, announced that some unemployed people who refuse offers of work or training will have their social welfare payments cut from September. This appeared to be in contradiction to a previous statement by the Taoiseach, and Fianna Fail and Progressive Democrat spokesmen offered opposing interpretations of its significance.
Changes in opening hours and the introduction of a national age card scheme were among the reforms proposed by the All-Party Committee on Liquor Licensing Laws.
Thursday
The Taoiseach announced that Fianna Fail would put in place a charter for its members next January which would set out strict rules on fund-raising and the acceptance of donations within the party. Mr Ahern said this charter would be "over and above the requirement of the ethics legislation". He committed the party to a series of internal reforms aimed at bolstering party ideals.
The Taoiseach, the Tanaiste and the Minister for Community and Family Affairs, Mr Dermot Ahern, all claimed that Ms Harney's announcement about cutting welfare payments from people aged under 25 or unemployed for more than a year who refused work or training was government policy.
The Conservative Party voted against the British government's legislation in the House of Commons to enable the accelerated release of terrorist prisoners.